Shelyn (Shay-lynn)
Overview
Daughter of Sune. Shelyn is the goddess of art, inner beauty, and music. Despite her mother’s pleas to focus on the domains of art and music, Shelyn continues to focus on beauty as well, and has expanded upon her mother's relatively narrow view of love to include all forms of the emotion. She encourages the growth and appreciation of beauty, regardless of its source or admirers, and unlike her mother, she is never jealous. As aspects of her role as goddess of beauty, Shelyn also promotes the creation of art and the composing and performance of music. The art or music need not be particularly well done, just so long as the creator puts in effort. Her herald is the Spirit of Adoration, the intelligent personification of true love and beauty. She rarely comes to the mortal world.Portfolio and Responsibilities
She is a goddess whose portfolio includes art, inner beauty, music, and love. As a goddess of love, Shelyn encourages the proliferation of that feeling in all its forms. She is not the goddess of sexuality, lust, or fertility like her mother, she makes a very clear distinction between love and sexuality, although she does not in any way discourage erotic love. She also tends to promote relationships that are not based solely on physical attraction. She never uses her beauty as a weapon and she punishes that sort of behavior in her followers.Manifestations
The goddess occasionally sends direct messages to her faithful in the form of a short, but precise, whispered message. All songbirds are sacred to her, and their presence is considered a blessing. Repellent reflections in mirrored surfaces, quarreling lovers, drab songbirds, and wilted roses are all signs of Shelyn's disfavor.Divine Domains
Air (including Cloud), Charm (including Captivation and Love), Good (including Agathion and Friendship), Luck (including Fate and Imagination), Protection (including Defense and Purity)
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Holy Weapon - Glaive
Holy Animal - Songbird
Holy Colors - All
Holy Mineral - Any gem
Holy Symbol - Multicolored Songbird
Tenets of Faith
Edicts - Be peaceful. Perfect an art form. Lead by example. See beauty in all things.
Anathema - Destroy art, or allow its destruction, except to save a life or pursue greater art. Refuse to accept surrender.
Holidays
The church of Shelyn celebrates Crystalhue, a festival celebrating craft, courtship, and friendship, at the winter solstice.
Meta Information
Obedience
Paint a small picture, compose a short poem or song, dance a scene from a ballet, or create another work of art, whispering praise to Shelyn’s beauty and grace as you do so. The art piece need be neither large nor complex, but heartfelt and made to the best of your ability. Gift the piece of art to a stranger and pay her a sincere compliment as you do so. If there are no suitable individuals around to receive the gift, leave it in an obvious place with a note praising Shelyn and asking whoever finds it to take it with your warmest wishes. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on Craft and Perform checks.Divine Boon
1: Devotionals (Sp) unbreakable heart 3/day, calm emotions 2/day, or good hope 1/day 2: Joyous Ally (Sp) Your sense of beauty and the loyalty you bear your goddess have attracted the notice of her celestial servants. Once per day as a standard action, you can summon a lillend azata from Shelyn’s divine realm in Nirvana to aid you. You gain telepathy with the lillend to a range of 100 feet. The lillend follows your commands perfectly for 1 minute for every Hit Die you possess before vanishing back to its home on Elysium. The lillend doesn’t follow any commands that would cause it to commit evil acts or destroy works of art, and the creature could even attack you if the command is particularly egregious. 3: Plumed Blade (Su) Even in battle, you partake of the beauty and joy with which Shelyn graces her devoted followers. As a free action, you can cause an illusion of brightly colored feathers to follow every swipe and motion of your weapon. When you do so, a single weapon you hold gains the holy and shock weapon special abilities. (You can use this ability on a ranged weapon, but can’t apply it directly to a piece of ammunition.) If you drop the weapon or give it away, this ability’s effects immediately end. You can grant weapons this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 1 + 1 for every 4 Hit Dice you possess (maximum 6 rounds). The rounds don’t need to be consecutive.Example Paladin Code
The paladins of Shelyn are peaceable promoters of art and beauty. They see the ugliness in evil, even when cloaked in the form of beauty, and their mission is to defend those who devote their lives to the creation of beauty, bring it forth themselves, and prevent the weak and foolish from being seduced by false promises. Their tenets include the following adages.- I see beauty in others. As a rough stone hides a diamond, a drab face may hide the heart of a saint.
- I am peaceful. I come first with a rose rather than a weapon, and act to prevent conflict before it blossoms. I never strike first, unless it is the only way to protect the innocent.
- I accept surrender if my opponent can be redeemed—and I never assume that they cannot be. All things that live love beauty, and I will show beauty’s answer to them.
- I live my life as art. I will choose an art and perfect it. When I have mastered it, I will choose another. The works I leave behind make life richer for those who follow.
- I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come to harm, unless greater art arises from its loss. I will only sacrifice art if doing so allows me to save a life, for untold beauty can arise from an awakened soul.
- I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade passes, a life is cut short, and the world’s potential for beauty is lessened.
Unique Spellcasting Rules
Cleric/Warpriest
Charm Person can be prepared as a 1st-level spell Good Hope can be prepared as a 4th-level spell Sympathy can be prepared as a 8th-level spell [may only cast on works of art] Charm Animal can be prepared as a 2nd-level spell [may be prepared by any priest of Shelyn, not just clerics/paladins]Paladin
Charm Person can be prepared as a 1st-level spell Good Hope can be prepared as a 4th-level spell Charm Animal can be prepared as a 2nd-level spell [may be prepared by any priest of Shelyn, not just clerics/paladins]Physical Description
Body Features
Shelyn's is a unique beauty unparalleled in the Great Beyond. She is beautiful both without and within; all who see her see what they envision as the most perfect beauty (meaning she appears different to everyone). Depictions of Shelyn, regardless of race or ethnicity, show her as a young woman barely out of her youth, with eyes of blue or silver (or sometimes both at the same time). Shelyn's ankle-length chestnut hair bears several strands colored bright red, blue, green, and gold. She always wears tasteful clothing and jewelry that accentuates her beauty without revealing too much.
Divine Classification
Rank 12 Intermediate Deity
Alignment
Neutral Good
Realm
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
“The Eternal Rose” or “The Eternal Maiden”
Children
Pronouns
she/her
Ruled Locations
