Mau (Mah-ouw)
God of Chromatic Cats
Mau is made of three aspects, each with their own personality, associations, and preferences, forming a rare self contained pantheon, a phenomenon in which a gestalt is made entirely of deities. The three heads are known to frequently disagree with each other, but unlike many other notable multi-headed beasts, they are never hostile with each other, nor have they ever notably willingly harmed the others' followers or purposefully undermined the other heads. There is likely some degree of unity between the heads, as the protection and patronage of one head is the protection and patronage of all three, even if they will almost always prioritize their own followers. Despite their apparent unity, the aspects are not exactly the same being, though cannot be called entirely separate either. Due to chimera in general being extremely rare and poorly understood, it's unclear just how interconnected the heads are to each other. It's also currently believed that each chimera's anatomy is unique, which makes determining the specifics of Mau even more difficult.
The three heads each have their own name, values, and followers. Luckily they are easy to tell apart.
Jaunya (Ja-ahn-yah) is the head on Mau's right. She has light grey fur with cream colored spots, a pink nose, and a pink eye on her right. Half of her face is shared with Simmau, so she has one pink and one orange eye, as well as one ear resembling a domestic cat's and one ear resembling a Barbary lion's. Both of her eyes feature a naturally occurring golden "eyeshadow", which bears some similarity to the Lapis Lazuli markings of solar dragons. Jaunya overall resembles a domestic house cat, with the exception of her snout, which is proportionally much longer and slightly more square. It's possible this is to better cooperate with the length and shape of Simmau and Mochokra's snouts. The shortest of Mau's tails, the grey and cream spotted tail, belongs to Jaunya. Of the few people who have physically encountered Mau, they often say that Jaunya's tail was alert but slightly curled. It's unknown if Jaunya's body language is that of a domestic cat, but it is of note.
Simmau (Sim-mah-ouw) is the middle head. They have a rudimentary resemblance to a male Barbary lion, though is notably not actually a lion. They have light brown and cream colored fur, with occasional black spots, which are possibly lentigo. Simmau shares both halves of their face with Jaunya and Mochokra. They have two orange eyes and control over both lion-like ears, however their right eye has the "eyeshadow" of Jaunya and the left has the spotted shadow of Mochokra. The narrow, cream colored tail with a tuft of brown fur on the end belongs to Simmau and is usually described as remaining in a relaxed, easy position when interacting with their followers. Simmau is also thought to be the most dominant head of Mau, being depicted as making decisions for the other heads and being the one to engage with visitors to their temples, but there's little to no evidence that they have any more decision making power. They do however seem to the most decisive and quick to act, which is possibly where the misconception came from.
Mochokra (Mo-cho-crah) is the head on Mau's left. He has dark grey fur with black spots somewhat reminiscent of those of a king cheetah and a melanistic leopard, a black nose, and a purple eye on his left. Half of his face is shared with Simmau, giving him one orange eye and one purple eye, and has one large, triangular ear and one ear resembling that of a Barbary lion. Mochokra also possesses a black mane which continues down his shoulders and back in place of Simmau's mane. Both of Mochokra's eyes possess a spotted brow. He is otherwise identifiable by the scar on his nose and tear from his ear. The longest of Mau's tails, the dark grey tail with black rings and spots, belongs to Mochokra. Mochokra is often seen as the most quiet and reserved of the heads, and this does not seem to be inaccurate. Many also claim that Mochokra is prone to self grooming while interacting with his followers, which may indicate some degree of relaxation and ease with his and the other heads' following.
Divine Domains
Mau is technically a war deity, but is more relevantly the god of chromatic cats. Despite its reputation, none of the three heads represent military power or patriotism. The facets collectively form a somewhat cohesive domain, though a vague one. Its domain also differs heavily from what many believe due to the Astridium's long run of propaganda using Mau's image.
Jaunya's domain includes medical practice and funeral rites for those who are wounded or die while protecting others. While the followers of Jaunya also serve the general public's medical needs and give their skill and resources freely, their main purpose in Jaunya's eyes is to heal those who protect others. She highly values altruism and community. Despite what the Astridium has insisted, Jaunya has never expressed any disdain for the disabled or sick, and all evidence points to the opposite being true. She seems to believe that all within a community have something important they can contribute, and that if one cannot fight, they are still of value. Jaunya is more likely than the other two heads to sponsor those with physical disabilities, and is likely to encourage such followers to act as medics, therapists, or even simple comforts to their community.
While Jaunya is kind, she does have somewhat of a dark side in her belief in mercy killing. This side of her is often portrayed out of proportion with her more notable traits. She is highly in favor of granting a painless, honorable death if the quality of life of a person is too low by her standards and will never improve. Interestingly Jaunya has historically been highly proud of those who work to improve the quality of life of the sick and disabled, and rewarded them greatly, which is starkly contrasted by her role in propaganda of prioritizing utility and the role of the civilian in the Astridium's war effort.
Simmau's domain is predominantly focused on protecting one's home, family, and community, as well as general altruism. This includes sacrifice for the good of one's community and loved ones, and Simmau would readily admit that giving one's life to protect one's family is admirable, bit Simmau would also be the first to tell their followers to live for their family. It is more valuable in Simmau's mind to live to fight another day than to die for them.
Simmau is a prime example of a deity who is well meaning, but is still an animal. They believe that one should do anything for the good of their family and community, which includes taking resources from other communities by force and being vigilant for threats. This side of Simmau is also overly prominent in the Astridium's propaganda, and they are typically portrayed as a representation of military might, patriotism, and unconditional sacrifice for the greater good, particularly for one's country.
Mochokra is typically portrayed as the selfish, deceptive, underhanded head. His domains are primarily focused on bettering the self before bettering one's community and refusing to lose one's individuality to their community, whatever it may be. While Mochokra does believe in the benefits of altruism and community, he is highly against setting one's self on fire to keep others warm. Followers of Mochokra are encouraged to take and keep what they need before they share.
Of course, these values are somewhat obeisant to the Astridium's wartime needs and goals, so efforts to bend Mochokra's image the way the other heads' were to something more befitting to their propaganda quickly took an unflattering turn. His followers are often thought of as thieves and leeches on society.
Due to its fabricated reputation, many misunderstand Mau. Being called a war deity often prompts the assumption that Mau serves the Astridium, but it does not. It does not protect a land or a country, but rather the people within it. Many also misunderstand the animalistic pragmatism of Mau as maliciousness or moral ideals, when it does not understand the concept and does the best it can to interact properly with its followers.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Mau was born in 27205 of the Third Era, though the exact date is unknown. Their early history is largely unknown, but as far as anyone knows they were born somewhere in the territory of the Astridium and has never roamed outside of it. It has been documented as an active deity since 35649 of the Third Era.
Mau is most well known as a propaganda figure of the Astridium's war against its neighbors, the most controversial of which being the poster commonly distributed to chromatic cat soldiers telling informing them that Simmau demands they destroy the Astridium's enemies, but since 7031 of the Fourth Era, Mau's likeness and imagery has been used in over 9,000 different propaganda images, excluding variations of the same prints. The most famous print is most likely the print portraying Simmau roaring majestically as they destroy Rigilian troops.
Mau speaks most variants of Stellan and Common.
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