Teiva, Goddess of Nature
The Wildmother, The Salt maiden, The Storm Queen
Teiva is the goddess of nature, and one of the strongest gods on par with Yathander. She is famed/feared for beginning the end of The Division Wars by enacting The Great Storm that drowned the old world. Because of simultaneously granting salvation from the apocalypse while also summoning the greatest disaster upon mankind, she is the only Prime Deity with certain aspects of her worship (as The Storm Queen) forbidden. Even for followers that obey this law, many in The Prime Temples are caucious of them and quick to mark them as heretics.
Divine Domains
Nature and Wildlife
Teiva is primarily worshipped as the Goddess of Nature and Mistress of the Hunt. She embodies the wild, untamed aspects of the natural world, overseeing forests, animals, and the primal instincts of survival. One of the facets that make Teiva one of the most powerful deities in the pantheon is the fact that mortals are not her only worshipers. Every animal in the wild, every flower that blooms, any inhabitant of nature with life within it worships her in their existence, giving her great authority over the material plane that rivals Yathander's authority over celestials. Hunting, in particular, is a sacred activity under her domain, seen as a communion with the goddess where hunters invoke her favor to track and kill their prey. Every hunt is a dance of life and death, a sacred exchange where the hunter honors Teiva by making full use of their kill, ensuring that no part of the animal goes to waste.
Natural Balance and seasons
Teiva also governs the cyclical nature of the seasons and the life that flourishes within them. She is hailed for her influence over the natural world's rhythms, from the blooming of spring to the dormancy of winter. She is the arbiter of natural balance. Worshippers celebrate the changing seasons with rituals that honor Teiva's role in the birth, growth, and decay of all living things. Her dominion over life encompasses not only the animals and plants but also the intricate balance of ecosystems, ensuring that life continues in the natural wilds.
The Sea and Its Depths
Natural Disaster
In the maintaining of natural balance; the suffering, the unnatural, and the chaos that saturates the world must be taken into account and for Teiva she even wields it to serve the balance itself to the result of storms and many natural disasters. As the harbinger of nature's wrath, She is seen as a force of destruction, embodying the fierce and unpredictable power of the natural world. Though seldom mortals think this way, this is also a domain of strengthening and renewal, allowing those struck by disaster to either grow stronger and overcome or fall and allow something greater to take its place. People pray to Teiva as the Wildmother for protection against natural calamities such as eruptions, earthquakes, storms, and tsunamis. Her role in this domain greatly feared, as she has brought devastation to the old world in retaliation to the harm humanity and the gods caused to the natural world. Though it's forbidden, those that pray to her as The Storm Queen such as the zealots seek that natural disaster strike when it must, but pray that those that should would survive and grow stronger in body or conviction.
Artifacts
Remembrance of Disaster:
Hide of The Feral Guardian:
Branch of The Watchful Falcon:
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The Tower of Foundation:
A large tree spreads deep roots along the ground and large branches across the sky. This is Teiva's primary symbol, representing her endless reach across the world as it's guardian. Most regular followers along with druids wear this symbol. Often seen in standard temples dedicated to her.
The Watching Falcon:
a pointed falcon flys over a mountain landscape. The falcon is the deity animal of Teiva, and represents her acute wisdom of the animal kingdom and a higher perspective over the natural world. Grove-keepers wear this symbol to represent the mantle they have taken as Teiva's guardian eyes over animals, and followers that are hunter-gatherers for themselves or their community.
The Breath of Sea:
A great spiral over ocean waves. This represents how Teiva is the master of the winds and the ocean depths below. Followers that are sailors or operate in open waters wear this symbol to gain her wisdom and blessing when traversing the sea. The Oracles of Waves also wear this symbol, as a deeper meaning to read the futures the winds and waves speak.
The Swords of Storm:
A cloud and three bolts of lightning. Each bolt represents a moment in known history in which Teiva has struck down her enemies using natural disaster. The first was the slaying of the Primordial Water Titan, the second was summoning The Great Storm, and the third represents the beheading of Blackbeard. To openly wear this is to invite chaos and disaster, one that can only be surpassed by those chosen by Teiva herself. Only worn by the Zealots of Disaster.
Tenets of Faith
Because of her size and range as a deity, a multitude of commandments are divided among the domains she is worshiped over.
Every follower of Teiva believes in all these tenants, it is just that a follower that worships her as the salt maiden will place heavier value on their specific tenets in that area over the rest. Especially with the forbiddance of Storm Queen worship, practice and study of her tenets in that area is discouraged.
Commandments of The Wild Mother:
- Respect the Balance of Nature: Live in harmony with the natural world, understanding that all life is interconnected. Strive to maintain the balance between growth and decay, predator and prey, life and death.
- Use Every Part of a Kill: Honor the life taken by utilizing every part of an animal. Waste nothing and show respect for the creature’s sacrifice by making full use of its body.
- Preserve Sacred Groves: Protect groves, clearings, and other isolated natural sanctuaries. These places are blessed by Teiva and serve as havens of safety and peace. Any harm done to these areas is a grave offense.
- Embrace the Seasons: Accept and adapt to the changing seasons, understanding that each brings its own gifts and hardships. Celebrate the cycles of growth, harvest, decay, and rebirth.
- Protect Flora and Fauna: Safeguard the plants and animals within your care. Understand that each has a role to play in the ecosystem and that their well-being is crucial to the health of the natural world.
Commandments of The Salt Maiden
- Heed Nature’s Omens: Pay attention to the signs and omens in the natural world, whether it’s the sudden appearance of an animal, the shape of the clouds, or the direction of the wind. These signs are Teiva’s way of communicating her will.
- Pray During Gentle Rains: Offer prayers and thanks during drizzles and light rains, recognizing how quickly these gentle showers can turn into powerful torrents. Understand the dual nature of rain as both life-giving and potentially destructive.
- Give Thanks for Nature’s Bounty: Regularly give thanks for the food, water, and shelter provided by the natural world and the sea. Show gratitude through offerings, rituals, and acts of conservation.
- Revere the Wilds: Appreciate and respect the untamed aspects of nature. Whether it’s the dense forests, the ocean depths, or untouched beaches; each environment has its own beauty and challenges.
Commandments of The Storm Queen
- Accept Suffering is Natural: Conflict and pain is a natural part of life. It is natural to despise the pain, but a life with none is impossible and unnatural.
- Let Disaster Strengthen you: Living things die, Forests burn down, and nations crumble. Everything will eventually be destroyed so new life can thrive, greater forests can grow, and more honorable nations can take place. And through that disaster, you and the world will have the strength to fight against the unnatural that seeks to obliterate us completely.
- Destroy the Unnatural: The vile that invade on Teiva's domain should not be ignored. Do not let anything that disturbs the natural balance live, and make sure those that do live in fear of cloudy skies. Like a storm, let no authority beyond Teiva hold you back from this divine duty.
- Leave Your Wake with Purpose: Teiva carefully orchestrates the disasters she inflicts upon the world to serve a greater purpose and serve Natural Balance. You should do the same, making sure the consequences of your actions are not by impulse; rather intentional and disciplined. Disaster that is anything else is simply unnatural.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
It is safe to say nobody loves the material plane itself more than Teiva, caring very deeply for all life that grows from it. She seeks to ensure that the wilds, the sea, the seasons, and all life from it are kept in natural balance; while destroying the unnatural that seek to destroy it without purpose. Though the world is naturally chaotic and full of suffering, she orchestrates that natural chaos and pain in the world so it serves the purpose to strengthen nature and humanity itself to ensure neither will be crushed by the unnatural that invade them.
Her relationship with mortals is very complicated. On one hand, she deeply appreciates them as they are the only natural creatures within the mortal realm that can truly love, care for, and maintain nature as she does, rather than just being a part of it. Despite this, she knows full well that the mortal condition is also the source of the most unnatural evils that plague the world and does not restrain herself when dealing with humanity for the sake of nature as a whole.
Relationships
Commonalities & Shared Interests
They both understand that the hubris of humanity and the forbidden magic they reached in the past was a mistake and needs to be kept out of their hands.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Though their approach towards humanity is vastly different, their goals are essentially the same when boiled down. Whether it be the natural balance maintained or the perfection of humanity; both is sought after for the sake of an ideal world for those that inhabit it. Even though Teiva sees Yathander as too idealistic, and he sees her as harshly pragmatic, neither will oppose their approach as there is a fundamental truth found in both. After The Great Storm, while definitely upset and horrified by what she did, he does not judge her for doing it now. He saw that there was no malice in her heart in what she did, and respects her for at least making a difficult decision when none of the other prime dieties were willing to do anything to truly end the war. He has adopted that spirit of assertion in his pursuits of good from Teiva for sure.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Teiva has a deep respect for Leandros, to the point of granting him dominion of felines when he ascended to divinity. They both have overlapping beliefs of overcoming adversity and self-assertion to protect what matters to them.
Main Cleric Domains:
Nature and Tempest
Churches/Groups
- Grove-Keepers
- Oracles of Waves
- Zealots of Disaster
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I really like this, I love that she's an interesting, well-rounded character, and not just an object of worship! Her different aspects are super interesting ^_^