Natu
Titles Empress of Paradise, Empress of Heaven, Mother of the Trinity Pantheon Trinity Areas of Concern Ancestors, Honor, Light, Nature, Balance, Peace, Swordplay, Order Destiny’s Leaning Deterministic Lover Noctu Siblings Magi, Tekk Sacred Sites Great Natu Tree, Whispering Grove Notable Devotees Finley, Whimsical, Cannoch, Bartholomew
Natu, Empress of Paradise
The Empress of Paradise is worshiped across Tamasora by people of all walks of life, from commoner to lord, farmer to warrior, human to dragon. She is revered as the first born of the Solari Pantheon, respected as the finest swordswoman in Paradise, and honored as the patron of nature, balance, and rulers alike.
Mother of the Trinity. Natu is the eldest of the three Cosmic Eggs. Her siblings Magi and Tekk both came after her. She governs life, nature, the soul’s journey, and the bonds between living things. The Ecclesia Solari teaches that the natural order itself was her first decree, and that mortals are, in the most literal sense, her children.
Tale of Two Lovers. Perhaps the most tragic tale about Natu is that of her lover Noctu, the ascended mortal who became a Lunar Goddess. The two were separated by a curse laid upon them by Natu’s own brothers, Magi and Tekk, for reasons the Ecclesia Solari has never officially explained. They are permitted to meet only during Lunar Eclipses. The rest of the time, Natu watches the moon from afar and Noctu watches the sun. The Lunar Eclipse is therefore Natu’s most sacred holiday, and her most painful.
On Mortal Destiny. Natu’s most cited sermon, from the Song of Her Glory:
“In this world, is the Mortal destiny controlled by some transcendental entity or law…? Is it like the hand of Natu hovering above? At least, it is true that Mortals have no control, even over their own will.”
This passage is the cornerstone of her deterministic doctrine, and the central point of disagreement between her clergy and the Tekk-clerics, who hold the opposing view that mortals with Souls can forge their own destinies.
The First Law. From the Edicts of Balance: “Honor the Great Tree and the cycle of blood and soil. You shall take from the earth only what you require, and you must seed new life where you reap. Do this, and famine shall never touch your lands.”
Disagreement on Evil. Where her brother Tekk preaches that the Fomorians are “vessels for supernatural evil” by their very nature, Natu disagrees. Her clergy teaches that no creature is born evil, only born into circumstances that bend it toward evil acts. This doctrinal split has shaped centuries of Church policy on Fomorian-kind, often unpredictably.
The Cold Branch
The Great Natu Tree has one limb that never blooms. Birds will not perch on it. Druids who climb it lose their voice for a full season. The Ecclesia Solari teaches that this is “where Noctu rests in absence,” and most worshipers leave the matter there.
The truth, whispered only in the deepest groves and known to perhaps four druids currently living, is older and uglier: the Cold Branch is the very limb on which Natu’s brothers fixed the curse that separated her from her lover. It is the wound at the center of the Tree, and it will not heal until the curse is broken. The fact that the Great Natu Tree continues to bloom around it, in spite of it, is what every Natu-cleric privately understands to be the goddess’s greatest act of will.
Edicts & Anathema
Edicts. practice compassion everyday, honor your ancestors, protect nature and society from corruption and destruction
Anathema. abandon a companion in need, dishonor yourself, parlay with truce breakers, separate lovers
Areas of Concern. Ancestors, Honor, Light, Nature, Balance, Peace, Swordplay, Order
Destiny’s Leaning. Deterministic
Notable Devotees
- Finley: Archdruid of Astraloftum and her ranking mortal voice.
- Whimsical: Soul Shepherd; born to honor the bond between mother and child.
- Cannoch: Returned to her worship after the Soul Shepherds restored him from his vegetative state.
- Bartholomew: Soul Shepherd; bless-bearer of her Ceremony.
- Dragons: Worship the Goddess
- Fey and Elf: Through Amenó.