SEYELLA, SANTHARIAN GODDESS OF DESTINY |
Goddess of Destiny and Time. She's one of the Twelve Gods or High Spirits (Aeolía) who sprang from the Dream of Avá the Beautiful according to the elven myth as related in the Cárpa'dosía. Together with Baveras (Goddess of the Sea) and Jeyriall (Goddess of Harvest) Seyella is one of the three Gods dedicated to the element of Water, which also represents the uncertainty in the flow of time. The first month of the Santharian Calendar, the Month of the Turning Star (Córt'Ometrá in the elvish tongue) is dedicated to Seyella solely.
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Mythology. As the Goddess of Destiny Seyella is one of the most
feared Gods of all the Twelve, but also the one who is prayed to and called upon
in seemingly hopeless situations. At least this is the way commoners prefer it,
however, elven myth sees Seyella as a very tragic and desperate figure among the
Gods who reign the world of Aér'aí'chán.
Though Seyella is not a Wind Goddess
She is said to be closest to Avá's spirit of all Gods, but unlike the High
Goddess who dreams of Herself and therefore brings the world into being, the
Goddess of Destiny is part of this world. From the Beginning of
Time She knows everything which happened in the
past, happens at the moment
at any location in the whole world and
what will happen and the future.
Therefore Seyella is often also refered to as
the Goddess of Time, Being and Becoming. But unlike
Avá, who sees all things on
Aér'aí'chán only through the veil of Her Dream, Seyella sees reality in Her
mind. She is the Thought of Avá, Eternity turning
into Becoming, She is this
whole Knowledge, reality of this Knowledge. This makes Seyella a
very powerful Goddess, one, that actually may reign over the other deities, and
- as the Cárpa'dosía tell us - this was
actually once the case. It is told that when the Gods still roamed the lands
Seyella was more delighted in the fates of the Children She met than in the
destiny of creation itself. Often she wore a beautiful human form with flowing
hair and bright grey eyes and whoever encountered Her, encountered joy and hope
beyond comparison, and when people thought about Her and prayed for assistance
She often granted the worshippers their dearest wishes. As in these days
Seyella, as Guardian over Destiny and Time, also had the power to shift reality
and to change people's lives through her godly will. She took pity on the lives
of many and changed reality whenever She felt the need to do so. And indeed She
found that the Dream of Avá bore many sad things, and
Seylla saw it as her heavenly purpose to undo them. One such a mythical story of
Seyella interfering in the lives of the Children of the One
can be found at the elven Mène'téka myth,
called "The
Cárpa'ál'Wievóc" (human
title: "Of the Appearance of Elves in Southern Sarvonia").
Alas, though a God, Seyella was unaware
of Coór's dark machinations in the world. And so when
Eu'reóll, the Tree of Life, suddenly caught fire out of nowhere, She is said to
have stood close to it and in the flames She suddenly saw the real picture of
the Dream, a picture on which - though existent in her being - She hadn't looked
at before. And the intensity of the flames kindled by the
Shadow Himself hurt the Goddesses vision and so She turned blind.
From this moment on the Goddess covers Her eyes with a
blindfold, and it is said that if it would be missing one would only see the
horror of Coór reflecting in these eyes and not the
bright, delighted glance Seyella once used to have. The Goddess still knows all things -
origin, becoming and returning of the world to the beginning -,
but shocked by the view of the Burning Tree She has no
need to see them anymore. Through His
vision Coór also bereft the
Goddess of Her powers to alter the fate of the individuals, as the horror buried
within creation itself left an undeleteable trace of desperation in Her.
Seyella also covers Her eyes because She feels the absolute
helplessness not to be able to interfere in things existing
anymore. She doesn't want to
see the evil which has befallen the world, the deaths contradicting
Avá's
bliss, and so She protects Herself from the destruction, envy and arrogance reigning in
many hearts of the Gods' Children. All She still has is the knowledge of
all these things.
Life without Seyella's existence wouldn't be possible, but Her role among the
Gods has changed: it only consists
anymore of fulfilling the Dream of
Avá in reality.
Importance.
Elven and human mythologies are full with references to Seyella. Mainly
human
historians often interpret the Goddess falsely when writing about the outcome of
important battles by stating that Seyella "is deciding" upon the
victory of one of the sides. Very seldom it is also recounted that certain
heroes or kings who seek Her help are granted insights from the Goddess Herself.
- In elven lore the desperation of the Goddess not
being able anymore to execute such
mentioned decisions is stressed most.
Elves
also believe that all Seyella can do is to let the mortals view their future, nothing more and
nothing less. The path is determined by the Dream of
Avá and cannot be altered.
Seyella's main function is to guide the souls after their deaths to their
determinded fate: Together with Queprur (the Goddess
of Death) Seyella meets the soul of the mortals in the Night of
the Changing (elvish Méh'Coór) . While Queprur bereafs the soul
of its last connection to the world it is
Seyella's duty to decide upon the fate of the soul. At least this is the
human
interpretation, implying that the soul may eventually be eliminated from the
world. In elven mythology on the other hand it is recounted that Seyella,
although knowing of the fate of every person She meets at the Mountain
of Destiny when the time has come, cannot decide upon this fate, but
only speaks with
every soul to provide guidance and then blesses it in order to make it return to the world of Aér'aí'chán
in a new form.
Symbols/Colors.
The symbolic animal of Seyella is the Owl. It is grey like the color related to
the Goddess and it is often interpreted as representing wisdom and knowledge.
Furthermore the owl usually sleeps at day, but at night it has excellent hearing
and keen eyesight and thus brings it in close relationship to the Goddess who
senses and knows the darkness of Coór which has befallen
the world more than any other God.
The color of Seyella is grey like her eyes were she had to
cover. Grey is the color
representing Her desperation and
helplessness that She cannot interfere in things existing. The essence of Her
being is melancholy, but in melancholy lies Her power. Entering a temple
dedicated to Seyella may set its visitors in a mood of absolute worthlessness,
enhanced by the greyness covering all walls and the poor installments you will
find there. But this contemplative mood will also restore the feeling in the
humble visitor that it is the duty of the Children of Avá to bear this Dream
and to find back to the uncompareable spirit of Avá through one's own deeds.
Prayers. Among the most
common prayers to the Goddess of Destiny, is the following:
OH SEYELLA
by
Lucirina Telor Vevan
Oh Seyella
Listen to me, listen to me.
I call upon thee,
in this, my darkest hour.
Take my hand, sweet mother
Lead me now,
lead me now.
Oh Seyella
Blind yet all seeing.
Hear my calling,
my trembling, small voice
You that knows about me
Care for me
Care for me
Oh Seyella
I struggle, I try.
Don’t judge me harshly,
for my many faults.
Find in your mercy
a place for me,
place for me.
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