Fenthira
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Favored Race | Srryn |
| Element(s) | Nature, Water |
| Home(s) | |
| Alignment | True Neutral |
| Symbol(s) | A clutch of eggs |
| Portfolio | Swamps, Evolution, Fertility, Refuge, Supremacy, Gratification |
| Worshippers | |
Contents
History in Avendar
The most ancient of srryn oral histories refer to the Sundering as the hatching of the egg of the world. From the egg was born the swamp-mother, Fenthira, who gave shape to a great nest in the form of the ancestral swamps of Sythtys. She laid a clutch of eggs in the swamp, who swiftly hatched. As the children of Fenthira grew, they began to battle each other. She encouraged this competition, knowing that only the strongest of Her children would be fit to rule the swamps and beyond. Two of Her sons eventually took primacy, and Fenthira put a stop to the battles, for a time. Showing no favor to either, She opened the swamps to Sitheus and Sythrak, allowing them to grow strong in the harsh homeland She had created for them. Though She set them far from each other, both sought endlessly to win Ger attention. Fenthira's favor was ever fickle, however; at each new act She looked more fondly upon the son who acted in Her name. Fenthira's cultists claim there is little importance as to which She first claimed as Her favourite, but emphasize that it was She who claimed one. This is in marked contrast to Sythrak's septs, whose belief is that He took the Swamp-Mother by force, or Sitheus' adherents, who hold that He dealt a crippling blow to Sythrak before taking Fenthira.
Regardless of this divergence, srryn tradition readily agrees that, empowered by the divine union of Fenthira and her favored son, her next clutch of eggs gave birth to the first true srryn. When they began to grow and fight for supremacy once more, they looked to Sythrak and Sitheus to guide them, seeing the awesome power they both held. Fenthira smiled upon this, watching the most powerful of Her children rise and grow. Her children had grown so populous that even when Sythrak delivered His final masterstroke against Sitheus and slew him, Fenthira knew only pride at the power of Her surviving son.
Fenthira's pride soon decayed, however. Without a rival, the srryn and Sythrak began to grow complacent. They became fat and lazy, glutted on their own power. But cunning Fenthira had a plan. To the north of Her swamps lay a new settlement, of a strange people. They were weak, and warm-blooded, and soft, but they were numerous, and they had spread out over a great deal of land. So Fenthira went to Sythrak, and told him of these weak creatures, and how even in their weakness they were stronger than what Sythrak had made of the srryn. This enraged Sythrak, and in his rage he tapped into a fragment of the Sundered magics, calling down fire. Giving this magic to the strongest of His followers, Sythrak went led the srryn forth against the settlement of Earendam, and Fenthira was pleased at this show of strength by Her children.
The defeats of the War of Fire offered a stunning blow to the Fenthiran worldview. Not only the rise of numerous different species but the unexpectable manner in which the srryn were defeated forced Fenthira into a kind of dormancy. She bid Her children return to the arms of the swamp to recover and grow strong once more, that they could one day overtake these new rivals.
Goals and Methods
Fenthira is as close to an innovator as the srryn know. As Her primary goal is to prove the supremacy of herself and the srryn, She encourages Her cultists to use any means available to them in the furtherance of this. Unlike Her sons, however, Fenthira's drive for the primacy of the srryn has little malice to it; She has no desire for the destruction of the other races. Indeed, their presence is ultimately beneficial, that they appreciate the might of Her children.
While the swamps always remain a home to the followers of Fenthira, She urges that Her followers grow beyond the nest. She most favours those who strive to break moulds, to introduce new notions to the species. Those worth keeping will survive, and those of no value will fall aside, forgotten. In Fenthira's eyes, the only worthy tradition is a new one.
Organizations and Followings
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Individual Followers
almost exclusively srryn. favours gladiators-- should be obvious, they are all about showing, proving supremacy. favours water templars - both for taking hold of forces that both should and have kicked srryn ass, but also for reinforcing the things that srryn do best.
probably a small following, at least in sythtys; they seem kind of hidebound over there.
Relationships
generally compatible with dolgrael, due to her emphasis on competition; less so with enirra because of her disdain for the underdog. good aligned gods wary as she is fickle but not outright malicious. iandir a non-fan for much the same reason, rveyelhi outright contempt because of her naturalist bent and no meaningful tolerance of city laws. aelin gods generally ignore her; lilune thinks she's easily exploited for extra bloodsport. sythrak and sitheus both see her as a prize to be competed for, which she encourages.
