Caramip (/'ker.ə.mip/)

Goddess of the Hearth and Home

Divine Domains

As the Goddess of the Hearth, Caramip is able to designate an area as under her protection. For as long as she wills it, the protected area will be warded against those with malice in their hearts. Crops will grow better, food will taste better, and an overall sense of contentment will fill those within reducing the likelihood of fights breaking out. Additionally, clerics and paladins of Caramip will always find a warm fire wherever they may travel. Followers of Caramip are a pleasant lot who are at home anywhere they go.

As the Goddess of the Home, Caramip bestows her blessings on laborers, mothers giving birth, and the elderly. Her blessings ease pain and make tasks just a touch easier. It is important to understand that even when blessed by her no one is free entirely from suffering. She simply bolsters strength and makes it easier to bear. Another aspect of her domain is the sanctity of the home as a shelter from life's hardships. Abusers are regarded harshly and will struggle to find asylum and a quiet word with a fellow deity will likely find the coward facing down all manner of nature's punishments.

Artifacts

At the site of Caramip's death, where she bravely threw herself at the demonic soldiers raiding her village, a stone menhir appeared. Her face in a peaceful relief upon it, the menhir stands in the middle of modern-day Hearthaven. It serves as a beacon of hope for the city and reminder that even the weak may stand strong in the face of adversity.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

At her ascension Caramip did not have any divine symbols beyond perhaps a flame. Then during The Battle for the Center when one of her new blessed followers, Celniana Aelnor a.k.a. Cel sacrificed herself for the creation of a new world where homes could safely be made, it became clear what her symbol must be. In honor of the gnome who sacrificed herself for the future, the symbol of Caramip became her sword, with a pair of wings sprouting from the hilt. Children and those unfamiliar with Cel and Caramip are often confused as to why such a gentle and domestic-seeming goddess's symbol is a winged sword. Followers of the Hearth get great joy in being able to explain Cel's sacrifice and how Caramip is not to be underestimated. Her ascension was heralded in blood when she fought for her home with nothing but a pitchfork and her linen dress and apron to protect her. Those that try to force their way through a protective barrier, who try to hurt the innocent she safeguards, they will meet a mysterious and bloody end. For a hearth warms and protects, but it is still a fire that blazes, and can consume all in its path.

Tenets of Faith

1. Do not let a guest leave hungry
2. Offer shelter to travellers
3. Leftovers fit for neither man nor beast may be sacrificed to the hearth
4. Do not extend yourself beyond your means, for you cannot help others if you are uncared for

Physical Description

Facial Features

Caramip has a wide, flat nose and large, dark brown eyes. She has a glow about her, as if constantly bathed in the flames of a hearth. A pleasant smile typically on her face until provoked.

Identifying Characteristics

Caramip typically appears in a simple pale green linen dress and a white apron. In many respects she appears to be like any other gnomish commoner. However, what sets her apart as a goddess to those with a keen eye are the sparks of hearth within her dark brown eyes. If one peers into her eyes they will see the sparks of a hearth flame flickering within, and be filled with a feeling of quiet ferocity like a mother ready to protect her young.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

When the demons marched on Caramip's nameless village, seeking to destroy them and pillage their food and the few treasures they had. Many chose to flee, unable to stand in the face of the army. Caramip chose to stay, she preferred to die in her home if her time had come. The baker and his poor wife lived next door to her, they too chose to stay but only because they had no choice. The wife was heavily pregnant and couldn't travel, and the baker loved her dearly and wouldn't leave without her. When the demons marched on the nameless village, Caramip was outside the baker's home, a pitchfork in hand and heart burning with the desire to protect these lovely folk who had fed her good bread when her parents died and kept watch over her cattle. There was never a chance for her to win, she was a farmer with no experience in combat against a legion of fierce demon soldiers. When she threw herself at them, managing to drive her pitchfork through the cracks in a soldier's armor, she allowed herself a moment of hope, of what-if. When a jagged sword swung at her she hoped that she had bought enough time for the baker and his wife to flee. As the sword bit the arm she'd thrown up in a futile attempt to protect herself she was glad to spill her blood for her home.

All at once there was a briliant burst of warmth like a fire in the midst of winter, light flooding the village in hues of gold and orange. The warm light expanded out, surrounding the village and the farmland around it. The demon horde struggled against it only to be sent flying away from the village. Where Caramip had stood there was now a stone menhir with her likeness upon it, smiling warmly. The baker and his wife would peer out of their home, wide-eyed at the faintly shimmering barrier that now encircled the village. They would mourn Caramip, having considered her family. As the Undoing would come to a close, and a sword with a pair of wings sprouting from it appeared on Caramip's menhir, the village would come to be known as Hearthaven. Outside of Flamering, it is one of the only truly safe places in the world. For none with malice in their hearts would ever get past the barrier.

Divine Classification

Goddess

Current Status

Watching over Hearthaven

Current Location

Hearthaven

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Guardian of Mothers, Feastmaker, Lady of the Hearth, Homekeeper,

Sex

Female

Eyes

Dark brown, wide

Hair

Loosely twisted black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Warm brown

Height

3ft 4in or 102cm

Weight

55lbs or 25kg

Known Languages

All known languages

Founded Settlements

• Hearthaven