Dormis And Nocturna

Dormis and Nocturna
King of Dreams and Queen of the Night; King and Queen of Faerie; the Sandman and the Pillow Princess (the last two are only used in children's stories)

Symbol: A golden sword on a silver circle and a green chalice on a golden circle, respectively
Home Plane: Arborea
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Both)
Cleric Alignments: Any Non-Lawful
Portfolio: The fey and all their friends; sylvan woodlands; the moons of Therafim; romantic love; dreams (Dormis); nightmares (Nocturna); inspiration.
Worshipers: Fey, elves, gnomes, rangers, druids, lovers, artists, bards.
Domains: Chaos, Dream [Dormis], Song, Charm (Love), Darkness (Moon), Madness (Nightmare) [Nocturna]
Favored Weapon: Longspear (Dormis) and Shortbow (Nocturna)

Physical Description:
Dormis and Nocturna appear as tall, regal beings of otherworldly beauty who seem to be made of as much light as flesh. They have some elven features, though they are not identifiable as members of any race except the fey. These are the deities of the fair folk, and they draw their strength from the moons that orbit the planet, the strength of their glow waxing and waning with that of the moons above the part of the world where they might manifest.

Dormis, tall with blue skin and long hair like spun silver, is proud, aristocratic in bearing, and very formal in all his dealings, except when angered. Nocturna, fair-skinned with hair like spun gold, is no less proud, and is perhaps even more haughty than her husband. The two are often estranged because of their great pride and tendencies to take lovers at whim (and to fight over especially attractive lovers). Any dealings with these mercurial beings can be immensely profitable and pleasurable, and also insanely dangerous, as their whims and caprices can change at a moment's notice.

Description of Nature, Personality, and Dogma:
Dormis and Nocturna are the god and goddess of the fey, or as close to beings of worship that the fey ever have. They are the ones who set the rules by which the fey govern themselves (for even in their chaotic, freedom-loving lives, the fey have rules), ensure order in the courts of the Seelie (good-aligned) and Unseelie (evil-aligned) fey courts, and maintain a semblance of rationality in the raw essence of nature's creation that the fey represent.

The King of Faerie is the dreamcrafter, and his wife, the Queen of Faerie, forms nightmares of the most exquisite horror, sending them out to the receptive minds of gods and mortals alike. This occupies much of the time they do not spend on their countless intrigues, and from these endless dreams springs the inspiration that brings all beings to act in the waking world. They are consumate artists, and are often at least as insufferable and prone to fey moods as any member of that uncertain profession.

As the rulers of the fey, Dormis and Nocturna hold unspoiled wilderness to be their domain, and can be quite vicious in defending their territory. This pair are also known to assist lovelorn mortals, and they consider it a crime that those in love should ever be unable to requite their love, whatever the consequences. Though they readily have numerous affairs, the king and queen of the fey do not attempt to seduce those who are married, as the marriage bond acts as a sort of protection which they hold sacred (in others, if not exactly between themselves).

Clergy, Places of Worship, Important Rituals, and Servitor Races:
Besides the fey, many of whom act as clergy for the King and Queen of Faerie, Dormis and Nocturna count many great artists and poets and dreamers among their clerics. In fact, being artistic and open to inspiration is a prerequisite of all the clergy of the King of Dreams and Queen of the Night. It is not uncommon for aspiring artists to be seduced by one or the other (or both) of these deities, which is often the final spark that leads them to becoming part of their clergy.

Unspoiled, sylvan woodlands are the sacred places of this pair, as are other places of exquisite, natural beauty. Worshipers of Dormis and of Nocturna regard nights when one or the other moon is full as sacred to Dormis (Luna) and Nocturna (Aur), respectively, and they prefer to spend such nights awake, working on some creative endeavor. On nights when both moons are full at the same time, all true worshipers of these deities, or those seeking inspiration for their art, or those wanting the love of another, find a place where they can see the moons, and stare at them in silent contemplation and prayer for as long as possible, in hopes of receiving the blessing of the King and Queen of Faerie. Dreams and nightmares that come after one falls asleep following this ritual are usually sent straight from these gods, and should be regarded with heavy weight as sources of inspiration, or warnings of things to come.

All of the fey, at one point or another, consider themselves the servitor race of Dormis and Nocturna. They might have other alliegances, but these pass fairly quickly, at least from an immortal perspective, and they always return their devotion to their king and queen in the end, and are almost always forgiven for any past indiscretions.

History and Relations:
Dormis and Nocturna, like all fey, are products of raw chaos brought into the Prime Material Plane, shaped into personifications of some aspect of the mortal world. They are the first fey, the first lovers on the surface of Therafim, and hence Matra was a strong party to their first creation, their physical mother, as she is to all the fey, even before she had attained full awareness. They would do anything to preserve Matra's needs, as much for sake of self-preservation as out of loyalty and love, because it is from Matra that they still draw their vital essences.

Favored Offerings and Justifications for Direct Intervention:
Dormis and Nocturna regard art as the ultimate offering. Giving them, freely, something that is irreplacable and into which the creator has placed a great deal of time and talent, and which the present owner holds in high esteem and feels true loss parting with it, is considered the best possible offering, the most certain to attract their direct attention. Mementos, keepsakes, and other items of small value but great emotional worth are also considered excellent offering - the more dear to the heart of the supplicant, the more likely the King of Dreams and Queen of the Night are to answer the call. If they do, they will take whatever is offered to them; if not, then the supplicant is allowed to retain the offerings, but receives no benefit.

The King and Queen of Faerie intervene in the affairs of mortals most frequently for sake of the needs of lovers. They will sometimes do this even without any offering, if the lovers are truly deserving and in a situation from which they truly cannot extricate themselves, and which will split them apart. Doomed lovers, or those who will die because they love each other, do not attract much help from Dormis and Nocturna, because at least the lovers will be together in death. The best doomed lovers can hope for from this fey pair is a painless, beautiful death, and to be immortalized in song and story and art.

Besides dealing in love, Dormis and Nocturna are also known to directly intervene for the sake of artists. This can be a good or a bad thing. It can be a truly good thing in that they will inspire artists, writers, poets, and other crafters of dreamstuff into reality into creating their most exquisite works. It can be the most horrible of things because some inspiration is ghastly in nature (especially from Nocturna), because the power of obsession in Art can consume a mortal utterly, and because Dormis and Nocturna do not care about the health and wellbeing of an artist, only that an artist creates great art. There are many devotees to the god and goddess who have created works regarded far and wide as true genius who died of starvation in obscurity because they could not sell their works while they were alive.