FFD&D: Sarenrae
More background for my D&D players. Last time, I described Dalmasca. Now, it's time to cover the goddess that helped found that kingdom.
Sarenrae
The Dawnflower
Goddess of the sun, redemption, honesty, and healing
Alignment: Good
Symbol: An ankh, sometimes formed by a golden woman with outstretched arms and angel wings
"Sarenrae is a kind and loving goddess, a caring mother and sister to all in need. She joys in healing the sick, lifting up the fallen, and shining a guiding light into the darkest hearts and lands. She brushes off insults and def lects attacks, patiently trying to convince those who perceive her as an enemy that their belief is false. She is no victim, and once it is clear that her words and power are wasted on those who refuse to listen and believe, she responds to violence in kind, with swift metal and scorching light. She dislikes cruelty, lies, quenching darkness, needless suffering, and thoughtless destruction."
-- Pathfinder Chronicles: Gods and Magic
Born when the world was new, Sarenrae brings light and life to those in need, and searing justice to those who would do evil. Most people, even those who do not devoutly worship her, respect her and pay tribute (if only lip service) to her blessings. Her clerics are known for their generosity and skill in the healing arts, and her holy warriors - the paladins, avengers, and invokers that follow her teachings - are known for driving back the forces of darkness, especially the undead. While she is known and worshiped in many lands, nowhere is she followed more devoutly than in Dalmasca, the kingdom founded with her blessing.
After the falls of the last mighty empires - Nerath, Arkhosia, and Bael Turath - the land fell into a dark age, one where bands of warlords picked through the ruins and fought each other for survival. Legend tells that one of the leaders, Raithwall, caught Sarenrae's eye through his nobility and his desire to bring the warring factions together. He was a light in that time of darkness, and so the Dawnflower blessed him with three slivers of her very essence. Crystallized into deifacted nethicite, these fragments of divinity proved Raithwall's legitimacy to the people of the Galtean Peninsula and helped him to bring a peace which has lasted for over seven centuries. The gift of the Sun Shards, as they came to be known, firmly established Sarenrae as the primary deity of the Dalmascan people.
Sarenrae's temples tend to be open-topped buildings with large windows placed strategically to capture beams of light throughout the day and reflect them off mirrors of gold and brass onto a central altar. The Cathedral of the Dawn in the heart of Rabanastre is particularly stunning, with smaller windows of stained glass causing golden sunbursts and ankhs to shine on the alabaster walls. The larger churches are often part of a campus, surrounded by other smaller and more traditional buildings. Rather than having a strict hierarchical structure, the church is organized into more familial groups, with the eldest priests and priestesses serving as High Fathers and Mothers, and younger clerics eventually going off to found shrine "families" of their own. The clergy is usually clad in white robes or tunics decorated with red and gold thread in sun/ankh motifs, and scimitars (Sarenrae's weapon of choice) decorated with golden sunbursts are often used as ceremonial objects. Dress is much the same for Sarenrae's more militant servants, although the scimitars are less ceremonial and more practical.
Few gods oppose Sarenrae directly or openly. Even decadent Zon-Kuthon, god of darkness, begrudgingly acknowledges Sarenrae as needed, as her light throws his darkness into sharper relief, and Urgathoa, goddess of undeath, fears and respect's Sarenrae's power against her servants. Only one "god", if it can truly be called that, opposes Sarenrae: Rovagug the Destroyer. When the monstrous god of destruction rose up millennia ago, it was Sarenrae who wounded him and drove him into the prison against which he still rages. Rovagug's dimensional prison holds, but he has sworn that if he is ever freed, Sarenrae will be the first being to feel his wrath.
Sarenrae
The Dawnflower
Goddess of the sun, redemption, honesty, and healing
Alignment: Good
Symbol: An ankh, sometimes formed by a golden woman with outstretched arms and angel wings
"Sarenrae is a kind and loving goddess, a caring mother and sister to all in need. She joys in healing the sick, lifting up the fallen, and shining a guiding light into the darkest hearts and lands. She brushes off insults and def lects attacks, patiently trying to convince those who perceive her as an enemy that their belief is false. She is no victim, and once it is clear that her words and power are wasted on those who refuse to listen and believe, she responds to violence in kind, with swift metal and scorching light. She dislikes cruelty, lies, quenching darkness, needless suffering, and thoughtless destruction."
-- Pathfinder Chronicles: Gods and Magic
Born when the world was new, Sarenrae brings light and life to those in need, and searing justice to those who would do evil. Most people, even those who do not devoutly worship her, respect her and pay tribute (if only lip service) to her blessings. Her clerics are known for their generosity and skill in the healing arts, and her holy warriors - the paladins, avengers, and invokers that follow her teachings - are known for driving back the forces of darkness, especially the undead. While she is known and worshiped in many lands, nowhere is she followed more devoutly than in Dalmasca, the kingdom founded with her blessing.
After the falls of the last mighty empires - Nerath, Arkhosia, and Bael Turath - the land fell into a dark age, one where bands of warlords picked through the ruins and fought each other for survival. Legend tells that one of the leaders, Raithwall, caught Sarenrae's eye through his nobility and his desire to bring the warring factions together. He was a light in that time of darkness, and so the Dawnflower blessed him with three slivers of her very essence. Crystallized into deifacted nethicite, these fragments of divinity proved Raithwall's legitimacy to the people of the Galtean Peninsula and helped him to bring a peace which has lasted for over seven centuries. The gift of the Sun Shards, as they came to be known, firmly established Sarenrae as the primary deity of the Dalmascan people.
Sarenrae's temples tend to be open-topped buildings with large windows placed strategically to capture beams of light throughout the day and reflect them off mirrors of gold and brass onto a central altar. The Cathedral of the Dawn in the heart of Rabanastre is particularly stunning, with smaller windows of stained glass causing golden sunbursts and ankhs to shine on the alabaster walls. The larger churches are often part of a campus, surrounded by other smaller and more traditional buildings. Rather than having a strict hierarchical structure, the church is organized into more familial groups, with the eldest priests and priestesses serving as High Fathers and Mothers, and younger clerics eventually going off to found shrine "families" of their own. The clergy is usually clad in white robes or tunics decorated with red and gold thread in sun/ankh motifs, and scimitars (Sarenrae's weapon of choice) decorated with golden sunbursts are often used as ceremonial objects. Dress is much the same for Sarenrae's more militant servants, although the scimitars are less ceremonial and more practical.
Few gods oppose Sarenrae directly or openly. Even decadent Zon-Kuthon, god of darkness, begrudgingly acknowledges Sarenrae as needed, as her light throws his darkness into sharper relief, and Urgathoa, goddess of undeath, fears and respect's Sarenrae's power against her servants. Only one "god", if it can truly be called that, opposes Sarenrae: Rovagug the Destroyer. When the monstrous god of destruction rose up millennia ago, it was Sarenrae who wounded him and drove him into the prison against which he still rages. Rovagug's dimensional prison holds, but he has sworn that if he is ever freed, Sarenrae will be the first being to feel his wrath.