Deversain

The Crawling Chaos

Deversain is the Uvaran personification of chaos, daylight, heat, change, and possibility.
Deversain is simultaneously a Goddess and a cosmic force in Uvaran religion, though she is not a Goddess in the sense that she is worshipped in any way. Deversain is no more worthy of worship than a wildfire or a hurricane; she is a fundamental force assigned a name and personality. She and her counterpart, Ubibi, represent the foundational forces that created the universe but would just as easily destroy it. Deversain and Ubibi must be kept in balance for life to flourish. That is the core principle of the Uvaran worldview.
Deversain is understood by philosophers, alchemists, and scholars to be one of two base essences that all matter and energy are shaped by and composed of. Light, sound, heat, and electricity are all understood as manifestations of Change. Ederstone is the only physical matter that is entirely composed of Change. All things are some ratio of Change and Order. It is said that people's souls are equally composed of a balanced ratio of Change and Order, and that society is similarly built from this balance. The elements of Fire and Air are seen as being composed of more Change than Order, and are seen as being more able to carry Deversain's corruption as a result. That said, the elements are the domains of the primal life gods Vanoke and Varsha - things composed of the pure essence of Deversain are to unstable to carry names of their own.
Deversain in art is typically monstrous. She is often drawn as a woman with a mass of snakes, scorpion tails, or brambles where her legs should be, sharp fangs, bright white skin, fiery hair, three eyes, and a crown with a sun as the central jewel. Depictions vary, but the sun crown and lack of legs are consistent. She is also typically designated in art by shining beams of light from her body, which often are shown burning or corrupting everything they touch. Her symbol is a sun with an arrow coming out of it.
Deversain in mythology is often unambiguously evil. She is a kind of demon-god-monster, a threat that the Uvaran Pantheon must battle and outwit. She sent down Ederstone to attack the Gods and mortals that resisted her; often, Ederstone is said to tiny bits of her claws from when she rended the earth in anger. Deversain and Ubibi killed Ustav and would destroy every person if they could. At the same time, Deversain's moral relationship with the world is more complicated than her evil actions would imply. Without her, there would be no sunlight, no magic, no life at all. The coming of the Irunek and the triumph of the Gods will declaw Deversain and break her terrible power over the world, but it will not erase her.
Deversain is not a being to be worshipped, but her fundamental contribution to the world is occasionally acknowledged in ceremonies. Older Uvaran prayers, art, and song actually was more positive about Deversain - she was thanked for her light and her warmth and sometimes seen as having benevolent elements. Depicting her positively now would be condemned by most Uvarans. She is associated with "paganism" and "chaos cultism". Essentially, communities in the chaos wastes who worship elements of the Ederstone or Ederstone-touched world around them are seen as being tricked by Deversain. The idea of "chaos cults" is associated with murder, cannibalism, human sacrifice, and forbidden magic in the Uvaran imagination. Uvaran religion often understands that there is a spectrum of acceptable wasteland religion, but the boogeyman of Deversain-worshipping witch-cannibals tends to get trotted out whenever Uvarans wage war on "pagan" wastelanders.

Divine Classification

Demon-Monster-God

Church/Cult

Uvara