Shiva

Neutral goddess of ice and beauty.

Titles: Child of Man and God, Goddess of Ice, Ice Queen, The Empress of Ice, The Glacian
Home Plane: Ice
Power Level: Lesser
Alignment: True Neutral
Allied Deities: Menphina the Lover, Fenrir¹
Enemy Deities: Ifrit
Portfolio: Beauty, Children, Cold, Compassion, Ice, Love, Protection.
Domains: Charm, Community, Ice, Protection.
Favored Weapon: Longsword
Artifact: Shiva’s Diamond Brand
Sacred Gem: Opal
Sacred Color: Blue
Sacred Month: October
Deific Order: Glacian

Lore

Shiva, also called Nix and Stiria as a pair of sisters, or Gentianna when aiding particular individuals like oracles, is an elegant being of ice and beauty, often seen as a protectress and guide to mortals. Controlling the creation and use of ice, Shiva is the god who creates the coldest places on any planet she oversees, she also looks after the young before they are able to protect themselves.

Caretaker of sentient beings and created in their image, Shiva is the closest to a Hume that gods get, besides Althena, as Shiva’s design is mostly of a blue-skinned woman. She often makes trips to her followers, giving them guidance and assistance, even aiding in needless wars against her worshipers. Alongside Ifrit and Ramuh, Shiva is one of the first to intervene when great threats approach their creations, holding a sort of truce among the deities to sort out the issues plaguing their lands. As a being of ice, she is directly opposed to Ifrit, if a bit more lenient than her fiery brother.

Her most commonly known attacks are Diamond Dust, sometimes called Gem Dust. She teaches the Blizzard lines of spells, as well as sometimes Water, Sleep, and Doom. She focuses on Constitution and Wisdom.

Relationships

Shiva is often at odds with Ifrit, often guarding against his more destructive tendencies against the material plane and its denizens. Many worlds are damaged or destroyed due to their conflicts, though more times than not this is sparked by Ifrit.

As one of the core deities on many planets, she is almost always seen side-by-side with both Ifrit and Bahamut. In some incarnations she has been rumoured to have loved Ifrit, though with over fifteen records against this, it isn’t to be expected.

¹Where deities often form partnerships in duos, Shiva has taken Fenrir as her loyal friend and ally in battle, their kinship for ice proving to be highly compatible on the field.

Apperance

Shiva is a willowy humanoid female with pale skin and long, blue hair so to invoke an image of ice and cold. Showing herself within a medium to huge woman of blue skin, Shiva is mostly covered in, or created by, ice. She normally forms out of nearby ice, or freezes nearby bodies of water in which she emerges.

Shiva also has the ability to shapeshift into a hume form to converse with sentient beings in secret.

Incarnations of Shiva include: Nix, Stiria, Gentianna, hume child, Dark Shiva, Shiva-Ixion, Shivalry (male).

Realm

Shiva lives in the Plane of Ice but will often live amongst mortals in the material plane, as a hume in disguise to guide oracles, as a child to live with them, or resting within ice caps.

Followers

Followers of Shiva are normally residents of colder locales, like ice caps. She is also followed by creatures who wish to attain higher beauty.

Race: Hume are the main species to worship Shiva, while Shiva typically has a love for humes in particular. Harriers also revere Shiva as their patron saint and their primal.

Class: Black Mages specialising in icy magics often follow Shiva, and she is typically a choice for Summoners too. Astrologians and those who have foresight are often guided by her. Due to her lack of weapons, she often fights with her fists and feet, leading to Monks and similar classes having adoration for her.

Traits: Affinity for the Elements

Rites

Shiva’s favourite items are Arctic Wind and Blue Fang (North Wind). When summoners or devotees place these within an altar, they are often set atop puddles of water to freeze to commune with the Empress of Ice. When the items fully melt into the puddle, the commune is cut.

Placing three children’s dolls within a ring of ice cubes can cause Shiva to appear, conversing with those who conduct the rite. When the ice cubes are fully melted, she will disappear.