Morwyn
The Gentle, the Compassionate, the Wise, the Merciful, White Lady, Queen of Heaven
Morwyn (MORE-win) is the lawful good goddess of healing, wisdom, peace, forgiveness, mothers, childbirth, and mercy. From her come charitable instincts and acts of contrition, mercy, and redemption. She is the Queen of Heaven, and her name is therefore usually invoked first in lists of the gods.
All five mortal races revere Morwyn. The people who hold her in the highest esteem are mothers, healers, and those in desperate need of succor or forgiveness. However, as the Queen of Heaven and goddess of wisdom, she is also revered by those who lead, though they are not noble. Mayors of towns, for instance, or town council members, say prayers to Morwyn for guidance, for she was not the strongest of the gods, nor the most powerful, yet she was given the reins of leadership and held them well. Most folk, though, see Morwyn as a reminder of how much better they could or should be, and take her teachings to be for saints, not common people.
Divine Domains
Healing and Wisdom
Divine Symbols & Sigils
She is associated with the lamb, for she would have all people be as gentle as lambs. She is also sometimes associated with dogs, for long ago she turned wicked men into dogs rather than smite them, and it is said that all dogs are still grateful to her for this. So it is that dogs often make excellent shepherds of lambs, as it is the only way they can manage to repay Morwyn’s kindness. In the sky she is likened to the white dove. As she is the peaceful lady in white among the gods, the dove is the peaceful white bird of the heavens. Finally, she is associated with the winged serpents—the couatl—creatures of the greatest beauty, wisdom, and virtue.
Morwyn is shown as a tall woman with long black hair and brown, olive, or deeply tanned skin. Attired in flowing white robes, she shines like a star. There is often a silver circlet on her brow, with a single gem in its center. She has a motherly nobility in all representations, for she was the first ever to bear a life in her womb. Usually, she is shown with a warm smile, though sometimes she has the regal bearing of a queen. She nearly always bears a deep resemblance to Rontra, and seems to be a younger version of the Grandmother. Although she is often represented by a white lamb, two simpler symbols are more commonly used to represent the goddess. There is no division in the church surrounding the use of them; it is merely a matter of personal preference. One is a wreath of white blossoms. This can be figurative or real, with some clerics wearing painted symbols of white wreaths, while others adorn themselves in actual garlands of cherry blossoms. Wreaths have been worn of old by peacemakers, and those negotiating under truce. The other is a crystal tear, meant to remember the tears shed by Morwyn over the corpses of her brothers long ago. This is a very practical symbol, and the one most clerics most often wear around their necks. Also, it is the simplified form one uses when it must be made in haste, or etched on small surfaces. The symbol is sometimes extended to three teardrops formed into a triangle, with one drop on top and two below.
Tenets of Faith
Perfect Goodness
Morwyn’s motives are pure, and can only be described as truly good. She loves all mortals, and desires to see them thrive and do well, but she holds a special place in her heart for the kind and gentle. She is a guardian of the downcast, but even more, a guardian of those who spend their lives caring for the downcast. While her husband Terak protects the weak and frail, Morwyn seeks to create a world in which they do not need protection. Her all-consuming purpose is to move the world toward goodness, and see the hearts of mortals shift toward decency over desire, peace over power. Because of this, she doesn’t spend a great deal of time concerning herself directly with those who are weak and cannot care for themselves, or those who live in isolation doing no harm. Rather, she spends her energy guiding the powerful of all races toward caring for the injured and indigent. Her chosen people are healers, municipal leaders, mothers—people who have day-to-day power over lives and who, if evil, might work the most longterm mischief. Morwyn believes The Nameless One created the universe so that it will constantly progress toward perfection. It is inevitable, in her view, that goodness will prevail. The question is how much pain, darkness, and misery the gods and mortals must wade through before this perfect state is achieved. She believes that in every epoch, good and evil come into great conflict, and eventually good will prevail so mightily it will thrust the universe into perfection. Morwyn works to move events toward that state; she fears there might be several more disastrous conflicts before it will come to pass. The world might go through another decimation of its races (as the div have been decimated and banished), the gods might die, or the entire order of the gods may fail, to be replaced by another. Morwyn believes if good is weak in the world, these cycles will be more devastating, as the Nameless One’s creation shudders toward perfection. Among the gods, Morwyn is called queen and elder, but rarely wields this authority, particularly because she has decreed that no one god rules over the others. She seeks to move the gods’ hearts toward good, and agreed to things like the Compact because she knows she cannot command the chaotic gods. Rather, she hopes the Compact and other acts of the gods will draw them together against evil. She does not suffer from pride in these matters, and uses any honorable method to bring the gods and the mortal races to the path of virtue.Holidays
Holy Days
The Morwynites have two primary holy weeks. Every spring the Morwynites celebrate the rebirth of Eliwyn, Tinel, Terak, and Zheenkeef in what is called The Five Tears. The celebration takes five days, and is marked with fasting in the daytime, and celebratory feasting at night. The other holy period takes place in the mid-winter and is called the Week of Gifts. All Morwynites remember the many gifts given the mortal races by the gods. They show their gratitude by giving gifts to those in their community who need them most. It is a week in which the poor are fed and clothed, and the homeless are given homes. On the final night of the week, friends and family members give one another gifts. On that final night, they have a great dinner, in which they recite prayers of thanksgiving, and discuss the history and gifts of the gods.Relationships
History
Servants of the Goddess
Morwyn has three chief servants, each of whom is dear to her. No one knows from whence these three servants came. They are often at Morwyn’s side, and spread comfort in the world. If they once were mortal, they surely are not now, and in some isolated cultures they are revered as gods in their own right.Mercy
It is said that when someone’s heart is heavy with rage and they’re about to smite an enemy, they might suddenly feel their hate lifted, as though by a cool breeze. In those moments, Morwyn’s beloved Mercy visited, invisibly, and took hate from their heart. Mercy is a beautiful maiden with flaxen hair, wearing a white gown like that of her mistress. Morwyn sends Mercy to chosen individuals based on mysterious criteria, for some of the hateful are never visited, and continue to vent their wrath. Yet Mercy still enters a few hearts from time to time. Many who have been so stricken change at their very core.
The Midwife
Called upon by women during a difficult labor, the Midwife sometimes comes to their aid. There are women fated to die giving life to their children, and the Midwife can no more save them than can Morwyn herself, but should the Midwife, invisible like Mercy, come to the bedside of a woman in labor, she might ease the delivery and save the mother’s life. If this is not possible, she can at least take away the woman’s suffering, and let her die in peace.
Most women call out to the Midwife and Morwyn during ordinary childbirths as well. The Midwife is said to be a heavy woman with broad hips, her breasts heavy with milk. If a baby dies in the first weeks of its life, people say the child “nurses with the Midwife now.”
The Guide
An ancient woman with a lantern, the Guide eases men and women into the wisdom of old age. It is said that many elders do not deserve to have lasted so long, but something about age seems to mellow and refine even the fiercest hearts. This is because the Guide comes to the aged in their dreams, reminding them of the stories of their families, of their people and their heritage. The Guide also eases women through the loss of their monthly moonblood, and helps them find comfort in it. Many who are old call to the Guide to show them wisdom, and she is said to visit them invisibly, like Morwyn’s other servants, to ease their troubled hearts. It is known that the Guide also warns a select few in the moments before Mormekar arrives to claim them. Therefore, history is filled with tales of those who declare they are about to die moments before they do, making final amends for old grudges and hurts.
Religions
Alignment
Lawful Good
Church/Cult
Siblings
