Walanni
Head of the Walannite Pantheon, Walanni is a powerful Deorum Celestial, and is widely recognised as a deity across all of the Planes of Existence in Ulskandar. As well as being the wife of Kulittu, the Dead God who has been ejected in disgrace from the pantheon and who was slain by her own hand, she is the mother of the lesser deities of the Walannite pantheon, Labarnas and Annella.
Divine Domains
Walanni’s associations have grown since she became the head of the Walannite pantheon. Initially, Walanni was associated with the home, motherhood, childbirth, agriculture and all manner of other domestic matters. However, since assuming the role as this chief deity of the pantheon, Walanni has taken on additional associations, most notably an association with rulers and leaders, and also a key association with making sacrifices for the greater good.
The wide remit of associations that Walanni has taken on mean that she a popular and widely worshipped deity, and she is petitioned by all manner of people on a wide variety of different things. This is in contrast to her children Labarnas and Annella, who are focused as deities around more specific things.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Walanni is most commonly represented as an ageless, beautiful woman, primarily depicted with arms outstretched in welcome. All temples to Walanni will have a statue of her, placed at the back of the sacred space, facing the main doors, her arms outstretched to welcome people into her hallowed space.
Walanni is also represented by the image of a cup, surmounted by a star, and this is the image that is most frequently used on her holy symbols.
Holidays
There are several feasts and holidays held throughout the year that are associated specifically with Walanni, and that are celebrated by those that adhere to Walanniism.
The first of these holidays is known as Matron Day. Matron Day is held on the first day of the third month, a time that is closely linked to the arrival of spring, and which is also said to be the day that Walanni realised that she was pregnant with her twin children Labarnas and Annella. As a result, Matron Day is a celebration of the renewal of life and the end of winter, and there is a particular focus around celebrating mothers, pregnant women and children, all of whom are traditionally given small presents, which are normally sweet treats of some sort.
The second holiday associated with Walanni is the Days of Shrouds, which is held from the last day of the fifth month through to the seventh day of the sixth month, and it commemorates the time of contemplation, where Walanni brooded over what to do about her erstwhile husband Kulittu, after discovering his fall from grace. The Day of Shrouds is really a period of religious observance rather than a ‘holiday’ per se. There is no feasting or celebration during this time, but instead devotees of Walanniism are expected to fast, wear sombre clothing of a grey or black hue, and dwell upon their own troubles, and through doing so petition the goddess for help. Many people will leave offerings at their local temple to Walanni during this period. After the Days of Shrouds, on the eighth day of the sixth month, the joint festival to Walanni, Labarnas and Annella, the Feast of Conquest is celebrated (see below).
The final holiday associated with just Walanni specifically, is held on the middle day of the twelfth month, and is known as Feast of Radiant Lights. The feast commemorates a time when Walanni’s followers, tired, cold and thirsty from their flight from the followers of Kulittu, were guided to an oasis by a pillar of flame, placed above it by Walanni herself, where the faithful could rest, warm themselves and slake their thirst. This truly is a holiday, and it is a daylong feast, where braziers and torches will be set out along streets in faithful towns, with the aim of illuminating the long winter night as much as possible. Torch lit parades will often be held as well and people will light huge numbers of candles in their homes to try and bring light to every corner of their dwellings. This activity will also be accompanied by private or communal feasts, where only foods preserved for consumption from the spring and summer months will be consumed.
In addition, Walanni is jointly associated with the Feast of Conquest, along with her son and daughter, Labarnas and Annella. The Feast of Conquest is a commemoration of Walanni and her children rising up to slay their fallen husband and father, Kulittu, and the consequent saving of the very first adherents of Walanniism from a hideous death at the hands of Kulittu’s Orcish followers. This is the only time when animals are sacrificed, and sacrifices are made in the temples of all three of the pantheon’s deities. The Feast of Conquest is also used in the Sultanate of Fashaddon, the Emirate of Taqwal and elsewhere as a celebration of their national strength, with feasts taking place dedicated to soldiers, the military and in honour of battles and campaigns fought and won.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Like most Deorum Celestials, Walanni’s ultimate aim is to increase her pantheon’s base of power and to also protect and preserve her Divine Line, so that it will last for time immemorial. The principal part of this goal hinges around ensuring that the cult of her husband, Kulittu is not able to gain so much power that it can subvert or become an open threat to Walanniism, and also to ensure that Kulittu himself is never able to regain enough power to reappear once more in physical form, which would undoubtedly lead to an immediate attack of revenge against Walanni and her children, which would doubtless be devastating given that Kulittu was by far the strongest of the four original Walannite deities.
Linked to this, Walanni is constantly striving to find a way to destroy Kulittu's spirit and render him truly dead. As it stands, Kulittu still exists, and is still dangerous, though not nearly as much so should he be brought back to physical form, and he is more than capable fo coercing beings from the Upper, Lower and Material Planes into serving him, something that can only be stopped with his true demise.
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