Alvah, Whose Joy is Battle

Flying across the battlefield, singing...

  As bodies fall to each side. She is the goddess of War, Combat, and Competition; Alvah is unlike Paragon or Reiner in that she delights and revels in all combat, be it "justified", "tyrannical", or even competitive. Ever young in her appearance, she is seen and expressed to have fair, white skin, bright red hair, and striking blue eyes, rimmed with gold. Alvah is said to where very little, covering her lean, athletic frame with bits of cloth and never wearing footwear. On the battlefield, in times of great chaos, many soldiers report seeing a white skinned woman dancing across the battlefield. She would be holding two swords, a broadsword and a scimitar, that seemed to fly in her hands; and as they flew, bodies would fall around her. Alvah cares not for the outcome of the battle, the war, or the politics or ethics surrounding them, she only cares to see the mighty pitted against one another and a champion rising. Traditions say that in times of peace, she is always melting her swords down and reforging them, sharpening them, and training. It is said she will take moments away from this activity, only to see great contests and games, helping to satisfy her primal desires to revel in a great challenge. Fewer, still, are the stories of her kindness. She may pass over a dying soldier bleeding on the field and if they are deemed worthy, will grace them with a touch of her hand and sweet smile. They pass in the moment, at peace and without pain. A smith working to create a great weapon, in his hour of greatest weakness and exhaustion, may feel the curls of her red hair on his neck, as if she were whispering some soft encouragement. He finds a new wellspring of energy surging within to finish the great task. It is even whispered that great champions of the past, whether in combat or game, who die of old age, are greeted by Alvah with a proud expression and open arms.   Her clerics rarely ever have a proper temple built and offerings are often tithes from a contest won or a conquered foe. Her clerics who draw from the Forge domain mostly make her offerings or commit great works to her name. One such example of this would be Michael's Sword of War and Fire; one of the Seven Great Legacies of The Lion, it is a sword forged with the blood of one thousand enemies, imbued with the primal fear of loss and death. The clerics also rarely ever use resurrection magic; the idea that you cheated another out of a brilliant death in battle is seen as a grave insult.   Alvah's relationship with other deities is somewhat neutral, her best connections being with Paragon and worst being with Gelena. She has no fondness for Reiner but sees him as a necessary way to balance things with Paragon.