Vale
The Elder Scribe
As the last of Autumn’s leaves fall, Vale beckons forth the unrelenting chill of winter, blanketing the world in snow and ice. Within Winter’s chilled embrace, much of life begins to wither and fade, lost to the harshness of ice and frost. Yet much of life endures, captured and retained within a frozen picture to emerge once more with the spring thaw. For all the harshness winter brings, there is beauty in its crystalline ice that reflects the splendor of the world around it. As winter’s frozen guardian, Vale is the patron of resilient and enduring life, of reflection and wisdom, and of old age. Vale was commonly depicted as a tall figure with branching horns and covered in thick robes. His hands were wrinkled and thin, a frailty accrued in old age. His face was commonly obscured by a mask, carved in the shape of an owl. On more detailed depictions, his robes would be lined with ice that reflected bits of text and script. Given his association with fading life and old age, Vale was often regarded as the guardian of the sacred transition point between life and death, passing the living onto those that claimed death in their divine domains.
Life Reflected in Death
The sages of Vale once congregated in the ice-bound, snow-covered Aetheria tree grove known as the Frozen Vale. There, tomes of wisdom and reflection were gathered and stored within the trunks, frozen in time. When a sage of Vale would perish before their wisdom was transcribed, their body was prepared and submerged in the lake. Through a sacred ritual, the sage’s knowledge and wisdom would be forever bound to the ice, which was carefully extricated and stored within Vale’s Temple. Given his emphasis on collective wisdom and his patronage of older age, Vale was often referred to as the Elder Scribe. His role was mirrored by Malachor, the Death Scribe, who kept meticulous records of the dead and was believed to collect souls directly from Vale.
Divine Domains
Life, Fertility, Winter, Old Age, Enduring & Resilient Life, Wisdom, Reflection
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The Emerald gemstone, a withered tree with a single leaf remaining
Tenets of Faith
Not All Are Wise, But All Have Wisdom – Not every mortal is called to become a sage or a philosopher, scouring over tomes to assemble a base of knowledge from which to address any scenario that may unfold. Few will be able to achieve the title of “wise”, but even the fool possesses a trace of wisdom. One must hone the mind through reflection; then, when one gazes upon the folly of the world, the frozen specks of wisdom will become clear.
Divine Classification
Spirit of the Land
Current Status
Bound by the Winter Blight
Current Location
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Aligned Organization
Related Reports
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