Zafrielia

The goddess of the sun, summer, fire, and ambition, she has been at the helm of the first pantheon Xaekla ever knew: the Pantheon of Light, a pantheon of exusians dedicated to keeping out the darkness, keeping life balanced, and protecting civilizations and nature all at once. She was (and still is) a beacon of hope and prosperity for the still growing world that was Xaekla when she first appeared, granting the once-cold world the light of her sun and warming the realm to the best of her abilities.

“A light in the dark, a beacon in the night, a goddess of might and valor. We do not deserve the world the Sun-Bringer gifted us with her light, but we will make use of it and protect it from the freezing scourge of the darkness.” - Sir Terry Prachett of the Burning Blade

## General Information

### Titles

Sun-BringerSummer GoddessBringer of LightOur-lady-of-light

### Portfolio

Sun, light, summer, fire, ambition, protection, civilization, progress, generousity, kindness

### Common Symbol

A circle surrounded by 7 triangles resembling the sun

## Worship Information

### Worshippers

common-folk, soldiers, knights, uncorrupted nobility

## Description

She is often depicted as a slender but strong humanoid woman of somewhat short stature in a set of glimmering gilded steel armor, its runes glowing bright. Her face is unseen by mortals as her eyes glow bright like the sun and only another exusian can look into its light without being blinded. Golden locks fall from her head braided with beads and other decor. She carries a slim and light greatsword of dwarven make, gifted to her by the dwarven god Uund just before the great feast; it is recalled that the blade was forged by a mortal human man of immense skill and imbued with magic by Aundras the Great, an elven demi-god of magic.

Other descriptions of the Bringer of Light include: a human woman of pale skin and gentle features with eyes the color of honey and a face dotted with freckles wearing a simple grey robe lined with gold and acompanied by a golden retriever wearing a thick collar of spider silk.

## Personality

Zafrielia is a kind and generous deity who has the full support of her pantheon behind her. She is vehemently against many of the laws that keep societies together, unspoken or not, with those being: murder, theft, and kidnapping among other things. She freely granted her protection to deities who wished for it so long as their portfolio meshed well with hers and so there are none of the orcish or goblin gods nor the deities of the Ai’iri within her pantheon.

She is quite literally a beacon in the dark for many people and exusians alike, with a kind heart and a loving demenor she is forgiving of all and willing to accept them into her pantheon or clerical order. Her worshippers were more than just the additionaly power and influence they gave her, she saw them as individuals who deserved respect and forgivness just like anyone else.

## Relationships

### Zariel

The first son of the great goddess of light, he was a lesser power of retribution, loyalty, and order. She was extremely close with her son, raising him from infantile form to his adult form by herself as he was born when the light of the sun first touched Xaekla and so had no secondary parent. His death at the hands of Y'ro elves spurred the their banishment to the underbelly of Xaekla and their subsequent transformation.

## Activities

Zafrielia fought adamently for the freedom of the Dakfet on the planet of Udka’pei-qmel within the Ethereal Realm, the race was set free but at great cost for after the slaying of almost his entire race and the destruction of Udka'pei-qmel Mator was changed from a Hti Strixx into a leviathan spurred by his rage. After Mator became a leviathan and began gaining a better grasp of his powers he started a crusade across the known realms to unite the other leviathans in a plot to overthrow the Patheon of Light. Zafrielia organized the Great Feast as a trap to slay all the leviathans, which would have been successful if not for Ona's betrayel.

As the head of patheon which stood at the forefront of the majority of the realms it was up to Zafrielia to come up with the plot to trap Mator and the remaining leviathans, which she succeed with the help of those in her pantheon.

## Divine Realm

Zafrielia resides at the very peak of Mt. Luminous with her fellow lawful good/neutral deities residing all along and within the mountain. While Zafrielia did not create the realm of Mt. Luminous, she has rightfully claimed the realm as her own territory, banishing those that would cross her from the realm entirely and having a number of deities to share the realm with as she is quite the social goddess. Her personal quarters atop the mountain is known is the Palace of Light, it is relatively small for a palace of a major goddess it is largely comprised of windows of Irdum glass with thick marble pillars intricately carved in the visages of fallen deities she was close to.

## Worshippers

The Summer Goddess is worshiped by a number of people across Xaekla, by commoners and nobility alike, but she did have a favorite, those being: soldiers that uphold the law, knights who radiate valor, and uncorrupt nobility; this all being besides her own clerics, priests, and paladins. Her clerics wear robes of a steel-silver color that are tight to skin for ease of wear with gold runic patterns mimicking those on the goddess’ own armor in her native tongue of Celestial, the runes themselves are sayings the goddess has said a number of times.

### Mythology and Beliefs

The Summer Goddess often appeared during sunny days and the months of Moresun, appearing before individuals as a pure gold eagle resting on a branch or surveying the sky above as it cawed. These appearances were often seen as omens of good-health, wealth, and the coming of a new age for an individual or a whole society. Though she argued against these appearances being just natural creatures, a number of individuals have reported seeing blinding glow of divine magic radiating off the golden creature. It is believed that the golden eagle, the true natural version not the purely gold version, is the goddess' favorite animal, though others have agrued on behalf of lions, honey bees, or elephants being her favored animal. While her favored animal is a topic for debate, her favored flower is well-known and common with it being the round bulb daisy because it represents loyalty, purity in love, and kindness.

### Orders

Burning Blade: Her most devout worshippers often belonged to this order, zealous warriors which strike out against any who attempt to encroach upon a city be it goblin, demon, or fiend; they focus on the protection of civilization and the defense of the common man.

Gathering of Light: A clerical order focused on healing and medicinal treatment, they often work with the Burning Blade, being heavily allied through their mutual worship of the Bright Goddess and their goal of protecting civilization. They offer healing, at a price of course, to the local communities as well as non-magical medical practices making most of the members both practiced clerics and physicians.

### Dogma

As per the 3rd publication of the Sunbringer:

* Fight back the dark tide of evil which hopes to ever encroach upon our homes.
* Be ever vigilant of those who seek to destroy all we have built.
* Fight only if you must, never just to see bloodshed.
* Treat everyone, even those lesser than you, with kindness.
* Defend the light of civilization even at the cost of your life.
* The fate of the many outweigh the one.

## History

Zafrielia has had a hand in many of the major events at the heart of the realms, being the head of the largest and most accepted pantheon she is powerful and a force to be reckoned with.

### Pre-Darkness

* Created the sun
* Aided in the creation of the Champion Races
* Aided in the creation of the Farweb Realms