Varena, The Gilded Temptress
(a.k.a. Lady of Avarice. Queen of Coin. The Whisper Behind the Throne.)
General Overview
Depiction:
Varena is most often depicted as a statuesque figure adorned in opulent finery—robes of golden thread, jewelry heavy with cursed gemstones, and a half-veiled face of impossible beauty. Her eyes shimmer like molten gold, but they reflect no soul. Artists often portray her seated upon a gilded throne made of grasping hands or towering piles of coins, her fingers extended in invitation—or silent judgment. Her voice, when heard in dreams, is velvet wrapped around blades.
To her faithful, she is the personification of desire unrestrained, the promise of reward without consequence. She does not demand blood as Malleus does—she tempts it from you, gilding it with ambition.
Role in the Pantheon & Shadows of Sin
Within the Pantheon: Varena represents the seductive decay of morality through ambition. Her creation carved out the divine mantle of Greed, Corruption, and Avarice from Kalenroth’s essence. Though barred from recognition by The Divine Accord, her touch is felt in every backroom deal, every silent bribe, and every glittering idol raised to wealth.
Within the Shadows of Sin: Varena is the strategist and corrupter, the most politically minded of the three. She weaves webs of influence across kingdoms and syndicates alike. Where Malleus strikes, she whispers. Where Drallen poisons trust, she buys it.
Worship & Rituals
Varena’s cults are hidden in merchant guilds, noble courts, and pleasure houses. She is not worshipped openly—her reverence is paid in darkened ledgers, illicit transactions, and spoken oaths of silence sealed with golden wax.
Common Rituals:
The Golden Offering: Followers offer wealth (coins, artifacts, ledgers) into a fire of scented oils while reciting a whispered prayer. The smoke carries the promise of prosperity or protection—at a hidden price.
The Pact of Profit: Binding contracts made in her name, written in gold ink and sealed with personal blood. Violating the terms results in curses of loss, madness, or social ruin.
Gilded Mask Ceremony: Initiates wear mirrored golden masks and confess their darkest ambitions aloud to an unseen Varena. It is said she marks the worthy with dreams of the future.
Myths & Legends
The Jewel of Al-Hajjad: A stolen artifact said to have belonged to Varena herself. It changes hands often and is rumored to curse the greedy with everything they desire.
The Crimson Auction: Whispers tell of a secret auction where the souls of nobles were sold for favor. All bidders vanished mysteriously—save for the one who won.
The Gilded Blight: A ruined city whose nobles worshipped wealth above all. Allegedly, Varena turned their coins into parasitic gold that devoured the city’s foundations from within.
Relationships with Other Shadows of Sin
Malleus: She respects his results, if not his methods. They often trade influence for carnage—her deals ignite his wars, his aftermath feeds her coffers.
Drallen: Varena and Drallen share a bond in subversion. Where she corrupts through desire, he corrupts through fear. Their cults often cooperate when unraveling powerful empires from within.
Relationships with Other Aeons
The Law Bearer: Bitterly opposed. She represents the loophole, the bribe, the corruption of order.
The Night Mother: Varena views her with curiosity. Death ends desire, but not always its consequences. They share a love of secrets.
The Verdant Warden: Conflict. Nature values balance; Varena prefers imbalance that benefits the clever.
Lesser Aeons: Varena finds allies or tools among the ambitious. She holds particular contempt for Valora, The Guardian, whose incorruptible nature offends her.
Divine Domains
Trickery – Illusion, misdirection, and charm. Her faithful bend truth to suit ambition.
Greed (homebrew/setting-dependent) – This domain empowers hoarding, exploitation, and transactional power. It fuels arcane contract magic and spiritual debt.
Enchantment – Her influence extends through desire and persuasion, enchanting the hearts of kings and warlocks alike.
Corruption – Spiritual decay and the turning of pure intentions into self-serving ambition.
Debauchery – Pleasure pursued at the cost of others, revelry turned to rot, and indulgence used as a weapon. This domain empowers acts of carnal manipulation and the erosion of virtue.
Adultery – The betrayal of sacred bonds through desire. It fuels the breaking of oaths, manipulation of love, and weaponization of intimacy in pursuit of ambition.
Artifacts
The Coin of Second Chances: A cursed relic that always returns to the one who most betrayed their morals for wealth. Flipping it grants fortune—but at an escalating, unseen cost.
The Whispering Mask: Said to let the wearer hear Varena’s voice in moments of choice or temptation.
Holy Books & Codes
The Ledger of Desires: A growing tome held by her high priests, where every vow and bargain made in her name is transcribed. Rumored to rewrite itself with new entries.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Primary Symbol:
- A split coin bleeding gold onto velvet cloth.
- A veiled mask surrounded by open, grasping hands.
- A dagger entwined in gold chain, hidden behind an ornate fan.
- A serpent biting a golden ring.
Tenets of Faith
- Desire is divine. Wanting is sacred; denying the self breeds only weakness.
- Every soul has a price. If you haven’t found it, you haven’t looked hard enough.
- What you take defines you. Acquisition—of wealth, influence, secrets—is its own justification.
- Generosity is manipulation. Gifts are investments. Kindness is a transaction.
- All power flows through golden veins. Coin and favor move the world more than armies ever coul
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Infect Institutions – Her goal is to hollow out order from within. Kingdoms, churches, and guilds are her battlegrounds.
Make All Power Transactional – She wishes to reshape morality so that every act is a negotiation, and every good is a commodity.
Birth the Perfect Dealmaker – Varena seeks a mortal to embody her ideals—charming, ruthless, and utterly loyal only to self-interest.
Weave the World in Contracts – Through blood-bound pacts and soul-forged agreements, she wants even the divine to bow before a web of obligation.
