| Domains | Silence, Introspection, Storytelling, and Personal Growth |
|---|---|
| Aliases | The Goddess of Sorrows, The Smile in Shadows |
| Plane | The Astral Sea |
Amarah-persvek-Japachi, or simply Amarah, is the good half-dragon goddess of sacred quiet and somber stories. She is primarily worshipped by the Starless people in northern Pteris, but her worship has steadily spread as the Starless and their stories have traveled to other parts of the world.
Description
Amarah is depicted in two ways: as a dragon-shaped shadow blotting out light as it passes over and as a dark-skinned woman with Draconic features (such as scales, horns, etc.) and entirely black eyes. There are many stories revolving around Amarah’s ascent to divinity, but many of them have at least a few commonalities. Firstly, she was the only half-dragon in her family and she cast away from them after she murdered her father in draconic wrath (whether she truly did this out of wrath or a simple and cruel desire to acquire inheritance is debated, but ultimately meaningless). Secondly, she moved through the deserts of Pteris for several years, choosing to sleep during the day and wander at night. Thirdly, she encountered a figure of great wisdom who would not speak with her directly, communicating in stories and omens instead. This figure may have been an ancient spirit or even the avatar of some lesser deity—the only one who knows for sure is Amarah, and she has never seen a reason to clarify. Regardless, Amarah spent decades following this figure and unraveling their words, learning to see the meaning in the silences between their words. Eventually, she proved herself wise enough to become this figure’s student, and they left for planes beyond. During this time, Amarah learned and performed great feats of magic. Her greatest magical feat, however, was repairing an artifact from the Astral Sea: the Black Star. The Black Star was said to hold the shadows of all Quelmar’s somber tales, having gathered them as it drifted through the Astral. After repairing this artifact (which is said to have taken her ten years and a day), she chose to shatter it and send its stories drifting through the worlds so they wouldn’t be forgotten. It is unclear whether the act of fixing the Black Star or shattering it was what what allowed Amarah to ascend to divinity, but she did. To this day, Black Star shards are considered sacred to Amarah’s followers.
Amarah’s primary symbol is, simply, a black star. However, shadowy draconic imagery can also be used to represent her. In terms of her relationships with other gods, Amarah tends to keep to herself. However, she apparently once met with Bahamut. Though they agreed in encouraging others to grow in goodness, Bahamut found Amarah too passive while she thought he was too directly involved. Still, the gods are far from enemies and have maintained something of a friendship throughout time. On the occasions that followers of Amarah and followers of Eilistraee meet, they tend to collaborate, though the true nature of the relationship between their goddesses is a mystery.
Works
Aside from fixing and then breaking the Black Star, Amarah has one other major work attributed to her: becoming patron of those born “Starless”. The Starless condition or “plague” left children of all species born “without light in their eyes” (with no visible sclera and very dark irises), drawn to tragedy whether or not they wanted to be, and inherently gifted with illusion-based magic. These children would often be considered cursed and thrown out or worse. Eventually, so many Starless existed that they began gathering together in communities of their own, though this often led to further tragic incidents occurring (a woman who loved sewing losing one of her hands, a loving husband’s wife deciding to leave him, etc.). One day, Amarah came in her shadow visage to each of these communities, and she gave them a great gift: the ability to contain tragedy within tales. How this ability works logistically is either unknown or kept secret, but in short, Amarah’s boon allowed Starless to direct their somber influence so it wouldn’t simply wreak havoc. This also made for a potent defense against those who would seek to do their communities harm. As such, Amarah became known as the Goddess of Sorrows.
Worshippers
Amarah’s primary worshippers are the various tribes of Starless people in Pteris, though her faith is spreading. A few tapestry-bearing kobold cabals have even adopted her into their beliefs. Outsiders often carry the perhaps understandable misconception that worshipping the Goddess of Sorrows involves self-flagellating behavior and a refusal to revel in happiness. However, Amarahns know that devoting their time to wallowing in sadness would prevent them from observing another one of their goddess’ aspects: personal growth. Rather than only ever allowing themselves to experience sadness, they simply acknowledge that sorrow is not something to run from. When tragedy strikes, grief must be had, and there are lessons to be learned in loss along the way. It is true that most of their stories incorporate somber twists or bittersweet endings, but this is not simply to tug at the heartstrings of listeners. Their somber stories often put the flaws of heroes on full display and show what happens when a person insists on remaining as they are and refuses to reflect. These serve as excellent warnings.
Amarahns believe that faith is an individual practice and, as such, there are few concrete ceremonies or official prayers. One exception to this rule is the Rite of Repentance. This rite is usually performed when there is lingering bad blood between two Amarahns or just an Amarahn and another person. During the Rite of Repentance, both participants sacrifice something they have been holding onto for too long: be it a material possession or a buried emotion. In this loss, they rid themselves of that which prevents them from moving forward and can turn to each other with renewed perspectives. Then, proper apologies are made.
Languages
The name Amarah-persvek-Japachi is partly a dialect of Primordial and partly Draconic. Amarah means “grace” in the dialect dubbed Starless Primordial, persvek is Draconic for “in”, and Japachi means “quiet” in Draconic. The literal translation of her name is Grace-in-Quiet. Thus, these are the two languages most commonly spoken by her followers along with the Common tongue. Some of her worshippers also learn Celestial because they associate that language with a higher sense of goodness. They won’t use Celestial in average speech, but will exclaim in the language when something particularly good happens and write or speak their most impactful stories and messages in it.
Powers and Abilities
Notable Holy Sites
Amarah has no dedicated temples, but several shrines of hers are in Northern Pteris and along a few lonely roads in other places. The most abundant source of Amarahn shrines is along Pterran Path of Lost Hopes that winds throughout the north of the continent. Walking this path is a sacred pilgrimage among Amarah’s followers, but it is no easy feat. The Path of Lost Hopes is not just physically taxing, but mentally trying as well. While walking this path, pilgrims are first visited in their dreams by visions of hopes abandoned by others, and then they must confront their own forgotten hopes. These visions get more and more taxingly vivid as one progresses up the Path, taking a pilgrim closer to the core of themself. No one who has walked the Path has ever been quite the same afterward, but people always agree that they have changed for the better.