(a.k.a. Seram Tearsinger)
"Breathe.
Do not speak. Do not think. Do not act.
Just, breathe. Breathe for the Goddess.
Breathe."
Physical Appearance & Manifestations
Seram is the source of all life upon the world, the fountain of that most precious of blessings for all creatures which live. She is the twin sister to Xistan, the God of Death, though they do not share an appearance. Seram is the beginning, the first step to her brother’s ending and final rest. Seram and Xistan are believed to be the first instance of twins within the world and thus the progenitors of the dichotomy which implies that where there are twins, one of them shall be positive and the other must be negative. Seram is not only the source of life, but also the source of evolution of that life, for as all things live and grow, all things change. This applies to both individuals and species and over time there have been changes to various races. The most well known among these changes are the Storm Races of the various Elves; High, Light and Dark.
As with most of the Elder Gods, depictions of Seram from before the Breaking are nearly non-existent, yet there have been a few well documented statues and tapestries which speak to Seram appearing in the eyes of those who view her as whatever species they belonged to. However, in the aftermath of The Breaking, Seram seems to have found a particular manifestation which she enjoys. Seram is most likely to be encountered these days as a Dragonborn woman with medium dark green scales covering most of her body, and lighter white-green scales on the more vulnerable sections. Her claws, crest and horns are all golden in color, and her three horns form an almost crown around her head. Her hair, which is long and flowing, reaching down to the middle of her back, is the color of night and shadow. Her eyes are the color of the blossoms which fall from the cherry trees. She is often wearing a layered gown in the Seran style with a broad winding ribbon around the waist and wide flowing sleeves. This gown is always the deep royal purple of the Imperial family, the ribbons being black and accented with gold and the gown itself bearing subtle patterns of flowers or insects or animals.
Personality & Philosophies
Seram is among the most widely favored of all the Elder Gods, possibly due to her followers and their tendency to help and heal without immediately sticking their hands in someone’s money pouch. Regardless of this Seram is, generally speaking, a truly kind and caring Goddess. While she is largely considered to be a force of good in the world, like all Elder Gods, there is a darker side to Seram. This darker side is not so easily noticeable as with some of the others. Life contains facets, and for every person who is born with all the blessings that life has to offer, there are others who are born with its curses. Difficult births, bloodline maladies, diseases, and plagues are also within the domain of Life. Animals are food, tool, and companion, but there are dangers in wildlife, venomous creatures and insects, even monstrous beasts, and all are part of Life as well. All have their place in the world, and all are loved equally by Seram.
The various sentient races who worship her must learn to accept the fact that to Seram their lives are just as important as the lives of ants building a home and toiling away to no grand purpose. While Seram cares for Life, it is not simply the life of those who worship her, but all life. She does not ask any to worship her, but those who chose to may be granted a trickle of her power to help promote life within the world. To Seram, like with all the Elder Gods, there is no real concept of good and evil within them, but with her it goes a step further. There is no concept of fairness, or of what should be or should not be, there may even not be a concept of balance within Seram. To her there is no such thing as unnatural life. While Xistan is her brother and her counterpart and balance, Seram only concerns herself with Life, nothing else. Death is Xistan’s to take care of. Without him, Seram would continue to nurture and flourish life and allow it to grow unchecked, like the choking and creeping vines which cause such havoc in Ordina.
Stories of those who have encountered Seram tend to paint a picture of her as quiet and soft-spoken, her touch soft and her smile warm. Should those meeting her be wounded they may find themselves healing amazingly fast after her touch and filled with a vigor afterwards. She is often decorous, maintaining a regal demeanor and looking upon all as her subjects, or perhaps children is a better word. For make no mistake she is as much Mother as she is Goddess.
Powers & Magical Artifacts
Seram’s powers lay within Life itself, the creation of new lives, the growth of life in the process of living, the adaptability of the living to change to suit their environment. Whether that life but a whole creature or merely part of a creature, size and shape have no limits on her ability to touch that life. Even things which many would not consider alive, her power still reaches. From the smallest, invisible creatures with no names to the largest, greatest beast and perhaps even unto the Gods themselves, Seram’s power can still reach. Seram’s power is very loosely connected to those of Karashiel and there is a small but important overlap there. While originally all living things were created by Karashiel but only gifted life by Seram, now she needs not have the broken goddess create a new creature. All that is needed to create a new creature is readily available in the world. One must only look to the various hachure which have grown more numerous as populations increase and more intermingling of the races occur.
Not all Seram’s power lays within her, for she has a potent artifact within which she has imparted a shard of that power. The Ocarina of the Six Essences, as it is known in the Empire of the Sera, is a made of bone and is shaped like a well-known root vegetable. It has twelve holes, and the surface has been carefully lacquered to a smooth shiny surface and then painted with cherry blossoms being blown on the wind. While the exact properties of the ocarina are unknown, it is documented among the Seran people that the few times it has been used were worthy of song and story. The Emperor, or Empress at the time, is told to have brought the Ocarina and played music on it for their people. Three times this has happened, once in war, once in peace and once during a plague. Each time the Seran people persevered far longer than they might have otherwise, which leads many arcane scholars to believe the Ocarina gifted those who heard the music with extended life.
The name of this artifact traces its roots to the Seran people, for the Six Essences are a deep part of their culture. It is taught to all the Seran people on one level or another that all life is made up of a combination of the Six Essences, a group of ethereal and intangible qualities that all living things possess in one degree or another. The Six Essences are known as the essences of beasts, fowls, drakes, shoals, carids and verdurs. The essence of beasts refers to land dwelling creatures, while the essence of fowls refers to creatures which can fly through the sky. The essence of drakes refers to all creatures who are reptilian in nature, while the essence of shoals refers to those creatures who can dwell beneath the water. The essence of carids refers to all creatures which are insectile in nature and the essence of verdurs refers to all plant life.
Followers & Organizations
Of the various groups and followers of the Goddess of Life, the largest is by far the Empire of Sera. The Empire is composed of many islands located within the Veiled Sea and have, according to the Empire, always been fervent worshippers of Seram. To the Empire, Seram is the highest of the Gods and the most powerful. In their stories and myths, she rules over all the Gods and the world of the living as the Dragon Queen, while her brother rules over the realm of the dead as the Devil King. While there are the standard temples where healers work and serve the people within the Empire, there are also other temples dedicated to Seram. These other temples are larger, more ornate and devoted to preserving the ancient stories of the Dragon Queen and her Court. These temples are seen to by the priests of Seram, while the temples devoted to healer are tended to by her clerics.
Clerics & priests of Seram are found in various other lands as well, though without the deep worship that the Seran people give to her. In the Free Lands of Muria and the Kingdom of Merjoux her temples and small houses of worship are widespread and full of those who devote their lives to helping heal others. In the Kratocracy of Azura the temples of Seram are no less prevalent, yet her worshippers there are often an ornery bunch as compared to others. They will still heal your wounds, still tend your illnesses, but they will also push you to better yourselves when you are healthy. Within the Stratocracy of Isenfeur those who show a talent for healing and who worship Seram will almost always find themselves having served within the Healer’s Division of the Isen military. Within the Plutocracy of Cendaq, those who worship Seram will be found almost assuredly within the houses of The Oasis. The Oasis is unlike the majority of healers for they will charge for their services. They will take coin from those who can afford to pay, often charging a premium for the services. For those who cannot afford, The Oasis offers alternative payment plans in the form of a variety of legal and not so legal services.
Perhaps out of all regions of the world, the Fellowship of Bata have the strongest and most understood relationship with Seram. For the jungles of Bata are teeming with life of all kinds, interconnected in a complex and delicate web. It would take little to upset this balance, and yet the people of Bata manage to not only live-in harmony with all the life present but thrive because of it. This is because they are guided by those who worship Seram and know of her ways, along with the ways of Karashiel’s appropriate aspects. Lastly within the Theocracy of Ordina, despite the Chorus of Harmony’s overwhelming presence, temples and small houses of worship are still available. The Chorus does not stifle the worshippers of Seram, though they do encourage them to also devote themselves to Yshirea. As such, many healers can be found among the ranks of the Chorus, healing its members and the people both.
Holidays & Services
There is a celebration which happens once a year within the Empire of Sera, which begins on the 21st of Xistas and lasts through to the 6th of Zolas. This is both a solemn and joyful festival where the dead are honored and remember, and the living are rewarded and praised for their duty to both the Empire and their families. The fortnight of celebration begins with three days of remembrance for the honorable dead. After this time of reflection has passed there are three days of celebration for the lives and achievements of the dead. Then there is the day of the Devil King where the devils roam the land trying to trick the living into making deals. The next seven days are devoted to Seram, the first of which is the rising of the Dragon Queen from her slumber to send the Devil King back to his realm. It is during this day that the normal traditions are upended. Those of the lowest caste are treated with the highest respect and vice versa. It is also during this day that the Emperor (or Empress) pays respect to each of the castes by serving them for the day. The following six days have the Seran people paying respect and homage to the Yososhuyona (the Principal Element Lords), each one of which presides over the domain of one of the six essences.
Within the deep jungles of the Fellowship, the Batan people celebrate their lives regularly, for they know at any moment it could be snuffed out. Each Life’s Day the people of Bata take an hour out of their day to meditate and simply breathe. To commune with the very life within them giving them purpose and ability. To honor the breath of life that Seram gave all living things, by devoting their time and breath to her. There is no set time this is done, each person does it whenever they are able to that day. Not everyone strictly follows this observance, but those who worship Seram will make every effort.
Within the desert lands of Cendaq, the 20th of Seras is a celebration of life among the harsh terrain. How it began is lost to time, as the various Merchant Princes have not been as diligent at keeping records in the past as they are in recent days. What is known is that the celebration happens on the same day each year and it is known among the Cendaqi people as The Joyous Rain. It has become the one day a year where the Merchant Princes give back freely to the people, showering and gifting them with gold & silver. While in the past this was done by each of the Merchant Princes riding through their city and distributing wealth that way, too many of them died from assassins doing this. Now large donations are made to The Oasis, and other larger places of business and these organizations supervise the distribution of wealth to the people. For those who receive these gifts of wealth, their life is bound to improve and their chances at survival greatly increase.
Stories & Myths
The stories of Seram are many, the most well known of them being her creation, alongside that of her brother Xistan, at the hands of The Weaver. According to the legend the Weaver had no more thread to weave more Gods with and so gathered up her hair and split it evenly into two sections, cutting it off with her knife and rendering into thread. She wove both Seram and Xistan at the same time, for she knew that Life and Death must always be forever linked. Once created the world and all things in it were shown to her and Seram walked the world and breathed life into all things. Her brother came after her, following her footsteps, bestowing his gift to all that she had touched. It was much later, after the birth of the first few of the Younger Gods that Seram was sought out by Murien, frustrated over the fighting of her brothers and the creation of B’erysh, the God of War. Murien and Seram had always been close and so as their discussion moved to solutions to the problems at hand, they put their power together and brought to life S’erien, the God of Peace and the first of Seram’s many children.
It was later still that a series of events set in motion the fate of not only the Gods but the whole world as well. Yshirea came to Seram and spoke with her long and passionately about his desire to have a child, for despite B’erysh being one of his, he was also one of Berana’s as well and that did not count. Seram was swayed by his pleas and together they created Y’shram, the God of Purity. Berana of course was displeased at this increase in order, however subtle it might be. What Yshirea was given freely, Berana took by force in his rage, and B’erram, the Goddess of Corruption came to be. At this point all that remained was for Yshirea to lock up Berana and lock in the fate of all things. Before that came to pass, Rioris came to Seram to console her, to help her to come to terms with Berana’s violation. During their time together they realized they shared the desire for Berana to face just punishment for his crime. And so, from both of their power was birthed S’erris, the Goddess of Justice.
The Empire of Sera has many stories of Seram, of how she as the Dragon Queen created all living things by walking the world and playing the song of each plant, each insect and bird and fish and animal. Only when all those were finished did she play a song of such infinite complexity that it caused Xistan himself to weep from its beauty. From each tear he shed, struck by the song she played, became a person as it fell to the earth. This is why all things which live, must one day die. Upon seeing Xistan’s joy and the world filled with so many living things, Seram herself cried a single tear and caught it within her ocarina, playing the most complex part of the song before allowing the tear to slide out and fall to the world becoming the first Emperor. There are many more stories, such as the one of how the Principal Element Lords came to be, how she once died and was brought to Xistan’s realm and the world mourned her, only for her to rise again and reclaim her place and forever banish the Empty Duke who had injured her so greatly she seemed to have died.
Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Female
Sexuality
Bisexual
Divine Classification
Elder God
Alignment
Neutral Good
Children
Eyes
Cherry blossom pink
Hair
Long, wavy and black.
Height
5'7"
Nicely done. Really enjoying your Pantheon!
Thank you so much. I've still got a lot of work to do to get them all fleshed out the way I want them to be, but I'll get there.