Gloom Mona
Compassion, The Deep Dark, The Voidal Outcast, The Lady of the Pool, The Quiet One, The Sight Unseen (a.k.a. Monium Darkdweller)
Gloom Mona is the Beacon representing the Dark, Protection and Love. Although she is one of the more kindly deities present on Apa Axas, she is one of the more seldom ecountered of the group, instead preferring to interfere in mortal affairs only when necessary and indirectly from the shadows of her domain, known as Ghostlight.
She is a popular choice for Darkness, Grave & Twilight Domain Clerics due to her association with the protective dark, and she is popular with Moon Domain Clerics due to her association with the lunar bodies. Her connection to the moon and its natural impact in the world often makes her a figure of interest for many Circle of the Moon Druids. This connection with the Moon is so potent that Gloom Mona views any creature who uses the power of the moon, such as Lycantrophes, as perverse abominations that must be eliminated. This disdain also extends to those who change their form to enhance themselves without the blessing of the Moon, such as Doppelgangers, which also puts her at odds with the Travesty of Flux, Nidryshim.
Gloom Mona is also widely known for her love of animals, often choosing to communicate through a collection of intelligent animals known as The Menagerie rather than in person, due to the effects her presence has on mortal minds. This love of animals makes her an important figure for the Tabaxi, who claim that she formed them from a lingering group of The Most-Favoured.
Divine Domains
Artifacts
The Gloom Mona has several artifacts that she has either developed, or has stolen and utilised. The most famous of her artifacts is Moonblade, a powerful sword that was destroyed in a battle with the Great Horde. It was reforged into Sword Moon, the largest and most beautiful of Apa Axas's three moons by Surm Tutdrug soon after.
One of her more notable artifacts is The Cloak of Invisibility, which she used to hide herself and her subjects when Sangroke Bliss invaded her realm. Gloom Mona is said to have used the Cloak to avoid the gaze of Sangroke Bliss, and conduct a ritual that would leave Sangroke Bliss blind to the presence of Ghostlight for all eternity, preventing her plans to overthrow the Beacons.
Other items Gloom Mona has bestowed upon mortals include:
- Ring of Invisibility, a ring that Gloom Mona bestows upon creatures that she feels deserve peace.
- Scarab of Protection, a medalion that reduces the effect of Necromancy Magic.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
As with many of the Beacons and Travesties, Gloom Mona appears in different forms, depending on who she is interacting with.
In The High Elven Pantheon, she is known as Monium Darkdweller, and appears as a pool of darkness, baring the reflections of many races dancing around the viewer.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
For many years, the origins of Gloom Mona were highly contested. Unlike the other Beacons, she appeared to have no involvement with The Vida Quda and did not fall into the same category of the Travesties, lacking the malicious intent and disdain for mortals. However, recent discoveries such as journals and artworks found within tombs on The Putric Isles have uncovered the existence of a deific figure from the Golden Age dubbed Compassion. This early god bares similar sigils to the modern day sigils of the Gloom Mona, and the tale depicted in these artefacts help to fill in gaps within traditional apocrypha related to the Gloom Mona, and help to piece together a more complete picture of her origin.
The Gloom Mona started existence as Compassion, the Goddess of Love in the Second Age of the Gods, otherwise known as the Golden Age. Much like the Beacons and Travesties after them, the impact the early Gods could have on Apa Axas waxed and waned depending on the faith of its denizens. To foster this faith, and due to the lack of restrictions placed on Apa Axas that would be imparted after The God Severment, these New Gods would send their lesser deities to walk amongst the people and perform miracles in their name. Compassion became popular amongst the mortals of Apa Axas, so much so that her name was made a synonym for the word Love itself. In fact, it is said that before Compassion walked the world, the denizens of Apa Axas had no concept of empathy and her presence was what allowed early mortals to truly be able to build a society.
However, the activation of the God Severment wreaked havoc amongst the New Gods, exiling them, mutating them or outright killing them. Compassion herself was cast into the void, where her flesh was reduced to hollow memories, leaving only her still beating heart to languish in the cold. However, the heart’s presence in the void did not go unnoticed, and Kahiladman, his motives unknowable, took pity on the heart, if such a creature such as the Deeper Dark has the ability to feel it, and infused it with the Void, forming a body that echoed throughout the black behind the world. Her new flesh was a mere conduit for the heart; Compassion had been reduced to her basest of forms, a being of pure love. Dubbed the Gloom Mona, she left the void to attend her new realm, a realm of still shadows known as the Ghostlight.
Hoping to recapture the pure elation she had felt in the early days, when she walked amongst the peoples of Apa Axas and taught them Compassion, the Gloom Mona arrived on Apa Axas, and soon encountered the newest apex predator amongst the Mortal folk; The Most-Favoured, a race created by the Vida Quda to inherit Apa Axas when Reality came to a close, who would later evolve into Humans, Halflings and Gnomes. However, this evolution would have never had occured without Gloom Mona, whose teachings of Compassion let to the basis of the original laws in the first Most-Favoured city, and allowed the Most-Favoured to evolve beyond their savage side. This fact please Gloom Mona greatly.
However, this luck did not hold with other races on Apa Axas, as the Gloom Mona soon learnt that a lack of mortal exposure to deities caused their minds to react horrendously when confronted with a Beacon or Travesty directly. In this case, the Gloom Mona fills mortals she meets with an all-encompassing love, leaving them unable to think of anything other than her. This obsession grows to such an extent that the mortal eventually die or starvation, exhaustion or dehydration as they are unable to eat, sleep or drink. To prevent this, distraught at the effects she had on mortal minds, Gloom Mona created a corral of Demi-Travesties (or Holy Spirits) known as The Menagerie. These spirits allow the Gloom Mona to speak with her subjects without fear of their destruction.
After her re-emergence, sightings of the Gloom Mona became rare for mortal races, as she prefers to observe from afar. However, she did aid in The Dragongate Incident to prevent Zemer Epsh and Kukundath from overthrowing the Beacons and taking permanent control of Apa Axas.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Gloom Mona uses a collection of intelligent animals, known as The Menagerie. These eight creatures each represent a form of love that Gloom Mona embodies, and each has its own personality and agenda. This group consists of:
- Ero Shalnoon, a rabbit who represents sexual love, with its infinite libido. He was rescued by Gloom Mona after a particularly vicious culling after a group of rabbits demolished an Elven farmer's crop.
- Phi Liana, a Dog, who represents friendship, as inspired by her infinite loyalty. She was the closest friend of a devoted worshipper of Gloom Mona, and as reward for her loyalty, Phi Liana was ascended to godhood at Gloom Mona's side.
- Lud Usus, aka The Dark Cat, a Cat who represents the fleeting love of a crush with her fickle nature. It is said that the Dark Cat is the favourite in Gloom Mona's Menagerie, and was created from her shadow.
- Aga Pero, a Capybara who represents spiritual love, such as charity and sacrifice. Aga Pero's soul was rescued by Gloom Mona after she was sacrificed by Nidryshim worshippers.
- Pag Manus, a Turtle who represents everlasting love. Pag Manus was once two turtles, Pag and Manus, who's love was so deep and connection so prominent that their souls become entwined as a single animal.
- Phi Lautia, a Dog who represents love of the self. Phi Lautia was weaved into existence by Gloom Mona, who was amused by her elastic body and imperious demanour.
- Sto Ororge, an Otter who represents familial love. She was ascended to godhood after she died fighting off a Shark, rescuing her babies.
- Min Anias, a Duck who represents obsession. It is said that Min Anias was intelligent before his ascension, and his dogged determination to seek an audience with Gloom Mona caught her attention, and he was ascended to the Menagerie for his efforts.
Relationships
Divine Classification
Travesty
Religions
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current Location
Species
Realm
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Eyes
Black
Hair
Black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments