Aura

"Hello? Is anyone there?" A voice cries out from the darkness, its tone distinctly worried and unsure. Around them is an all-encompassing darkness, as if all light has abandoned the voice. "I can't see!"

"Is that so? Truly?" A new voice echoes from the unknown. It comes not from any direction, but instead softly vibrates through everything. It is a voice which one would expect from a calm and wise teacher.

"Surely you have learned how to do something so simple. You are simply unaccustomed to actively applying your teachings. Now, it is necessary."

"Oh gods... t-that's right, my eyes..." The sound of the student's voice changes, as worry and confusion is replaced with recollection and a grim understanding. They reach their hand up to where his face ought to be, and passes over their eyes. They're gone. "In my momentary panic, I almost forgot about this final trial..."

"Then you know what you need to do. You know you can, and therefore you must."

After a pause, the voice of the student takes a deep breath. A low, tranquil hum echoes from where their throat ought to be, rebounding off of everything, as the student recites their teachings. "Experience is the greatest teacher. The aether experiences all. See it. See through it. Learn from it. Cast aside your eyes, and experience the true sight..."

A silence falls upon the darkness as both voices cease, and the student begins to focus. They open their inner eye, their senses become unshackled, and the darkness suddenly becomes subsumed in a manic canvas of vivid color the likes of which the student has never seen.

"What you see is the aether itself. But your vision still is unfocused. Concentrate..." The origin of the teacher's voice is still unclear, but the student can now see the aether being moved by its words.

The student does as they are told, and their focus become honed and sharp. Slowly, the canvas begins to shift. Form is introduced into the mess of vibrancy. Line, value, depth. The world begins to be as it once was, and the student finds that they no longer need to maintain such deliberate focus. Their vision starts to become as effortless as it was before. Finally, they are able to take in their surroundings fully. They are in their temple, in the ceremonial room. In front of them on the altar are their eyes, staring back at them. A grim sight, yet the student feels liberated.

Suddenly, they notice something that was not there before. Standing in front of them, on the other side of the altar, is a woman. Her hair flows freely, as if carried by the currents of the aether itself. It sparkles a deep blue, consistently shifting color slightly as if it were water. Her garb is ancient in design, yet it looks as if it were woven yesterday. Her stance is calm, but intellectual, and in spite of her average stature, she exudes an air of deific authority. Her face shares this tranquility, but her eyes are covered in a pristine blindfold. Yet despite this impairment, she looks right through the student, seeing everything they are.

She offers her hand to the student, and speaks in her voice with which the student is all too familiar now. "I am Aura. Congratulations, my student. Now you see the world as I see it..."

All those who seek to learn, all those who seek to teach, all those who seek to master manipulation of the aether itself. These people, among others, seek the guidance of Aura, the goddess of magic. Aura, whose divine portfolio gives her dominion over all the teachers, the students, the wizards, and all who call her name in search of honest learning, was once a mere mortal. Although, to call her a mere mortal is not to do her justice, as her intelligence and honest drive to learn all that she could was unmatched among her peers. She was a master of the arcane arts, and she was as much a teacher as she was a student. However, one day, one who was jealous and fearful of her supreme intellect concocted a sadistic crime. One night, as Aura slept, she was taken unawares, and her eyes were gouged out. She would never again be able to write in her damnable journal.

As she awoke to the inky abyss, Aura struggled to maintain her composure. Her panic over her lost sight was palpable, and she was deeply saddened by her impairment. However, her studies had granted her a limited connection to the aether, and so she had an idea. She focused her will, her mind, her inner sight, and tried to sense the aether. The results were miraculous, and she became able to see more than she ever could before. She could see the very aether itself, and the aether in turn saw for her that which she was no longer able to see with her eyes.

This unprecedented connection to the aether was noticed by its embodiment, Zoldith. He arrived before her as a purely aetheric being, something that only she would be able to see. For a moment she was blinded by the incomprehensible mass of pure aether towering before her, but she was quickly able to refocus herself, and she bore witness to one of the Tribunal Omnis. Impressed by her ability to stare him down with such ease, he bestowed upon her the greatest of treasures that he could give: a divine spark. With this, Aura ascended to godhood, and took a most fitting portfolio. She became the patron of all those who seek to learn, to teach, and to see the world as she sees it. According to legend, she now resides in the Great Library, learning all she can from Verba's infinite collection of tomes.

Divine Domains

Magic, learning

Holy Books & Codes

The Codex Aetheris, the manuscript in which Aura took all of her notes before she gained her divine spark, is only readable by those who can see through the aether as she can.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

A blindfold with unicursal hexagrams where the eyes would be is the primary symbol of Aura, with the hexagrams being representative of the primal, all-encompassing aether through which Aura and her disciples see.

Tenets of Faith

One should endeavor to make any experience a opportunity to either learn or to teach. All things have a right to learn, especially from their mistakes.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Aura's main goal is to foster learning, especially of magic, wherever she can.

Divine Classification

Deity

Alignment

True Neutral

Realm

The Great Library

Church/Cult

The School of the Blind Magi

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Goddess of Magic, Goddess of Learning, the Great Scholar, Master of the Aethersight

Hair

Long, flowing, sparkling blue

Height

5'9"