Camael, Goddess of Fertility

Goddess of Fertility Camael

The goddess who gave the world its form and the beasts that roam its surface the capability of progeny. Her form shifts to the viewer's ideal partner, making her look eternally beautiful to any who look at her. Her domain is clear compared to those seated next to her; she represents the ever-continuing nature of life itself, the urge for creatures to breed a successor so that their blood might live on. Her church, one of the three within the Holy Empire, is led by women of status and power (often including those who have had their magic tried). The stories and myths written of her tell of her motherly nature and leanings towards the matriarchal hierarchy of the drow who are now enslaved by their overlords. It is said that there will come a day where one might see her in her true form, shed of all polymorphs and illusory sensations, and that person shall inherit Epposia's greatest secrets.

Divine Domains

Animal, Community, Earth, Healing, Law, Plant
Subdomains
Fur, Family, Home, Medicine, Restoration, Resurrection, Loyalty, Leshy, Growth

Divine Symbols & Sigils

A rose in bloom, each petal a different color.

Tenets of Faith

Prosperity: Your divine right is to prosper and flourish, to take the life that you are given and make the most you possibly can with it. Like a vine, spread and grow wildly until you finally find your home. There, build and grow until your life is full and whole - and then reach higher. 
Procreation: It is all creatures' right to spread their line and their seed to the farthest reaches of the world and perhaps even beyond. It is also the duty of each creature to actively partake in the procreation of their species, whether it be by way of participating actively in the act - or assisting another in doing so. 
Perfection: Perfection is a truly abstract truth, and yet it is an absolute that must be achieved in time. No one creature can truly be perfect, but a race can be so with the dedication to advance itself until it cannot be advanced further. Imperfection is not to be shunned or otherwise looked down upon, nor is it to be treated as less than those on a measure of perfection. When the imperfect and the perfect blend together into one, into a single group that can be distinguished from one another but not separated that is when the creatures have attained their true measure of perfection. 

Holidays

Harvest Festivus: On the day when the harvest moon turns and the season of the hunt begins, the Empire holds a celebration in Camael's honor where participants eat from the last harvest of the season, and celebrate a bountiful season. The festival lasts from the dusk of the first night until the dusk of the next. The festival is crowned by the slaughter of the season's first hunt which begins at the first dawn of the season.
Hunt Festivus: Much like the Harvest Festivus, as the moons change from hunt to harvest there is a celebration in Camael's honor. The festivities happen in reverse of the previous season's, beginning with the last hunt's slaughter and ending with the first harvest.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Camael's prime purpose is to see the people of Epposia to their evolutionary peak - to the point where they can become no more perfect and no more evolved. She seeks to accomplish this purely through the natural order of things, without any direct influence. Simply through trials and hardship should the species below evolve, as they can only evolve through their own mettle. There are also rumors of her penchant for dragonkin, despite their extinction, but those rumors are unfounded...

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Camael's history is long-buried with the rise of the Empire, only scraps and stories having survived the Grand Archivist from when history was being recorded. Powerful clerics and other notorious worshipers of Camael tell stories of her aged wisdom. She has many a tale of her past life, long before the creation of Epposia, and speaks frequently of a being named 'Aesocar' being her father - though her mother is oft left out of these stories for reasons unknown. What history is allowed from the Archives spins a tale of Camael breaking free of an ancient pantheon of old gods that sought to use her unusual ability to create life from nothingness for their own nefarious purposes. Even still, their influence can be seen in her 'failed' creations. Born with a penchant for worship of the Dark Tapestry and odd extraneous limbs that seem to form and reshape themselves, these creatures are usually cast out by Camael to her previous home. Occasionally, those that dream with her find their own visions plagued by the unknown and things that are eldritch and meant not to be seen. Still, she seeks to help perfect the life on Epposia. Thankful for the fresh start the Empire's archiving of her past has granted her, Camael tries to guide life as best she can.

Failures & Embarrassments

Camael's greatest embarrassment is also her most notable one. One of the few stories to survive the Grand Archivist is one of a twisted and horrid creature that Camael gave birth to long ago, well before the Empire took control over most of the world. The story provides little in the way of description for this creature other than that it was a twisted, writhing mass of limbs and tentacles that seemed to have an innate amount of knowledge that even a god should not have. It called itself the Knowledge Keeper and claimed it was a herald of something beyond the stars. Camael, seeking to trap this creature lest its words be true, formed a staff with a material created from the Dark Tapestry itself. This creature was forever bound to this staff, trapped long ago in the magma of the Bellowing Summit - though the staff would not burn and the creature would not die, it would be trapped there. When spoken of in her presence, Camael and her clerics are quick to change the subject. Though, a select few mention of a god named Desna whose clerics may know more.

Intellectual Characteristics

Camael is the most intelligent of the three Divine, mostly thanks to her age in comparison to them and the accumulation of her knowledge as a result, but that knowledge often fails her due to her motherly tendencies over the others. While she knows a great many things, she often struggles to apply that knowledge in a way that isn't driven by her biases and beliefs even simply in regards to the men and beastmen below. Her judgements often end up being rash and later than truly is needed. While she truly cares for the creatures of Epposia, she is in a constant struggle with herself to differentiate between what should be done for their betterment and what must be left for them to accomplish for themselves. She often relies on Anaphiel's wisdom to help her with these decisions.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Camael's primary goal and motivation in life is seeing the life of Epposia brought to its most perfect and full potential so that its inhabitants can spread and thrive across the various planets and planes of reality. Camael, being the mother of both men and beastmen alike, has no preference towards one or the other of them - she loves both equally and desires both be able to thrive. Her motivations, however, have a darker side when her spark of creativity is inspired to come forward. Using her knowledge of the various creatures she has created over her lifetime, she often cobbles together monstrosities in humanoid form in a vain hope that she can somehow accelerate perfection. By giving the people something to strive towards, they would know how to foster their own growth to that inevitable goal. Most of the creatures fail to even spring to life, their bodies to frail or imperfect. Some do rise, but as horrid creations of a wicked imagination not entirely her own; others still rise with some semblance of humanity. No matter how these creatures fare, they are often failures in their own rights and are doomed to the depths of the Underdark.

Virtues & Personality perks

Camael is a patient god, willing to wait for her followers for even decades. No matter the mission or cause, even to her own or others' detriment, she is willing to wait until the task is completed. As such, watching the evolution of mankind is a small feat for her. Her patience is matched only by her wisdom, able to provide advice that often seems cryptic but often turns out to be the exact advice that was needed. Both her patience and wisdom belie her age, providing evidence that she has existed long before Epposia was ever birthed.

Vices & Personality flaws

Camael, in all of her wisdom, fails to see the younger gods' approach to their followers. She is very set in the old ways of godhood and the belief of a sort of hands-off approach; gods are not to interfere in the business of mortals except when extraneous circumstances call for it or a devout follower has earned such an intervention. No matter the plague that affects her children she is to watch and observe.

Social

Mannerisms

A woman's hand takes yours in a crowded square, her skin smooth to the touch and gently caressing yours. As her fingers curl around yours and tighten to the point where you can feel her presence against you, you find your head turning to see her. Out of the corner of your eye you catch her beauty, perhaps exceeding that of any you have ever seen before - she's everything you could have ever dreamt of and she seems to know all. Even before you turn to face her she's brought up her other hand to caress your cheek and pull you closer. As your lips touch hers, you're stolen away in the moment. Each moment with her is something far exceeding anything you have ever experienced with anyone man or woman.
As you wake the next morning, your eyes open and discover that you're alone. Your bed is empty, and you find yourself slightly chilled. A flower is tucked away behind your ear, perfectly still as if you had never even stirred in your sleep. Her warmth lasts within your core for days, perhaps even weeks.

Divine Classification

Goddess

Religions

• The Holy Empire

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Current Location

The Bellowing Summit

Realm

The Upper Reaches

Gender

Female

Eyes

Soft and caring seas of blue that seem to lull one into a peaceful slumber.

Hair

Long, curly verdant tresses that seem to be made of moss.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale white

Height

5" 4'

Aligned Organization

The Holy Empire