Selûne

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.

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.

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.

References

• Boyd, Eric L., and Erik Mona. Faiths and Pantheons (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).

Further reading

• Martin, Julia, and Eric L. Boyd. Faiths & Avatars (TSR, 1996).

External links

• "History of the Sisters of Light and Darkness"
• "Selune"
• "Phases of Selûne"

Images

• The three avatars of Selûne
• Symbol of Selûne