Nisaba

She has guided my hand towards the truth. She has kept my vision clear as I seek the grandness of the world. Praise to Nisaba!
—Dedication from a Tirionite encyclopedia

Nisaba (pronounced niss-AH-bah) is the goddess of writing, history, research, investigations, and education.

Aserdian pantheon

Nashira (pronounced nah-SHEE-rah) is a goddess of central importance, especially as a deity of history - many consider her the most important figure in the pantheon, or at least the most important one that takes an active role in mortal affairs. She connects communities to their past, both recent and distant, and in doing so allows them to better understand the present. Followers of Nashira believe the teaching of others to be one of most pious acts one can take. In the Aserdian pantheon Nashira is not only the goddess of written works but also of oral histories, which are often interspersed with praise for the goddess.

Nashira's clergy are often found working in libraries or as researchers, actively attempting to further mortal understanding of the world as a facet of their prayers. Unusually for Aserdian deities, her priesthood is quite well-organized, if rather diffuse. They frequently communicate with each other in order to share knowledge and take part in each other's worship. Though it has no official status as such, the House of Treasure in Yarma is widely considered by Nashira's clergy to be one of the holiest places for their faith, and a great many of their theological works are stored there.

Compared to her interpretations in other pantheons, Nashira is more of a neutral goddess in the Aserdian pantheon, with her lawful aspects de-emphasized.

Nashira is typically depicted as a scribe deep in her work, often wearing clothes covered in intricate writing. She is frequently pictured as sitting amongst celestial bodies, pulling ink from the night sky between them.

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Chaskan pantheon

Nisaba (pronounced niss-AH-bah) is the goddess of writing, research, investigations, and education, and in particular of history, alchemy, and mathematics. She writes with the inky blackness of the night sky, chronicling the cycles of the cosmos on her endless scroll. The goddess searches for truth and records all she finds, embodying the fundamental and innate drive for knowledge and the desire to learn.

Those possessed by a drive to learn frequently turn to the worship of Nisaba. Writers and researchers of all types commonly worship her, but her faith is especially widespread amongst historians, natural scientists, alchemists, and mathematicians. Mages and inventors are typical followers of Nisaba as well, as are many others whose work and lives are closely intertwined with information and writing.

In some stories of Nisaba's origins, she was intentionally willed into existence by the other gods to chronicle the process of creation. In others, she was born from the yearning of the first living beings to understand their surroundings. This divide heavily defines her faithful. In some places in Kishar, Nisaba is primarily seen as a god of scribes and historians - these regions generally prefer the first tale. The latter story, however, is emphasized by Nisaba's devotees who see her first and foremost as a goddess of research and investigation.

Temples to Nisaba are usually organized under regional church structures that run themselves mostly independently from each other. These churches are almost like large library systems, and exist in large part to organize and catalogue the large corpus of works they have written and collected.

Nisaba has innumerable holy texts. All works dedicated to the goddess are considered holy by her followers, who frequently begin and end each book, scroll, or tablet they write with a doxology to Nisaba. There are two written works, however, that are considered particularly holy:

Magic Under the Stars: Magic Under the Stars is widely used by those taking their first steps to learn arcane magic. It is quite an old written work; copies of this text have been dated back to at least the 32nd century.
On Investigations: Half a manual on how to conduct a thorough investigation and half a collection of prayers, On Investigations is a lengthy tome especially favored by those that seek to unravel mysteries.

Nisaba is widely depicted as a scribe deep in her work, using ink made from the darkness of the night sky to write on a massive scroll. In some renditions the cosmos itself is her scroll, so packed with knowledge that the only parts not covered are the pinpricks of the stars and other celestial bodies.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Seek and spread knowledge and truth, instruct others, record history, further society’s understanding of mundane, magical, and divine topics
Anathema: Allow false information to spread, share or create lies, destroy knowledge, withhold knowledge from others

Khapeshan pantheon

Shentayet (pronounced shen-TAH-yet) is a goddess of knowledge, writing, history, education, and research. She taught mortals language so that they might keep records of the events of the world, just as she does with all the actions of the divines.

As the Collector of Truth, many of Shentayet's followers are scribes and others concerned with recording factual information. Her temples often work closely with local governments to chronicle even the most mundane details of day to day life, as they believe all knowledge will eventually have a use. The clergy of Shentayet view the mere action of writing to be a pious act, and many are prolific authors of theological treatises, detailed chronologies, natural histories, or even fiction. But Shentayet is also worshiped by those that use knowledge, not just those that record it. Many sailors pray to the goddess, for example, as the celestial maps they rely upon so heavily for navigation are made in her name.

Shentayet's faith is led by her grand temple in Arthribis, a relatively small city in upper Khapesh. Like many other temples to the goddess, this grand temple is also a library and school, a place for prospective students to learn about divine, magical, and mundane topics alike. Temples of Shentayet often serve as repositories of knowledge, places where obscure information otherwise forgotten can be found, all dutifully cataloged and preserved by her priests.

Shentayet is depicted as a humanoid figure with the head of an ibis. She often carries a clay tablet or a scroll, upon which is visible an invocation to the goddess.

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Dwarven pantheon

Solnas (pronounced SOLE-nahs) is a goddess of history, record-keeping, and genealogy. She is the dutiful chronicler and the one who taught dwarves the practice of keeping long family histories. It is common for dwarven families to possess one of Solnas' holy texts for generations, adding their own writings to it to note births, deaths, and other major events within the family.

In addition to their religious duties, the clergy of Solnas often maintain detailed records of the history and ongoing events of their communities. Her temples house large tomes which, though their logs of regular, everyday events might seem mundane to others, are considered precious by her clergy. As part of their worship of their goddess, priests and priestesses of Solnas painstakingly hand-copy both these books and others, as the replication of knowledge is deemed an act of piety.

Solnas' faithful include scribes, investigators, and others for whom knowledge is a central concern in life, but she is worshiped more broadly by all followers of the pantheon as the preserver of history and tradition that allows their communities to stay connected to their roots.

Solnas is usually depicted as a dwarven woman wearing clothes covered in runic symbols. In many pictures she is shown with black fingertips stained by ink.

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Elven pantheon

Celens (pronounced CELL-enz) is a goddess of magic first and foremost. In the stories of the Elven pantheon she taught the first wizard the secrets of arcane magic, and prospective elven wizards are still often instructed by clerics of Celens. Since the end of the era of the aeroliths and the abandonment of Eita, Celens has additionally gained importance as a goddess of history, particularly amongst Redemptionist elves.

Many of Celens' clergy fuse their divine magic with skilled use of arcane techniques. Temples to the goddess are often used as both prayer halls and schools of magic, places to instruct new generations of mages in both the teachings of the goddess and proper magical form.

One of Celens' holy texts, Magic Under the Stars, is often believed to have originated in the Elven pantheon before spreading to her faithful elsewhere in the world.

Celens is typically depicted dressed in the garb of an elven mage, with most pictures portraying her as in the process of casting an elaborate spell. More stylized depictions sometimes show her as a constellation.

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