Na – The Shattered Goddess

Over four hundred years ago, Na was shattered. Her soul gone missing, her word burned. Na’s followers boarded boats, fleeing their persecutors. But with no miracles and no word, Na was quickly forgotten even in the far reaches of Hemalia remembered as something my grandmother once told me about. – A Time Before, a Treatise on the Motives of Tholorn by Ryer Gorak

For modern Hemalians, Na is mostly a fairy tale. A woman led a rebellion across the world, but she was stopped before she could remake history. Her soul was broken in four parts and banished. Her remaining followers founded Hemalia, but worship of the Goddess fell by the way side.

Some twenty-five years ago, a farmer by the name of Shep in the small eastern town of Tarill thought he was getting a dream message. As it was late at night, and he had just been sleeping, he didn’t quite hear it. Unable to answer, because he was not a dreamer, he rose and went outside, which is what he had thought the message had said. He met a strange woman. Worried she was hurt or in need of some help, he went to her. She smiled and was gone.

But for some reason he realized at that moment, no one had cleaned the old shrine next to town hall in years. So he did so, wanting his Goddess’ shrine to be ready for worship.

For Shep, the time when he had been an atheist never happened.

From there on worship in Na grew. First as a fringe movement, then establishing centers of worship. For most Hemalians it didn’t seem like a problem, worshipers were kind, helpful, and only talked about fixing their Goddess. Sometimes they called her the Heart of Hemalia.

It wasn’t until years later went the King became a worshiper, seemingly overnight, and started changing laws, Hemalians realized there was a problem.

And then it was too late.

The pieces of the Goddess' soul or shards have the ability to change the reality of a person and make them extremely loyal to them. They don't always discover this power and can live an entire life in the dark. If a person with the soul dies, the soul inhabits another person based on certain criteria.

• The person must be a Tier 2 dreamer with all abilites for both tiers.
• Has other powers similar to a nightmare
• Must suffer some form of isolation

Having a soul shard does not rob a person of free will or even take over their personality. If multiple shards get together they feel the urge to merge and that can take great will to resist, however it can be done, especially if two souls are against the merge. Merged shards are more powerful and can compel other shards to join. This is where personalities are destroyed as they lose their will to the Goddess.