Sune

Sune

Sune (pronounced: /ˈsuːni/ SOO-nee), also known as Lady Firehair, is the deity of beauty, with governance also over love. Her dogma is primarily concerned with love based on outward beauty, with primary importance placed upon loving people who respond to the Sunite's appearance. Her symbol is that of a beautiful woman with red hair. Some sages speculate that Sune is in fact the same goddess as Athena of the Olympian pantheon.

Description

When Sune appears to the mortals of Faerûn, she only wears a near-transparent gown. She is known for her lustrous red hair that drapes down to the ground, her eyes of shining emeralds, and ruby red plump lips.

Relationships

Deities

Sune was served by Lliira and Sharess. For saving Sharess from her, Shar considered Sune her enemy, resulting in Sune giving her aid to Mystra in her struggle against Shar and the Shadow Weave. She was also allied to Milil and Lathander, as well as Selûne, who once served her much as Sharess does now, but has since gone her own way. Sune is also known to enjoy long-term relationships, and many casual flirtations. The Lady Firehair disliked the Gods of Fury, as well as Tempus for the destruction they cause to beautiful things. Despite this, she has no true enemies among the gods, as the Gods of Fury dislike all others and Tempus considers her too flighty and therefore irrelevant to be worthy of conflict.
Outside of the Realms, Sune is considered a "backwater power with delusions of grandeur" by her deific peers, such as Freya, Aphrodite, and Hanali Celanil, but otherwise they get on well together - Sune, of course, believing that she is the most beautiful of all of them.

Worshipers 

Sune's highest priest is known as the Heartwarder, usually being the most handsome / beautiful clergy member both inside and out. They are expected to keep their appearance as flattering as possible, and to shower others with sweet words at least five times a month.
Sune's clerics seek to bring beauty to the world in many forms, all of which are pleasing to the senses. They create great works of art, become patrons for promising actors, and import exotic luxuries like satin and fine wines. Her followers also enjoy looking beautiful and hearing tales of romance. The stories range from star-crossed love, true love overcoming all else, to following one's heart.
Her temples usually hold social salons and display mirrors for use by lay parishioners. Some of them even have public baths for the local populace. Her shrines often stand on the corner of busy city streets. They typically have a small ornate overhanging roof with a mirror underneath. They are used to check one's appearance while honoring Sune with prayer. Some shrines even hold perfume and cosmetic items for those who cannot afford such luxuries themselves.

Orders

Sisters and Brothers of the Ruby Rose

A knightly order affiliated with the Church of Sune, made up of bards, fighters, and paladins. Their primary mission is to guard Sunite temples and holy sites, and occasionally accompany clerics doing good works or questing for something important to the Lady of Love. Initiation into the order is done by standing vigil in a temple of Sune for an entire night. If the goddess shows her favor by granting a vision or some other boon, the candidate has been accepted into the order.

Notable Sunites 

• Adon of Sune
• Histra of the Edificant Library
• Taegan Nightwind
• Joelle Emmeline

History 

Sune's history is mostly told in myth regarding her various romances and flirtations with other gods. There are tales of her relationships with practically every god except Talos, Umberlee, Malar, Auril, Tempus, and Talona, whom Sune abhors for their acts of destruction. Despite this, there is no known origin given for the goddess, with the earliest conjecture of her divinity during the Golden Age of Netheril (-2207 DR to -1205 DR) and her first mention of an established clergy during that realm's Shadowed Age (-696 DR to -339 DR). During the Time of Troubles, Sune rescued Sharess from death at the hands of Shar and restored the corrupted deity to her original state before Shar's influence affected her.
During the Spellplague, Sune's plane of Brightwater was destroyed, but Selûne invited Sune and her exarchs to join her in the Gates of the Moon. During this period of transition, it was revealed that many lesser powers of love in the Realms, most notably Hanali Celanil, were all aspects of Sune. Sune, along with Tyr and Lathander was one of the triumvirate of deities who declared that Cyric should be imprisoned for the apparent death of Mystra.

Dogma

Beauty is more than skin deep. It issues from the core of one's being and reveals one's true face to the world, fair or foul. Believe in romance, as true love will win over all. Follow your heart to your true destination. Love none more than yourself except Sune, and lose yourself in love of the Lady Firehair. Perform a loving act each day, and seek to awaken love in others. Respond to love at least once in a day. Encourage beauty wherever you find it. Acquire beautiful items of all sorts, and encourage, sponsor, and protect those who create them. Keep your own body as comely as possible and as attractively displayed as situations warrant. Let hairstyle and clothing best suit your personal appearance, striving to stir and delight others who look upon you. Moreover, hide not away, but always seek to present yourself to those around you in a pleasing variety of garbs and activities so as to move them with love and desire. Love those who respond to your appearance, and let warm friendship and admiration flower where love cannot or dares not.