Cult of Saint Maiden

Guide My Heart

Divine Origins

The Lord of the Universe created everything, and then rested. As he exhaled hard in his exertion, he breathed life into twelve beings that were first formed as cosmic wind, which pushed the planets and other galactic bodies into their chosen places.
On the shores of the seas of Cappadocia, a sea-sailor bade her love goodbye, pledging that she would return and they would be together forever. But the sea-sailor's ship was swallowed by the ocean's depths, and the sea-sailor went to her grave in the silt and the sand. The love, the Maiden, waited, waited, waited, until one day an auk came and sang to her of her love's demise. The Maiden wept, and every sunrise without her sailor left her bereft, until she was empty.
And into this emptiness the breath of the Saint Maiden blew, filling up her solitude with comfort, wrapping her in love and faith. The Maiden, imbued with the Saint's love, went out from her empty home, her widow's walk, following the auk who had sung to her, and it led her to a sailor washed up on the shore. She brought the sailor back to health and the auk told the Maiden where his home was. She returned him, and then with the auk, returned lost sailors to their homes for the rest of her days.
When the Maiden died, the Saint blew back out of her, taking her soul to the cosmos where she became The Maiden's Star, the brightest body in all three systems of the Imperia. She guides lost Mariners to their homes, and guides ships to port.

Tenets of Faith

No one is lost if they follow the Lord of the Universe.

The faithful are the most blessed.

Love is the most sacred emotion in the universe.

Worship

Tattoos

The most popular tattoo of the Cult of Saint Maiden is the Maiden's Star, a seven-pointed star with each point representing a decade she went without her sailor and remained faithful. Following that, the outline of an auk, and following that, a compass, usually with the Maiden's Star inlaid. Those in the Cult of Saint Maiden generally locate their tattoos of her on the backs of their hands, or on their chests.

Talismans

The auk currently lives in the northern seas of Cappadocia, albeit in smaller numbers than it once did. However, the giant auk, which is considered to be the auk that came to Saint Maiden, has been extinct for decades. Auk talismans are common, but talismans containing feathers of the giant auk are much more prized and rare.

Sects

Prayers

Saint Maiden, guide my heart.
Saint Maiden, give me faith.
Saint Maiden, bring him/her/them home.

Patron Saint of

lost Mariners
love
faithfulness

Sacred Bird

Auk

Type

Religious, Cult

Parent Organization

Marinasta

Subsidiary Organizations

• Maiden's Star
• Prophets of the Auk
• The Maidenastei

Deities

• Lord of the Universe
• Saint Maiden

Location

Cappadocia

Related Ethnicities

• Cappadocian
• Mariner