Basic Information
ALIGNMENT:
Neutral Good
GENDER:
Female
TITLE(S)/ALIASES:
- Mistress of Enchantment (Mystique)
- The Avenging Mother (Nephythys)
- Protector of the Dead (Nephythys)
- Lady of Love (Mystique)
PRIMAL ENERGY:
Blue / Black
PORTFOLIO:
death, magic, healing, love, grief, protection of women and the dead
REALM:
The sisters keep a home in Elysium, but Mystique has her own home in the wilderness of Bytopia.
SYMBOL:
an ankh superimposed over a five-pointed star
FAVORED WEAPON:
Quarterstaff or dagger
FAVORED ANIMALS:
hawks, crows, raccoons, rats
FAVORED MONSTERS:
Sphinxes, nagas, unicorns, celestial dogs, gem dragons
FAVORED COLORS:
black, white, gold
Distinctive Characteristics
Personality: Twin sisters. Nephythys was once a somewhat greedy deity who was focused on the accumulation of wealth and status. Her temperament is often mercurial, and she is still regarded as haughty and somewhat vain. She has little patience for the foibles of mortals and can often be quite impatient and unforgiving. However, she is also devoted and utterly loyal to those who hold her dearest in their hearts and those within her charge.
Mystique is a regal and noble deity who is eager to share the knowledge of the deities with mortals. A woman of even temper and great dedication, she would go to great lengths to introduce her worshippers to new concepts and ideas. In many cases, these new ideas take the form of magical spells. Mystique often finds the antics of mortals amusing, but she is a kind, understanding goddess who cares greatly for her worshippers and the people of the desert.
History: Back during the Uncivilized Times, Nephythys was once married to Xoac. She bore him one child, the saurian demigod Sebek. Xoac, who was called Set during that time, rejected the child and Nephythys, reasoning that it was her fault that she bore a monster. Inconsolable and desperate for a normal child, she attempted to seduce her sister’s husband Osiris. This was Set’s plan all along, and he took advantage of his brother-in-law’s weakened state to murder him. After Set killed Osiris, she abandoned him and her son completely and confessed to Mystique about everything. The pair took Osiris’s dead body and mummified him, bringing him back to life as a god of undeath. Because of this, she often acts as a guardian of the dead, guarding the dead from necromancers and grave robbers. Nephythys despises her former husband and will do everything in her power to thwart his plans.
Mystique was the wife of Osiris and twin sister to Nephythys, but she was always the gentler and more stable one of the two. She forgave her sister for her transgressions but grieves for her dead husband still to this day.
Description: Mystique and Nephythys are twin sisters and two sides of the same coin. Nephythys appears as a dark-skinned human woman. She is always dressed in a flowing black dress of lacy silks, with a silver belt made of coins. Her long silver hair flows around her unfettered, and her yellow eyes are always wide open, ever watchful.
Mystique appears as a dark-skinned woman, wearing intricate dresses of gold and white, and wearing a tiara of white metal to hold back her long elegantly groomed black hair. Her green eyes are always tearing up.
Manifestations: Mystique’s will is often demonstrated through nature and the actions of white creatures and animals. Nephthys’s will was sometimes communicated through an unusual gathering of rats. A single gold coin might lead to great treasure for those she favors.
Kinships
Allies: The Allin pantheon, Thoth, Ratri, Metzli, Corellon Larethian, Dumathoin, Urogalan, Baravar Clockshadow, Segojan Earthcaller, Semuanya, Shekinester, Alathrien Druanna
Opponents/Rivals: The Saqra pantheon, the Triad, the Thrugra pantheon, Surtr, Mrrshaulk, Sess’innek, the Great Mother
Relationships: Because of what happened to her husband, Mystique is a fanatical enemy of Xoac and anybody who associates with him. She and her twin sister devote themselves to foiling his plans. The sisters are also predisposed to enmity for the orcnea, especially Yurtrus, the White Hand Shaman, who they feel distorts and corrupts the primal energies. They have much in common with the deities who care for their dead, such as Dumathoin and Segojan Earthcaller, and have been known to work with Thoth and Alathrien Druanna on matters of arcane knowledge.
The Church
Sisters of the Octun Pyramid
Dogma: Care for the poor of heart, the stricken, and the weak, for they are the heart of the Land and my children. Though you must eternally wage war against the Dark One, remember to spare food and water for those who go without. Seek to make sure the dead are given their last rites and rest undisturbed, protecting them from interference from the Dark One. Protect the tombs and remains of the idea, and smite those who would rob those who have gone to the afterlife or desecrate their tombs. Sow the seeds of happiness, family, and food wherever you go, and provide wise counsel for those in need. Use your magic to benefit those less fortunate than you, and never harm them.
Core Worshippers: Wizards and sorcerers, wives and mothers, druids, those who mourn
Clerical Alignments: NG, CG, N, LG (heka-ren), LN (heka-ren)
Clergy Titles/Structure: The priests of the Mystic Sisters are collectively called heka, although they will have different functions in their communities. If they are male they shave their heads, but most heka are female.
Heka-bes wear white robes and are active as the face of the worship, conducting marriage ceremonies, acting as matchmakers, and counseling young mothers on childbearing and raising their children. They also use their magic to benefit the agricultural production of the community. They act as medicine women and healers as well, administering herbal remedies.
Heka-ren wear black robes and serve as the dignified keepers of the dead. They are responsible for the mummification of the body, the preservation of the tombs, and the entombing of the material wealth of the community. In so doing, they also tend to be the financial advisors and money-changers. They sometimes serve as tax collectors for large enough communities, and investment advisors to the noble class.
Clergy Special Duties & Restrictions: Heka are charged with caring for their congregation, especially women, and with attaining arcane knowledge to keep the balance between the arcane and divine energies. They are not allowed to use any spell that could potentially enslave spirits or utilize undeath, and are not allowed to have or use the wealth that came off a corpse. Heka are expected to have a single gem of any worth that they have dedicated to the Sisters. This gem serves as their spellcasting focus.
The Sisterhood of Mercy is a local chapter established in many large cities that tenders to the female ill at heart and victims of abuse and violence. They are funded entirely by the temple; the heka-bes run the chapter and the heka-ren ensure that it can function.
Clergy Special Power: The heka-bes gain the ability to resist the slippery magic employed by Xoac’s jakkals. When the heka-bes must make a saving throw to resist the effects of a spell or ability used by a jakkal, she or he gains advantage on the roll.
The heka-ren gains one additional use of their channel divinity ability per day, as long as it is used to turn undead. Once the heka-ren is able to destroy undead, her or his level is counted as one level above for determining if the undead is destroyed.
Holy Days: ArlSanctum Shai (third of Tiberion), ArlSanctum Syrtil (twenty-second of Glenfall), twice a year when the heka gather to trade magical knowledge and record the births and deaths of their congregation within the past halfyear, overseen by the priestesses of the Sect of Night; Night of Death (25th of Questron), a night when the veil of reality between our plane and the Negative Energy Plane is at its thinnest, spontaneously creating undead. Commoners stay indoors to stay away from the dead while loachs (priests of Corrus), swordbrothers (priests of Tyr), heka (priests of the Mystic Sisters) and shieldmaidens (priests of Ora Whorls) patrol the night and battle the undead.
Chosen: None. This is one of the few points of contention with the sisters, as they cannot agree on a mortal to bestow their divinity on.
Shadows of Dakaron 