Mora
Background
The Goddess of Light and Promises, Mora was the first of the newly created celestial beings by the hands of The Lost Gods & Goddesses. With her creation, the Lost Gods & Goddesses promised to not repeat the same mistakes they made with the Arcanists. Mora was a literal and metaphorical being of promises & the light that comes at dawn.
Mora has been influencing Idoria through the blazing glory of the star that Idoria orbits; as well as giving Idoria's population their first moon (The moon, Moriae, is created around Idoria) to inspire and sew awe and wonder into their hearts. It is said in some sects, that the sun, itself, is Mora; keeping an ever-watchful eye on Idoria and continuously bathing it in her own warmth, light, and love.
She gains power through the utilization, and fine-keeping, of promises; as promises prove to the coldness of the universe, that things matter, that the promise-keepers & makers matter. Her light is a direct rebellion against the influences of The Fallen Ones; as without her, corruption, perversion, torment, and eventually annihilation would creep its claws into the hearts of mortals & celestials, alike.
Her Worship
Temples
Due to Mora being the Goddess of Light and Promises, she is often worshiped by mortals who wish to better the world by being that light in the darkness and by being trustworthy and reliable individuals. A common way for her followers to accomplish these goals is to feed those who are hungry and to be someone to lean on in troubling times. It is because of these reasons that temples dedicated in her name are frequently surrounded by gardens and orchards, as their harvests prove effective at helping those in need. Due to these basically-required surroundings, her temples are most-commonly established in places that get an exorbitant amount of sunlight. In addition, it is required that temples dedicated to Mora have as many windows as possible, to let her light in.
In addition to being surrounded by harvest-able plant-life, it is a common sight to see her temples filled with herbs and plants of all kinds as well; as even though they are not as filling, or easy to distribute, their importance on Idoria is just as important and serves to enhance the lives of those who partake.
Shrines
Similarly to her temples, Mora's shrines are frequently found basking in the sunlight and covered in plant-life with her symbol sitting affixed to the top, pointing towards the sky. It is at these shrines that her followers perform rituals, rites, and pray. Although it is normal to pray without the use of the shrine, it is believed that praying in its presence will get Mora's attention more directly and result in your prayer being heard more personally than otherwise. Due to this, it is not uncommon for followers of Mora to make regular pilgrimages to her shrines & temples to gain regular & clear guidance.
It is excessively rare for a shrine of Mora to fall into disrepair or decay, as allowing such an important monument to wither away and fade is equivalent to extinguishing the fires of hope in mortals everywhere. Because of these beliefs, it is very common for others who worship other deities to maintain and repair shrines they happen upon out of pure respect and fear for the future of Idoria. This behavior is so common that invading forces of rivaling nations & kingdoms will appoint specific individuals & teams to upkeep taken shrines if the previous keepers were to perish in the invasion. The last time a general disregarded, and even destroyed, a shrine, was during The Great War. After the atrocity towards her monuments and worshipers, Mora shrouded the region in darkness; plunging the immediate region into an abnormal & out-of-season winter that resulted in pitiful harvests & wide-spread famines until her shrines were restored. Since then, extra care was taken when war waged in the vicinity of a temple or shrine.
Symbol
The symbol of Mora is commonly depicted as a four-pointed star made of a brown mineral commonly called 'Scheelite'. This material, a normally semi-transparent brown mineral similar to some varieties of aragonite, when exposed to sunlight for a minimum of one hour, have the ability to glow a deep-blue for several hours. It is believed that Mora, herself, placed the Scheelite on Idoria to give mortals a constant reminder of her promise to be their light in the dark. The shape of a four-pointed star is commonly used as a reference to the stars in the night sky, who give even the faintest of light in the darkest of nights.
Nicknamed, "The True Star" or "The Star of Truth", Mora's symbol is found on every one of her shrines and in her temples in one way, shape, or form. Showing the symbol is a common way to show someone that you're telling the truth or are promising on Mora's name, itself. While some individuals have taken it upon themselves to attempt to mock & parody her symbol to get out of trouble, most people know that they can test the integrity of the counterfeit symbol by holding it in the sunlight for a few moments; if it doesn't glow when it is shrouded in a dark piece of cloth or leather, then the individual administering the test will know that the owner & its symbol are liars and mean nothing but trouble. The penalty in many places for mocking Mora & taking her name in vain in such a manner are usually quite extreme.
Her symbol is often depicted as a brown star-shaped pendant made from scheelite. After basking in the sunlight, it glows a subtle deep-blue when in the shadows.
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