Sanctuary, Goddess of the Well

Name:

Sanctuary, Goddess of the Well

Domains:

Sanctuary, Protection of the Innocent, Orphans

Alignment:

High

Story:

Sanctuary is seen as one of the greatest champions of the common person, but is also the god with the fewest Champions. She is an intercessor who protects the innocent from the predations of others. Stories abound of survivors escaping from their killers, finding themselves in her glades, safe from harm until delivered to a safe haven.

Sanctuary advocates for the restriction of force in both the hero and villain, that conflicts between gods and their champions should be restrained to only those involved. She abhors the concept of collateral damage and has been known to curse those who use indiscriminate forms of warfare, like fire or poisoning wells.

Many wardens carry the glyph of Sanctuary, seeing themselves as aligned to the protection of the weak, as the Judges are aligned to the enforcement of the law and Talon. These are not seen as being in conflict. Talon concerns himself with the practice of the law, and Sanctuary concerns herself with how the law is practiced. A good judge should offend neither one.

The common people will often place Sanctuary’s glyph on their meeting halls to proclaim them as safe places. Her glyph is also often added to wells, the Well being a key part of her religion and the glyph seen as a ward against poison and disease in the communal water source.

Glyph:

A circle representing the well, with a line in the center that does not touch the circle edges, representing the goddess

Appearance:

Sanctuary often appears to her champions and those she rescues as a young woman, thin and harmless, frequently dressed in the customs of the local manner for a commoner. Most importantly, she only rarely appears within the world, instead usually taking those she talks to into a pocket version of the Well, a place she creates. This is typically the form of an open meadow surrounded by fruit trees. The center of the meadow has a great stone well, complete with a water bucket. Sanctuary often appears on the edge of the well, beckoning travelers to rest and replenish themselves in safety before being sent to a safe location. Survivors have tried to sketch or paint Sanctuary’s face, only to find that each of them sees someone slightly different, based on what they don’t find threatening.

Theology:

Sanctuary probably has the simplest theology to follow: harm no innocents. She focuses on the protection of those who are not willingly involved in a conflict so those who follow her are blessed when they protect against collateral harm to living beings and cursed when they knowingly cause it. There is some debate about damage done to innocents without direct intention, such as firing a shot and missing in a crowd. Is the shooter cursed because they chose a weapon they could not use accurately enough? The priests seem to have trouble agreeing on this point.

Temples to Sanctuary are often found in crossroads and border towns, where the threat of external violence is common. The temple is centered around an open well, usually fed by a natural spring or by magic. The water is drunk by supplicants after their prayers.

Patronage:

Sanctuary doesn’t wield many champions, often preferring to interfere directly when needed (either by creating situations to allow survivors to escape or by taking them to the Well). Those who led groups of survivors from a dangerous situation or were directly rescued from cases of abuse are sometimes commissioned as champions. Such champions often live in the Well until they reach adulthood or a period of two years of training (which takes no time in the outside world). They are then sent on various missions, not to affect the outcome of great conflicts, but to reduce the damage of those conflicts. The champions may interpret this as escorting refugees or victims from the site of battle, or even joining the conflict on the winning side to reduce the size and scope of the battle to come. A quick victory offers less damage than a grueling one, after all.

Champions of sanctuary often wear blue and white cloth to represent the goddess and will often have an image of the Well or her glyph on their shields and cloak-pins

Retirement:

Those outside the service to Sanctuary aren’t clear on what happens when her champions retire, but this is because she offers two paths based on how she feels best rewards a century of service. Those who most need rest live out their mortal lives in the Well, sometimes seen by old friends but living in a peace that the mortal realm cannot offer. The rest are often ‘commissioned’ to spend their mortal retirement in the running of orphanages or in the temple. In this case, the Goddess guards her retirees relentlessly and takes the violent death of one of her own personally. It can be said to be the only case where one may feel the direct wrath of such a powerful and yet peaceful goddess. Vor the Smited was one such case, forced never to be able to harm another soul or offer any defense of his own, after slitting the throat of a retired champion. He spent the rest of his life hiding from his enemies, only offering enough respite to ensure he stayed in fear and running. He finally died from tripping during such an escape and rolling over a cliff, but only after decades of suffering.

Favors:

Sanctuary does not hold with any such token or favor system as the other gods are wont to do. She does, however, ensure that her champions never go hungry. She may, in extreme circumstances, give sanctuary to a party in the Well - but only if their continued survival is seen as needed for her purposes. Even then, she usually put them right back where they started since Champions don’t meet the requirements as uninvolved innocents - it’s their job to be involved.

Antithesis:

Sanctuary doesn’t hold any of the gods as enemies, but her champions often find themselves in conflict with Matron Undra, who holds that collateral damage is a necessity and those who are lost are fated to do so.