#divinity: sky

Deity: Urania, The One Who Names The Stars

Hear me, brothers, sisters, my fellow orphans of the vast,

We are lost, but we are not forgotten,

The Bright Maiden has set a Star Burning for us,

And she calls us Home

The wild unknown and the simple laws that govern the universe, the cold embrace of space and the warmth of distant stars, the mystery of the infinite horizon and the knowledge of your course through it: The goddess Urania is a being of contrasts. Patron to astronomers, navigators, and any who find themselves alone with only the stars for guidance, the bright maiden is called upon by many who sail the astral sea to bless their journeys into the vast cosmos and to guide them back home again. 

Legend says it was It was the Gith who found her, aboard a lost and aimless refugee ship too full of desperate souls who’d just escaped from the tyranny of the ilithid. They saw a stranger cast adrift in the void, and though they did not have enough to go around they cast out a line and pulled her from the void because the thought of leaving anyone behind without hope of rescue was too terrible to bear. In rescuing her they rescued themselves, for when the captain gave up his ration of water the goddess awoke with her eyes full of grateful tears, whispering to him of a course towards sanctuary just as a new star flared on the horizon.

Since then it has been tradition among the Gith ( and those who have learned the art of astral navigation from them) to keep a star shaped lantern burning in the goddess’s honour, and to rescue any they find adrift, no matter who they might be.

Deity: Yithini, Goddess of the Sublime Ascent

She cares nothing for words or oaths. The sound of one foot after another as you press on against adversity. That is your prayer to the one above. 

Setup: Most folk have little trek with Yithini, as her domain over the sky and other lofty places is both physically and philosophically distant from their unassuming lives. Sure, one might offer a little prayer for better weather, but there are other, more accessible gods of rain and wind to make tribute to first. 

This is just how Yithini wants it, as her patronage extends not only to those places that rise above others, but to people who seek to rise above their current circumstance to reach heights that others could not. Athletes, scouts, daredevils, and those who live in harsh climates all receive her favor, which often takes the form of a surge of supernatural vigor or inspiration just when it’s needed most. 

These boons deliver a worshiper into Yithini’s second aspect: that as the steward of sublime enlightenment. Just as an arduous climb can lead one to observe beautiful horizons, or years of inquest might lead to a moment of transcendent discovery, Yithini’s philosophy of perseverance known as “the Ascent” promises a just reward at the end of rigorous trials. 

Just like the sky she holds dominion over, Yithini is depicted in a multitude of forms, usually that of a mighty creature of the air such as a dragon, roc, or kirin. Othertimes she appears as a woman of indistinct features made of the stuff of the sky itself. 

Adventure Hooks: 

There are three great sacraments one can make to the lady of endless blue: complete a great physical undertaking that goes beyond the limits of what you thought possible, meditating in a tower open to the sky, and defeating a great beast of the air in fair combat. Imagine the party’s surprise when after climbing a mountain, discovering a fallen fortress, and defeating the beast nesting within that they suddenly earn the goddess’s attention. No sooner have they made camp for the evening and begun nursing their wounds does a windstorm pick up, buffeting the party before picking up the one of their number most aligned to Yithini’s ideology/most in need of her help and flinging them out into the empty sky. Buffeted by winds, the purloined partymember will hear a voice whispering a challenge to them, a greater feat of bravery and daring beyond which ascension awaits. Her message imparted, The goddess will deposit the hero serval dozen feet above a nearby mountain lake, the fall damage stopping just short of killing them but possibly giving them a wicked ache to remember her by. 

A theological overlap exists between Yithini and Kord, lord of storms, being that both deities have domains associated with the sky and with achievement. Given that the priesthoods of both gods tend to favor action over ideological prattle, the general consensus is the two are sometimes rivals and sometimes lovers who none the less respect the challenge the other provides.   Such a challenge plays out before the party when a fighting tournament they’ve been invited to hosts both an Aarakocra windcaller and a brawler who happens to be an unwitting saint of the storm. As the two get closer to a confrontation, the weather around town worsens, threatening to break out into an actual hurricane should the two clash. Both deities are pouring more power into their champion in a petty game of oneupsmanship that might do untold devistation should the two champions actually clash. 

It’s common practice for exceptionally tall buildings to have a small statue of a dragon or other flying creature in an exterior alcove positioned near their pinnacle for luck, as this minor concession to the Zenith for the mortal intrusion upon her sky. When a cat burglar looking to infiltrate's a wizard’s tower accidently sends such a statue toppling to the streets below during his ascent, it ends up letting lose a chain reaction that not even the goddess could have foreseen. For one, the cat burglar managed to survive the air elemental summoned to punish his transgressions, which is now rampaging around the city’s lower district looking for the elusive desecrator. Two, the elemental’s sudden appearance in the wizard’s recently tossed study ended up scattering a large number of arcane research notes into the streets below, most of which is harmless scribbling but some rare scraps have actual arcane formulae on them just waiting to be set off. Third, all this chaos is going to draw the party right to one of the wizard’s rivals, who hired the thief to steal important relics and make it look like an overly ambitious smash and grab.