Maris

Maris is one of the Firstborn and with her brother Daire, she makes up the circle of life and death that binds all living things. Despite her seemingly grim sphere, Maris is known as a gentle and loving god. Out of the Bones, she is believed to be the one most invested in mortals.

## Sphere

Maris is the god of death, the natural ending of all things. She is not death in a malicious sense - Maris does not forcefully wrest mortals from this world into the next nor cut short their lives with her intervention. She simply *is*. Together with her brother, she is responsible for all living things.

As the god of death, Maris is also responsible for the afterlife. She is the one who guides the souls of recently dead on their journey to the Eternal Fields. Maris neither judges nor condemns, for that duty belongs to Ricmod.

Finally she is god of bodies of water, especially rivers and streams, but also lakes and oceans. Maris exists both in the gentle beauty and the raging wrath of water, never to be trifled with.

### Secondary Sphere

Due to her association with death and water, Maris’ sphere also includes cold and ice, the solid form of water. Her season is winter.

Maris is also the god of sound - it is believed the crashing of waves was the first sound of Amaranthine.

## Mythology

Maris is one of the Firstborn, the twin of Daire, and the older sibling of all other gods. In mythology, she is often the voice of reason for her siblings, a selfless older sister. She rarely comes to conflict with other gods, but is especially close to her twin, and the two are rarely seen apart. They, just like their spheres, are incomplete without one another. She is also closely linked with Tesni, as they are the juxtaposition of cold and hot.

She is a gentle, patient and loving god responsible for maintaining the other half of the natural cycle - a duty to which she is dedicated. She knows each mortal by heart, and knows when their time is over.  Dying need not fear her, for she loves them. Much of her time is spent searching for and shepherding lost souls so that she might take them to the Eternal Fields. Will-o-wisps are said to be a reflection of her guiding lantern.

Some who have been near death and survived report seeing her before them, in the far distance, smiling and then pushing them away with a gentle wave. Others say they did not see her, but rather a bright light from which came an alluring melody. Maris is indeed known for her beautiful singing voice - a melody present in the crashing of waves and silence of the ocean. It is said that her song can make even the gods weep.

Maris is almost exclusively depicted as female, although she may also appear genderless.

### Appearance in Art

Maris is usually depicted as pale in color, most commonly white, light cream, or an icy blue. She most commonly takes the appearance of a young maiden with long hair, ethereally beautiful. She is always accompanied by a swan or swans, and is sometimes depicted aboard an enormous, ship-like swan. Maris carries with her a lantern, the light of which guides lost souls to the afterlife.

She is often crowned with a dark halo that brings to mind both the dark, vast ocean and the depths of unexplored space. Maris is strongly associated with ice and cold, and often has elements of ice accompanying her. She is most often depicted near bodies of water, or surrounded by spirits.

Maris usually appears together with her brother Daire.

## Worship

The worship of Maris is concentrated around funerary rites and memorialization of the dead. Her altars are present at every graveyard and mausoleum, and it’s also common to see swans chiseled onto gravestones to represent her.

In addition to funerals, Maris is the patron god of sailors and fishers, and anyone else who might regularly brave her waters. It is customary to offer to Maris before departure, and again when the journey is over. She might also be prayed to or given offerings during storms or before naval battles.

Her favored offerings are winter-blooming flowers, scented water and feathers of swans. The worship of Maris is often personal, silent and contemplative, not performative or flashy.