Selune
Selûne, also known as Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden, and the Night White Lady, is the goddess of the moon in certain pantheons. In her long history as a divine figure, she has held the portfolios of the moon, moonlight, stars, questers, beauty, purity, love, marriage, navigation/navigators, tracking, wanderers, seekers, diviners, dreams, good/neutral lycanthropes, and autumn. Hers is the moon's mysterious power, the heavenly force that governed the world's tides and a mother's reproductive cycles, caused lycanthropes to shift form, and drew one to the brink of madness, and back again. Her nature, appearance, and mood all change in turn with the phases of the moon. She is also known, in distant lands, as Bright Nydra, Elah, and Lucha, and She Who Guides. Most of her followers believe the moon to be the goddess herself watching over the world and the lights that trails behind it to be her tears, from both joy and sorrow.
Description
In both her avatars and her religious artwork, Selûne appears in many forms, like the phases of the moon. One is a dusky-skinned human woman with long limbs; perfect and exquisite beauty; wide, radiant, lime-green eyes; and long, ivory-hued hair that falls to her knees. Another is an ethereal young girl of slender frame, dark eyes, and dark hair, wearing diaphanous robes colored white or resembling dappled moonlight, which trails her "moondust" or "moon motes". A third is a matronly middle-aged woman, plump yet fair and aging gracefully, with gray-streaked dark hair. This one sometimes lived among mortals; the most notable such avatar is the innkeeper Luna. A simple depiction of the goddess is of a woman's face on the disc of the moon. She is also ever changing, ageing but ageless. If watched over time, her appearance seems to grow to full radiance or to age and fade away, in keeping with the waxing or waning of the moon. Such changes only affect her external appearance and do not reflect any change in might, at least to mortal eyes. But, over time, she does indeed wax and wane in power and prominence. In any form or state, whenever she is in darkness, Selûne's avatar continually emanates a faint blue-white glow like moonlight. Again like the cycles of the moon, Selûne has many and changing moods and natures. Her faithful, coming from many walks of life, view her in countless different ways, and she reflects this. Sometimes she is enthusiastic, vivacious, joyous, and majestic, given to action and dance. At other times, she is subdued, motherly, and almost poetic or tranquil and embracing. Then she is remote and weighed down by sadness at defeats and tragedies, even those that happened long, long ago. Finally, she can be aggressive and fierce, but cold, and with little mercy for her enemies. These shifting personalities make her versatile. Nevertheless, she is viewed as a calm power. Nevertheless, at all times, Selûne is caring and accepting of most beings, and forgiving of most of her followers' faults. She is both ageless and ancient. She is quietly mystical and, as a being of chaos, well used to change. She has a serene and peaceful nature and is slow to anger; she will not fight if she can help it, but nor will she hold back if she must. She is fiercely protective when confronted by evil. The one constant is her eternal conflict with Shar. She is generous and freely bestows gifts and blessings on mortals. She also makes few demands of her followers. When beseeched by her clergy, she always responds.Abilities
When manifested as an avatar, she can cast a wide variety of magical spells, except those of the plant sphere and any that conjure darkness. She avoids reversed and injurious forms of healing spells and necromantic sphere spells, unless absolutely necessary. She can freely cast divination spells, even alongside other spells. Her spells all have a similar appearance, beginning as streaks of moonbeams and only revealing their true effect when they strike. She radiates protection from evil to a distance of a 100 yards (90 meters), and no good summoned creature within this range can be dispelled or banished. Meanwhile, a holy word from her automatically banishes evil extraplanar beings. She can not be damaged by electricity and light spells, and can not be affected by illusion, enchantment, or charm and charm sphere spells. No lycanthrope can attack her. She can not be detected or revealed by divination magic unless she wills it. If pressed into battle, Selûne is an awesome warrior, fighting with both divine fury and with martial and magical skill in coordination. She typically manifests as trails of dancing motes of light, similar to will-o'-wisps, commonly called "moondust" or "moon motes", which can shed moonlight where there should be none. In this form, she guides travelers lost in the night or journeying over hazardous terrain, and comes to shine for her faithful when light was needed for a delicate action. These moon motes occasionally exude a radiant, sparkling, pearly-hued liquid known as "drops fallen from the moon", which is the holy essence of Selûne and is prized by the faithful. To indicate her favor or presence or to help mortals, Selûne might send owls; weredragons or song dragons; certain breeds of good lycanthropes or other shapechanging creatures; or one of her loyal planetar servants known as the Shards, or lesser beings known as slivers. Other signs are the colors blue and silver and the appearance of moonstones. For example, a Selûnite captured by Sharrans who spied a moonstone ring on one of their fingers would understand there was a spy in the cult. Selûne would also create moonfire for her faithful during a ritual, which could enchant items or the worshipers themselves. Finally, Selûne can sense any deed that occurs in the open light of the moon, anywhere in the world. She could also instantly create any magical item that could heal, influence shapechangers, or bestow spells of the Moon domain.Activities
She is believed to control the ebb and flow of the tides and to comfort those in need during the night. Her moon shines a light in the darkness, holding evil at bay. She has infused her spirit with the moon, and there eternally watches over the world. Through the moon, she controls the powers of lycanthropes. Lycanthropy was often known by the euphemism "Selûne's Kiss"; one so touched was said to be "kissed by Selûne". She is believed to guide herders to good pastures, to aid ships lost on the sea and travelers lost in the wilds, to deliver love to those who sought it and bless marriages, to guarantee the safety of births, and to watch over relationships and connections between people. Selûne blesses all things beautiful purely for the sake of their beauty (putting her adjacent to Sune), and grants visions to people who desired them for good purposes. Selûne often provides her priests with temporary powers or spells to help them achieve the missions she gives them. Selûne is in constant conflict with Shar, her sister and the goddess of darkness. Their war is the eternal drama of the sky, vital to the balance of nature: the dark of the night devours the light of the moon, before the moon is renewed and the cycle repeated. In their never-ending struggle across the sky, Selûne is slain by Shar at every new moon. They fight incessantly to undercut the other. Babes born beneath a full moon often grow up to exhibit magical talent, thanks to Selûne's link with Mystra. Meanwhile, those conceived under moonlight are believed to "have the moon alive within them" and expected to turn to the worship of Selûne. Folk are encouraged to pray to Selûne under moonlight, for she gains real power at such times. Furthermore, she can guide those who meditate under moonlight, even if they do not pray to her.Divine Realm
Selûne dwells in a planar realm called the Gates of the Moon. Selûne resides in a shining silver hall named Argentil, a place of beauty, quietness, and moonlight.Church Relationships
Selûne and Hecate, the main goddess of Kauvet, have a very antagonistic relationship, as Selûne was the original goddess of the moon before she was usurped by Hecate during the birth of Queen Everly Lavandin, and her power in Kauvet has waned as Hecate's has waxed. As a result, followers of Selûne detest the church of Hecate and the Royal Family, and view Hecate as devious and cunning, given that her divine realms are located in the Nine Hells and Hades (a fact that is often swept under the rug by the Church of Hecate) . They especially take issue with Hecate's use of the undead in conjunction with the Church of Myrkul, and the Church's pursuit of political power through Queen Everly. They also oppose the Church's support of Myrkul's followers.Notable Followers of Selune
- Rosalyn Silverleaf (Twilight Cleric of Selune)
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