Ashana

Areas of concern: Protection, the defenseless and downtrodden, those who would help those who cannot help themselves, righteous rulers, good-aligned adventurers, song, guardianship.

Edicts: Protect those who cannot protect themselves, Save others from unjust persecution, Engage in musical endeavors

Anathema: Leave innocent defenseless beings to their fate if it is within your power to help them, Enslave or persecute others unjustly, Unfairly or cruelly shame music and/or those who enjoy it.

Divine attribute: Constitution or Charisma

Religious symbol: A shield emblazoned with a bluebird

Sacred animal: Bluebird

Sacred Colors: Silver, Blue

Devotee Benefits:

Cleric Spells: 1st: Glowing Trail, 4th: Rebounding Barrier, 6th Phantom Orchestra

Divine font: Heal

Divine Sanctification: Must choose holy

Divine Skill: Performance

Domains: Protection

Favored Weapon: Shield Boss

Aphorisms:

Be the Shield (not the sword): When contemplating a course of action, this is often given as guidance to state that the decision you make should be the one that helps to protect others, and a reminder that selfishness is like a double-bladed weapon, it not only cuts your enemies, but threatens to cut you or those you care about.

(Sing the) bluebird's song: Stated to encourage people to follow their heart and do what is true to themselves. This statement focuses on the idea of not trying to fit in with others at the expense of oneself. The full aphorism goes "The bluebird does not sing the cardinal's song, it sings the bluebird's song."

Follow the path: This refers to the escape from "The Below" and suggests that if you keep your senses keen, you will find the correct path, both figuratively and literally.

Champions of Ashana fall into a few categories of goals, though ideology differs even there. Many followers are those who free slaves, or who work in legal sytems to prevent unjust laws. Those who actively adventure and champion the cause are travelling musicians who battle for the freedom and justice that Ashana exemplifies. They are only beholden to laws that uphold justice and freedom.

The Order of Bluebird's Song: These are those musically minded champions, their main goals are to bring the light of justice and freedom through the ministration of song. They are also the most likely to be accepted into cultures not accepting of Ashana as a whole, due to their notoriety as musicians and storytellers.

The Order of the Guardian Angel: These are the most law focused of the orders. Primarily militant lawyers and policing forces, these individuals uphold just laws and fight against the injustices of society, in the courtroom and lawmaking benches as much as on the streets and communities.

The Order of Bluebird's flight: In many ways, the most militant and directly active of the three major orders, these champions seek out slavers and slaves. To smite the former and free the latter. Some work alone, but many work in groups called Flocks to hunt down slavers, and who most actively work against the god emperor.

The Church of the Bluebird has few formal temples. Though almost every Elven settlement has some space set aside for her worship. This is largely due to the fact that Galvander had removed the holy sites of Sharellius almost immediately upon his ascension, andd the fact that elves have very few sacred buildings. Instead of buildngs, however, Elves dedicate certain parks and musical places to the Bluebird. Anadi tend not to worship the Bluebird in any particular place. Almost exclusively, the temples to Ashana have been built by (or at least for) humans.

The temples are places of music and dance moreso than they are places of solemn worship, and the act of recovering hymns or songs of Sharellius is one of the major expectations of the "priests" of Ashana. Temples of Ashana almost always have a flute player in high regard to show respect to the deceased king of musicians. The church takes in anyone who wants to do good for the sake of doing good, and has a special place for slaves and freed slaves in its ranks. The church works with governments in areas where it exists to help acclimate slaves into society through therapy (when available) and positions and housing.

Priests of the three orders are lawmakers, musicians, and freedom fighters. While individual orders may focus on one more than another, each priest typically takes on all three roles at one point or another. There are more champions of Ashana than many other deities, as she was, herself a warrior in life. Many champions seek to emulate her acts in life as musician freedom fighters. While there is little in the way of hierarchy in temples of Ashana, there are a few hierarchical roles. The head champions of each order, and the head priests of the orders give important speaches and orders to their respective champions and priests. Those champions and priests tend to lead smaller "bands." Though most of these "bands" are free to do what they wish in terms of advancing the Bluebird's agendas, sometimes the orders from the highest echelon will supercede an individual "band's" goals for the greater need of the church.

Ashana's groves and churches are often the places of weddings, and such events are musical extravaganzas, quite often led by priests or a family's favorite "band." These events are commonplace, but the church does everything in its power to make each a unique spectacle tailored for each specific family.

The church also oversees and manages the many "freedom paths" that they use to free slaves through various groups, individuals, and organizations. Almost all of the church's money goes to these endeavors, as well as setting up orphanages, and finding families for those who lost theirs to slavery, war, or any other injustice.

Ashana welcomes any who seek a better future through compassion, freedom and music. Little is expected of her non-clergy except to enjoy and encourage music, and do what one is able to to prevent slavery of others, as well as what one can do to protect those unable to protect themselves. In the layperson this may simply mean helping a friend get therapy, or going to a family member's recital.

Those followers who devote their life to the Bluebird, however do so understanding that life is beautiful, musical, and often short. As she is a deity of protection, her followers are expected to help those who cannot help themselves whenever possible. In cities where she is worshipped, most worshippers act as a pseudo-police force. The Ashanites (often referred to as the Bluebird's chorus) walk a city or town's streets in no less than pairs in day and night. Ashanites are commonly called to help someone home from a dangerous area, or as tavern bouncers focused on punishing those who might take advantage of the lessened mental states of those going for a drink. These bouncers and guards are just as often informants who listen for rumors that may need to be reported to the church or a nearby "band."

Priests are often some form of performer, most often a musician, though actors, magicians, danceers, and even writers and painters count themselves among her ranks. Many of her human followers are family or descendents of Sharellius worshippers and priests, and her tenets are close to his, with the exception that her followers are more prone to enter a violent conflict than Sharellius's priests and champions had been. In fact, Ashana herself had been something of an anomoly among his followers due to her readiness to fight when necessary.

Champions will hunt down slavers and free slaves. They will write and sing music and lobby and work to adjust laws to be more fair and just. Many act as therapists, lawyers, bouncers, guards, doctors, and leaders in communities. While few are purely spies, a number of Anadi worshippers take this role, referring to themselves as the "string section." These particular followers of Ashana are among the greatest masters of subterfuge on the entirety of WORLD. Taking multiple faces and personalities in a single-minded determination of making evey Anadi free.

To the common faithful, Ashana is a goddess of freedom, happiness, and protection. She is popular among many who take the vocations that her champions take (therapists, lawyers, bouncers, guards, doctors, and leaders), as well as anyone else who works with people in a protective or medical section, such as those who take care of the elderly or children, and those who simply enjoy a good song will often whisper "My lips-a beak" before a song, in the hopes that they may catch some of the Bluebird's own musical ability.

Adventurers often find Ashana appealing as a deity, especially those musically or freedom oriented. Those adventurers hoping to face off against injustice often find themselves in her ranks, and the comraderie within the ranks of her faithful often lead to the type of personality that an adventurer might foster. Many freed slaves also return to their work under the bluebird as adventurers seeking to find fellow slaves and free them (or to punish slavers.) Of course any musically focused adventurers may also find themselves drawn to the Lady of Song as they stand up to sing in a tavern, or dance the night away with a new group of friends at a festival.

Ashana's servitors do run a range of beings, Peri are the most numerous, but the few surviving Sharellian angels joined her cause when she awoke. Over the past century she has also a small number of Agathions (primarily those who take the forms of birds), A pair of Marut's (her only Aeon allies), She also has a number of Arboreal allies who's natural goal of protection ties in with Ashana's, all forms of Azata's, Some fey (primarily different nymphs and satyrs), Psychopomps (amost exclusively Nosoi and vanths), Triumph Siktempora,

Servitors/Heralds:

Billean:

Billean was among the first angels that Ashana helped ascend, and the first mortal soul as an angel herself who she was not able to save. Billean was a young human boy who was sold into slavery. When he died at the age of eleven, Ashana was heartbroken. Billean was happy though, as he knew even though his life was short that he had been helped through it with a music few others could hear, and that aomeone cared about him. Moved by this, Ashana helped Billean attain his wings. Billean is a cross between the angelic power of a solar, and the animality of an agathion. He has six majestic bluebird wings, and bird-like legs, his body which has a faint blue glow is majestically humanoid save for feathers that grow from certain areas, and his face is humanoid as well, but with birdlike features, an a beak that replaces the normal human nose and mouth.

Darvala:

More an ally than a specific follower, Darvala was among Sharellius retinue when he died. She considers it a shame on her honor that she was not beside him when he passed, and was instead sent to aid in a mission of utmost importance that she will not even share with Ashana. Despite the other titans being broken into either undead monstrosities of themselves or were changed due to their new forced allegiance into Danava. Darvala and her two sisters seek to redeem their kin and return the Danava to the fold, or else end them. Darvala is often in Ashana's court functioning as a voice of stoicism and a pillar of tactical insight.

Realm:

Ashana shares a split realm with the Interested Party. Her half of the realm is called Martyr's Solace. It is a place of artistic beauty and natural wonder. A blue sun shines almost lyrical light onto the grassy fields and music can be heard at all hours as Ashana herself, or any number of her multitude sing. Being a demigod-she cannot permanently exist in this plane, and often traverses the mortal realms. Great hosts of bluebird flocks fill the skys and bands of the souls of the honored dead sing songs and share tales in endless revelry alongside their divine mistress and her retinue.

Divine intercession:

None at this time.