The Deities, Information for followers of the gods

[Spirits of Nature]

No Air God
Day Kelrian of Uuranor
Earth Valen Tyz of Talafen
Fate Calixto of ???
No Fire God
No Night god?
No Time God
No Water God

Each deity is unique. The temples of each element are run in different ways, with different rituals and hierarchies for servants. To become a mage, one must follow the rules of their chosen god. Some deities treat their followers like beloved friends, and others treat them like servants. Essentially, knowing one god is not the same as knowing all of them. Below you will find information which is unique to each individual deity. If you have any questions about the info provided, please contact the player of the deity you're interested in.

[Spirits of Nature]

The Goddess and Her People
After becoming a deity, Venea exchanged her extremely timid demeanor for a more open attitude toward others, especially those who have chosen to give her their loyalty. She is not one to hide away in her temple and avoid being seen by the public. It is not uncommon for her to be seen roaming the streets of her own city, and visitors to her temple may be greeted by her. If someone requires her presence, they are very rarely ignored.

The people that serve Venea often have a personal relationship with her. She speaks openly with many of her priests and priestesses, and she learns a lot about loyal followers before making them mages. Guards often call her by name (as priests and mages generally do), and know her face well (she believes that she can't expect someone to protect her if they don't know her).

The Servants of Air
Venea is quite intuitive, and only takes servants that she believes are completely trustworthy and very loyal. This makes it difficult to find a large amount of priests and priestesses, but Venea prefers a small amount of them. She remains somewhat uncomfortable with the idea that she is expected to be worshipped as some sort of deity, and therefore chooses to take very few servants.

Priests and priestesses of air are expected to maintain their temples and aid Venea in her duties. If there is something that she requires, they are generally more than happy to help her obtain it. They also act as a bridge between her and her people. She cannot answer every prayer or greet everyone that comes to the temple in Liresul (and she obviously can't be at ALL of her temples throughout Meliora). Her priests and priestesses relay messages to her from followers whenever necessary.

Although Venea is not strict in most areas, she does have many rules for her priests and priestesses. They are forbidden to marry and romantic relationships of any kind are strongly discouraged (she does not want them to stray from their duties). They must live in the temple and wear robes of white to show they are members of the priesthood. Leaving the city of Liresul (for priests that serve there) is not allowed without permission from the goddess herself, and there are a few areas within the main temple that are off limits.

The Mages of Air
Venea appreciates straightforward people who do not hide their true intentions and desires, but she will not give her power to someone simply because they want it. She has to have some reason to trust a person significantly before she will even consider putting them through a trial. Only after serious deliberation will Venea offer one final test and the power to manipulate air upon its completion. Because her trust must be earned before mage status is given, the mages of air are often very close to their goddess.

Although Venea is a compassionate person that does not enjoy the suffering of others, her trials are very physically and emotionally demanding. She prefers tests of a mainly physical nature because she believes that they reveal one's emotional stamina and dedication. However, she watches her potential mages carefully. If they give up or clearly cannot complete their trial, she will end it for them rather than allowing them to suffer longer or lose their life in the process. Of course, if they succeed she gladly gives them her power and the cloak of a mage.

Venea's mages have the ability to manipulate air in any way that they can, but no matter how skilled they are they can never maintain the power of their goddess. To put it into perspective, a powerful mage might clear the clouds over a village, but they will never be able to manipulate all of the clouds over Meliora. Air manipulation can be used as a very effective defense or offense by using it to create shields, prevent projectiles from moving through the air, utilize damaging bursts of wind, etc. Air mages can also teleport through the air, but not to the extent that Venea can. They can move between cities, but not across the entire continent. Many tasks drain a mage's stamina, and each mage is limited by their own knowledge and strength. Power is typically equal between mages, but those that train harder have greater abilities.

Most of Venea's mages are free to roam Meliora and do as they wish as long as they do not interfere greatly with the work of their goddess or cause too much trouble. Mages are above the law, but the mages of air answer to Venea who is not very understanding when it comes to having others damage her reputation. She prefers that they cause the least amount of trouble possible, using their powers to help others rather than destroy, and if a mage breaks Melioran law they better have a good reason for it.

Gifts From the Goddess
Venea has many magical trinkets which she occasionally gives to followers as permanent or temporary gifts. For an example, she has a crystal pendant cradled in silver hanging from a chain which can be used to teleport around Liresul.

Also, Venea may offer exceptional horses or other animals as gifts.

Temple Activity
The temple at Liresul is a very simple and calm place. It is often quiet, if not silent, and yet still inviting. Anyone is welcome to visit the temple at any time, and visitors are often greeted by a priest/priestess or the goddess herself. Prayers are almost always answered, and followers can get assistance of just about any kind here if they require it.

Venea is not one for rituals or ceremonies, but there is usually some sort of special gathering in the temple when she accepts someone as a mage or priest/priestess (generally consisting of other priests/priestesses and mages).

Other temples around Meliora are very similar to the main temple in Venea's city. The temples in large settlements are all monitored by Venea. They share the light atmosphere of Liresul's temple, and are often constructed in a similar way, though they are smaller and less ornate. Popular temples have a room strictly for Venea's use if she wishes to stay there, but she does not store anything there. A few priests or priestesses reside in each temple, all of which were chosen by their goddess. Each temple has an enchanted altar which can be used to communicate with Liresul.

[Spirits of Nature]

Day
Kelrian

The God and His People

Kelrian is friendly, playful, and helpful with his followers. It is not so much a duty to him as it is his nature. He is utterly unlike his predecessors, so perhaps followers of the previous deities of day found him to be something of a shock to the system. They soon found that he is incredibly devoted to his people. Perhaps more so than many were to him at first. He takes very good care of them, if they need it.

In Uuranor his relationship with his followers is most apparent, and perhaps only those that meet him face to face understand why his followers are so... fond of him. Its not just a religious thing. He's there for them, and he is annoyingly lovable on top of it. If he isn't hanging out in the market or on the temple steps, he might be at the old library or ... just about anywhere in the city. It often seems ready to burst at the seams; they are mostly building up and down into the earth. The followers of day are as of protective as Kel as he is of them. Don't let anyone catch you say something unpleasant about Kel in his city or among his faithful or you'll likely to find things become very cold. His entire city is likely to take up arms for him if he gave the word, or if he was under attack.

Some might prefer their gods to be distant. If so, Kel doesn't interfere too much with day to day life outside of the city unless called upon. However, he is more than willing to check up on his followers throughout Meliora if they want to meet him. Even if it is just to talk to him without traveling across the country to see him. Particularly if they are unable to travel.

There is something that must be stated. If he catches anyone following him doing something terrible, mainly in the way of violent crimes, he will be much more angry with them than he would be with someone that isn't a follower. If, spirits save us, he catches someone doing something terrible in his name, they are going to have to deal with him. This also applies to non-followers, but in a much less personal way.


The Servants of Day

The priests and priestesses of day are pretty much Kel's family. He was taken in by the temple as a child, and so- it has almost always been home to him. The degree of closeness with each priest and priestess really just does depend, mostly on how comfortable said servant is comfortable with interacting with Kelrian, but he does know every single one by name at the very least. The ones that raised him are aging now, but it hasn't yet occurred to the blond deity that their life
spans are coming to an end.

Their duties are pretty simple and straight-forward, really. There is really no ritual to speak of, unless they feel like entertaining his people. They might declare any day special in some way and throw a city wide festival. However they make sure that it doesn't disrupt the city too much, since running the city and keeping the temple in order is a large part of their duties. They also have to deal with the strays - humanoid or animal - that Kelrian might take in. Helping the sentient get to their feet so they can carry on, and either adopting the animals or finding them new homes.

They also do something that Kel doesn't consider - make certain that anyone brought into their ranks are completely loyal to their god. New servants of day MUST be trained at Uuranor, though they might first spend a short time in their local temple if they wish. All newcomers are watched like a hawk until the others are certain of their loyalty. There are very few restrictions on the lives of the priests. They not only are allowed to have families, it is welcome. Children's pattering footsteps echoing in the temple halls are a common thing. Self-inflicted restrictions among the priests are more likely than anything insisted upon by the god.

Some of his priests don't like how accessible he is. His followers use and abuse his eager helpful ways, and some don't respect him as they should. He should be distant and regal. Kel easily ignores them and as likely as not will tell them to lighten up. What use is his being a god if he cannot help his people? And furthermore, he would be extremely miserable being all stiff like that.


The Mages of Day

Kelrian never had a mage of his own, though he'd been meaning to search for one after the general upheaval of recent times. While he was missing his 'replacement' deity accepted a mage. Kel doesn't know what to think of him, and isn't sure whether he's responsible with his powers. Once he gets to know him, he'll decide whether he can trust him in this role.

The deity needs to trust someone before giving them any sort of power. And he's not sure what kind of tests to put his mages through yet, though they would involve quests of some kind. Possibly finding something or helping someone out. However, it is likely that the quests
won't be what they seem. It may seem to be that they are meant to find something, but there is someone in need on the way. If they turn aside from the quest to help and risk giving up their chance for power, they would have a much higher chance of being accepted. In other words, its not the completion of the task that is the thing, it is how they act during the quest.

There is no set of parameters he has for his future mages as of yet. He is most likely to choose from those that already follow him, and tell a prospect that he is looking for a mage rather than accept someone who asks for the position. Though he will make exceptions. And he will be actively looking for mages; while he does his best to attend to his followers' needs, he is only one and he cannot be everywhere at once.

Possible powers include illusion, hard light constructs including shielding, and light beams of varying strengths. It is likely that the mages would have one main power, and a minor one of lesser strength. They will improve with practicing, but only so much as Kel trusts them.


Gifts From the God

The gifts from the god of day are rather varied. Anything from a pretty rock, a book, a home in Uuranor, to (extremely rarely) a kitten from Cat's latest litter. It all depends on the god's frame of mind and what he thinks of that particular follower. Also, if it is just a pretty rock, it won't JUST be a pretty rock. Odds are that it will be imbued with a power activated in moments of need, such as a flash of blinding light or a distress signal to a nearby mage of day or to the god himself.

What people get depends on what they need, not what they want. They might come hearing that he gives fantastic gifts and find themselves with a silly trinket. Possibly with a temporary illusion causing them to appear to be all shiny or colorful to go along with it if Kel is in a mood. However, within a day he would remove it and find a way to make up for his little joke.

Possible magical trinkets include various jewelry that may bend the light to cause a person to become invisible, and things that cause sudden bursts of bright light or constant dim light, among other things. He likes to try new things, so ... some might be odd. Just prepare to be surprised.


Temple Activity

The temple of day in Uuranor is a bright, shiny, bustling and lively place. There is almost always something going on even in the middle of the night. Priests and priestesses take on whatever sleeping schedule that suits them. The main temple in Uuranor is the most energetic, but the lesser temples are all meant to be light and welcoming. Some might still be set in the ways of previous gods, however, if Kel hasn't noticed and has yet to insist that they get the sticks out of their arses. He might visit any temple, from the greatest to the least of them, at any given time.

If Kelrian is in the temple and not extremely busy, he'll immediately greet any visitors to his temple. If he isn't there, the priests will greet them for him. If he's busy, they'll greet them, but also inform them that the god would be with them as soon as he has a free moment. He loves meeting new people, especially his own followers. There is the possibility of a one-on-one meeting, however one might have to wait longer if there are many visitors in one day. He does his best to answer prayers, and helps whoever he can help. If its not a matter of greed, that is. They might get more than they bargained for in that case.

[Spirits of Nature]

Earth
Valen Tyz

The God and His People
Valen generally wanders his city, and indeed in recent times, all across Meliora, only rarely remaining in Temple Prime. Because of this, and the semi-constant flow of people who absolutely have to see him, he set up nine large statues in each district of Talafen; each of the statues largely remains dormant, only shifting at the base and at the arms to point at the exact location of the God of Earth. When he leaves the city, however, the statues then proceed to stand in wildly erratic poses, which differ almost every time he leaves.
Some call this showy; these people generally haven't lived in Talafen long.
Occasionally, however, he’ll take a liking to a specific person who visits a lot, and drop a little clay version of these statues into his pocket, to point the way for said person without having to look around for their larger cousins.

The Servants of Earth
Valen has spent the last thirty years despising his priesthood, and this behavior is unlikely to change any time soon. There are now less than a dozen Priests of Earth, or Druids now, and there is not a single one younger than in his mid-fifties. Only Talafen now has Priests of Earth in it, to conduct the religious ceremonies they seem so intent on. Valen's Mages have by now replaced his priests in nearly all their important duties, and in exactly none of their unimportant ones.
It should be noted, however, that Valen does not actively hate the priests themselves; when Poul Kroeger, father of his best friend and High Druid of his Order, died the year after the Armistice, Valen mourned for a week, and decreed that no other Druid would ever be High Druid again.

The Mages of Earth
Earth Mages, next to members of the Athanhaer, are now the most numerous mages across all of Meliora, thanks to the series of wars Meliora has been embroiled in across the last twenty years, with close to two thousand mages of earth across the entire peninsula. The selection process is uncomplicated, and more importantly unpredictable, as Valen feels that if it were predictable, many people who were undeserving would know how to game the process and cheat their way into it. As it is, if Valen sees someone he feels is observing, he will generally spend the next three days observing them through his spy network, then offer them a test by which they can become a Mage.
The most common test is an improbably difficult puzzle; occasionally this will involve some understanding of natural laws, but more commonly these tests revolve around human nature, though many others have been reported, including 'surfing a rock wave', if members of the Veritoim can be trusted. Nonetheless, almost all of these tests involve a specific power he has granted for the duration of the tests, and are solvable, and even the ones that are not are merely testing the prospective mage's ability to see when he is outclassed.
Due to his unconventional testing methods that, generally speaking, value creativity, intelligence, and rather a bit of low cunning, Mages of Earth are typically highly independent, rational, and, generally speaking, law abiding, as the really crazy ones are weeded out by the third day of spying or so.
Most Earth Mages now enter the military to serve as battlemages, a far cry from the experiences of the older Mages, who spent a great deal of their lives as itinerant vagrant-pranksters. Some, however, continue this honored tradition, employing the Prankster's Gambit on whoever they can, while generally trying to do good. Less physically-capable Mages now tend to take up some of the roles of Priests in cities outside Talafen, though they are rather less focused on dogma, and rather more focused on practical solutions to any problems worshippers of Earth face.

Gifts From the God
Valen doesn't like giving gifts.
No, that's not true, he does that a lot.
But only to people who deserve it, and even then, the gifts are abstract at best.
On the rare occasion someone does get an entirely practical gift, it is most often a simple amulet with an opal centrepiece that, when worn, gives the person the endurance and resilience of the rock itself for three days of the person’s choosing, every year. He calls this the Stone Kin Amulet, and the greater portion of the Talafen troops who fought in the Invasion War own one, as a symbol of his gratitude for their assistance in those trying times.

Temple Activity
Temple Prime in Center sees less and less activity every year, as more and more of the priesthood dies out. More and more, basic priestly duties, such as maintaining Temple Prime, fall to the growing army of golems Valen maintains seemingly without a thought, lending the temple an air of near-desolation that is only lightened on Valen's good days, when riots of explosive color and the annoyed wails of priests brighten the atmosphere for nearly everyone.

[Spirits of Nature]

Fate
Calixto

The God and His People
Calixto likes having followers and he treats them as such. He very much beleives they are below him and is unlikely to react if faced with one of them. However, he is overly protective in a possessive way and, once you've said you're a fate follower and threaten to change loyalties, he will personally come calling to ask why and perhaps attempt to buy you back with trinkets. All else fails he'll threaten.

But as uncaring as he seems, he will at least listen to people a bit before refusing to talk to them. He also makes sure people have a fairly comfortable stay at the temple if they chose to travel there.

The Servants of Fate
Servants or priests are basically expected to keep out of the god's way. Calixto views priests and servants as people who couldn't be bothered to be mages. He doesn't like them and encourages all of them to become mages at every available opputunirty. There may eventually be some exceptions to this but for now, he would rather they just all kept out of his way and didn't want him to do any rituals or anything.

The Mages of Fate
Calixto only lets those he trusts be mages. Only those he knows will follow him as long as they live and only those who swear their loyalty to him. Once these key things have been established, he will then invent a preposterous trial, usually involving a quest to find something that he knows doesn't exsist. The god never expects people to complete these quests (of course) but wants them to ask for his help. Only in accepting their lack of power and then gaining it in the form of their mage magic, will they be able to create what he has asked for (and it's usually something pretty simple).

He expects his mages to practise their arts until they are perfect. Once this is so, he expects them to do as he says, basically. However, Calixto generally softens up (somewhat) to those he is very close to (although this has only happened once before) so he may end up requesting rather then ordering.

Gifts From the God
Calixto is a selfish creature but he does reward those that help him. He likes shiny things such as jewelery and coins and will thus hand these out to those he is pleased with. None of it is exceptionally magical in any way but he likes ot make a show of maybe giving one of his own rings or bracelets. Fine webs of silver are another thing he finds amusing to give to people, especially pilgrims. Seeing them trying to keep them whole on their return journey amuses him somewhat.

Those he likes rather more he will gift an animal. Calixto favours cats and has been known to create them by nudging fate in the right direction. Although he occasionally alters himself into a pure white, slinking cat form, he only hands out tabbies as he finds them cute (how odd!). Another animal as a gift are silver-white eagles that he 'created' with some fate alterations. Silver white eagles are sometimes seen perching on the ruins of the temple.

Temple Activity
The temple is abandoned. There are a few small shrines off of the main hall from Khora's time and priests are welcome to take them over but the God himself is pretty uncaring on that respect. The temple is more a destination of hardy pilgrims then a place to live (although if people choose to stay, they probably wouldn't starve to death or anything).

[Spirits of Nature]

the goddess and her people
Ebelle is the type of person who does her best to always be involved in the lives of her people. She is personally involved in as much as she can, and constantly strives to make her temple better. She cares deeply for others, and feels that it is her duty to help her followers with their problems.
Though she does stay in the temple often, she will try and sneak away from time to time for an adventure or two. It's hard to keep a goddess like Ebelle chained. The people that follow her are still wary of her, as she is a fairly new goddess and much different from the last one.

Veshka, Ebelle's other personality is fairly distant among her followers. Mostly because her personality rarely surfaces, and it's hard for her to sneak away from the temple when she is possessing Ebelle. She will often communicate with her followers by sending them thoughts or appearing to them in the form of fire. Her followers do not know she is a goddess, but thinks she is a very powerful rogue mage. Some think she might be from a different country. Veshka cloaks herself in an illusion when she takes over, so that it is impossible for one to tell that she and Ebelle are the same person.

the servants of fire
Ebelle's priests are few in number. Their duties include keeping the temple in order and seeing to visitors when Ebelle is gone or otherwise disposed. They are required to refrain from sexual relationships outside of marriage, as Ebelle want them to be good examples.

Veshka has no priests or any other followers besides her mages.

the mages of fire
Ebelle's mages are greater in number and frequency than most deitys. Ever one to believe in the good in people, she has little qualms about giving people some kind of power. However, only her most trusted mages can become her Chosen. She gives her Chosen more power than any other diety gives their mages. However, he tests are often grueling and random.

Her regular mages will receive a very specific power, such as making illusions, creating short bursts of flame, teleporting a certain distance, etc. They will also be able to create a feu'miroir of her or any other mages at will. This feu'miroir creates a flame-made image of the given person. This image can talk and move, but is the size of one's hand and can only float above the hand, which must be extended. This a way for each of her mages to communicate with her or other mages instantly.

Her Chosen mages must first start out as a regular mage. Once they ascend to the Chosen status, they keep their specific power, but also get the power to wield Ebelle's Sapphire Flame, a blue fire that is extremely hot. Only Ebelle's Silver Fire is hotter. They also get the ability to summon a Phoenix Horse twice a week for up to a day. These horses are creations of Ebelle that only her followers have access to. They never tire, and need no sustenance. They are much faster than normal horses in the day, but will slow down to the pace of a normal horse at night. They look like black stallions, but have fire for their manes, tails, and fire streams from their hooves and can be seen withing their eyes. Phoenix Horses can also breathe fire. Her Chosen can also teleport to the last place they used their Blue Flame once a week.

Veshka's mages usually are much like Ebelle's Chosen. They have one specific power and the ability to wield the Onyx Flame, a dark grey fire that is a slightly less powerful version of Veshka's Ebonflame. The Onyx Flame feels extremely cold on touch, but burns as fast as Sapphire Flame. Veshka's Chosen don't have any other of the Chosen's benefits, but they are instantly elevated to Chosen status.

Here are some power options. If you have other ideas, PM me about it. Basically, you can choose 1 major power or 3 minor powers.

Major Powers
-- Illusion. Allows you to make others see things that aren't there.
-- Gate of Flame. Allows you to teleport from one place to another. Less powerful than Ebelle's teleportation powers.
-- Explosion. Allows you to create explosions with a thought.

Minor Powers
-- Speed of Flame. Makes you much quicker than normal humans.
-- Mask of Flame. Allows you to project an exact copy of yourself elsewhere. A lesser form of Illusion.
-- Swirling Sword. Allows you to form fire into weildable weapons. These can be held or levitated. (Like dancing weapons)
-- Flamekin. Will protect you from any non-magical flames.
-- Eyes of Azuke. Allows you to see by sensing heat instead of light. Like infrared, or infravision.
-- Sunskin. Your body has the ability to transform into pure fire.
-- Greyskin. Your body has the ability to transform into a cloud of smoke.

It should be noted that these 'powers' are akin to abilities. The user call call upon them nearly immediately, and the power usually doesn't require activation via spell or component. Using the ability will still drain some of the mage's available energy, though. However, a fire mage is also able to cast fire-based spells. These spells are often more taxing than powers to a mage, and often required a spoken spell and some sort of a component.

gifts from the goddess
Ebelle is known to be much more giving than other deitys. While she gives a variety of different gifts, some frequent ones are:
- A miniature statue of a Phoenix Horse. It can grow to become a normal sized horse, and the frequency of which it does so is based on what Ebelle decides for that individual. See the mages section for more info on this horse.
- A ring or some other trinket that allows the person to make a feu'miroir of Ebelle, or a specific one of her mages depending on what Ebelle decides. See the mages section for more info on a feu'miroir
- A stone that allows a traveler to start a campfire even in a storm.
- A cloak that will protect it's wearer from normal fire, though is not resistant to magical fire.

Veshka doesn't give gifts, but will occasionally give one of her mages a temporary gift for carrying out a mission.

temple activity
Ebelle's temple is Sylus' old one, as a new one has yet to be constructed. It is a somewhat spooky temple, witch veins of dark orange fire creeping up the walls (see pic). It makes first time visitors think that Ebelle might be more intimidating than she really is.

Temple activity is fairly strict, as Ebelle always wants to give a good impression. Her palace is more relaxed, and that is where most of her mages and more familiar guests tend to meat her.

Veshka has no temple, as explained in the first section.

[Spirits of Nature]

Night
Isolde van Hal

The Goddess and Her People

The Servants of Night

The Mages of Night

Gifts From the Goddess

Temple Activity

[Spirits of Nature]

The Goddess and Her People
Despite being a completely new deity, Ty is still the friendly, optimistic, and determined spirit she has always been. She spends more time lurking in her temple than she would like, but feels nervous and uncomfortable leaving it to wander among the streets of her new city for too long. However, she is determined to be as great a goddess as she can be, so she does wander through Charden frequently. It’s not uncommon to find her chatting with shopkeepers occasionally, although she usually only actively engages the various craftsmen. It’s also unsurprising to find her participating in the work done around some of the shops, such as metal workers or jewelers. The one thing she doesn’t worry about is whether or not her followers approve of her chosen attire.

Ty has been informed of many of the practices her predecessor allowed and has agreed to continue some of them, such as allowing her temple to be a safe haven for others. She doesn’t like to see anyone suffer great hardships, especially her own people, and wants to do what she can to help them. Against the vehement protestations of her priests, Ty ordered the construction of a new wing onto her temple, which would be used for the sole purpose of housing mages and priests of other deities, homeless, orphans, abused spouses, and other individuals in need of a soft bed and a warm meal but have nowhere else to go. She is still in the midst of deciding whether or not to hire a completely separate staff to care for the charges n her new wing or to appoint more priests and priestesses to do it. Although she still understands the futility of trying to heal every wound in the world, now that she has the power to do more to help others, Ty is taking full advantage of it.

Her interest and concern for her people doesn’t end with keeping them safe. She loves to throw city wide celebrations for holidays or birthdays of important people like the other deities or the king and his family. Sometimes she’ll throw parties just for the fun of it and make up a reason. She has a habit of arranging huge performances by acting troupes and bands to keep the people happy and entertained. And, of course, everyone and anyone is invited.

Ty is slowly but surely gaining more courage and becoming more comfortable in her role as deity of time, and she tries to care for her people as best she can. Much like Amaranth before her, Ty governs the city kindly but firmly.

The Servants of Time
Having only recently arrived in Charden to claim her title as deity, Ty hasn’t had the time, nor the inclination, choose priests of her own, so all the present ones were formerly Amaranth’s. They don’t exactly approve of her choice in clothing, but it seems many of them have a great deal of patience and practice dealing with stubborn goddesses. Others have somewhat lower opinions of the new deity, although none of them would dare mention those thoughts to her face lest they risk a physical beating from her staff or a verbal beating from her mouth.

She isn’t naïve, though, and she understands that eventually she will have to begin choosing priests and priestesses for herself, but that prospect is just another of many that put her nerves on edge. She realizes the importance of having priests, but she also knows that they must be people she can trust and rely on because of their constant close proximity to her. While she does what she can to try and befriend the current priests and priestesses, her lack of knowledge about them bothers her. She is also unsure of who would make good candidates for future priesthood positions, but has made up her mind that she will make herself trust these people and decide on others when the time comes.

Like her predecessor, Ty has allowed the village of Mercy and its own priesthood to continue functioning in its own way, albeit under her law. She is happy to help them feel accepted in any way, even if she can only do so by allowing them to serve her from afar.

The Mages of Time
Tempted though she is to remove them, Ty has allowed all of her predecessor’s mages to keep their powers, at least for the time being. However, she is keeping her eye on all of them very carefully. Ty knows that control over time is a powerful thing and should never be taken lightly, even though she has only held that power for a short time herself, but she has heard enough about Amaranth to trust her judgment. Like her priests, Ty wants to befriend all of them and earn their trust, as well as give them her own.

Ty is wary of granting more people control over time. Making more mages means placing a huge amount of trust into an individual, as well as an enormous responsibility. The elf just isn’t prepared to do that right now. If necessity called for it, Ty might temporarily lend power to someone she felt comfortable doing so with, but a permanent addition to the ranks of her mages is a serious business for her. The trial she has opted to use for her mages is fairly straightforward. Temporarily given control over time, potential mages must use their magic and materials provided by the Ty to create some sort of work of art. Complexity is hardly required, but originality is a must. Ty’s criticism of their works is blunt and honest, but always helpful and never too harsh. She judges her Chosen much more severely as they are given much more power.

Powers are relatively open. The only thing that she will never give is the ability to stop time about a living creature.

Gifts From the Goddess
Gifts from the goddess are almost always small trinkets, bits of crafted jewelry for the most part, that are presented randomly and spontaneously. They usually have no real intended importance and Ty simply gives them out as good will, just to give someone something that she’s completed. On the odd occasion that she actually gives someone a gift for a reason, it will always have some kind of magical attribute to it, although that attribute varies according to whoever she gives the gift to.

Temple Activity
With Ty’s arrival, the temple has become a somewhat different place than it was under Amaranth. She has called an end to many of the pointless and boring rituals that used to be commonplace, and instead devotes much of her own time to the construction of various pieces of artwork for different causes when she isn’t strolling aimlessly through the halls with a tune on her lips. Some of her priests and priestesses volunteer and aid her where they can. But there’s still always someone near the altar to see to the needs or questions of any visitors.

The Magic of Time
A simplistic interpretation. . .
Time, as an element, is incredibly slippery and often seems to have a mind of its own. Pernicious and cruel or soothing and kind. It can leave a person floundering in grief for years that can seem to stretch into centuries, or find a joyous moment and whisk it away. True control over Time is finicky and born more of discipline than power, though it necessitates a mixture of the two. As often as not, Time can be compared to a great river and for the purposes of this explanation, we shall leave it at that. It is, in the minds of many who have grown accustomed to wielding it, a wide river, flat as a mirror on its surface but filled with unknowable currents beneath. These currents have more to do with the realm of Fate, but can be nudged by those who are extremely powerful.

The spirits of Nature who have taken it upon themselves to fiddle with time can be seen, very simply, as sprites, shall we say, who can fly up and down this river and throw rocks into it. The more power one has, the bigger the rock. The more control, the more precisely it can be placed in the flow. If a mage is powerful enough to stop time, that is to say that he has found a rock large enough to dam the river. In many cases that is the extent of the mage’s power, to place and remove the boulder. If you’ve ever seen a river that has been dammed, you will know that water pools behind the obstruction, roiling fiercely in an attempt to find some other path, and, once released, flows much faster and stronger than before. The same can be true of Time. Without the proper control and large amounts of power, the pent up energy of the river is impossible to stop until it has spent itself. It moves faster and with much more force than it might normally. Whether it is visibly stopped or not, Time continues to flow. Only a deity, chosen of the spirits might consider stopping Time without this effect, but there are consequences even then.

It can also be said that a similar effect takes place with the slowing down or speeding up of Time. Slowing it down might see a sudden burst of speed afterwards. Speeding it up might start slowing things down. Only plenty of practice and subtle workings can trick Time into doing exactly what is wanted of it.

[Spirits of Nature]

The Goddess and Her People
To some of her followers, Aemillia is a friend and confidant- to some, she presents a regal front. Her treatment, of course, depends from person to person and class to class. To her closest priestesses she is far more a friend than a goddess- to the male mages she is regal and commanding. Her position can change daily and hourly, though generally speaking she is a pleasant and helpful goddess unless provoked. It is not rare to see her on the streets of the city, entertaining herself simply by helping about shops and other things; Valaista Vesi, while seated in tradition and respect for the goddess, is well aware that their young goddess wants nothing more than to help- and does not deny her this.

She takes great pleasure in roaming the world and her city, and is not selective in whom she associates. In her mind, unlike Air who is above or Earth who is below- or day and night who are as different as any... Water permeates everything, and therefore as should she. Therefore, Drow, Merfolk, human, Nymph- all people are treated with complete equality.


The Servants of Water
Generally speaking, Aemilia prefers her servants to be women, though she will accept men. She holds no laws, except for that when the time comes and she requests something of them, they act. To be in service of the water goddess as a priestess or priest has a great many entitlements within Valaista Vesi, including extensive time spent with the goddess, a high-level home within the city. There are no rules regarding marriage, love, or clothing [though it should be noted that most wear the typical Valaistan garments] Within the political structure of Valaista Vesi, they handle the concerns of the citizens.


The Mages of Water
Aemilia holds no real trust for her mages; she names them, holds all the proceedings and tests that she is expected to but is far more restrictive on them than on the priests and priestesses, often seeing the mages as people who should be watched, as their conquest for power has taken them past the general stage of worship and service of the priests and priestesses. Therefore, at times a mage of water may not have the exact equal of powers that a priest or priestess may have, especially if they've proven to be far more ardent about power than the betterment of the world. Punishment for misuse of power by a water mage, if caught, is the most severe of any punishments Aemilia will offer. Within Valaista Vesi, they handle the base passing of laws and logistics.


Gifts From the Goddess
Aemilia, as stated, is a generous and giving goddess. Visitors to Valaista Vesi are often given gifts of water- a seemingly simple gift to those who've not tasted the water of Valaista Vesi. To those that she has shown favor, she will give small, magical trinkets from the sea. These trinkets are often a direct mean of communicating with the goddess, or a 'beacon' to find water.

However- these gifts are watched. She is not against revoking or reclaiming the things she has given, should someone turn to use or abuse them in ways not seen fit.


Temple Activity
Activity in the temple used to be both mundane and structured with a strict adherence to ceremonies. While Aemilia continues the traditions she is generally less strict on them, using most ceremonies as a means of involvement in the outside world. Since raisin to the surface, activity in the temple has boomed. Even still, the temple is tranquil and relaxing, with plenty of winding corridors to get a great deal of thought and relaxation in.