Lan'tha
Lan'tha
Divine Domains
As "The Passionate", Lan'tha's domains include war, fire, sex, blood, the duel, and conquest. However, in her other capacities she is the goddess of life, childbirth, and of liminal places (such as that between night and day, or as experienced by pups living in the Flats). She helps promote a good union between mates (in human terms, a marriage, but the Stenza place a lot of emphasis on negotiating of terms between parties at various phases of the relationship), but is more concerned with the ability of clans to care for their pups. She ensures that "it takes a village to raise a child [or ten or three dozen]".
There also exists a semi-apocryphal story demonstrating her relationship with her husband Iradae, the master of decay. In it, Lan'tha, disguised as a pup, follows a group of Stenza on an exploratory mission into the Sandibari Forests, where they find Iradae's Flower. Lan'tha promptly takes a bite out of one of the fruiting bodies, and is immediately pulled back and rushed to a doctor for examination, only to be revealed to be perfectly fine (thus betraying her divine status; only she is unaffected by Iradae's powers of decay).
Holidays
She and Iradae are both celebrated at First Sunrise and Last Sunset.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Lan'tha and Iradae are known to have been a well-established couple by the time they built Iradae and Lan'tha, the binary stars around which Mudewei and several other planets orbit. Lan'tha was thrilled at the prospect of these new planets, even while Parevia was calculating their orbits and rotations while they formed out of the accretion disc. Lan'tha found two that would be suitable for life and set to work, with Iradae close behind.
An asteroid was knocked loose during the formation of early life, careening toward Mudewei. Parevia had already carefully marked out its days and years when the asteroid struck, radically altering its axial tilt and producing the crater within which the Ice Flats would form. Parevia divided up the offending rock, and Lan'tha sought comfort for her heartbreak and rage in the arms of her mate. It is often said that at this point, Iradae offered suggestions and encouragement about the new opportunities which have arisen because of the incident. Soothed and even thrilled, Lan'tha returned to work.
She carefully cultivated the Ice Flats Substance as it bubbled forth into the crater, filled this liquid with new forms of life, and filled in the spaces which had been cleared. Iradae followed after her, recycling the earth so that there was always enough space and nutrition for life. Their teamwork has allowed life to flourish on Mudewei, leading to a host of species including the two intelligent species, the Sandibari and The Stenza. (A very few members of the Greater Pass clans also hold that she is the mother of the Snow Warrior (and by extension grandmother of his Pups). While this logically tracks, this has not caught on beyond this region and in any case, belief in such things is on the decline in other parts of the basin.)
She continues to watch over the Stenza, protecting their pups, watching over their warriors and in general helping to protect the planet on which she has fostered life. In this regard she is honored as the Mother of All Life, and sects like the Protectors of Life take this to mean that therefore it falls on the Stenza to make sure they are good stewards of the world around them.
Lan'tha also holds the dubious honor of being the only Stenza goddess known outside of the Stenza themselves. She has taken up a symbolic quality as a representation of the fiery rage and unstoppable progression of the Stenza war machine, especially in recent years, and placating her is seen as almost impossible. (One man, Lekot of Muxter, succeeded at the cost of his social standing, although many chalk that up to the advancing Stenza troops as being shocked that the name of one of their gods was on his lips.) The best course of action, then, is to refer to her euphemistically to avoid her attention.
Personality Characteristics
Personality Quirks
Lan'tha is known in stories to assume the form of a pup in order to roam about among Stenza society. Theories abound as to why she does this, from testing Stenza treatment of pups to simple zest for life, but regardless of the reason, it is widely attested both in clan stories and in myths with broader reach.
Relationships
History
It is unknown when the union between Iradae and Lan'tha began, but it is considered to be well- and long-established by the time of the birth of the stars Iradae and Lan'tha. There is no indication that anyone has ever tried to step in on their relationship, and it is sometimes acknowledge that neither Iradae nor Lan'tha have eyes for anyone else outside of the union. They are known to support each other consistently, most famously through the rough early stages of solar system formation, and they have taken up roles in the maintenance of life on Mudewei that divide the labor and allow for life to continue to flourish.
Divine Classification
Deity
Species
Spouses
Iradae
(mate)
Siblings
Children
Gender
usually female
Related Myths
I love that Lan'tha is becoming recognised outside the Stenza. That's both cool and a little scary. I love the story you tell here.
Fits her well then :D