The Mother

The Goddess of Hearth & Home

The Mother is the goddess of home life, family, and everything the domestic sphere entails. She is also the patron of peace times, community spirit, charity, and tradition. Across most cultural variations she is the goddess of marriage and love as well as fertility. She is known as a goddess of protection and especially the protector or children, orphans, widows, and victims of domestic abuse. Many of her temples double as local orphanages and safe houses. In some societies she is also the deity of food and happiness.
This deity has one major Exarch that is widely worshiped as a goddess proper- the halfling goddess Galatea. The source of her power comes from this deity.

Medeh of the Common Pantheon

Portfolio: Home, Family, Marriage, Happiness, Peace, Love, Fertility
Domains: Life, Peace, Order
Alignment: LG
Alias/s: The Mother, The Peacemaker
Symbol: Bluebelle, Flame & Hearth
Worship of Medeh began with the empire of Va’Sehir and originally she was the deity in control of matchmaking and marriage as well as the protection of children. She was a fertility goddess, watching over new mothers and punishing cruel husbands or fathers. As her worship spread, the nature of her worship expanded and she became a goddess of family and hearth, love and happiness. In the eastern kingdoms of Arna she is also seen as a community counselor and peacemaker. She is the patron of golden eras and social prosperity and her devout often work towards a world without the evils of war which tear families apart and sow discord. She is the patron and protector of small towns.

Mavrin of the Dwarvish Pantheon

Portfolio: Tradition & Motherhood
Domains: Order, Light, Life
Alignment: LG
Alias/s: The Hearthkeeper
Symbol: Flaming Heart

Mavrin was one of the original dwarven deities and she was created by Gwandela to assist Balmir in overseeing dwarf-kind. Mavrin is said to be the fairest of the female dwarven deities, the most pure of heart, and one of the most stern. Originally she was promised to Balmir, but their courtship was temporary as she demanded more in a relationship than he could give. She rejected him and was drawn instead to the creative and passionate forge-master, Oroh, as well as his greatest creation (the dwarven race). The two were wed and Mavrin became the goddess of marriage, wives, motherhood, and family tradition. The two had four children- Thodar, Halthan, Maluth, and Dolbrek. Over time her portfolio has come to encompass things beyond just family, things like friendship, food, charity, protection, peace, true love and beauty. She is said to symbolize all things that make life worth living and all things worth fighting for. While she does have a gentle and caring nature across most myths, she is also a very temperamental deity- a stickler for rules, etiquette, class, and cultural mores and taboos. There is a Traditional Way of being a part of dwarven society and she upholds these unofficial rules and expectations. Though for all intents and purposes these traditions are good things that keep society orderly and functional, the unfortunate consequence of upholding them with an iron fist is that many people end up ostracized or shamed for not fitting in with the traditional mold. As a result there are many members of dwarven society who see the church of Mavrin as cruel, judgmental, and misguided. The church of Mavrin within the kingdom of Uladun is especially notorious for its rigid stances on tradition and dwarvish behavior. Other churches of Mavrin, like that found in Azan, is far more lenient and preach a gospel far more welcoming to the ideas of being yourself and embracing the individual.

TEMPLES OF THE MOTHER

The largest temples to The Mother are located in the following places.

• Cefnelwy (Hywela)
• Alderstone (The Marasen Empire)
• Invernot (The Marasen Empire)
• Althoven (Capital of Belstrad)
• Brundorf (Bremska province of Belstrad)
• Ulad'hela (Stronghold of Uladun)
• Azanrul (Stronghold of Azan)
• Khorezun (Stronghold of Khorez)
• Ijzertuin (Kardath)
• Kharo'jhan (Va'Sehir)

Worshipers

Worshipers of the Mother can be anyone and everyone. Anyone who has a family or lost their family, married or looking, with children or wanting. She is a protective patron of all children, grown or not, and has one of the harshest anti-war stance of any of the deities. It is her children who mourn those who fall in battle. Clerics or Paladins who choose the mother as their deity of worship must be careful to maintain a stance of staunch pacifism and diplomacy, engaging in violence only to protect the weak and innocent. There are not really any monasteries to the Mother but she has temples in most large cities and a fair amount of smaller towns as well. She is worshiped most heavily by dwarves and halflings who have strong family-based societies with humans coming in just below them.

On-Brand Worshipers

• Cleric: Life & Protection Domains
• Paladin: Oath of Redemption
• Acolyte Background
• Folk Hero Background
• City Watch Background
• Urchin Background
• Noble Background