| Forgotten Realms Deity | |
|---|---|
| Selûne | |
| Title(s) | Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden |
| Homeplane | Gates of the Moon |
| Power Level | Intermediate |
| Alignment | Chaotic Good |
| Portfolio | Moon, stars, navigation, navigators, wanderers, questers, good and neutral lycanthropes |
| Superior | Lord Ao |
Selûne (/sɛ'lun.eɪ/ or seh-loon-ay) is a fictional goddess in the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons. Also known as Our Lady of Silver and the Moonmaiden, she is the Faerûnian goddess of light, the moon, stars, navigation, navigators, wanderers, questers, and goodly lycanthropes.
Clerics of Selûne are a very diverse group, including sailors, nonevil lycanthropes, mystics, and female spellcasters. Her church's main objective is to fight evil lycanthropes and summon the Shards (blue-haired female planetar servants of Selûne) to battle the minions of her archnemesis (and twin), Shar. The temple also performs fortune-telling, healing, and practices self-reliance and humility.
As the goddess of the moon, "Selûne" is also the name given by Faerûnians to Aber-Toril's natural satellite. This celestial body is tidally locked and has phases, very similar to Earth's moon. A set of "Trojan" asteroids, called the "Tears of Selûne", trail and precede the moon in its orbit.
History[]
Selûne was created from the primordial essence of the universe, along with her twin sister, Shar. Together, they created Chauntea (the embodiment of the world of Abeir-Toril) and some other heavenly bodies and infused these areas with life. The two goddesses then fought over the fate of their creations. From these struggles emerged the original deities of magic, war, disease, murder, death, and others. Selûne reached out of the universe and from a plane of fire, brought forth a flame and ignited a heavenly body in order to give warmth to Chauntea. This greatly enraged Shar, and she began to erase all light and warmth in the universe. Desperate and weakened because of Shar's actions, Selûne hurled some of her divine essence at her sister. Selûne's essence tore through Shar, bringing some of Shar's essence with it. This magical energy combined to form the goddess Mystryl, the original goddess of magic.
Controversy[]
- Heresy of the New Moon
- A heretical precept stating that Selûne and Shar are opposite sides of the same Goddess. Vehemently denied and repressed by the church leadership, it nevertheless managed to find several followers even among Selûne's high-ranking clergy.
Orders[]
- Swords of the Lady
- One order of fanatic Selûnites is known as the Swords of the Lady, who are often referred to colloquially as the "Lunatics." Its members are led by a few Selûnite crusaders who tend to act rapidly in response to threats from Shar and her priesthood, although their behaviour is often viewed as bizarre by the public at large.
- Oracles of the Moon
- The Oracles of the Moon is a group of female diviners who worship the Night White Lady. They perform fortune-telling rituals and are some of the highest bards and priests in the faith.
- Pact of the New Moon
- Consists solely of lycanthropes sworn to Selûne, carrying out the most secretive and violent aspects of Selûne's work. Selûne grants these lycanthropes abilities other lycanthropes lack, such as an ability to speak in wolf form, also allowing her followers to invoke prayers and cast spells, rapid shapeshifting and increased strength. Was once declared heretical and anathema for espousing the Heresy of the New Moon but was renewed by Selûne's direct order in a vision to one of her lycanthrope priestesses.
References[]
- Boyd, Eric L., and Erik Mona. Faiths and Pantheons (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).
- Don Bassingthwaite & Dave Gross. "The Priests: Mistress of the night" (Wizards of the Coast/Forgotten Realms, 2004)
Further reading[]
- Martin, Julia, and Eric L. Boyd. Faiths & Avatars (TSR, 1996).
External links[]
Images[]
fr:Séluné pl:Selûne