Maella the Wild Empress is the divine goddess of the wilderness, hunting, nature, and life. She is often characterized as a nurturing, caring, and loving goddess, acting like a mother figure to her followers.
Maella is depicted as a tall, beautiful dark-skinned woman with antlers seemingly made out of tree branch. Her long braided hair then becomes leaves growing from vines, with flowers and other plant life growing out of it, and decorating her dress and skin.
The Wild Empress is among the most widely worshipped Elysians. Rangers, hunters, explorers, and general travelers revere her. It is often common practice to make an offering to Maella before undertaking a dangerous trek. While adventurers may thank
Kasyn The Luckeeper for good luck and a sense of exploration, they must pay thanks to the Wild Empress for allowing the journey to be a safe one. One might find a temple to Maella somewhere deep in the forest, far into the desert, or carved into the side of a tall mountain. This temple would be upkept by druids and clerics of Maella, who study the life and breath of the world and its inhabitants, and implore visitors to do the same. Due to the nature of these temples and how far from civilization they often are, the Wild Empress' temples are either hard to find or hard to get to, ensuring that those who truly seek her glory must prove themselves to be one with her domain.
Popular Myths
The Wild Empress has many myths of her birth. Among the original twelve creators, she is rumored to have been one of the first. Some say the world itself gained the ability to think and feel far before the creatures who lived on it did. The world then grew a personality and a motive, and this then became Maella. Others instead think that the goddess was birthed once creatures began to use the world around them as materials and supplies, as she would be the only one powerful enough to maintain balance. Finally, the most devout of her temples believe Maella existed before the world itself did, and that she is the only one deserving of worship, as she was the first.
History With Other Deities
Maella the Wild Empress has had a history of dispute and debate with
Zyla the Lawguard. Despite both being Elysians and a part of the original twelve creators, both find very few equal ground to stand on. While Maella treasures the chaos and unpredictability of the wilds, Zyla seeks to control and tame it. The ancient argument of civilization versus nature, law versus chaos, continues to this day. While most followers of these two goddesses try to be civil, the most zealous of their acolytes may come to clash.
The most wretched of the Wild Empress' enemies is
Thevaldin the Anathema. On a fundamental level, these two Deities are complete opposites. One stands for balance, life, and growth, while the other stands for consumption, death, and decay. Maella had the largest hand in imprisoning the Anathema, who she saw as her responsibility to put down for the safety of her world and her creatures.
Another one of Maella's foes on the Chthonic pantheon is
Xutar the Anguish King. Rather than representing destruction at its core, instead Xutar is the representation of all that is alien and foreign to this world. The Wild Empress has waged war on all aberrations, and since it is seen as the creator of aberrations, she has waged war on the Anguish King.
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