Kaleva (k'-LEI-va)

The Great Mother, Watcher at the Borders, The Thousand-Headed Goddess

"It is a great mercy Kaleva was concerned, first and foremost, with home and family. Had she higher ambitions, Uhrmazd only knows what she would have wrought, this towering entity that was not merely a single god but many, a god of the antelope's grace, of the moose's strength, of the raven's cunning. Had Kaleva taken a side in the Insurgent-Colonial Godwars, there would have been a speedier resolution."

— The Inula'an Dialogues

Kaleva is the Material God of beasts, fertility, healing, transformation, hunting, territory, family and combat. She is one of the earliest Material-born ascendant demigods, possibly third after Asphodel and Solonn.

Kaleva loves a fight—she lacks warm relations with most Tuatha after numerous personal spats and territorial clashes—but is not evil; in fact if she deems you worthy, you could not have a more loyal (or frighteningly powerful) friend to have. While obviously Allmother to the Twelve Tribes of Kaleva, worship of the goddess is far-reaching, from druids, rangers and traveling skalds to bargoers raising a glass to the “Goddess of Fighting and Fucking”.

Also named the Thousand-Headed Goddess, Kaleva is said to have a collection of her defeated enemies' heads, and is able to don them, in place of her own, to gain their knowledge.

Kaleva's alignment is True Neutral.

Appearance & Heraldry

See also: Kaleva Image Gallery (External)

Kaleva is usually described in eddas and skaldspoems as "towering-tall", "fire-haired" and "bear-like", often seen with her mighty greataxe Ragnarok crossing her back.

She is sometimes portrayed as having the head of a coyote, after defeating the Elder Spirit Coyote in single combat, donning his head to gain his knowledge, then being unable to remove it. Thus she is portrayed as equal parts nurturing and cunning, equal parts kind and ferocious. The duality of nature.

History

Sensitive to the Veil from a young age, Kaleva's name means "Boundary Watcher". This name was portentious, as she would become Jarl at an unprecedentedly young age, and under her rule her clanlands would enjoy a golden age of security and regional legitimacy. It's when Great Mother began to defend her clan's borders against Elder Fae and Rakshasa Devas that things became complicated. The slain foes still being approximately humanoid, Kaleva conducted the usual rituals of flesh-consumption on their bodies. This was the beginning of what would cascade into a goddess with a thousand faces, beginning with a Deva called Coyote.

Kaleva defeated Coyote and, in a fit of battle-mad epiphany, donned his head in place of her own, to gain his knowledge. Thus began a competition of wills for control over her body, which the Great Mother won, but not easily. A story for another time.

Most Kalevans believe The Great Mother eventually learned to remove Coyote’s head and return hers to her shoulders. Having discovered a new way to gain knowledge and expand her perceptions, she sought out more powerful opponents to defeat and add their heads to her collection. For twelve of these opponents, she also took their seed, and the twelve children thereof would found the Twelve Tribes. If their claims are to be believed, several of these tribes still exist, scattered about northern Valamon and possibly farther. Even outside the Kalevan tribes, she's worshipped frequently on Valamon as a protector and provider god, alongside Jarl Juulnir.

Though she would clash on occasion with the Lichlords if they angered her or threatened her territory, she was not allied with the Insurgent Gods in any meaningful sense, and indeed had a sometimes vicious rivalry with one of their lead commanders.

Some historians take tales of her coyote-headed form more literally, and wonder if in fact Kaleva was an Aselu: a naturally canine-headed humanoid species confirmed to be present on First Age Materia during the height of interplanar trade in the planar region. However, this is a minority opinion as Aselu were not known to be active outside Alanthian civilization, let alone the wilds of proto-Valamon.

Worship

The T'lan Imass reached out to rest the tips of its bony fingers on the ay's broad head. The animal went perfectly still. 'An old friend? Yes, we adopted such animals into our tribes. It was that or see them starve. We were, you see, responsible for that starvation.'

'Responsible? As in overhunting? I'd have thought your kind was one with nature. All those spirits, those rituals of propitiation—'

'Toc the Younger,' Tool interrupted, 'do you mock me, or your own ignorance? Not even the lichen of the tundra is at peace. All is struggle, all is war for dominance. Those who lose, vanish.'

— Memories of Ice
Steven Erikson

Kaleva is Allmother and near-universally worshipped by the Kalevan tribes of Valamon, also called the Norvaalans, who represent the second-most populous surface culture on the archipelago after the Selvaalans of the eastern lowlands. Though they're primarily human, they're not a people concerned by appearances and have welcomed various species into the fold so long as they honour Kaleva's teachings. Arakh, whose superb sense of smell tends to make city life difficult, take particularly well to the Norvaalans' nomadic culture.

Above all, the Kalevan church preaches coexistence with nature, believing the comfortable and sedentary ways of urban life weaken the body and dissipate the soul. This may seem in conflict with Kaleva’s violent treament of her rivals, but in nature there can be no coexistence without the dance of predator and prey, the clash of alphas, the mutual respect of competing packs. To the Kalevans, the blasphemy is not in the hunting or the killing, but doing so pointlessly or in a way that disrespects the prey. Kaleva’s retention of the wisdom and techniques of her past prey is a divine expression of this philosophy.

Domains

The Great Mother's primary Domain is Change. Her secondary domains are Nature, Healing, Might and Wyrmkin.

Favoured Weapon

Kaleva's favoured weapons are greataxes and any natural weapons, be them claws, antlers or the like. Her Relic Weapon is the greataxe Ragnarok.

Famous Kalevans

From the Allmother's Twelve Tribes would arise many great heroes throughout Waking history. This includes:

The demigod of family, the hearth, charity and winter, Jarl Juulnir
Though not confirmed, the demigod of wind, travel and commerce, Silas, is thought to be of the Tweleve Tribes, though he holds no lingering loyalty
Gundula Vekk of Dolmengaard, who would become Gundula 'the Gladhanded', the first Kalevan Ruskandireij (lit: "Landschosen", a sort of warrior-queen) of Valamon and possible ascendant member of The Lineage of Stone
The warlord turned Dreadnought Nikka of Tuurilselden, who would play an important role in the Deepspawn Wars against the Black Sun Empire

KALEVA

Godhood
Ascendant (Middle First Age) Alignment
TN Domains
Change, Nature, Healing, Might, Family, Wyrmkin Favoured Weapon
Greataxe, Natural weapons Relic Weapon
Ragnarok

Children