Shelyn

Shelyn

(Deity)

Titles

The Eternal Rose
The Lady of Chrysanthemums (Tian Xia)
Syriss
The Eternal Maiden
Azlanti period: Song of the Prism

Adjective

Shelynite

Realm

Blossomheart, Nirvana

Alignment

Neutral good

Areas of Concern

Art
Beauty
Love
Music

Worshipers

Artists, poets, lovers

Edicts

Be peaceful, perfect an art form, lead by example, see beauty in all things

Anathema

Destroy art or allow its destruction, except to save a life or pursue greater art; refuse to accept surrender

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Air, Charm, Good, Luck, Protection

Subdomains (1E)

Agathion, Cloud, Defense, Fate, (Imagination), Love, Purity

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Sanctification (2E)

Can choose holy

Domains (2E)

Creation, family, passion, protection
Alternate: Repose

Favored Weapon

Glaive
Azlanti period: Dagger

Symbol

Multicolored songbird

Sacred Animal

Songbird

Sacred Colors

All

Images of Shelyn

Source: Inner Sea Gods, pg(s). 140–147 (1E)
Divine Mysteries, pg(s). 98 (2E)

Alignment details are sourced from Inner Sea Gods and Lost Omens Gods & Magic 44. Shelyn's Azlanti period details are sourced from The Flooded Cathedral 74, her giant pantheon details are sourced from Giants Revisited 54, her Tian Xia regional details are sourced from Tian Xia World Guide 47, and the Eternal Maiden nickname is sourced from Planar Adventures 164.

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Shelyn (pronounced SHEHL-ihn) is the goddess of art, beauty, love, and music, and the half-sister of Zon-Kuthon.

History

The goddess Shelyn was born the daughter of the spirit-wolf Thron and an unknown ancient deity thought to have been a goddess of love. She shared Thron as a father with her half-brother Dou-Bral, and for a time they shared portfolios. In some societies Shelyn and Dou-Bral were worshiped together as an inseparable pair.

At some point they argued for reasons lost to time, and Dou-Bral abandoned their home and the Great Beyond for the far dark places between the planes.

A concordance of empyreal lords dispatched countless numbers in search of the missing Dou-Bral across the multiverse, with Black Butterfly being the first to locate him in the spaces between planes and lead him back to Shelyn. When Dou-Bral returned to this reality, he had become Zon-Kuthon, god of mutilation, misery, and torture. Believing that Dou-Bral still existed within Zon-Kuthon, Shelyn reached out him, but he pierced her hand with his black nails. Zon-Kuthon also captured their father and tortured him beyond recognition, transforming him into his herald, the Prince in Chains.

In an attempt to redeem her brother, Shelyn stole his malign glaive, the Whisperer of Souls, during the Age of Darkness but was ultimately unable to turn him to the light. She kept the weapon out of love for him, despite its negative influence.

According to the Windsong Testaments, it was for these crimes, and for other terrible acts he committed against Shelyn and her works, that the gods of Golarion banished Zon-Kuthon to Xovaikain in the Netherworld, there to reside for as long as the sun hung in the sky—a term that would unexpectedly end with Earthfall.

Dogma

Beauty

However, she also warns her followers to not warp their own feelings of love into jealousy, greed, obsession, or self-endangerment in pursuit of their passions and art, and charges her followers to prevent others from doing so in her name.

She never uses her beauty as a weapon and she punishes that sort of behavior in her followers. Shelyn gently and kindly rejects all potential suitors. Some call her the Eternal Maiden, while others claim she is the lover of several gods, goddesses, and lesser beings.

Art and music

See also: Art and music

As aspects of her role as goddess of beauty, Shelyn also promotes the creation of art and the composing and performance of music. Shelyn values all efforts to introduce beauty into the world regardless of form or quality, and while she appreciates passionate artists she never asks people to endanger themselves for their art or succumb to jealousy.

Love

As the goddess of love, Shelyn encourages the proliferation of that feeling in all its forms. While she does not discourage erotic love, she promotes lasting, deep relationships that are not based solely on physical attraction; she values the early passion of romantic relationships in pursuit of courtship, but not pure carnal desire without the opportunity for lasting love.

She embraces romantic love with or without marriage, and with many or one devoted partners, as well as extramarital love if the spouse is not harmed. She views divorce as a sad but sometimes necessary change. The love parents have for their children is also part of her portfolio. She never encourages obsession with others or the aggressive pursuit of people who have no interest in a relationship, and equally charges her followers to stop those who would abuse her name to pursue harmfully covetous, crule, or selfish acts.

Her continuing love for her brother, despite his many shortcomings, inspires her followers to persevere in the face of strong opposition.

Relationships

An artist's depiction of the eternal conflict between Shelyn and Zon-Kuthon.

Zon-Kuthon

See also History.

Shelyn reached a detente with Zon-Kuthon and is the only deity who remains in regular contact with him. They have not battled in ages; Shelyn recognizes his longing for the Whisperer of Souls and still believes it holds some secret that could unlock his redemption.

Among mortals, the conflict and relationship between Shelyn and Zon-Kuthon is the subject of one of the parables of the Windsong Testaments.

Other deities

Shelyn with her lovers Desna and Sarenrae, who collectively form the Radiant Prism pantheon.

Shelyn is respected and admired by all other non-evil deities, particularly Abadar, Brigh, Calistria, Erastil, and Shizuru. She is known to be a lover of Desna and Sarenrae. She is also friendly with Bolka, with whom she shares a portfolio of love and beauty even as their followers' interpretations differ. Calistria has made lustful advances on Shelyn but has denied her as those intentions lack much else. Despite the rejections, they and their churches still are amicable, recognizing the place of love and lust (but disagree on which is more important) in romance, and worshipers bond over the beauty within eroticism. Kholos believe that she is younger twin of Calistria.

Due to her interest in deep, lasting relationships rooted in love, she occasionally chides her old friend Kofusachi for his many short-term affairs with mortals and deities. She also has a close, sisterly relationship with Lady Jingxi out of appreciation for her art, and also in support of Lady Jingxi's separation from her callous husband Hei Feng. Arshea shares a mutual admiration with her, and she often discusses or engages in dance with Ashava or musical composition with Seramaydiel.

The god Aroden respected Shelyn because he considered that civilization required high arts to be successful—music, poetry and other art forms—and Shelyn inspired such endeavours. Shelyn and Pharasma tend to have long philosophical debates, which always end when Pharasma points out that beautiful things like flowers grow from dead things (Shelyn has no argument against this). She finds amusement in Cayden Cailean's often drunken attempts to woo her and loves him with a platonic patience rather than as a paramour.

Naderi, deity of suicide, was once a divine servant of Shelyn tasked with monitoring star-crossed lovers. After witnessing a couple choosing to die rather than live apart, she fled and gained a spark of divinity to become the Lost Maiden. Shelyn has attempted but failed to repair her former bond with Naderi in the three centuries since.

Black Butterfly believes she is at least in part responsible for the conflict between Shelyn and Zon-Kuthon since she facilitated her reunion with the transformed Zon-Kuthon.

Evil deities (and most evil creatures) are not only mostly neutral toward her but appreciate qualities of her faith, and by extension their clergy tend to ignore hers, although she and Urgathoa frequently argue (and their clergies do tend to get into skirmishes). Their relationship in particular has long been strained by an offense committed long ago by Urgathoa, the details of which are not known beyond them.

Appearance

A depiction of Shelyn.

Shelyn's beauty is unique and unparalleled in the Great Beyond. She is beautiful both without and within; all who see her see what they envision as the most perfect beauty, meaning she appears differently to everyone. Depictions of Shelyn, regardless of ancestry, show her as a young woman with ankle-length chestnut hair that bears several strands colored bright red, blue, green, and gold, and eyes of either blue, silver, both, or one of each color.

When she appears to mortals of the Inner Sea region, it is often in the form of a Taldan woman with brown hair and exceptional beauty, around whom reality itself seems to bend toward in ecstasy. She always wears tasteful clothing and jewelry that accentuates her beauty and surrounds herself with flowers, colorful birds, artworks, and other things of beauty.

Whisperer of Souls

Shelyn still bears the glaive called the Whisperer of Souls that she took from Zon-Kuthon. True to its name, the glaive absorbs souls seemingly to feed a being who needs 100 souls to finally manifest. It was empty when first crafted and gifted to Dou-Bral; by the time Shelyn stole the Whisperer of Souls from Zon-Kuthon it had almost all it needed. In the time since, Shelyn has been able to free most of those souls thanks to the help of Nethys and brave adventurers, and she sometimes gifts the glaive to adventurers who she trusts can free a soul within it.

Home

Shelyn resides in Blossomheart, a valley full of performance venues, forested glens, and the gardens of the Eight Rings in the Dragonmane Mountains of Nirvana. It is inhabited by agathions and avorals and features monasteries and keeps of inspiring artistic architecture. She secretly maintains a hidden neighboring valley called Eternal Hope to eventually serve as a realm for Zon-Kuthon upon his hoped-for redemption.

Servants

A dapsara.

Shelyn has many blessed servants. Among them are her divine servitors, the dapsaras. These angels are the physical embodiment of beauty, art, and grace.

Unique servants

The Spirit of Adoration is Shelyn's herald, a ghaele azata who has served her since she was merely the goddess of beauty, art, and music.

• Dancing Petal, a playful and loving air elemental
• Harmonia, a musical cloudlike being
• Phoenix Tail, an avoral bard

Church of Shelyn

Worshipers

Shelyn encourages creativity and inspires the world. She challenges her faithful to test their limits, share what they create, and delight in the gifts of others. Shelyn preaches (and practices) that true beauty comes from within, and she favors romances not based solely on lust.

In the Inner Sea region she is most widely worshiped in Taldor. Aside from Taldans and the peoples who live in its current and former territories, Shelyn is also a favored deity of Tian, Varisians, elves, gnomes, aiuvarins, and halflings. She is also a major presence in the nations of Absalom, Andoran, Galt, and Vidrian.

In Tian Xia, Shelyn is known as the Lady of Chrysanthemums. Many depictions of Shelyn, and many artistic works and performances, feature chrysanthemums as they are associated with vitality and steadfastness. The Temple of the Eternal and Exquisite Rose in the settlement of Vannisaria in Linvarre, formerly the Taldan colony of Amanandar, is the largest temple to Shelyn on the continent and rivals Taldor's Temple of the Upheld and Golden Rose in size. The seaside town of Shelyn's Comb in Goka specializes in the production of Songbird's Silk, which is traditionally used in wedding apparel.

Shelyn was worshipped by ancient Azlanti patrons of the arts, to whom she was known as the Song of the Prism, and she sent muse azatas to devout communities.

Storm giants worship her as Syriss, goddess of music, and believe she is the daughter of sky-god Hyjarth and sea-goddess Tourithia (both names being the storm giants' understanding of Gozreh's dual personality). Shelyn has a strong following among the sthenos, a recently-emerged group of medusa-like humanoids who came into being when an euryale named Stheno prayed to Shelyn for help in freeing her from Lamashtu's grasp. Although Stheno perished under Lamashtu's rebuke, her faith caused the snakes of her hair to transform into a new people who have since remained dedicated to their progenitor's divine patron.

Shelyn has offered divine pacts to mortals who realize the importance of beauty in the midst of battle. In exchange for a small measure of her divine protection, Shelyn encourages these "foxhole converts" to give every living creature the chance to find the beauty within and leaves them strangely reluctant to strike the first blow in combat.

Knights of Shelyn are devoted to courtly love, but also are at the ready to defend the innocent. Many serve to ease their own pain of hearts broken from loss. They are willing to protect others from experiencing the same heartbreak.

Clergy

A devoted muse of Shelyn.

Clerics of Shelyn endeavor each day to create something of beauty, whether artistically or through unconventional forms, such as though gardening or by helping others enhance their own beauty through fashion and grooming. Others serve Shelyn as protectors or sponsors of artworks and artists.

Her rangers and druids are usually the types who live off the land, content to watch over places of natural beauty or perhaps hire themselves out to lovers in need of a fresh start in a new place.

Formal raiment among Shelyn's clergy include leggings and a long tunic for men, and at least calf-length skirts or dresses for women, all tailored to flatter without being overtly sexual. Most are of reddish hue, although silver and blue are also common.

Providence

The goddess occasionally sends direct messages to her faithful in the form of a short, but precise, whispered message. All songbirds are sacred to her, and their presence is considered a blessing. Repellent reflections in mirrored surfaces, quarreling lovers, drab songbirds, and wilted roses are all signs of Shelyn's disfavor.

Paladins of Shelyn

A paladin of Shelyn.

Paladins of Shelyn promote peace, art, and beauty. They perceive the ugliness of inner evil even through veils of superficial beauty, create beauty of their own in the world, and work to prevent people from being lured by false promises. Their tenets include:

“

• I see beauty in others. As a rough stone hides a diamond, a drab face may hide the heart of a saint.
• I am peaceful. I come first with a rose rather than a weapon, and act to prevent conflict before it blossoms. I never strike first, unless it is the only way to protect the innocent.
• I accept surrender if my opponent can be redeemed—and I never assume that they cannot be. All things that live love beauty, and I will show beauty's answer to them.
• I live my life as art. I will choose an art and perfect it. When I have mastered it, I will choose another. The works I leave behind make life richer for those who follow.
• I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come to harm unless greater art arises from its loss. I will only sacrifice art if doing so allows me to save a life, for untold beauty can arise from an awakened soul.
• I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade passes, a life is cut short, and the world's potential for beauty is lessened.

”

Saint Marcus Odeber—son of Arn Odeber, first of the Odeber family line—was the first recorded paladin of Shelyn in the Inner Sea region.

Temples and shrines

Temples to Shelyn are spacious, filled with art, flowers, and constant music, and most have at least one rosebush on site. They often incorporate or are located in galleries, cathedrals, gardens, museums, and theaters, and are popular venues for meetings between lovers and weddings. Smaller temples often focus on a specific form of art, while larger temples often feature multiple artforms and large ensembles, such as orchestras and theater companies.

Temples to Shelyn produce framed calligraphy of poetry from her religious text and sell them as sought-after gifts, while other artworks within the temple are often created by the temple's priests or donated or sponsored by those welcomed into the temple when few others would.

Temple of the Upheld and Golden Rose

The largest and oldest temple to Shelyn is the Temple of the Upheld and Golden Rose in Oppara, Taldor, a grand cathedral open to the sky. It is believed that Shelyn herself walks the temple's grounds annually to personally bless those she most favors, but no one knows which day of the year she visits or in which guise.

Religious text

Melodies of Inner Beauty is the religious text of the church of Shelyn. It contains the history of the goddess, including her family, though drawing a veil over the nastier elements about Zon-Kuthon. It tells stories about Shelyn and discusses her church's dogma. Music is used throughout as many of the tales are set as songs and hymns. Other artistic ways of interpreting the words are also utilized, such as dance and poetry. Other divinely inspired works also exist, some going into more detail about Dou-Bral and Zon-Kuthon.

Aphorisms

Shelynites integrate sayings in devotion to Shelyn into their artistic works and expressions:

• The creation of beauty is the highest art. All forms of artistic expression enrich the world as blessings of Shelyn.
• Love and beauty belong to all. No being, however corrupted, is incapable of love or unworthy of being loved.
• Love is the greatest of all things. It motivates deities and endures less emotional or more selfish pursuits. Love is the only salve for painful emotions such as anger or fear, which represent the absence of love.
• Love is never born of evil. Possessiveness, jealousy, and celebrating the suffering of enemies are not love.

Holidays

The church of Shelyn celebrates Crystalhue, a festival celebrating craft, courtship, and friendship, at the winter solstice. Couples choose to propose or marry during Crystalhue amidst community-wide feasts and performances.

Favored animals

Deities are often associated with certain animals, either because they possess a favored quality, or because the deity's faithful feel a special kinship to them. Shelyn's most sacred animals are songbirds, and her other favored creatures include swans, wolves, dolphins, cats, and rabbits.

References

Paizo published major articles about Shelyn in Night of Frozen Shadows, Pathfinder Chronicles: Gods and Magic, Inner Sea Gods, Lost Omens Gods & Magic, and Divine Mysteries.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.