Shelyn

The Eternal Rose

Alignment: Neutral Good
Realm: Blossomheart (Nirvana)
Temples: art galleries, cathedrals, gardens, museums, theaters
Worshippers: artists, lovers, minstrels, musicians, seekers of redemption
Sacred Animal: songbird
Sacred Colors: all
Shelyn watches over existence with a kind and loving eye, encouraging mortals to make the best of their lives by spreading love, art, and beauty as best they can. Even the crudest artistic awakenings are worthy of praise in the goddess’s eyes, as they represent an individual’s expression of life’s trials and triumphs. She believes every creature is worthy of love and capable of creating art in their own way. Shelyn’s religion does not require chastity, fidelity, or a particular relationship structure, as the passion of early romance is a facet of love just as important and valid as the comfortable trust between a long-married couple. However, she does make the distinction between courtship and pure carnal desire, and she prefers that trysts blossom into more meaningful relationships along the way.
As the goddess of art and beauty, Shelyn’s appearance changes drastically depending on the cultural norms of the artists who depict her. She has been portrayed as nearly every ancestry, though usually with some distinctive similarities: her ankle-length hair is marked with festive rainbow streaks and her eyes are blue, silver, both, or one of each color.
Shelyn’s mother is unknown, though some claim she was born of an ancient goddess of love. Shelyn’s father was the spirit-wolf Thron, who roamed the world in primordial times singing feral praises to love, life, and the universe. Though Thron had many partners and children, he had only two children who grew to surpass him in power: Shelyn and Dou-Bral. After a fight between the siblings, Dou-Bral rejected his divine responsibilities and disappeared beyond the edge of the Great Beyond. He eventually returned, but changed: possessed by some malevolent spirit and reshaped as the twisted and corrupted lord Zon-Kuthon. The two siblings clashed once more, this time coming to a truce only when Shelyn wrested her brother’s gold-plated glaive, Whisperer of Souls, from his hands, believing it to be the source of his corruption. Though Zon‑Kuthon remains evil, going so far as to mutilate and reshape his own father into a grotesque herald, Shelyn still believes that her brother exists somewhere beneath the corruption, and she hopes to one day redeem him.
This tragic schism in Shelyn’s family contributes to her belief that all creatures deserve love, and that even those who have turned to evil still carry love within them, along with the possibility of healing and redemption. While Zon-Kuthon, Asmodeus, Rovagug, and Urgathoa are sometimes considered enemies of her faith, in truth Shelyn doesn’t look at any creature in a way that fits the mortal concept of “enemy.” Even evil deities and their faiths tend to look more kindly on Shelyn and her worshippers than they do the other good gods.
While she is well aware that love and art are not easy things and can even be sources of pain at times, she remains a steadfast optimist with the knowledge that even broken hearts may be mended, and that even a turbulent experience with love can be an educational and healing journey. But she also recognizes that some creatures may distort love into jealousy or warp the urge to create into greed or obsession. While she appreciates passion and perseverance in the face of adversity, Shelyn never asks her followers to forsake the well‑being of themselves or others to pine obsessively, aggressively pursue an uninterested person, or endanger themselves for art. It is equally important to her followers to spread love as it is to correct those who would use Shelyn’s name to justify selfish, covetous, or cruel deeds.
Shelynites gather at her temples on the holy day of Crystalhue, a winter celebration full of creation, friendly gatherings, and courtship. Many couples get engaged or married on Crystalhue, and the temples host grand feasts in the evening for the whole community to gather and enjoy food, company, and performances long into the night. No matter the season, Shelyn’s temples are adorned with flowers, art, and images of her religious symbol: a songbird with vibrant rainbow tail feathers.

Divine Domains

Art, Beauty, Love and Music

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Divine Classification

God