Nyra Shadowborn
Oh Blessed Nyra, who shields us under Her Veil, do not let the cursed light of the sun burn us from this place. Hold us in your shaded embrace and deliver us unto your blessed shadow.The preeminent of Risailya's two deities and the counterbalance to the spiteful and malevolent Sun goddess Aresnee. Nyra's parents Aresnee and the god of Darkness and the Void, Meralis gave birth to their daughter during an eclipse, as Meralis' celestial representation was the 5th and largest of Risailya's moons. After her father's death in the Cataclysm caused Aresnee, in her grief, to shun her daughter, Nyra grew in popularity as her mother's depredations grew worse over the ages. Aresnee let jealousy consume her over the sacrifice and death of Meralis, even as she blamed her daughter for abandoning her. Saddened that her mother could not see that she remained, Nyra's new charge as Risailya's guardian did not allow her time to grieve for long. While Aresnee had become the main goddess of the world during the Enslavement, secret worship by enclaves of enslaved goblinoids, humans, and orcs eventually made Nyra the world's most worshipped goddess. In the modern Southern Hemisphere all except a handful of cultists, demon worshippers, heretics, and intelligent Suntouched undead worship Nyra to some degree. Her unquestioned presence during the time of Myra's Veil makes the Shadow goddess's power difficult to ignore. However, Nyra's Veil also ensures that in the Northern Hemisphere, which remains largely unexplored by people from the South, is a land where Aresnee maintains an almost exclusive following. In the North only small pockets of Nyra worship exist, mostly from a few groups living underground. Nyra has not manifested fully on Risailya in thousands of years, preferring to work through her Exemplars who wield vast power in her name. However, people evoke Nyra's name frequently, especially during Nyra's Veil. Aphorisms like "Her Shade Shields" or "We all live under Her Veil," abound in everyday conversation ensuring that few forget her presence. As a largely hands-off goddess much of her clergy, save her church in Andol, do not interfere in most mundane matters, and owing to Nyra's popularity they have little need to proselytize. However, her church does seek to root out Aresnee cultists, and Suntouched undead. The various types of Nyra worship vary as much as the shadows she embodies, from the darkly rigid, dogmatic faith of Andol, to the free-form and loosely organized temples of Arainia and Olan Tor, and all points in-between.
Type
Religious, Pantheon
Alternative Names
The Eternal Shade, Bringer of the Blessed Veil, The Daughter of Darkness, The Bountiful Manumitter, and Goddess of Shadow.
Permeated Organizations
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