Maidanaa, the Matron

“The Lady beseeches us to care for our families and communities, and to beware those that hide in the shadows. Beware the well-meaning heretic, who seeks to replace the voice of truth with the lies of falsehood.”

—    Crescent Moon Artain to his constellation

Alternate Names: Anyold (dwarf), Eksah (orc), Ileumel (elf), Luna (gnome), Mona (halfling)

Expanded Domains: Chaos, Community, Family, Good, Healing, Love, Protection, Rage, Restoration

Portfolio: childbirth, devotion, fertility, healing, kinship, marriage, motherhood, the night sky, wrath

Knowledge (religion) DC 10:

Known as the Moon Matron, the Silver Healer, or simply The Lady, Maidanaa is revered as the goddess of healing and motherhood. The majority of weddings are held in temples dedicated to her, with the priests invoking a fertility rite as part of the ceremony to ensure conception on the wedding night. Children born to such are considered to have Maidanaa’s blessings.

     Despite the respect and devotion to Maidanaa, she is also given a wary, cautious respect. Her temper is furious and quick to boil over. Her moods are mercurial, and there is little knowing what may set her off. For all the terror that is her temper, she rarely lets it cloud her judgement. It is said that the worst of her rages aren’t the loud, screaming furies that she is known for, but the cold, tranquil fury where she will achieve vengeance of such horror that even Erb and Moros fear her.

     In art, Maidanaa is traditionally depicted as a resplendent, motherly figure dressed in a fine silver gown with enough of a bump to imply a pregnancy. Funerals dedicated to Maidanaa are loud, celebratory affairs, celebrating a life well lived.

Knowledge (religion) DC 15:

Unlike with most other deities, the clergy of Maidanaa has a single accepted holy book: the Amelef. Priests are expected to memorize the entire text, and be able to recite any proverb in any order from memory.

     The visitors to Maidanaa’s temples are called stars with the collective being referred to as a constellation, while acolytes are called New Moons and priests are called Crescent Moons. The leader of the Maidanaa faith is the Highest Crescent and oversees the entire clergy from the Silver Throne in the foot of the mountain range that forms the western border of the Green Coast. Not simply a seat, the Silver Throne refers to the largest temple to Maidanaa in the Green Coast.

     While most temples and clergy dedicated to a single deity still maintain friendly relations with their counterparts dedicated to other gods, the clergy of Maidanaa maintain cool and distant relations with other clergy. Priests and clerics of other gods, especially Yalma, have tried to close the gap in the past, but without success.

Knowledge (religion) DC 20:

One of the less frequently quoted proverbs in the Amelef explains the distance kept by the priests of Maidanaa to their counterparts dedicated to other deities. Therin 6:45 states, “Thou never doubt the being of Others, dare not devote but to The Lady.” The clergy teaches that what this means is that the other gods exist, but are not worthy of worship. Thus, most priests have little respect for those that devote themselves to those not worthy of worship.

     Baran 1:22, another proverb, states, “Ye, upon this skin I give my Words: Honor the fullness of my Light, Suffer not It that defiles my Words, Celebrate the Longest Night, Honor thy mother, Spread my Words to the far corners of the map, Sniff out and slay the Heretic, Worry naught about the Heretic of Others.” The interpretation used by the clergy of the proverb is that the ‘Words’ are the literal laws given by Maidanaa for her mortal followers. Thus the majority of priests view the seven tenants given as the highest laws of the land. The priests teach that when mortal laws or the commands of other deities clash with the Words of Maidanaa, the Words are the ones to be followed.

Knowledge (religion) DC 25:

The Amelef contains a legend, in Gartra 1:1 to 3:17, that speaks of Maidanaa and a mortal man named Gart. Gart was a sculptor in his village, and considered to be the finest in the land. Yet, he refused to wed. The mothers of the village maidens prayed to Maidanaa, asking her to have him wed their daughters.

     One night, Maidanaa came before Gart. She asked him why he had not married. He said that no woman in his village compared to the woman that he already loved, but he was not worthy of the one woman that he loved. When asked who the woman was, Gart's response was a single word: you.

     Maidanaa, bemused, offered a deal to Gart. Every night she would come to his workshop, and pose for him. He would in turn, make a sculpture of her that would capture the entirety of her visage. When the sculpture was finished, he would choose a girl and wed. Gart was unable to refuse.

     For weeks Gart worked, directing Maidanaa into various poses until he found one that perfectly captured everything that was her. Chiseling away at a column of marble, bringing her likeness forth from within the stone. After three months, the work was finished, a sculpture that exceeded anything that he had ever done before.

     Impressed by his skill, Maidanaa chose to reward Gart. Rather than making him settle for one of the village girls, she turned the sculpture into a living woman. Naming her Aethra, Maidanaa declared the two husband and wife before departing. The children of Gart and Aethra would go to conquer the north of the Green Coast in a kingdom named in honor of their mother: the Aetherian kingdom.

Organization: Abies Ceatung

“By the Holy Word of Our Lady, you all have been found guilty of the crime of Heresy. Your sentence is death by the Silver Swords of Redemption.”

— Inquisitor Jarob to a hobgoblin cleric of Zrukal

Founded after the sacking of halfling lands by the rising hobgoblin empire, the Abies Ceatung was created by halfling refugees that were feeling lost with the destruction of everything they knew. A small group in Chor Kolav turned to their faith in Maidanaa for guidance, and found their purpose in spreading worship and eliminating groups spreading false words and heresy.

     The founding members soon gained the support of their local church, and within two years expanded to the villages, towns, and cities surrounding Chor Kolav. Within five years they had spread as far as Argoport. From there, they spread throughout the Green Coast and into Sylvanor. Their alchemists and enchanters developed the blades that would become their signature: longswords coated in silver and enchanted with the blessings of the silver moon, these blades were dubbed Silver Swords of Redemption.The enchanters and alchemists say that heretics killed by the blades are redeemed in death, and are permitted to pass onto Maidanaa’s embrace.

Code of Conduct: Paladins of Maidanaa

“Look, I don’t think you mean any harm, but what you’ve been preaching is blasphemy. I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t stop spreading your heresy then I will stop you.”

— Silver Knight Arth to a street preacher

The following applies to those who would call themselves paladins of the faith, not just any follower of Maidanaa.

 - Respect mothers, for there is no greater service to The Lady than to bring new life into the world.

 - Do not permit blasphemy against Maidanaa. This does not mean kill someone who bad mouths the church or Maidanaa, but do not tolerate it either.

 - Hunt down and cleanse heresy against Maidanaa. The means with which the heresy is cleansed should be peaceful when possible, only by the sword when given no other choice.

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