Selune (Say-Loon)
Selûne also known as Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden, and the Night White Lady, was the goddess of the moon
she held the portfolios of the moon, stars, navigation, navigators, wanderers, questers, seekers, and non-evil lycanthropes, moonlight, beauty and purity; love and marriage; navigation and navigators; tracking, wanderers, and seekers; diviners and dreams; good and neutral lycanthropes; and autumn
Hers was the moon's mysterious power, the heavenly force that governed the world's tides and a mother's reproductive cycles, caused lycanthropes to shift form, and drew one to the brink of madness, and back again. Her nature, appearance, and mood all changed in turn with the phases of the moon
Nevertheless, at all times, Selûne was caring and accepting of most beings, and forgiving of most of her followers' faults. She was both ageless and ancient. She was quietly mystical and, as a being of chaos, well used to change. She had a serene and peaceful nature and was slow to anger; she would not fight if she could help it, but nor did she hold back if she must. She was fiercely protective when confronted by evil. The one constant was her eternal conflict with Sha
Creation
The goddesses Shar and Selûne locked in their eternal battle of dark and light.
According to one of the most ancient myths of the creation of the world and the heavens, after the universe and its crystal sphere were created by Lord Ao, there was naught but the primordial essence, the protoplasmic raw stuff of existence. Described as chaos and timeless nothingness, the sphere was filled with no more than dim misty shadows, neither light nor dark, for such things had not yet separated. (All that moved here were the shadevari, the thirteen lords of shadow, whose origin, whether from elsewhere or from the shadow itself, is unknown. In time, Selûne coalesced from the primordial essence, alongside her twin sister, Shar. The goddesses were beautiful, identical but polar opposites, silver-haired and raven-haired, one representing the light, the other the dark in the manner of yin and yang. Yet they were so close they saw themselves as one being, known later as the Two-Faced Goddess or the Sisters-Who-Were-One. They complemented each other and brought order out of the chaos.
"From the shadows of chaos, two sisters are born,
One bright Selûne, the other dark Shar.
A harmonious balance soon to be torn
When Selûne gifts life with flame from afar!"
— An excerpt from a ballad by Veseene the Lark
Together, they created from the cosmic ether Abeir-Toril and the other heavenly bodies and infused these worlds with life. In the process, they formed the goddess Chauntea, whom they worked with to bless the worlds with life. This universe was illuminated by the cool radiant face of Selûne and darkened by the hair and welcoming embrace of Shar. However, there was no fire or heat on any of these bodies. Desiring to nurture life on the worlds that formed her body and limbs, Chauntea asked the Two-Faced Goddess for warmth. Then, for the first time, Selûne and Shar were divided, being of two minds on whether they should let there be more life on the worlds or not
Relationships
Selûne counted as her allies fellow deities of the moon, beauty, fortune, joy, light, magic, and weather. Among them were the first Mystra and the second Mystra, who was her greatest ally against Shar. Eilistraee and Lliira, meanwhile, shared her love of frolicking under the moon. Even after parting ways, Selûne continued to have fully cooperative and amiable relationships with Sune and Lliira both. Selûne respected Lathander for his passion, and hoped they could cooperate to shine light on Shar's dark deeds. Other allies were Sehanine Moonbow, an elven goddess of the moon, whom she worked closely with; fellow gods of travelers and mariners Shaundakul and Valkur; the goddesses of nature Chauntea and Eldath; and Tymora, goddess of luck. She was also allies with Angharradh, Corellon, and Cyrrollalee. Outside the Realms, she was on good terms with Celestian, Hermes, and Soma, gods of other worlds.[9] In the time of Netheril, she was an ally of Mystryl, Jannath, and Tyche. However, Mystryl saw Selûne as smothering and maternal and sometimes rebelled against her well-intentioned wishes.
Her eternal enemy was her sister Shar, goddess of the night, a war that had been waged since before all other Faerûnian gods existed, before time was recorded. They fought constantly in all realms of existence, across the sky at night and in other planes, waged through their mortal followers and their servitor beings, and in person. Selûne labored always to thwart Shar's dark plots. They would never forgive and never forget.
Her other great foes were Mask, for the mischief and wickedness he made in the shadows formed by her moon's light at night; Umberlee, over the fates of ships at sea; and the rotting god Moander. In the time of Netheril, she was opposed to Moander, Kozah, and Targus. However, Targus, god of war, thought Selûne was too beautiful, in soul and self, for him to hate.
The Zakharan deity Selan was a moon goddess who shared a similar name and outlook with Selûne, but had a somewhat different area of interest, namely beauty.
She was served specially by the Shards, a band of unique planetars of shining aspect. They usually bestowed mortals with gifts and boons on her behalf. Lesser creatures of similar appearance, called slivers, also acted as her special servants. Selûne sometimes transformed favored petitioners into shards, eladrins, or lillends as a reward for their faithful service in their mortal lives
Let all on whom my light falls be welcome if they desire to be so. As the silver moon waxes and wanes, so too does all life. Trust in my radiance, and know that all love alive under my light shall know my blessing. Turn to the moon, and I will be your true guide
Her holy symbol was a bright pair of eyes of a darkly beautiful human woman, encircled by seven silver stars
Activities
She was believed to control the ebb and flow of the tides and to comfort those in need during the night. Her moon shined a light in the darkness, holding evil at bay. She had infused her spirit with the moon, and there eternally watched over the world. Through the moon, she controlled the powers of lycanthropes. Lycanthropy was often known by the euphemism "Selûne's Kiss"; one so touched was said to be "kissed by Selûne".
In the time of Netheril, and later in the Shining Lands under the guise of Lucha, she was believed to guide herders to good pastures, to aid ships lost on the sea and travelers lost in the wilds, to deliver love to those who sought it and bless marriages, to guarantee the safety of births, and to watch over relationships and connections between people. In Netheril, Selûne blessed all things beautiful purely for the sake of their beauty, and granted visions to people who desired them for good purpose
Avatars of Selûne most often wandered the Outer Planes, seeking out magical lore or an advantage to help her destroy Shar once and for all. She was reluctant to manifest avatars in Faerûn, as Shar took joy in obliterating them there. However, Selûne often provided her priests with temporary powers or spells to help them achieve the missions she gave them.
Selûne was in constant conflict with Shar, her sister and the goddess of darkness. Their war was the eternal drama of the sky, vital to the balance of nature: the dark of the night devouring the light of the moon, before the moon was renewed and the cycle repeated. In their never-ending struggle across the sky, Selûne was slain by Shar at every new moon. They fought incessantly to undercut the other.
Babes born beneath a full moon often grew up to exhibit magical talent, thanks to Selûne's link with Mystra. Meanwhile, those conceived under moonlight were believed to "have the moon alive within them" and expected to turn to the worship of Selûne.
Folk were encouraged to pray to Selûne under moonlight, for she gained real power at such times. Furthermore, she could guide those who meditated under moonlight, even if they did not pray to her
Appearances
In both her avatars and her religious artwork, Selûne appeared in many forms, like the phases of the moon. One was a dusky-skinned human woman with long limbs; perfect and exquisite beauty; wide, radiant, lime-green eyes; and long, ivory-hued hair that fell to her knees. Another was an ethereal young girl of slender frame, dark eyes, and dark hair, wearing diaphanous robes colored white or resembling dappled moonlight, which trailed her "moondust" or "moon motes". A third was a matronly middle-aged woman, plump yet fair and aging gracefully, with gray-streaked dark hair. This one sometimes lived among mortals; the most notable such avatar was the innkeeper Luna. A simple depiction of the goddess was of a woman's face on the disc of the moon
She was also ever changing, ageing but ageless. If watched over time, her appearance seemed to grow to full radiance or to age and fade away, in keeping with the waxing or waning of the moon. Such changes only affected her external appearance and did not reflect any change in might
Temperment
Again like the cycles of the moon, Selûne had many and changing moods and natures. Her faithful, coming from many walks of life, viewed her in countless different ways, and she reflected this. Sometimes she was enthusiastic, vivacious, joyous, and majestic, given to action and dance. At other times, she was subdued, motherly, and almost poetic or tranquil and embracing. Then she was remote and weighed down by sadness at defeats and tragedies, even those that happened long, long ago. Finally, she could be aggressive and fierce, but cold, and with little mercy for her enemies. These shifting personalities made her versatile. Nevertheless, she was viewed as a calm power
Worshipers
Selûne and her teachings of compassion and guidance were appealing to all folk who lived their lives by the moonlit night sky, and hence her faithful were a very diverse group. She was followed by those who were lost and those who were questing. Sailors and navigators, who traveled by the stars, often prayed to the Night White Lady to protect them from Umberlee, the Queen of the Depths. Others who labored by night at honest work prayed to her for similar reasons. Some sought her for protection in the dark or from the dark forces of Shar
In particular, she was commonly worshiped by human women.They looked to Selûne for guidance, courage, and strength, while couples hoped she would bless them with children when the time was right
Meanwhile, the church's philosophy of self-reliance and finding one's path made her popular with all kinds of mavericks, eccentrics, and outsiders, such as adventurers and outcasts. She was one of those gods worshiped by non-wicked tieflings
Beliefs
According to Moonsea superstition, one who mocked Selûne while aboard a ship would never complete their voyage
Moonstones were believed to be sacred to Selûne by her followers. Some folk believed silver to be Selûne's hardened tears
Type
Religious, Other
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