Ob'Silexia
Material Goddess of Hunger and Predation, Queen of the Kaiju
Matron of the enormous, chimeric creatures that prowl Materia’s oceans, Ob’Silexia is a goddess of simple pleasures, primarily the consumption or subjugation of the small and weak. In Valamon and the Broken Empire, she’s known largely as Jenny Haniver, a bastardization of the Koroan name Djen-Niha-Nivrau, “The Sea Witch of Nireau”. Indeed, the oral histories of the Noa-Aina-Koroa are so accurate, scholars are quite sure the Goddess’s mortal origin is the insane Nireauan sorceress Shelas Ob'Silexia, who later carried the title Vierix Phaedra when subservient to Lichlord Nir and the Temporal Vanguard.
Ob'Silexia's alignment is Neutral Evil.Appearance & Heraldry
See also: Ob'Silexia Image Gallery (External)Most heraldic portrayals of Ob'Silexia are of a nude female with the lower body of a fish or octopus, usually carrying her iconic longspear Gae Assail and often riding a sea monster, often a taniwha or dragon turtle. Other times she is portrayed solo, as an ichthyocentaur.
Worship
See also: The Children of Ob'Silexia.Ob'Silexia is worshipped infrequently but ubiquitously across Third Age Materia. Her clerics and mortal swords are generally called Kaijinn or Titanseekers. They are generally divided between A) individualistic worshippers who seek to emulate (and placate!) the monstrous power of the kaiju, and B) a more organized religion which treats the goddess as a messiah figure, forced to take control of the kaiju lest they wreak even more havoc on Material civilization.
The Abyssal One is not commonly worshipped by terrestrial races save for the drow, as sea monsters often find their way into the subterranean lakes and seas around which the dark elves make their homes. The drow of Nibelheim refer to Ob’Silexia as Phaedra, the Tenth Daughter of Nyxfall and Thirty Seventh granddaughter of Grandfather Shadow. Her cultists believe she’s the most worshipped god, as all people secretly dream of the carefree life of a monster. Their goal is to “ascend” and become one of the Benthic Titans.
The Goddess of Sea Monsters is a classic and unflinching enemy of the churches of The Stormlords Ronom and Ranarim, who among other things are patrons of big game hunting, including kaiju.Domains
Ob'Silexia's primary Domain is Might. Her secondary domains are Water, Gluttony, Destruction, Change and Pain.Favoured Weapon
Ob'Silexia's favoured weapon is the longspear. Her Relic longspear is the Gae Assail.History
“Ob’Silexia” is an evolution of the goddess’s mortal Rozsan name, Shelasov Silexia. She was a stormblood sorcerer and ship’s ceda of considerable power, possibly touched by the death god Overshepherd Rom as she was sensitive to the otherwise quiet whispers of the drowned dead. It was her innovations in naval warfare that allowed the New Rozsans to gain a foothold against the larger and more nautical Kelpeater Empire under Lichlord Ina'ut, and later to harrass the Noa-Aina-Koroa, which gained her the moniker Djen-Niha-Nivrau, “The Sea Witch of Nireau”, which the Gondarans and Valamonians later morphed into “Jenny Haniver”.
Shelasov's success would eventually culminate in her being canonized into the Temporal Vanguard of New Rozsa, becoming herself a Lichlord and taking the title Vierix Phaedra. Alas, the deadly exploits of the Rozsan navy only intensified the hauntings Shelas experienced, and her eccentric genius would give way to insanity. It is unknown how much time passed between the disappearance of the woman and the appearance of the monstrous god.
Ob'Silexia
Godhood
Ascendant (Early Second Age) Alignment
NE Domains
Might, Water, Gluttony, Destruction, Change, Pain Favoured Weapon
Longspear Relic Weapon
Gae Assail
Banner art credit: Zhengyi Wang
Profile art credit: Natalia P. Gutiérrez
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