| Domains | Twilight, Nature |
|---|---|
| Aliases | Goddess of Wayfinding, Patroness of the Lost, The Way in the Dark, The Guiding Stars |
| Plane | Astral |
Vela is a goddess of the stars and helping those who would guide and those who are lost.
Description
In artwork and sculpture, Vela is often pictured as a great woman with deep red skin like the night sky, with stars at her joints, wearing a great white sail as a makeshift tunic, most often seen, pointing into the distance to guide the way of the lost.
Vela is known from the legend of Aurora, where a woman among the first peoples of Quelmar was cast out of her village and told to walk into the deserts of Pteris, a wasteland where nothing could help her to find or mark her way, just endless sand and sky. The goddess Vela came down to Aurora and taught her how to use the starts to navigate across the desert without losing her way and led her to the next tribe. Aurora took the knowledge she gained and taught others how to map the stars to travel the great deserts. She then sent those she taught to the edges of Pteris to map all of its skies and generation after generation, they grew in number and knowledge. The navigators and cartographers left Pteris, seeking to map all of the skies of Quelmar.
Vela is not only known for leading those who are lost physically, but also those who have lost their way spiritually. Her followers will open their arms to the weary and those seeking some kind of solace, as a waypoint on their travel through their life, and remind those lost that Vela does not expect their devotion or loyalty, only for them to find their path, even if it leads them away from her in the end.
Works
Vela is known for granting a sight of specific constellations and insight to her followers and even just those who have lost their ways, interceding when someone is alone and has no one else to turn to.
Once, for only one night, in order to confuse a grand army from attacking her faithful, Vela rearranged the stars so that they would be guided far away and protect the village, as an act of Divine Intervention.
Worshippers
Common Worshippers: the Auroran Nomadic tribe, the Crystalline Conclave, twilight clerics, circle of star druids, celestial warlocks, paladins of ancient, devotion or glory oaths, as well as commonly druids and rangers of all kinds.
Holy Symbol:
A deep red oval with white stars in the form of her constellation
Notable Holy Sites
It is said that in the center of Pteris, if you stand in the place where Vela first touched down and took Aurora’s hand to lead her, on the night of the new moon with a sky full of only stars, a pool of water to reflect the sky will form beneath your feet, supposedly what is left from Aurora’s tears. In Pteris, followers will make a monthly journey to this place to collect the water for rituals and spell components.
The Crystalline Conclave
A devoted group of Vela’s faithful, mainly comprised of Earth Genasi, though they welcome all. Those who live within the conclave answer to the matriarch called the Alsephina, who is chosen upon the passing of the previous Alsephina by all of the followers who have contributed to the Conclave with either a new map or bringing a new member to the conclave, through birth or belief. The elders and teachers of the tribe are known through their titles of Ananuca, Kalausi, Markeb, Suhail, and Wattle.
The Conclave is based in Amusa, traveling throughout and working towards mapping the wilds.
