The Raven Queen

Shadow-Fey Goddess of Death, Memory, Shadows, Time, Fate and Souls

The Queen of Memory; Lady of the Shadowlands; Patron of the Shadow Elves; Grand-Keeper of Corruption

Enigmatic and haunting, the Raven Queen is considered one of the most mysterious of Deities within A'arde, especially as Her true name is so rarely spoken, even amongst her followers. She is the Shadow-Fey Goddess of Death, Memory, Shadows, Time, Fate and Souls.
The Raven Queen is said to be reflective and mysterious with a passion for collecting and recording history, particularly the history of Souls. As all Souls must pass through Her Realm before making their way to their final destination, She is considered attentive and dedicated, carefully watching to ensure that nothing gets in the way of the Natural Order of the Circle of Life. She despises Necromancy that feeds on or tortures Souls, and considers the destruction of any Soul, be they good or bad, to be a terrible tragedy. For that reason, She is wholly opposed to the influences of Fiends upon A'arde, and actively seeks ways to interrupt or reverse their machinations. Despite this, She pities most Higher Undead, whose Souls are trapped in a form of Limbo, and regards Dhampirs, who stand in a place between life and death, as needing Her guidance.
As the Shadow-Fey rarely make their presence known upon A'arde, most tales of Her are full of mystery and conjecture. She shows up as an ally in Sylvan tales regarding the Primeval War, and is known to have been met several times by Arawn Farchognos and Sychar. Some legends suggest that She and Nekros of the Unholy Pantheon have repeatedly battled over the millenia, with the latter seeking to claim dominion over her Fortress of Memory. To date, Nekros has only once entered the Fortress, but this was with invitation.
Despite being a Goddess, and thus a legitimate source of power for Clerics and Holy Paladins, the Raven Queen is also a popular Patron for Pact-Keepers.

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Divine Domains

• Death
• Knowledge
• Order

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Artifacts

Many arms and armour sets are attributed to the Raven Queen, but one of the most famous is the Aramachd Branàillidh, known in Common as the "Panoply of the Resplendant Raven", an armour set that once belonged to the Raven Queen's Champion, Endellion Ives, a Shadow Elf Dhampir who was cut down during the Green Knight Massacre. While the massacre was taking place, the Shadowlands were cut off from the rest of the Planes by a separate attack, and by the time the Raven Queen was able to despatch agents to recover Endellion's body, the armour had been stolen and lost.
The armour is made up of three parts: the Conspiracy Hauberk (Ealt Fhitheach na Ban-tighearna; "The Lady's Conspiracy"), the Queen's Talons Gauntlets (Spuirean na Ban-righ Sgàile; "Shadow Queen's Talons") and the Shadowwing Girdle (Crios nan Sgiathan Sgàile; "Girdle of the Shadowed Wings").
Ives was also in possession of the Blackwing Pauldrons (Dlùth-ghabhail nan Sgiathan Dubha; "Embrace of Black Wings Pauldrons"), another legendary artifact that marked her as a Captain of the Raven Queen's forces.

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Divine Symbols & Sigils

Holy Associations

Holy Symbol: Standing raven, facing left, carrying a sceptre in its beak
Favoured Mineral: Dark Rhodonite
Favoured Animals: Ravens, Shadow Ravens
Favoured Colours: Black, Iridescent Oil, Light Blue, Dark Pink
Shows Preference to: Dhampirs, Recordkeepers

Known Avatars

• The Masked Memory - The Raven Queen rarely manifests in the Material Plane, but when she does, it is usually as a floating raven-head mask surrounded by tendrils of black and pale blue smoke

Common Manifestations and Omens

Outside of her Avatar, the Raven Queen generally manifests in dreams and visions as a disembodied female voice within an endless cloud of black fog. She will, on occasion, manifest her power as a spectral raven, which flies in the direction she wishes attention to be drawn. Her most common omen is a disembodied raven cry, especially in a place where ravens are not known to reside.

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Tenets of Faith

Tenets

• Souls are precious and must be preserved
• Lives are never gone, if only we remember
• Shadow is but the balance of light
• Treasure your time; spend it wisely and do not fear the burden of Fate
• Never destroy knowledge; merely contain it

Common Prayers

"While our Souls may pass beyond, long may our memories remain in the embrace of the Raven Queen."
"Though shadows prevail, my Soul endures."

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Holidays

The Raven Queen does not have any specific holidays or dates associated with her, however some of her followers choose to offer more elaborate prayers and offerings on nights of a Double New Moon.

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Divine Goals & Aspirations

• To preserve memories and knowledge
• To guide Souls from life to death
• To maintain the balance of light and darkness

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Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

The Raven Queen's true form is a mystery; it is known only that she possesses pale blue eyes (though these may be an effect of her mask) and long black hair that reaches to the floor and shimmers in blues, greens and dark pinks like oil. She is sometimes described as having her hair elaborately braided and decorated with feathers and silver pins studded with rhodonite.

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Special abilities

The Raven Queen is able to extract memories from the living and dead through sheer proximity to them. This ability is called The Recollection, and while it is possible for the living to hide certain memories from the effect, the dead do not have the same luxury.

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Apparel & Accessories

The Raven Queen always dresses in a long, black gown that completely covers her body. Over this she wears a black breastplate and pauldrons made from Shadowsteel, which resemble the ribcages of birds. Her hands are clad in armoured gloves, and she wears a headdress of silver, raven feathers and rhodonite. Over the top half of her face she wears a raven-head mask, while the lower half is shrouded by a black veil.

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Specialized Equipment

The Raven Queen most often carries a sceptre called Enagid, the Soul Guide. It is made of Shadowsteel and is carved with intricate Fey knotwork and images of ravens. The head of the sceptre is a large, black orb held within a raven's claw, which glitters with dark pink and pale blue. The sceptre can be used to immediately send Souls to her Domain, or to hold a Soul within the orb itself for safekeeping. When She is angered, the sceptre transforms into a black longsword; the orb shrinking down to become the pommel and the staff becoming the blade.

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Social

Contacts & Relations

The Cearcall Sgàile

As the Queen of the Pantheon, the Raven Queen has generally good relations with her serving Goddesses and God. She is known to work closely with Ord, who assists her in crafting her artefacts, and has a deep, loving relationship with Caitir, Her daughter. For the most part, the Raven Queen is something of a loner, spending much of Her time in Her Fortress tending to Her duties and allowing the rest of the Pantheon a great deal of freedom in how they conduct themselves.

Other Pantheons

The Raven Queen has a cordial relationship with the Sylvan Pantheon, and works particularly closely with Titania to maintain balance. Her relationship with Mab is somewhat unusual; sometimes it appears frosty, but others they appear close. It is thought that Mab once attempted to garner the Raven Queen's favour as a replacement for Titania, but the Raven Queen refused to support such activities. The Raven Queen also works closely with Arawn Farchognos of the Elven Pantheon, with whom She shares a mutual hatred for those who degrade Souls for power. Some sources suggest that She knows a secret about him that no other knows.
The Raven Queen despises the Unholy Pantheon, particularly Nekros, who repeatedly attempts to usurp her position as Queen of the Shadowlands. Her relations with Roisin Dubh, a Solitary Deity of the Sylvan Pantheon, are similarly frosty and the Raven Queen actively seeks to undermine Roisin Dubh's activities.

Known Servants

The Raven Queen is served by all deities of the Pantheon; Caitir, Ord, Fia, and Grisell. She is also served by many Feyborn Shadow Elves, Shadow-Fey and Shades. Of these, her favoured servant is her Butler, Tamalayne; a Shade of dubious origins.

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Family Ties

Caitir

The Raven Queen's daughter; Caitir's Father's name is a secret known only by her Mother. The Raven Queen adores her daughter and considers her to be her single greatest treasure.

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Hobbies & Pets

Raun and Tewes (whose names mean "river" and "sand" respectively) are the Raven Queen's twin Shadow Ravens who act as her messengers and gatherers. They are unique amongst Shadow Ravens due to their larger than normal size and glowing blue eyes. She refers to them as her "friends" and "companions", and attempting to harm them is likely to incur her wrath.
The Raven Queen is a collector of unique memories, which she preserves in magical orbs.
Additionally, the Raven Queen is known for designing and making beautiful, unique weapons and suits of armour, working alongside Ord, the Shadow-Fey God of Craft, Magic and Protection.

Contents

But you... you who walks the veil between life and death... it would truly be a shame to lose you.

Divine Classification

Deity (Collaborative)

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Queen of Memory

This honourary title appears to have been given to Her by one of the Ancients of the Shadow-Fey, the counterparts to the Mothers of the Fey.

Lady of the Shadowlands

As the ruler of the Shadowlands, the Raven Queen is frequently referred to by this title.

Patron of the Shadow Elves

The Raven Queen is the Patron of all Shadow Elves, regardless of their place of birth or divine allegience.

Grand-Keeper of Corruption

As the leader of the Keepers of Corruption, a sect of Shadow-Fey dedicated to the study of and defense against the entity known as Corruption, the Raven Queen is often called "Grand-Keeper".

Pronouns

She/They

Sex

Female

Gender

Female

Presentation

Feminine

Eyes

Pale blue

Hair

Black

Height

6'11"

Pantheon	Cearcall Sgàile (Shadow-Fey)
Association	None
Rank	Major Deity
Serves	None