Cirta

Cirta (or Kirtah) is an important deity of eastern origin which belongs to the pantheons of various Askedorian cultures. The Zeugridas also call her Adona while the tribes of the Kokhloi Ermos know her by her secret name Murma. She is associated with life and death, underground waters and rainfall, as well as healing and poisons. Her domain are subterranean bodies of water and she is usually worshipped in secret rituals held in coastal caves or underground springs. 
Cirta is the product of a religious syncretism between the myth of the beheading of the great serpent Hekas, which is common in the cultures native to Askedoria and Epizephria, and the ancient Etoi belief in a golden goddess who gave birth to the god of seas and storms, Zephryos. In addition to that, she is also known to be the mother of the Hekaterides, the Twin Moons. She is part of the Tetrad of Askedoria.
== Epithets ==
* Adona (She Who Calms All Pains / She Who Brings Back Pleasures)
*Aktania (Keeper of Secrets)
*Eptamorpha (She of Seven Forms)
*Iatromantis (Mentor of Healers)
* Ctoniapotnia (Underground Lady)
* Gorguraroa (She of the All-Swallowing Underground River)
* Igeia (the Curing One)
* Megaketes (She of the Deep Chasms)
* Mètermena (Mother of the Moons)
*Perixeria (the Torturous One)
*Polukronia (Mistress of Ancient Times)
* Upogeia (She of the Underground Places)
== Worship and Sacrifices ==
Cirta’s cult originates in remote eastern regions, in the distant land that bears the name of the Goddess. Following the path of the Etoi, the cult spread to the western thiasoi and among the peoples of Askedoria. Cirta is celebrated as the protectress of the arts of medicine and embalming. Necropolises are often consecrated to Cirta Gorguraroa and the priests keeping them chant prayers in her honor.
Moray eels, snakes and all things that crawl in the sea or on land are sacred to the Goddess, since she is called Perixeria, She Who Is Tortuous, an epithet that also describes the cunning and sophistication of her mind. Her cults often have a strong mystery component since it is said that Cirta “loves darkness and everything that is hidden”. This explains why most of the offerings and processions that pertain to her take place during the night. It is traditionally women that keep the secrets of the Goddess, however in some cities of the southern seas, such as Okreas, Arikos and Pantas, the cult involves male tyrants, who reign there - they claim to have divine descent from ancient Kings who were lovers of the mighty Cirta.
The usual offerings to the Goddess are snakes and moray eels, on which the faithful shed human blood. Cirta cares little about other wild animals or fruit. More than anything else, she favours fasting, abstention and trials that mortals are ready to undergo in her honour. For example, it is traditional for young women to renounce the pleasures of love for months or years in search of her favor. For the same reasons, some are willing to set out on arduous pilgrimages or dangerous mountain climbs, or swim across stormy stretches of sea.
== Temples and Sanctuaries ==
The Akraleuko, the White-Rock Temple or Pale Cliff, is a sanctuary built in one of the white promontories of the Lethides, in the southern part of Epizephrya. In this place, Cirta is venerated as the protectress of the four Seasons. It is said that from the gates of the temple the twelve months spring, and, with them, the Korsiai, the lotus- women who regulate menstruation and tides. The exact location of the Akraleuko is known only to the initiates of the Lethid Mysteries, which, unlike most mystic sacraments associated with the Goddess, allow the participation of men.
The Ten Thousand Pools of Moray-Eels is a complex network of canals that extends throughout the city of Beitris and renders the entire settlement dear to the Goddess. Libations of wine are poured into the pools, and thieves and murderers are thrown into their waters for the eels to devour. At the time of the Etoi Eparchies, Beitris was the seat of power of the Thiasos of the Bronze Moray-Eel, and Acamante, the most influential Ariadna of that Kingdom, is said to have been the last one to know the secret passage to the hidden part of the sanctuary, a place called the Nest.
The Sanctuary called Margelis Tura, the Gate of Pearls, is located somewhere in the Hermosides, a marshy region in the East. In this temple, Cirta is worshipped as Metermena, Mother of the Moons, and Eptamorpha, She of Seven Forms. The celebrations that take place there are largely unknown. It is said that the sanctuary is a large petrified coral reef covered in pearl shells and that it is defended by white seagulls the size of vultures. A legend tells that the place was once discovered by a group of Hattusas navigators, experts in witchcraft, and that they chanted a spell so that the winds and the ocean currents would carry all ships away from the temple’s gate to preserve its secret.
== Rites and Festivities ==
The Menagenesis is a festival celebrated at the beginning of the year in honour of Cirta Metermena. On this day, Askedoria commemorates the time when the Green Twins, Strabia and Markunda, were born from the Goddess’s womb. The Etoi believe that a child born during these celebrations is destined for a short and glorious existence. The Hattusas consider this a day consecrated to love, so they suspend all activities, including warfare, so that lovers can meet and spend the whole day enthralled in the games of passion.
The Feasts of Foundation are a series of processions that locals perform in honour of their city. Predictably, these celebrations do not have a precise date, nor do they resemble one another throughout Askedoria. However, there are some typical elements that many cities share, like the songs in honor of the two sisters, Phoeraia and Cirta, whose statues are smeared with honey and carried on the shoulders of a group of chosen ones to the burial place of the founding hero.
The Bath of Virgins is an essential initiation rite for the Etoi, during which the young women chosen to become Ariadnai must demonstrate that they have learned the secrets of the Gods. The rite is performed as a reenactment of the baths that Cirta had with her daughters in the dark lakes before Erigonio kidnapped Strabia and Markunda and trapped them in the sky. Prior to the bath, the initiates are sprinkled with bull’s blood or with that of a prisoner of noble rank. Then they must bathe in a large swimming pool or in a sea cave. The water swarms with hungry moray eels, tended by the keepers of the sanctuary. Only the one who manages to cross the pool unscathed will be able to ascend to the role of an Ariadna, while the others will lose their life and body in the mouth of the water monsters. Among the most ancient Thiasoi, this venerable ceremony is associated with the mysterious being called Zagrea; many believe Cirta to be her daughter, while others think her name is used only to hide the true meaning of the rite.
== Talismans ==
One of the most famous artifacts consecrated to the Goddess is the dagger of Cirta Iatromantis, also known as the Tooth of the Viper. It is a ritual weapon that was used for centuries to cure the sick through blood sacrifices. It is said to be kept in a cave on the coast of Epizephrya, protected by a giant moray eel or, according to other myths, by a lineage of priests called the Terpidai, who are said to have been the first surgeons. These tales start with Terpos, the half-rattlesnake, half-man son of Zephryos, stealing a sacred diadem from Cirta, asking in ransom to be instructed in the arts of healing. Myths differ on what his fate was.
== Legends ==
=== The Beheading of the Great Serpent ===
"When the great Ophiotaurus beast was slain and its life-giving blood poured from the shifting skies, the world grew full of water, and there was a strife between its sons and the living things.
Hekas, the Breaker of Trees, was the eldest son of Ophiotaurus, and every year he claimed a tribute from the living things, and his hunger was boundless.
One year, Cirta, Phoeraia’s sister, was chosen to be sacrificed and, despite her tears, she traveled east to his cave. There, in the depth of a well, the Dusk Caster Hekas was hissing and laughing with pleasure when he saw the white-armed Cirta. He was about to encircle her in the coil of his limitless body when she spoke,  ‘O, beautiful, most beautiful Hekas, Light of the World! I beseech you, grant me one final wish before I meet my untimely end. ’
‘What do you want from me?’ said the monster.
‘I am a maiden who has never known the pleasure of the games of love, and you, gentle Hekas, you are the most beautiful of all. Teach me the fight of kisses so I can be at peace .’
Hekas remained silent, so Cirta continued, ‘I want you in me, my noble Lord, this is the only thing I desire, I swear it on the endless dome of the Sky. I want to love and only that’
‘I will grant your wish,’ replied Hekas finally. ‘However, do not think that I will spare your life. After your caresses satisfy me, you will be devoured .’
‘I wish for nothing else,’ said Cirta. ‘But how can I accept you in me, O Infinite Snake? The tenth part of the tenth part of you is longer than the distance from the earth to the skies. Please reduce yourself according to my shape, so that we can be one.  ’
Hekas agreed and did what Phoeraia’s sister implored him to do. Then, the swift Cirta drew out her dagger, beheaded the mighty Hekas and swallowed his body. She then put the hissing head in her, between her thighs, and said,  You are now in me, O arrogant, most arrogant Hekas, and I am full of your endless knowledge and power.But the head of the monster quickly rotted and fermented in her, sprouting black blood and mist. Cirta became feverish, her womb grew swollen, and she laid in the depth of the well for one year. When this time passed, the sapphire-skinned Zephrios Hekaterios emerged from her like a spring from a rock. He stretched his arms, looked at his mother and found her beautiful. Zephrios wrapped his mother in his sweet, shining foam. He took pleasure in her and vanished following the great tides. After another year, Cirta gave birth to two twins, and they were called the Zephrides, the daughters of Zephrios, and sometimes the Hekaterides, because they descended from the great monster."
Askedorian Theogony, Kurunta