Petra (Goddess)

Element: Ice
Domains: The Moon, Love, Women and Children
Cleric Domain: Twilight Domain
Material: Silver is the moon metal, whether it be in its solid form or liquid (where it is known as quicksilver).

Summary

While few would curse Siren's name for fear of meeting Him, fewer still curse Petra's for fear of never seeing Her at all. The Goddess of Love is oft said to be the most beloved of the Divinities--whether one refers to mortal worship or the affection of the Divine. Patroness of women, children, and lovers, the Moon Maiden is said to bless and protect Her followers by the moon's silver light. Few places will begrudge Her worship but neither are Her temples foremost among a kingdom's priorities. It is said Her worship is only acceptable for the young, at times regarded as immature. An ecstatic cult beholden to no kingdom travels most of the continent, worshipping the different phases of the goddess through moonlit rituals culminating in woodland revels on each full moon.

Spread

Petra is a goddess most often learned about in one's childhood for there is no Divinity more palatable to a child--She is the Patroness of love in all its forms whether it be familial, platonic, or romantic. There are certainly spikes in many individuals' observance through puberty as romantic interests are ignited, but invariably other paths tend to be chosen for the religiously inclined. There is a traveling cult known as the Moonlit Revel that wanders the continent, spreading the good word and altruistic works across the land. Comprised only of women and children, these wanderers conduct nightly rituals in reverence of their Goddess, pausing only on the new moon but more than making up for the missed nights when the moon is full. There on nights of silver light they dance and sing barefoot through the wilds, drunk on wine and drugs as they exalt their distant Goddess.

Cultural Reception

Carinthians are discouraged from openly espousing worship for any Divinity not Alophia, and to some extent even Petra is included. Perhaps it would be more charitable to note that only Petra's veneration is given some lee-way in the one-church kingdom. Her mention is almost entirely allowed between parents and their children, at least officially. In reality it seems unlikely that the North's children do not daydream and pine for love amongst their peers, praying to the Moon in their heads if not with their words.
Aqualonde fashions the Moon Maiden into a similar cyclical worship that their practice holds of any of the Divinities. Children love unconditionally and mature to romantic affections which in turn begets children of their own to love in new, powerful ways. The Moonlit Revel cult often wanders in the Fauconwood where the weather is temperate and often gentle.
Avosa Tevosa is famous for the talents of their bards and among the strongest inspirations and most moving pieces of song is of course Petra. Shrines for the Moon Maiden are plenty though small, and like much of Aspiria Her priestesses are rarely given trouble.
Tarwa'kem oft confuses duty and love, sometimes confusing the identity or order of the two. The city has few shrines to this Goddess. Many parents try to emphasize the love from their children as one indebting them to duty, particularly in matter of arranged marriage.

In Art

Petra is known as the Moon Maiden and some artists take this rather literally, depicting Her as at least the full and silver moon but oftentimes as the full sequence of the lunar cycle. Those favoring their Divine personified often depict Her as a young woman with hair and eyes of pale blue ice--and in the company of a wolf of similar hues. Stories abound of the Divinities' favoritism toward the Moon Maiden--even wild Tyrachon who gifted Her the wolf as a pup when the moon was newly placed in the sky. There is a trend from Aqualonde that portrays Petra in different ages in accordance with the phases of the moon--the crescent marking Her youngest form and representing Love in its infancy, hopeful and freely administered. At the quarter moon Petra is a young adult and represents Romantic Love, inspiring and dangerous. And of course the full moon is Petra older and wiser representing Parental Love, one that sacrifices and weathers for the benefit of others.

Frozen Hearts: A Sculpture Reflecting Petra's Moonlit Radiance by Jui Kan

"Under the watchful gaze of Petra, the goddess of the Moon, women find strength, children find protection, and the hunt is guided by lunar light."