Saint Ajora

Saint Ajora is, depending on who you ask, either the Ascendant Goddess of Harvest, one half of her, or one of two. Some Third Age societies accept her as one half of a dual deity, along with her more irreverent, sentimental and often drunk "sister", Ninalta.

Saint Ajora is a dour and protective god, who expects honesty, compassion and hard work from her adherents. She is one of the most storied and widely-worshipped deities on Materia; especially common are portrayals (in paintings, songs, plays and novels) of her summoning Aios back to the sky and ending The Darkest Decade.

Ajora's overarching knightly order, the Ordo Ajora, counts hundreds of thousands among their ranks across the plane, and is advanced enough to operate on an interplanar scale.

In addition to harvest, protection and discipline, Saint Ajora is associated with martyrdom, healing, charity, and rural townships. Her alignment is Neutral Good.  

Appearance & Heraldry

  See also: Saint Ajora Image Gallery (External)

---

She is generally seen as a tall, stern-faced woman with short, light hair, wearing a sun or harvest motif over a knight's breastplate. Some heraldry portrays her playing a flute beneath a sunrise, others her Relic sword, the Brand of Saint Ajora. Aiosian imagery is also common in her church as she was a worshipper of the Starmother in mortal life.  

Worship

Saint Ajora's paladins and warpriests are known as Cathars, who represent a slight majority of her clergy-at-arms. Her clerics and empyreal sorcerers are known as Liturgists, who tend to dedicate themselves moreso to Ninalta. They are the protectors of small and rural settlements, often working with local Harvest Witches to ensure the health and well being of people on the peripheries of civilization.

The Hearthblades of Jarl Juulnir serve a similar role to the Cathars in more northern climates, where hunting becomes more important than agriculture. Due to the Deluge and the dangers of nautical travel, these two religions rarely interact to to their geographical distance.  

Inari-O-Mikami

While most cultures regard the two as individual but united, some see the diety as one person, for example Marai, who refer to the goddess as Inari-O-Mikami. She is frequently worshipped by the mikkou of the O-Ena-e, alongside Amaterasu-O-Mikami and Aum, the First Tree. Inari carries more aspects of Ninalta than Ajora, seen as a caring but mischievous deity who raided the heavenly pantries of O-Aru to gift to the First Mortals of Waking Materia. She is commonly associated with foxes, both due to their tendency for mischief as well as their bustle of activity during harvest seasons. She is the subject, direct or indirect, of many popular Maraian folk stories, for example Kuni and the Magical Kitsuneudon.  

The Cantigas de Santa Ajora

One of the most popular and widespread pieces of surviving First Age art are a series of lyrical poems called the the Cantigas de Santa Ajora, credited to one of the great Allesander Caesars, Leovold II. Thought to be written about a century after her ascension, the songs celebrate both Ajora's heroic exploits as a mortal knight and give praise to her as a Material deity.  

Domains

Saint Ajora's primary Domain is Community. Her secondary domains are Healing, Sun, Toil and Sorrow.  

Favoured Weapons

Saint Ajora's favoured weapon is the longsword. Her Relic longsword is known as the Brand of Saint Ajora. In lieu of a shield, some cathars are known to wield both Sisters' weapons: a longsword in one hand and a kama in the other.  

The Ninaltan Dilemma

While there is considerable historicity around Saint Ajora, even including the the Edda of Saint Ajora which is generally considered to be authentic, there is almost none around Ninalta, leading some to believe the Kindly Sister manifested during or after Ajora's ascension. Others look at certain parts of the Edda, which seem to take on a more sorrowful, sentimental, perhaps even drunken tone compared to Ajora's typically brusque righteousness, suggesting Ninalta existed in some sense during the Edda's writing.