Ehlenestra

Ehlenestra of the Woodlands is the goddess of forests, woodlands, flora, fauna and fertility. To non-elves, she is Ehlonna, a dark-haired human with command over horses, but Ehlenestra is a golden-haired elven maiden with command over unicorns. She has deep blue or violet eyes and is usually depicted in either the practical garb of a ranger or the rich gown of an elven princess. She carries a longbow that always hits its mark.

She advocates for the beauty and goodness of unspoiled nature, and teaches that animals and plants of the forest are gifts that are not to stolen or abused. Many rangers and druids worship her and she opposes all that hunt for sport or harm the untouched wilderness.

Her domains include Animal, Celerity, Good, Plant, Purification, and Sun. Her symbol is a unicorn horn or a rearing unicorn, and her weapons of choice are the longbow and longsword.

Ehlenestra loves her family deeply, through her mannerisms align more with her father than those of her sister. She is peaceful and calm, resorting to violence only as a last resort.

When not in the celestial realm, she will often spend time in the Beastlands, a neighboring plane that is much easier to traverse to than the material plane. This plane features the unspoiled wilds of an enchanted forest, with massive sequoias forming a grand canopy so high that winged beasts can pass through without any difficulty. At the center of the Beastlands, the sequoias form a great open-aired cathedral dedicated to Ehlenestra, where creatures can go to pay their respects.

Not far from the cathedral is a massive grove known as the Grove of Unicorns. As the name suggests, this is where unicorns tend to congregate. These are the only creatures that will sometimes stay on a more permanent basis, as they tend to become great friends to Ehlenestra, though in time, nearly all return to the material plane for a period. The unicorn is her sacred animal, and she has a strong love for every one of these creatures. When on the material plane, they tend to be her eyes and ears, keeping her updated on what is happening.

The Beastlands is not a permanent home for its residents, but a place of rest before souls return to the material plane after physical death. Most beasts will end up here for their period of rest, though it is rare for thinking creatures to come here. Only those that hold Ehlenestra in deep reverence will find themselves in this realm. Few such groups exist, the largest being the Aimhirghin Order, a secretive druidic order of elves that live deep within the woodlands among a large herd of unicorns.

The Aimhirghin Order, because of their love for Ehlenestra, go through a unique form of reincarnation. When an elf of the order dies, their soul moves to the Beastlands, and they live there for a time among nature. As they work to attain inner peace and after they have gone through a long period of life review, they are magically transformed into a unicorn, and attain full enlightenment over their religion, now having a direct connection to Ehlenestra through their mind.

Once the opportunity arrives for a soul to return to the material plane, they are transported back to the order, but this time as a unicorn foal in the Aimhirghin Order’s herd. The same process happens in reverse with the unicorns- when the unicorns of the Aimhirghin Order pass on, they become elves in the Beastlands and wait for an elven birth to take place so they can rejoin the order. Instead of working towards inner peace and enlightenment, the unicorns enjoy a period of rest, rejoining the order after their rest ends and they are transformed into their elven form.

Ehlenestra adores her subjects, and while they spend time in the Beastlands, she will often visit them, developing personal connections to each. When a soul is returned to the material plane in unicorn form, they retain such memories since they are such spiritual beings, but this information is lost to the elves and other species she comes into contact with.

Out of a single blue feather that Ehlenestra found on the floor of her sequoia cathedral, she created a planetar, naming her Novalee. Novalee had light blue wings, and always wore a long white robe. She had brown hair and deep blue eyes, and served Ehlenestra in the beastlands and the celestial realm, becoming her companion and one of her most trusted allies.

The Great Prophecy was fast approaching, and Ehlenestra needed to devise a way to keep the Aimhirghin elf protected once she was born. Novalee offered her assistance, offering to be the elf’s mother and keep her protected. Since she wasn’t a goddess, she had the ability to reincarnate on the material plane, so she was sent down as an elf of the order. She fell in love with the man who would become Aeronwen’s father, and after they had conceived a child, Aeronwen was brought into the world.

Ehlenestra had known early on that Takhisis would likely try to kill Aeronwen. Takhisis sent an order of her knights to attack the village, but she was stopped by Novalee, whose name was now Ru’n, who sacrificed her life to save Aeronwen and the rest of the order. She wiped out the entire faction by using Ehlenestra’s seed pouch, which Ehlenestra had given her just before the battle- the only time Ehlenestra has appeared in her goddess form on the material plane in recent years. The acorns held inside acted as grenades, destroying the army, but not before one of the knights had impaled her.

She died protecting her village and her daughter, and because of her task, Novalee returned again as a unicorn named Mathair. As Mathair, she held all of her previous memories,and was able to watch over Aeronwen from afar, and watch proudly as her husband took over as archdruid, leading their people with grace and bravery.

This was not Takhisis’ only attempt on Aeronwen’s life. When she cursed Aeronwen for trespassing in her cultist ritual site, Ehlenestra once again came to her aid, alerting Mathair to her situation and telling her to take Aeronwen to the Rao monastery where her life was saved. Mathair was also there to help Aeronwen recover when the curse, and when Mathair gave birth to a foal, Aeronwen named her Rozenwyn, and the two became soul bound. Aeronwen has no knowledge of their connection, only Mathair and Rozenwyn are aware of the situation.

The unicorns of the material plane can communicate more easily with Ehlenestra than the other creatures, and they can always sense Ehlenestra’s presence when nearby. They can see halfway into the celestial plane as well as the Beastlands, which are parallel planes to the material plane, so they have an all-knowing sense that is far greater than most creatures or beasts. They are often Ehlenestra’s eyes and ears on the material plane, allowing her to observe happenings from afar. Mathair has a uniquely strong connection to Ehlenestra, and when Aeronwen left with Rozenwyn on her journey with Thrain, Mathair remained, ever alert, to protect the order from Takhisis.

Ehlenestra’s key items include the seed pouch, which she can conjure at will, and her famous Raptor Arrows, which were used by her to slay a great wyrm green dragon that Takhisis had sent in ancient times to attack one of Rao’s primary temples. Each arrow contains immense power and returns to the bow once it is fired. Because the arrows killed one of Takhisis’ precious dragons, Takhisis has a special hatred for her.