Varsha

Varsha is the Laurelled Matron, the Lady of the Lakes and Woods, the Earth Mother and Maiden of the Wellsprings. She is a significant Uvaran Goddess, though her cultural significance waxes and wanes over time - sometimes she is included with the main deities, her children Ustav, Kragen, and Silsta, while other times she is sidelined. Theologically she is an incredibly important Goddess, as she was the first being to truly desire and pursue Good, but it is often said that the mantle of rulership has passed to her three children. Varsha represents the Earth and its bounty, as well as the potential in every living creature to do good. She is survival, prosperity, beginnings, and free will.
Varsha's worship is slowly rising again, after several centuries of being passed over in favor of other Gods. Across the Uvaran world, she is currently in fashion as the Goddess of Family; she protects those in childbirth, as well as vulnerable children and elderly people. As a Goddess of domestic spaces and protection, she has always had an association with Hains (walled gardens), and that is strengthening again. Along the fringes of the Uvaran world, other worshippers have begun to explore old traditions of her as a patron of the wilderness - she is the Old World just as Ustav is the New World. It is worth noting that some very old Varsha cults even have monotheistic aspects of Varsha as the Unified Divine, though these are not mainstream views. 
As a note, Varsha is not a real entity in the world. She is a character in Uvaran imagination, refined by centuries of meditation, politics, and cultural exchange. Those who worship her understand that, unlike Ustav (who is real) or Varsha's daughters (who have fabricated evidence by Emesh), Varsha herself has no reliable manifestations or traces. The bounty of the land (even the mutated land) is evidence enough for her followers. Druids also speak of a sense of united life that they tap into and move through with their magic, and this is often understood as an aspect of Varsha. 

Varsha's Spiritual Role

Varsha is one of the two Primordial Gods of Good in Uvaran religion, along with her sorta-father Vanoke. Varsha is Fire and Earth (as Vanoke is Water and Air), and this is literal - all fire is descended from Varsha's breath, and all earth is made of her body. Kragen may rule the minerals underground, but she does so by her mother's will. Varsha's two elements represent a purified mirror of the Evil forces of Chaos and Order; Varsha's Fire is moderated Chaos, and her Earth is moderated Order. In Uvaran chemical understandings, Varsha represents 'livable' temperatures.
As compared to the other Primordial God, Varsha is more relatable, benevolent, and good. She is less Primordial than Vanoke, and is more of an in-between step between fundamentals and refined divinity; she represents the sacred point when inanimate becomes alive, when material becomes person. Her connection to childbirth and family are not only because she is the mother of the three most important Gods, but also because she represents the very moment when the fetus (distinctly considered material and un-person) becomes a person. In Uvaran law, personhood is defined at First Breath, as Varsha's breath was the first moment of her True Being - it was the fire that animated her spirit and gave her free will. 

Varsha and Stories

Beyond her role as an elemental and foundation figure of original life, Varsha also represents free will. In stories, she is most likely to be present when someone is facing a critical choice. She also represents the ability to choose Good even when it seems impossible or nonviable; when the hero decides to follow the moral route, she is there to throw them a sword from the nearest lake. 
This dovetails well into Varsha as a character. Unfortunately, the mythology on her is extremely scattered and not particularly popular. Her depictions range from The Mother to the Enabler of Choice in most stories, but Silsta plays a more direct role as an advisor than Varsha. Varsha is more of a looming background figure, often depicted in Uvaran art in a prominent background position but rarely given center stage. The stories that give Varsha the most agency are also those outside of the Sovikov (the book of stories). Varsha is descended from a partially-monotheistic tradition that predates Uvara, where she was the sum of all Gods - and stories from that tradition have inspired their own small traditions in corners of the world, where Varsha is incredibly active as a Supreme Being. These can sometimes drift into the edges of the mainstream in isolation, which makes for very inconsistent characterization. 
Varsha has major cult centers in the Kingdom of Dovenar and Sanctuary of Uvasten. She is portrayed radically differently by many different artists, but is often depicted with a crown or halo of fire or light representing her breath.

Divine Domains

Varsha's major domains are Life, Creation, Free Will, Fire, and the Earth.
Varsha's minor domains are: Childrearing, Soil, Planting, Wilderness, Gardens, Survival, Hunting, and Protective Magic

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Varsha is often symbolized by the crown of leaves or flowers, and by the "Breath of fire" - three wavy lines leading to a flame or star, representing Varsha's soul-giving breath.

Holidays

Varsha has one holiday devoted to her: Varshaten on Filkmoy (January) 14th and 15th. She is involved in a minor way in several other holidays, but rarely in a major way.

Divine Classification

Goddess

Religions

• Uvara

Church/Cult

Uvara