Asenath

> *"The plants tell of ancient legends they bore witness to. I won't forget them."*
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## Asenath

### Titles

* Goddess of Flowers
* Sleeping Mistress of the Oasis
* Queen of the Garden
* Mistress of Dreams
* Queen of All Oases

## Professional Status

### Affiliation(s)

Ay-Khanoum

**Asenath**, also known as **Floralias**, is the Goddess of Flowers. She is also known as the **Sleeping Mistress of the Oasis**, among other titles.

## Personality

Asenath was a gentle and infinitely patient person. For colleagues, confidantes, and plant friends alike, she was willing to listen to their stories, insecurities and dreams. Her presence was a shooting balm for all their worries.

## History

Asenath, the Goddess of Flowers, was "cast aside by the heavens" along with the rest of her kin, who were punished for an unknown sin by becoming stripped of their minds and becoming husks of their former selves. Somehow, Asenath was able to maintain her original form. According to legend, she wandered the barren wastes for seventy-two days. Springs gushed from her wounds, becoming streams that flowed into gardens. Water lilies grew in these gardens, and the Jinn were born from them. The first jinn begged her to stay with them, and she relented. Purple flowers resembling the moon bloomed wherever she stepped, and they were called Lotuses.

Asenath and Ramil II built the ancient civilization of Ay-Khanoum in the desert as an earthly paradise. The Goddess of Flowers was the originator and namesake of the Lotus Festival.

According to legend, Asenath died "due to the malice of the burning sun and yellow sand." While the actual cause of her death is currently unknown, it has been suggested that she had planned her death so that the bitterness of her death would preserve her legacy forever. Ramil II, who was enamored with her, never realized her intentions.

Following Asenath's death, Ramil II eventually descended into madness and was further deceived by his counsels.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Plant Communication**: Asenath had the ability to perceive the voices and emotions of plants. She grew to even sense the timeless memories of the ancient trees she came into contact with.

## Trivia

* Her festival, the *Floralia*, is held between April 28th and May 3rd and symbolizes the renewal of the cycle of life, drinking, and flowers. At the festival, with the men decked in flowers, and the women wearing normally forbidden gay costumes, five days of farces and mimes are enacted, followed by a sixth day of the hunting of goats and hares. On May 23rd, another (lotus) festival is held in her honor. The Lotus Festival has many traditions associated with it, including a Haft-mewa Feast, where people set their tables with seven different foods, and the Knight of Flowers, a figure popular among children that an actor plays during the festival. The most important part of the festival is the Dance of the Lotus Blossoms, which is based on the Goddess of Flowers' dance.
	+ Haft-mewa is a compote of seven types of dried fruits and nuts traditionally eaten by the Afghan people during Nowruz. The seven components each represent one of the seven elements of life, which are fire, earth, water, air, plants, animals and people.

## Quotes

* *"Listen to the ancient voices of flora."*
* *"The plants told me some funny stories. Wanna hear?"*
* *"This is the kindness of the plants."*

### About Asenath

* *“As [the Goddess of Flowers] danced upon the grass, countless beautiful Lotuses began to bloom wherever she stepped. Those brilliant purple flowers became her dazzling stage...”*