Nemura

Divine Overview

Portfolio

Nemura's portfolio is slim yet essential. She is the goddess of the seas and waters, at least that water which does not conflict with Mistra's weather. From her waters can flow destruction, the divine destruction of the gods, capable of sundering the land and swamping its cities.
Within her waters she controls all the creatures of the sea which the light touches. Those lingering in the depths are believed to be the servants of the Obscure Ones.

Appearance

Nemura is most often depicted as a woman of green and blue seafoam, her form roiling like the waves. Most natural gods act through avatars, powerful creatures left behind on the Mortal Plane. Nemura's personified form is most often used in artistic depictions, and her numerous avatars are what legends say actually appear to worshippers.

Plane

Nemura's realm is best depicted by the Litoric Islanders, and while beliefs vary between islands, it is generally known as the Sea Beneath the Sea. This realm is a surfaceless sea, of vague depth, but never deeper than sunlight shines. A sourceless light emanates down through the water, despite the Moon being constantly visible. Floating within the sea are islands of coral, on which live water elementals, protecting the species of fish, both those seen on the Mortal Plane and those which were never present. Deeper down floats a palace of coral and pearl, home to the most virtuous of Islander spirits.

Historical Overview

Primordial Origins

Creation Myth

With Mae, Nemura is one of the most important gods in the creation myth. Across all cultures, the goddesses of land and sea were believed to be locked in a battle for influence over the creation of the Mortal Plane. Mae wanted the peoples of the world to live on one continent, together. Nemura feared that without a need to actually cross the oceans, she would be left without worshippers.
Their tug-of-war created many of the geographical features of the Mortal Plane. First, Nemura ripped Anhara from al-Tahat, creating the Narrow Sea. When Nemura tried to again, tearing what would become the Boreal North from northern Anhara, Mae fought back. Their battle ripped apart the land, shoving the Boreal North far into the icy wastes, and leaving the Litoric Islands between it and Anhara.
Some of the land that was between the newly-created Litoric Islands was flung far to the east, into the Unknown Tides. This would become the legendary land of the Shattered Isles, sought after by navigators and mythologised in stories. To prevent Mae's influence over this new landmass, Nemura made the Unknown Tides unnavigable, and many cults to her popped up along the islands in it, such as Nemura's Cay.
The tug-of-war between these two goddesses was so profound that its effects continue to the present day in the form of the tides.

Age of Rule

Nemura yielded control over much of her domain to her daughter, Petrina, shortly after Creation. Petrina, one of the Ruling Gods, controlled the Litoric Islands and has a portfolio that grew to include her mother's domains. Nemura remains associated with her most primal aspects - the destructive power of the sea and the waters in general. Much of the activity upon that water - navigation, sailing, prayers for safe passage - now falls to her daughter.

Contemporary Views

Anhara

Most interactions with the sea in Anhara come with prayers to their preferred goddesses, Vestria and Mistra. Wind and weather goddesses, they are asked for much of the navigatory safety that Anharans would otherwise look to Nemura for.
While many Anharans shy away from Nemura, given the animosity between Anhara and the Litoric Islands, her worship is strong in specific regions. Various Islander villages exist on the northern coast of the Verdante, and many port cities have Islander neighborhoods, such as Calettina in the Promenade.

al-Tahat

A land with little water, Tahatis prioritise Mistra's weather powers over Nemura's saltier connotations. However, worship of her is found in two extremes, the most eastern and western coasts. In the east, little sea is navigable save along the coastline, for this region borders the dangerous Unknown Tides. Many adventurers have given praise to Nemura before setting off for an ill-fated journey into her waters. In the west, the tribes of the Julfar Savanna pray to her to calm the storms that surge into the Narrow Sea, which separates them from their enemies in Anhara's Eastmarches.

Boreal North

The seas in the Boreal North are particularly dangerous, and sea monsters abound in its freezing waters. Some coastal tribes pray to Nemura for relief from the choppy seas that doom their fishermen. While she most frequently received prayers for protection, that has changed in the last few decades. As more whaling ships from Anhara ply the coastal seas, and more Islander colonies pop up in the south, those in the Boreal North pray to Nemura's destructive capacity to push these invaders back into the sea.

Litoric Islands

Nemura is the foremost Natural God in the Litoric Islands, and second deity only to Petrina. There is far less animosity between mother and daughter than in Anhara, where Vestria has almost entirely subsumed her mother's portfolio. Nemura and Petrina are viewed in conjunction with each other, the former prayed to for calm seas, the latter prayed to for navigating upon them, for example. However, the lines between who receives what prayers are thin, and vary considerably between islands and between individuals' understandings of the niche differences between the goddesses.

Panag Rho

Nemura lost much of her influence over Panag Rho in her creation battle with Mae. Panag Rho is Mae's land, flush with life, and she protects it jealously. While the Unknown Tides became an unnavigable barrier to the east, the Southern Sea mirrors it. Close to Mae's territory, it became unnaturally calm, leaving its numerous lush islands safe but isolated.

Divine Classification

Natural Goddess

Domains

Nature
Tempest

Portfolio

Destruction
Sea-Creatures Within Reach of the Sun
The Sea
Water

Titles

Island-Binder
Salt-Spreader
Sea-Sunderer
Water Eternal

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Gender

Female