Merikka

Merikka

Goddess of Agriculture, Farming, and Seasons

"The land does not yield to the impatient nor the wasteful. In all things, plant with wisdom, tend with care, and reap with gratitude." — Merikka’s teachings, passed from elder to child.

Overview

Merikka is the Oeridian goddess of agriculture, farming, and the orderly passage of the seasons. She is revered by farmers, homesteaders, and all who depend on the land for sustenance. A deity of quiet strength, she represents not only the bounty of the harvest but also the patience and discipline required to cultivate it.
Depicted as a wise, motherly figure, Merikka is a firm but nurturing presence. She is neither indulgent nor harsh, guiding her followers with the steady hand of experience. Unlike some deities of nature, Merikka is not concerned with the wild or untamed aspects of the world—her domain is the plowed field, the measured row, and the carefully tended orchard.

"There is no trick to a good harvest—only the work of steady hands, the wisdom of the past, and the grace of the seasons." — Merikka, to a doubtful young farmer.

Worship & Practices

Merikka’s faithful observe the turning of the seasons with great reverence. Her temples are often simple but sturdy halls within farming communities, doubling as granaries or communal gathering places. Her priests offer blessings for planting and harvest, teach crop rotation and irrigation, and arbitrate disputes among landholders.
Devotion to Merikka is shown not in grand rituals but in everyday discipline. Farmers who rise before dawn, tend to their animals, and work the fields with diligence honor her with every calloused hand and weary step. Offerings of grain, fresh fruit, and well-baked bread are left at her altars in gratitude for the land’s gifts.
Her holy days align with the agricultural cycle, marking the first sowing, the midsummer growth, and the final harvest before winter. On these days, communities gather for shared feasts, giving thanks for Merikka’s bounty.

Appearance & Symbols

Merikka is often depicted as a wise and strong elderly woman, dressed in simple but elegant farming attire. Her hair is silver-streaked and tied back in a long braid, and her eyes are deep green, reflecting the patience of the seasons. She carries a wooden staff shaped like a twisting vine, symbolizing steady growth and balance.
Her holy symbol is a sheaf of wheat bound with a ribbon, often embroidered on aprons, woven into baskets, or carved onto the beams of barns. Some of her more devoted followers carry walking sticks resembling her vine-twisted staff.

"A fool plants what he will never tend, and a sluggard reaps only weeds. If you wish for a full table, make ready the fields." — A common proverb among Merikka’s faithful.

Legends & Stories

One of the most well-known tales of Merikka is how she taught the first farmers the wisdom of the seasons. In the earliest days, it is said, mortals tried to plant their crops whenever they pleased, only to suffer starvation when winter came. It was Merikka who walked among them, showing them how to watch the sun, read the soil, and honor the land’s rhythms.
Another legend tells of the time when a great blight threatened the Oeridian farmlands. The people pleaded for Merikka’s aid, and she walked the fields herself, plucking the sickness from the roots and restoring life to the land. In doing so, she took on the blight’s burden, leaving a scar upon her hand as a reminder that even the gods must toil for the world’s well-being.

Relationships with Other Deities

Merikka’s role in the pantheon is one of balance and stewardship. She is closely aligned with the other agricultural and seasonal deities, such as Wenta and Velnius, ensuring the proper passage of the year. Though not a warrior, she has little patience for the reckless destruction of the land and opposes gods of famine, waste, and ruin.
While she respects the wild deities such as Obad-Hai, she considers their view of nature too untamed for mortal needs. To Merikka, civilization and agriculture are not an affront to nature but an extension of its careful tending.

Final Thoughts

Merikka is a goddess of quiet endurance, of patient toil, and of the wisdom that comes from working with, rather than against, the world. Her followers are not the type to seek glory or conquest, but their steady hands shape the land and sustain the people.
To those who honor her, Merikka offers the greatest gift: a full table, a strong home, and the knowledge that they have done right by the land.