Aduntarri

Let my dreams be still and my mind calm. Grant me the clarity to remember the past day with ease and face the new day with grace. Give me safe haven so I might face the world renewed.
—Common prayer to Aduntarri

Aduntarri (pronounced ah-done-TAR-ree) is a pantheonic goddess commonly associated with families, protection, dreams, and hospitality.

Abanir pantheon

Adadan (pronounced AH-dah-don) the Golden Mother is a goddess of many things, including travel, magic, souls, death, birth, and mountains. She is a benevolent, protective figure who watches over those that journey through perilous places, whether that be in a physical, spiritual, or psychological manner.

The goddess shepherds souls before birth and after death, transporting them between the divine and mortal worlds then eventually back again. As such, Adadan is commonly associated both with midwives and those that perform funerary rites, but these are not the only figures to whom she is seen as a patron. Any who keep travelers safe, whether that be as guides or simply kindly strangers along the way, are Adadan's emissaries to the mortal realm.

Adadan is widely depicted as a bear with golden fur.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Heal the wounded, show hospitality to travelers, help those in distress, protect those who cannot protect themselves
Anathema: Spread fear or despair, share or create lies

Aserdian pantheon

Tarazet (pronounced TAH-rah-zet) is a goddess of the family and community first and foremost, a gentle guide and fierce protector of her followers. Her clergy often perform marriage ceremonies, exhorting their goddess to watch over the new family. She is also widely invoked to protect one's dwelling. Unlike many other deities in the Aserdian pantheon, she is thought to take a very active role in the lives of her faithful. Tarazet is believed to have a strong influence on all dreams and visions, including those induced by the consumption of certain plants. Devotees of Tarazet often use hallucinogens as part of their prayers in order to form a closer connection to their goddess. Still, her clergy teach moderation of this practice, as one should not become too consumed with the world of dreams.

Tarazet's clergy typically take very active roles in their communities, often serving not only as religious figures but also as public servants, offering whatever aid they can to the needy. Temples are usually austere, as they place far more emphasis on feeding and healing those that request assistance than on displays of wealth or piety. Devout followers of Tarazet often maintain dream journals, in which they interpret the dreams granted to them by their goddess.

Tarazet is typically depicted in animalistic forms, most often as an elephant.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Protect those who cannot protect themselves, help those in distress, record your dreams, aid travelers
Anathema: Spread fear or despair, break apart a family, cause nightmares, become too consumed with your dreams

Chaskan pantheon

Aduntarri (pronounced ah-done-TAR-ree) is the goddess of families, protection, dreams, hospitality, and marriage. She guides and protects families, providing solace to those seeking comfort and wisdom to those needing counsel.

Many pray to Aduntarri before resting for the night, or hang images of her holy symbol next to their bed, in hopes she will ward off any nightmares. The faithful of Aduntarri believe she communicates primarily through dreams, and therefore place great importance on understanding and remembering the imagery of their dreams, in case their goddess reaches out to them. As a goddess of the family she is invoked in marriage ceremonies as well as to help protect one's dwelling. Aduntarri is very much a household deity, one who is thought to be far more concerned with the day-to-day lives of her followers than with grand cosmic goals.

Devout followers of Aduntarri are always willing to open their homes to travelers and others requiring hospitality. Large communal feasts are a central part of the worship at most temples, free for all to partake. The clergy of Aduntarri maintain a loose church structure in much of the world. They commonly share knowledge and resources with other temples and often organize together in times of crisis and danger, but otherwise do not have a formal church hierarchy.

Priests and clerics of Aduntarri maintain a stance of neutrality towards other deities and their clergy. They seek to serve and protect their people first and foremost, without becoming involved in any conflicts or disputes themselves, and temples of Aduntarri are widely seen as safe havens for those fleeing violence or abuse. For this reason clergy of Aduntarri are very likely to receive martial instruction as part of their religious training in order to guard those under their protection.

In the stories told by her followers, Aduntarri was born to protect the mortal world from the machinations of the other gods. She is the benevolent guide, the mother, the one that wishes happiness for everyone. She remains aloof and separate from the other gods by choice in order to offer safe harbor to any and all. She cares not of your background or past, only if she can be of comfort in your time of troubles. Aduntarri heals her faithful of their sorrow and provides solace and hope for better times to come.

Rather than a singular holy text, the clergy of Aduntarri maintain journals containing interpretations of the dreams of those that attend their temple. Prayers often involve the analysis of these dreams, in hopes they contain messages from their goddess. Devotees of Aduntarri who travel widely or do not attend a temple for some other reason often have their own dream journals.

To many of her followers Aduntarri is closely associated with elephants, and she is often depicted as an older woman astride an elephant painted in her holy colors.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Protect those who cannot protect themselves, help those in distress, record your dreams, honor the sacrifices of others
Anathema: Spread fear or despair, break apart a family, cause nightmares

Khapeshan pantheon

Tawaret (pronounced TAH-wah-ret) is a goddess of families, children, protection, dreams, and hospitality. She is seen as a rather playful goddess, an old matriarch who finds great joy in the laughter of children.

Devout followers of Tawaret are always willing to open their homes to travelers and others requiring hospitality, and those journeying across Khapesh, as well as others who are in need of food or shelter, know that they can find such accommodations at temples to the goddess. The goddess and her priesthood place a heavy emphasis on the importance of hospitality. Large communal feasts are common events at most temples, free for all to partake.

Though Tawaret has a grand temple like most other gods in the pantheon, located in Semnu in lower Khapesh, her clergy place comparatively little importance on the maintenance of ornate and stately houses of worship. Temples to the goddess tend to be rather more austere, as aside from that of the priests themselves, relatively little worship takes place there. Tawaret is instead a household deity, one prayed to by individuals and families at small shrines in their own homes. Imagery of Tawaret and inscriptions invoking the goddess are commonly placed above doors and on bed frames so that she might watch her faithful as they rest. As Harakhte and her retinues fight Apep in the divine world at night, Tawaret protects mortals from the Serpent's forces and evil spirits in the mortal realm.

Yet for all her serious aspects, Tawaret is a joyous goddess as well. She cares greatly for the happiness of her followers, especially that of families and children, and her clergy regularly hold festivals throughout the year to communally celebrate the birthdays of children and infants. Khapeshan children are frequently born in temples to Tawaret, with new mothers cared for by the priests.

Tawaret is depicted in humanoid form, a female figure with the horns of a cow.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Protect those who cannot protect themselves, find opportunities to make others laugh, help those in distress
Anathema: Spread fear or dispair, break apart a family, cause nightmares, upset children

Talgazan pantheon

Taufran (pronounced TAU-fron) is a goddess of protection, families, hospitality, and children. She is the hearth-tender of the gods, responsible for making sure their great feasts can continue unabated. Taufran and her followers are simultaneously tender and fearsome, willing to go to great lengths to defend those they care about.

The goddess is perhaps the most widely worshiped of the Talgazan pantheon. Small idols of Taufran are commonly kept in homes and tents, with offerings and prayers given frequently. Her priesthood are often rather militant, equally comfortable with martial matters as they are with the care of children.

Taufran is usually depicted as a motherly figure with a sooty apron, dirtied from tending to the cooking fire.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Protect those who cannot protect themselves, help those in distress, honor the sacrifices of others
Anathema: Spread fear or despair, break apart a family, fail to strike down those that threaten your friends and family

Dwarven pantheon

Tandlan (pronounced TAND-lan) is a goddess of families, protection, armor, and dreams. She teaches dwarves the importance of family and community, both as critical parts of a functioning society and as sources of joy.

Tandlan is the protector of communities and the glue that binds families together. She is frequently called upon for her blessing when making armor, shields, or other items used for defense, which often include inscriptions imploring the goddess to protect their bearer. Charms to the goddess, worn by her faithful, protect their bearers against bad dreams. Neither Tandlan nor her clergy are militant, but they will always rush to the aid of those who have been attacked.

Marriages invoked in her name are especially important to followers of Tandlan. If the couple to be wed share aspects of their dreams, it is believed the goddess favors their marriage especially. Clerics of Tandlan not only officiate marriage ceremonies but also aid in the arrangement of marriages and in the birth and raising of children.

Tandlan is usually depicted as an elderly dwarven woman, matriarchal in demeanor, wearing a set of heavy armor.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Protect those who cannot protect themselves, help those in distress, ensure your community is well-defended
Anathema: Undermine the defenses of a person or place, spread fear or despair, break apart a family

Elven pantheon

Aritimi (pronounced arr-ih-TEE-me) is a goddess of dreams and visions, worshiped in hope that she will grant vibrant, lucid, and insightful dreams. Followers of Aritimi often seek to influence the path of their visions; many view the events and places they see in them as no less real than their waking hours.

She is a relatively minor god in the Elven pantheon, and her clergy and temples are therefore not found especially widely. Aritimi's priesthood often serve as itinerant dream interpreters, traveling between communities to find those who wish to use their visions to their advantage. Not only are they are known to be experts in inducing dreams via psychoactive substances, but they also frequently "share" dreams to aid in understanding their meanings.

Compared to her interpretations in other pantheons, Aritimi's role as a protector is de-emphasized; Ais takes on that responsibility instead. Similarly, her typical concern for families is instead picked up by Thalan.

Aritimi is typically depicted in animalistic forms, most often as a pygmy elephant or a manatee. Regardless of the form she takes, she is always pictured in bright, distinctly not natural colors.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Record your dreams and visions, interpret your dreams and those of others
Anathema: Alter one's mind without consent, spread fear or despair, cause nightmares

Orcish pantheon

Mortuga (pronounced more-TOO-gah) is a goddess of protection, dreams, rulership, conflict, and families. In addition to her role as a guardian of the family and community, she is also seen as the protector of the universe from Vemdu, her divine shield always raised against the Devourer.

Mortuga fills many roles in Orcish theology. She is a kind and gentle goddess who watches over families, yet also a militant deity who is willing to act in violence for those she cares about. Many who follow Mortuga see the goddess' protective aspects to be highly proactive - if you know someone intends to attack you, why wait to protect yourself instead of removing the threat as quickly as possible? Unnecessary strife is seen as acting against Mortuga's wishes, however, and it is common for her priests to serve as mediators between warring clans and communities.

Temples and shrines to Mortuga are usually the largest in communities following the Orcish pantheon, though it is not uncommon for households to have their own idols of the goddess as well. Many wear amulets of her holy symbol to ward off bad dreams and attract the goddess' attention in hopes of receiving divine guidance.

Mortuga is often depicted carrying a weapon and a large shield, sometimes with an additional magical ward that surrounds her. She is associated with elephants and mammoths, and some images of the goddess show her next to such creatures, equal to them in size.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Protect those who cannot protect themselves, help those in distress, take action against those who would do harm to you or your family
Anathema: Continue an unnecessary fight, spread fear or despair, break apart a family