Chapter 1: The Sun Goddess Verdessa
Year – 363 AD
A Treatise and Devotion to Verdessa, Sovereign of the Sun, in the Year 363 After Dawning
By the Hand of Lysander of the Ember Veil
“In the hour of the blackest chill, She kindled the first golden flame. And by Her mercy, the world awoke to warmth and growing things.”
Know this, O reader: Verdessa, our Sun Queen—She of the Blazing Mantle—is the First Light who rose upon the formless land, when all was yet veiled in the slumber of eternal void.
In Her rising, She wove the rhythm of the hours and summoned forth the spirits of growth. By Her light, the world took breath, and by Her fire, life stirred in the soil.
It is taught among the elder races—be they Elves of the emerald glades, Dwarves who delve the mountain roots, the Fox Folk of the northern plains, or the Lunar Wolf kin of the Elysium peaks—that all were born of the same primal dawn, when the world was first shaped by forces older than time.
From that first light came balance, and from balance came the twin sovereigns who shaped the rhythm of existence. Nya’gothia, veiled in twilight, rules over the hush and reflection of night. Verdessa, crowned in golden flame, commands the bold splendor of day.
In the ages since, mortals have gazed skyward and named them goddess and god, guardian and guide, flame and shadow. Though their names differ across lands and tongues, their presence remains—woven into the turning of seasons, the breath of forests, the silence of dusk and the blaze of dawn. Verdessa, above all, has walked often in the hearts of humankind.
In the past, both were beheld by mortal eyes as mighty serpent-dragons, their forms coiling above the firmament in an endless dance. Many chronicles record that in times of portent or deep need, She may yet reveal Herself in that luminous shape—a great drake wreathed in golden flame, with eyes like molten topaz.
Some, in this era of marvels, have turned their hearts to the teachings of Elion the Gentle Flame, the wandering prophet who walked barefoot across the Ashen Wastes and spoke of mercy, sacrifice, and the unity of all souls. His words, etched in driftwood and stone, have spread far—even unto our shores.
But though the tongues of mortals and gods are many, I hold no fear in venerating the Sun Queen, for She does not scorn the seeking of truth. Indeed, all true paths shine more brightly when walked in Her light.
This year, the three-hundred and sixty-third after the Dawning, is marked by wonders and perils alike. Magic courses strong as a river through all lands—runes that shape stone, spells that summon healing, flames that answer the spoken word. Yet even in such power, we remain as children beneath Her gaze, reliant on Her blessing for the first sprout and the final harvest.
Therefore I set down this hymn and my oath: that each morning, before the first bell, I shall anoint my brow with ash and oil and greet Her ascent in solemn prayer:
“Verdessa, Mother of Day, Flame Eternal, whose radiance dispels all gloom,
I offer Thee this frail heart, that it may be made strong.
Pour Thy golden fire into my spirit,
that I may walk in Thy purpose.
So shall I honor Thy covenant,
and stand unafraid beneath Thy gaze.”
May all who dwell—of every race born of earth or star—remember Her warmth and keep faith, even unto the last twilight.
