Elen of the Ways

The Green Lady

Elen of the Ways, primeval Goddess, is the soul of the forest, the creator of tracks and paths, the facilitator of human and animal movement. The well-being of the land and the movement of the beings that live upon it are her domain. She bestows balance between the varied energies of the land, its fertility and the cycles of our natural world. She is a goddess of sovereignty, linking the king to the land. She is revered by those who dwell in the forest and travel the ancient trails that connected the sacred places of Ynys Prydein in its earliest age. Those who call upon her listen for her voice in the wind, for her footsteps on the pathways, and for the rustle of her hair in the dream-ways, the paths all souls take every night on their journeys of self-discovery and revelation.
In ancient times, Elen was the Guardian of the Leys, the ancient track ways that drew from the power of Aerth. In her guise as the Horned Goddess, she led the way on the migratory tracks of the reindeer, the only species of deer in which the females have antlers. Later, after all the reindeer migrated further north and out of Ynys Prydein, Elen opened the pathways the red deer followed in the ancient forests of Northern Aeropa. The most prominent of these pathways were built into the ancient roads of the island, long before the Empire erected its own highways on top of them. When the roads of Ynys Prydein were built, allowing traffic to pass through the harsh wilderness, Elen had to break with Cernunnos, who sought to maintain the wild spaces. Elen was therefore adopted by the ancient Cymbrians as a shelter against the savagery of nature in the raw.
The druids now see Elen as the counterbalance of Cernunnos, celebrating community over individuality, hearth over heath. For that reason, she is the goddess invoked by those who find themselves lost in the wilderness, struggling to find their way home. As a goddess of change and renewal, she is also consulted by those mystics who seek to guide their communities through the uncertainties and unforeseen events of seasonal change, from winter blizzards to summer storms. As goddess of the pathways, she bears a resemblance to Twrog. Indeed, the clerics of Twrog also offer their prayers to Elen of the Ways when they follow the woodland paths.

Divine Domains

• Animals
• Pathways
• Protection
• Change
• Renewal

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

In whatever form Elen appears, she is elusive, ethereal, with a gossamer beauty that leaves beholders wondering whether they saw anyone or anything at all. But her form always ripples with an inner strength that belies its delicate appearance.

Body Features

As a goddess of nature, Elen can assume the shape of any woodland or fey creature. In human form, she appears as a tall woman with fiery red hair, crowned by a magnificent set of antlers. In animal form, she frequently takes the shape of a majestic reindeer. When she appears in fey guise, her features are sharp and feral, with a headdress of feathers and berries, twinkling with tiny, starry lights.

Apparel & Accessories

The goddess's attire depends on that aspect of her divinity she chooses to reveal. As a consort of kings, Elen adopts a brightly colored raiment of red, green, and gold. When she ranges the woodlands to forge new pathways, she goes clad in a garment only of leaves. In her capacity as protector, she may appear at a poor homestead wearing coarse wool and furs which she gives to those in need.

Divine Classification

Greater Goddess

Religions

• The Kingdom of Gwent-Glywising

Alignment

Neutral (Chaotic Good)