Astaphaios

"The Tree had borne three spirits - Watcher, Voice, and Muse. Their existence spurred into being the Ancestors of all Humans, Elves, and Dwarves."

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Astaphaios is the Marvellan goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and the patron deity to all who follow the path of arcane magic.
Her month in the Anatomical Calendar is Of Her Eye.
She is most prominently worshipped by the people of Azuria, as they have the highest concentration of wizards and scholars of anywhere within the Tri-Kingdoms.

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Holy Books & Codes

Every Marvellan deity has their own set of commandments for their worshippers to follow. Astaphaios has three tenets of faith, each of which are expanded into their own holy scripture. In due process with a goddess of knowledge, Astaphaian scholars have exegeted these to the point that all scripture is incredibly well known amidst members of the Disciples.

Book One: Magick.

• The Mind is a Conduit for the Arcane, serving as a Focus between nothingness and presence. The Watcher must hone this Conduit until the edge is razor-sharp, lest the Focus become dulled and immaterial.

Book Two: Pursuit.

• The Pursuit of Knowledge is tantamount to serving the Watcher, as even blissful ignorance is a moral failing unto the world. A servant's Pursuit doesn't have to follow a single Path, but they must chase Knowledge regardless.

Book Three: Sense.

• The Body must remain perfectly in tune with the Mind, lest the Mind begin to fail in wake of the Body's deterioration. A servant must do all in their power to retain Health in both Physique and Spirit, as to stave off the woes of a broken Mind.

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Divine Symbols & Sigils

Astaphaios has three holy symbols that can indicate whether an individual follows in the footsteps of the Watcher.
The Eye is the most obvious indicator, as her month within the Anatomical Calendar is Of Her Eye. She Watches and Sees, approaching a point of total omniscience within the continent of Marvelo.
Her representative color is midnight blue, of which her clergy wear in religious settings. This derived the name of the fledgling Sovereign Kingdom upon its founding - Azuria is an altered form of the Zuran word azuirae, which means 'blue'.
Finally, her representative animal is that of the elephant, a creature known for its incredibly long memory.

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Holidays

Her major holiday (Meditatio) occurs on the 20th day of the first month. It marks the midpoint of the month, where the moon is at its brightest amidst the early days of spring. Astaphaians consider it a day of thoughtful introspection; it's the most popular day of the year to attend a Teahouse to read, journal, and reflect on what brought you to this point in your life.

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Mental characteristics

Personal history

Astaphaios was the fifth deity borne to the world of Marvelo, created in the union of Nunura and Agatha. Amidst the Creation, she was the first of the "Mortal Trio" to emerge from the mythic Sylva Briar - a garden amidst the Markéd Mountain Range where the first life sprang.
Her gift to mortals was the gift of knowledge and the drive to seek out such knowledge, instilling the first living creatures with the curiosity to further their skills and better themselves. She also bestowed the first arcane magicks upon mortals. Where Iriyone had given divine magick and Trøglav nature magick, she created the first 'learnable' method of channeling that energy.
Astaphaios' worship would not be popularized until the middle of the second millennium, when the first huts built of lake mud would create the foundation for the modern city of Vauxvern. The individual spearheading this settlement - a wizard whose name has been seemingly redacted from history - worshipped the Watcher and founded The Watching Disciples. This faith has existed for the sixteen millennia since its founding, and has only grown more popular as the world progressed.

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Divine Classification

Goddess

Species

Deity

Church/Cult

The Watching Disciples

Gender

Femme-presenting