¶ ASTRATA: GODDESS OF ORDER
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ASTRATA |
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| WORSHIPERS: Nobles, Zealots, Commoners CONSIDERED SINS: Betrayal, Sloth, Witchcraft ALIGNMENT: Divine Pantheon GRANTED BOON: Lowered stamina regeneration delay during ‘daytime.’ |
Astrata, also known as The Sun Queen, or The Firstborn, is the goddess of order and light. She is most beloved amongst The Ten, but also the most feared.
Astrata takes the appearance of a four-armed woman of pure gold, masked face, and long, wild hair. She wears loose but modest wrappings of cloth, and heavy jewelry around her wrists and ankles. She is often depicted as holding a torch high in one hand, and a sunflower to her side in the other.
¶ Domain
Astrata presides over the sun, light, order, righteousness, and the other nine of the Divine Pantheon. It is through her will that noble families were blessed with divine blood aeons ago. She leads the church in their fight against Zizo and her forces, and she speaks her will through her most devoted priests.
¶ History
Astrata and Noc were the first crafted by Necra. Astrata was formed from His head and the largest part of His soul. They, the twins Sun and Moon, began bickering almost as soon as they were created.
As purely divine beings, much of their history is speculative.
It is said that when the moon shines during the days, Noc approaches Astrata in the heavens again to argue petty squabbles. This may also explain the explosions witnessed in the sky during these times.
¶ Controversies
Astrata and her most devoted followers are known to be tyrannical, ill-tempered, and uncompromising in ideals.
Some accuse her even of cruelty with the extent of zealousness with which she demands punishment of sinners. A common ritual amongst Astratans, the burning alive of a sinner to ‘absolve’ them before prompt resurrection, is considered merciful.
Xylixians and Astratans often find themselves at ends with one another. Astrata has been public in her distaste for the disorderly nature of Xylix's pranks, demanding cessation during wartime. Xylix, of course, continues to prank and perform wildly to their own will, and their followers much of the same. To Astrata, they are an annoyance and potentially a detriment.
Astrata and Pestra have grown close, perhaps from similarities of domain and practice or another reason entirely- the specifics are wildly debated. What is undeniable, however, is that Pestra blesses Astrata's priests with some of her own abilities. Astrata has suffered accusations from both particularly brave clergy members and the other eight divine of favouritism amongst the pantheon. Regardless of their feelings, nothing widely known has come of this criticism yet.
Since the 2430s, nights have grown much brighter. They follow a cycle of intermittent about 18 minutes of darkness followed by a flash of 10 minutes of light- the population has since adapted to this new cycle of days and nights, albeit with time and effort.
¶ Iconography
Astrata's divine symbol is a psycross with prongs on either side. She is associated with the sun, sunflowers, and torches.
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 Astrata's Symbol, |
 A necklace, worn by |
 A helmet, |
 The mask of Astratan priests, |