Thesse

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Thesse is the Goddess of the Sky, and the former ruler of Aloreh. Her domains include the winds, the sky, storms, public speakers, diplomats, merchants, flatterers, free spirits, and fair exchange. She is sometimes the lover of Sav-Synav, among many others. Thesse commands the winds and clouds, and conjures storms and tornadoes. During her reign, she granted powerful boons and privilege to those who earned her favor, though her attentions tended to be shifting and inconstant. Reputations were made and lost in her court during the Age of Balance, subject to the whims of the ever-capricious Thesse.

## History

When A'therys was young and the world was in turmoil, Thesse typically chose not to engage in the fighting directly. Similarly to Sav-Synav, she used her mastery of diplomacy to bend forces and occurrences to suit her. She had many followers, predominantly male, which she used to carry out her ever-changing whims. She had these in spades, of course; the attentions of Thesse changed as often as the direction of the winds she controlled, and could be calm or violent as any weather. It was early when she became attracted to Sav-Synav, drawn by his art and demeanor. This is one of the few godly interactions recorded by mortals, as they often did not interact beyond necessity. The relationship between them cooled and flared many times throughout the Age of Balance; much of the poetry within the Question of Water is clearly about Thesse, but Sav-Synav typically saw her as his muse instead of a lover. This pairing does show that at least some gods were capable of human-like emotion, which is a curious indication of their psyche.

During the long Age of Balance, Thesse ruled over her nation of Aloreh. Continuing the trend from the Winnowing, Thesse rarely engaged in war directly, but the other gods knew that in the event of conflict, resolution would be best assisted by her. Aloreh and its people were heavily influenced by this, and even today they exist as a diplomatic nation. Her subjects jostled constantly to earn her favor, with those closest to her gaining seats on her Council as Orator Princes. Before the Second Calling, she would choose one of these as High Mediator, her favorite for as long as that could last. Thesse could generally be considered the most in-tune with humanity among the gods who held nations, somewhere beneath the compassionate understanding of Yolu. This was likely the result of her skill in manipulation, which she rarely went a day without using even in peacetime. Her whims and considerations changed with the winds, and while her favor could often be earned, it could just as easily be irreparably lost. Her scorn was not to be taken lightly, and brewing storms on the horizon often boded ill for the denizens of the domain of Thesse.

## Appearance

The graceful Thesse was known to be the most beautiful of all the gods. As a goddess of flattery, she took an appearance worthy of this. What is interesting to note, regarding this, is that her physical self was almost entirely covered from view. She wore an outfit of thousands of sheer veils, each in varying pale blues and whites, appearing to be cloaked in the sky itself. They covered her entire body, flowing gently in the ever-present breeze that surrounded her, changing in agitation with her many moods. Observers could see the faintest outline of a feminine shape beneath the many veils, but nothing was ever revealed; as a god, there would have been nothing to see. Her hands were rarely, if ever, seen, and her feet remained shrouded as she flowed through her domain. Thesse also had long, flowing hair, or it was assumed to be so; the veils wrapped even that feature. For her mask, she had only more veils, a cloth headdress from which only her clarion voice could be heard.

*Originally written by OccidentalAnvil for the more official A'therys wiki*