Phoeraia

**Phoeraia** is the Goddess of the hunt and of war, protectress and destroyer of cities and armies, Mistress of wild beasts, but also the Goddess of fertility, harmony and the fruits of the earth. Phoeraia is related to big cats and for this reason is considered the favorite daughter of the Double-Crested Panther. The Iskuzai believe they descend from her womb which they call the *Scarlet Cradle*. The Etoi learned the cult of Phoeraia from the Agrauran, who reckoned her as the very personification of ruin and destruction, calling her *Demobora*, the Devourer of Peoples. She is part of the Tetrad of Askedoria.

## Epithets

* Agonia
* Agria (She Who Lives in the Wild Lands)
* Alalkomena (Protector)
* Apoteria (She Who Changes Herself Into a Beast)
* Balustia (Pomegranate Flower)
* Demobora (Devourer of Peoples)
* Despoinaroa (Lady of Pomegranates)
* Keleuta (Guardian of Crossroads)
* Krenaia (Guardian of Springs)
* Leondmèter (Lion Tamer)
* Mèter Iskuzoin (Mother of the Iskuzai)

## Worship and Sacrifices

The cult of Phoeraia is widespread in every corner of Askedoria. The Goddess is considered the guardian of wilderness and protector of the laws of the state. Apart from adorning cities, fortresses, ports and sanctuaries, statues of Phoeraia are erected along the roads to defend travellers. For this reason, the Iskuzai use the number of statues of the Goddess as a measure of travel time, and when they say that a city is “one statue away”, it means about two days by horse.

The many aspects of the Goddess are mirrored by the great variety of devotional practices. For example, the temples of Phoeraia Agonia are arenas built for sacred games, and those who compete in them sacrifice their blood, animal meat or cereal crops on terracotta altars. The shrines consecrated to Phoeraia Despoinaroa, Mistress of crops and female fertility, are sacred enclosures built on the edge of wild woods where priestesses practice sacred prostitution and perform ritual ablutions in large limestone pools.

Sacrifices of bulls, hares and doves are dear to the Goddess. Other typical offerings are wine, honey, laurel, saffron and pomegranates; from these ingredients, sweet food called ‘Opoias’ is concocted to be ritually consumed during the grand spring celebrations. In some sanctuaries, the Goddess is pleased to receive human sacrifices: victims dedicated to Phoeraia Demobora are left to die bleeding on the floor, while athletes might kill their opponents during the sacred competitions of Phoeraia Agonia.

## Temples and Sanctuaries

The **Phoeraion Elasson** or *Little Phoeraion* is an underground temple built on the remote western shores of Askedoria, beyond the Phoinikobaptos valley. In this sacred place, Phoeraia gave birth to her favorite son, Adrinissos, and for this reason the temple is also called Eulektros, “That which brings marital happiness”. Famous throughout the continent are her colossal painted statues representing the Goddess shortly before giving birth. Some Iskuzai, Etoi and Agrauran colonies are within a few days’ walk of the temple. But it’s the proud tribes of the Iloboi – the people said to descend from the Askedorian bears – that control the entire region.

The **Leagodesma**, also called the *Sanctuary of the Hanged One*, is the main temple of the Acropolis of Tauromenion. There is an ancient legend related to this place of worship: in a distant time, wild beasts, tormented by the constant hunt of the Goddess, turned to the great snake Hekas for help. So the mighty monster gave them a rope made from his silver saliva and told them how to use it to capture Phoeraia. All the animals worked together to trap their common enemy: an antelope acted as bait, a fly – as a distraction, a snake offered its poison, a wolf and the bear – resistance and strength. The Goddess was seized and, like a prisoner of war, was led to the promontory where the temple now stands. On the top of the acropolis there still is a statue depicting Phoeraia wrapped in the magical rope of Hekas.

The **Sacred Enclosure** is a temple consecrated to Phoeraia Despoinaroa, rising on the slopes of the sacred Mount Penteleios on the coast of Phrizenia, a few days’ walk away from the powerful Iskuzai city of Iapitos. The cult is administered by the Priestly College of Pomegranates, an assembly of Sacred Women educated in the arts of love, music and healing. The Sacred Enclosure is a place where the afflictions of body and mind are cured and where travelers seek to purify themselves in the eyes of Phoeraia.

## Rites and Festivities

**Meliamatophoriae** are orgiastic processions in honor of the divine wedding between Phoeraia and her son Arnissos-Erigonio. They are celebrated throughout Askedoria during the spring equinox and last seven days. Meliamatophoriae are public festivals of considerable importance, but some mystery cults celebrate them in secret. People dance, sing, and challenge each other in poetic contests; marriages or adoptions are often arranged around this period. For the entire duration of the festivities, meals consist of the sweet concoction called Opoias, fermented honey or milk accompanied by dried fruit or wine. In all of Askedoria, only one city does not follow this sacred tradition - the mighty Pandosia, where an Oracle foretold that Meliamatophoriae would bring misfortune and ruin to the citizens.

The **Cicadas Games** are celebrated on the island of Aulea every five years. During the festivity, Phoeraia is honored as Agonia and Auleo as Koreamunter, Protector of Daughters. The celebrations began as funeral games in honor of Auleo’s ritual suicide. Competitions are held in archery, knife fights, javelin throwing, clashes with wild beasts, running, swimming and many other games. Participation in the Cicadas Games is granted to all free athletes who do not have their hands stained by murder. Women wear short leopard capes during the challenges, men wear ruby-embellished belts around their waists.

The **Great Hunt** is an ancient purification rite, organized to judge and punish crimes. A group belonging to the offended lineage, armed with bows, gathers in a forest to hunt down the accused. The alleged culprit is freed exactly six hundred paces away from the hunters. Survival through this ordeal means purification, but many prefer exile to this rite. The Great Hunt is what remains of the ancient Iskuzai tradition of the Council of Lionesses, which these people prefer not to mention anymore.

## Talismans

Among the many artifacts consecrated to the Goddess, the **Three Curved Swords of Tauromenion** are particularly renowned. These weapons are said to have been forged by the wise Tirteon of the Acmonidai, modeled after the sword wielded by the mythical progenitor of the Iskuzai - the one he used to behead the son he had had with the Goddess. These weapons were given to the citizens of Tauromenion, who, enchanted by such a gift, offered them to the temple of Phoeraia. One of the three swords disappeared following the Great Flood, and the other two are still carefully preserved in the most sacred part of Leagodesma and are bathed daily in a mixture of human blood and olive oil. When the city wages war, this daily ritual ceases so that the hungry blades desire to feed on the blood of enemies.