Shivad'ress (SHE VAAD RESS)
the Golden One, the Decadent, the Joy Bringer (a.k.a. Ahisa, the Bride)
Shivad'ress is the goddess of desire, greed, wealth, power and excess. She is the golden scaled goddess of the the yuan-ti, and counterpart to her destructive mate, Raz'ka. She possesses a vanity rivaled only by the elven god, Calowean, and revels in all forms of pleasure and hedonism. She is the patron goddess of rulers and politicians.
All of the gods of Sanzeia possess the ability (though they not made frequent use of the power since the age of myth) to appear before mortals in any guise they wish, but Shivad'ress is best known for her use of this power, appearing always as what the mortal might find most appealing. She is a selfish and fickle goddess, but she lavishes great gifts upon those who please her while they please her.
Due more to her actions than her portfolio, Shivad'ress is also considered a goddess of motherhood. The cruel and decadant goddess is actually suprisingly caring in a maternal role. While Eo is traditionally more associated with birth and fertility, mothers often pray to one of the serpent goddess's many incarnations for the strength and wisdom required to raise children.
Divine Domains
Gold, politics, wealth, pleasure, power, control, hunger, motherhood
Divine Symbols & Sigils
- The mask of a beautiful woman, especially if made of solid gold
- An amphora of wine
- A golden serpent
Tenets of Faith
The followers of Shivad'ress believe in pleasure and beauty. They believe life is a brief, transitory thing given as the gift of their fickle goddess, and should be enjoyed to its fullest. Many of those in power who offer their prayers to Shivad'ress are cruel despots, but there are also sects of wandering Joybringers that seek to spread happiness and pleasure across the face of Sanzeia.
The six children of Shivad'ress -- though she has many less significant ones -- represent the six core desires of life. While others may view these minor gods/goddess as virtues or vices, for the followers of the Golden Goddess, life is a careful balancing act -- both overindulgence and abstinence will lead to ruin.
Holidays
Shivad'ress presides over the 11th month, Kigariv. While the previous month of harvest is dedicated to her consort, in this month people are encouraged to consolidate their wealth and enjoy the bounty they have earned.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
While the other gods are known to take many shapes for their own benefit -- to inspire awe in the case of Throndar or to walk unseen like The Watcher, Unnamed -- Shivad'ress is unique in that often appears in tales as the mortal wishes to see her -- only revealing her full divine glory or more often fury when the situation calls for it. Most often she appears clad in gold and silk, and is identified by her serpentine eyes and golden scales, but there are just as many tales of her concealing her nature nearly completely.
A recurrent theme in her myths involve her marrying a mortal but prohibiting her partner from a specific action. When the mortal inevitably takes specifically that one action, Shivad'ress is revealed by one of her divine features and the mortal is ruined by their trespass.
Mental characteristics
Sexuality
Shivad'ress (and thus her followers) venerate desire and pleasure, to be desired sexuality is to possess a form of wealth and thus is a virtue in their eyes. They make little distinction between male and female, and many offspring with many partners is seen as a display of wealth. Shivad'ress, in the age of myth, was said to have built entire golden cities populated by her consorts and many children.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Family Ties
Relationships
Alternate Art
Divine Classification
Greater Divinity
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Species
Church/Cult
Siblings
Pronouns
She/Her
Presentation
Feminine and decedent
Eyes
Golden, serpent like
Hair
Long, sleek, dark
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Typically seen with patches of golden scales
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Related Myths
Comments