Viven, God of Health

"You may not have asked for the gift of life, but it would be a grave disservice to squander it."

Health, the safety of the home and family, agriculture, recovery from illness... it is no wonder that the god representing such universally important concepts to mortals would have a place in every part of The Eye. In the harsh dry steppes of Arrboth, she is Taliyah, a motherly but rugged goddess of protection. In the unforgiving cold of Nalanosa, he is Old Man Zebul, representing the work and grit required to support the family. In Zokukuni, land of spirits and curses, they are Inari, a patron of both grain and warding of ills. And even in the relative stability and alchemical providence of Chal, they are Viven, god of love and good health. While their prominence varies as much as their appearance and even apparent gender, there are few mortals who will go their entire lives without one of their names leaving their lips.
While the forms of protection and safety that the God of Health represents vary as well, one of the most ubiquitous prayers to them is for safe childbirth and healthy children, and this is especially true in the case of Elves, as notoriously fraught with troubles in this regard as they are. Apart from this, their position as a god of the harvest results in many offerings, festivals, and feasts held in their name. In Zokukuni in particular, Inari is central to many rites of spiritual protection and warding, and many old poison remedies bear Taliyah's name in Arrboth. With so much hinging on her and so many followers, many wonder how the God of Health is not indisputably the most powerful being in the entire pantheon.
The truth of the matter is that this is a question that answers itself. While immensely powerful, it is a well-known fact that the gods are a far cry from true omnipotence, even in their respective domains, and this is a case of a god truly being stretched to their absolute limits. The very fact that their concept is so common and important, that which gives him, or her, or them such power, is the same one that requires them to have four separate avatars in the first place. The God of Health faces a constant struggle to answer all the prayers of her myriad followers, and even then, they have their limits in how much they can do without risking greater harm through inaction elsewhere. They do truly have more powerful than any single god of the pantheon, but in a cruel irony of circumstance, they are never at the liberty to bring it all to bear.
Perhaps the cruelest irony, however, is the reward for a good job done inevitably being a greater strain on the god's resources. By their very nature, longer lives, more reliable food, and more successful carriages of children mean more followers that need protection in the long run. As such, there is a constant limit to how much the God of Health can accomplish, a limit that can only be increased by less violence in the world and more advanced medical options. Chal serves as a primary example of this, where most conflict is with monstrous entities and healing potions are in good supply, where they are needed the least; it is fitting that Viven is the least high-strung of all of their avatars.
For these reasons, in what could be described as a strange juxtaposition of pity and fear, the other gods rarely come into direct conflict with the God of Health, leaving their relationship with the other gods neutral at worst. Opposing the god that preserves one's own followers as well would be foolish, after all, even without considering the power at their disposal should they be genuinely threatened. Even so, as many other gods lack principles regarding unconditional preservation of life, their followers can frequently end up coming into conflict. Religious advisors aligned with Viven and Taliyah will often do everything in their power to push for nonviolent resolutions to political conflicts, complicating and aggravating military and even some peacekeeping efforts.
Their domain is The Wilds, a relatively large area of Yore that they share with Alsvira, Goddess of the Hunt. It is a place of untamed nature and natural providence, though some regions are more violent than others due to the dichotomy of Aeons that hold sway over it. In this realm, a variety of rare and even extinct species are preserved, from the small and unassuming to the massive and powerful. While they lack any particular supernatural heralds, the God of Health is frequently associated with hardy animals such as cows, bears, or the occasional Nalanosan walrus. When contact with their followers is required, their command over Essence means that just about any animal can fill the role, if not one of their avatars directly.

Divine Domains

Health, Safety, the Hearth, Childbirth, Agriculture, Healing

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Regardless of the aspect or region, there is one simple shape that represents the God of Health, and that is the heart, the core of life. The way this is represented can vary - carefully curled branches, an ornate piece of metalwork, a single wide leaf, or even just a hand gesture - but the shape is all but universally understood to represent both love and health. Due to its simplicity, priests will often embroider the shape into the front of their robes, shaped large and proud over their chest (though not necessarily in the ostentatious bright red that the shape often evokes).

Tenets of Faith

More than anything else, the core tenet of Viven's faith is identical to what is typically followed by doctors and healers: first, do no harm. This extends not only to attempts to cure diseases, however, but to a general pacifism expected of her devout followers. In a sense, it can be said that they do not offer their boons to those who actively make their job more difficult than it already is. The sole exception to this seems to be that they do not expect their followers not to harm that which they intend to eat, as expecting a mortal to never bring harm to a plant or animal would be impossible by their vary nature.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

As with many things, the appearance of the God of Health varies depending on the region they are being worshiped in. Viven appears as a relaxed androgynous elf of noble attire, Taliyah as a full-figured human female robed in a far more mundane manner, Old Man Zebul as a burly old orc in work clothes, and Inari as a fox-wildling or kitsune in ceremonial garb. In all cases, his or her hair takes on an appearance of foliage fitting for the region and season, perhaps matching the god's own state in the harsher seasons.

Divine Classification

Deity, Aeon