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| Beauty Watches |
Tal'Moray did not shape elves out of clay nor did they birth them nor did they twist them out of spittle and thread. Instead, God was wounded and from that wound came the Blood of Life and where it landed there awoke elves, their minds full of knowledge and their blood full of divinity. God has no angels for elves occupy the space of man, angel, and nephilim all at once. But what an elf is will not be further discussed in this post.
God's words created poetry, for everything they say is in the form of stanza and all languages of beasts and nature descend from it. Thus Tal'Moray is That Whom Spoke First as well as The Old Poet and Friend of Beast & Oak. They have no single form save for that of a humanoid and they are not bound to it as elves are. Instead God can choose to become pregnant or to become the impregnator, can wrap themselves up in silk and take the form of any beast or child, and can dye their skin and hair any color that they wish.
From Tal'Moray's back springs a four pairs of butterfly wings, each closer and closer to his spine, made out of a purple-gold aurora that flickers as flame does and holds the eye as captive as stars at night. Father, Mother, and Ancestor is the God of Butterflies, of Rebirth, of Death-Without-Dying, of Auroras, of Hypnotism, and of Beauty, and of Silk, and of Caterpillars, and of Change, and of Vanity, and of Ugliness.
From Tal'Moray's eyes flow golden waterfalls. Where they drop, riches and wealth appears in the form of beauty and seasons. God is the Father of Spring, Mother of Summer, Lover of Fall, and Mourner of Winter. All fey courts are born from these tears, which come from the simultaneously boundless happiness and grief that grasps Tal'Moray's heart. Having seen all beauties blossom and die at once, how can one not feel bitter-sweet? Thus they are They Whose Heart Aches Most Passionately and They Whose Love Kisses Most Passionately all at once. The fey courts capture only shards of this emotion, leaving them single-note but extreme.
Playfulness and trickery at not inherit facets of God. It is evanescent, fading, The Lover of Fire, the Teacher of Waves, the Wind Brother, the Storm Sister. To witness God is to see the miracle of beauty and death and beauty-come-again. Elves lose their shape and become blessed with the ability to shift sex and feature. Fey understand emotion deeper and rise to become Lords and Ladies. Men go mad and spout nonsense poetry for the rest of their lives and dwarves turn to gold-veined stone on the spot.
Above all, the elf god is a hedonist god. It must feel pleasure and it must feel grief and all else is sacrificed for these things to be felt. You are expendable--a tool, an ingredient, a building block to give Tal'Moray the chance to feel something. In this way, It Is The Aristocrat, The Superior, and all else playthings for its amusement.
d10 Signs that Tal'Moray is Nearby
- Flowers open, wither, die, and bloom again with golden petals.
- The sun shines abnormally brightly, blinding any non-beast.
- The season abruptly changes, not shifting back until God is no longer near by.
- Animals suddenly gain incredible artistic intelligence and begin speaking poetry.
- Trees appear unusually humanoid and beautiful, almost enticingly so.
- Colors become abnormally vivid, to the point that it's as if you've taken psychedelics.
- Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of butterflies of virtually every variety swarm the area.
- Caterpillars mass-produce cocoons and turn into gems inside of them.
- Lovers find their bonds inflamed and those mourning or in grief are inconsolable.
- Visible scar tissue turns into gold, gem, or glass.
How to Describe Glimpsing Tal'Moray
Your heart skips a beat and you feel so blindingly happy that it makes you cry, no, sob. Your tears feel like the kiss of rain, and each breath is brisk as winter mint. There, between the trees, limbs draped over the branches like a child on a jungle gym, sits Father, Monster, and Ancestor, all at once, golden, brilliant, crying, watching, killing.
Then you wipe away the tears and you are gone.
When you glimpse Tal'Moray you have a 4-in-6 chance of suffering fey madness. If you're some type of fey this is a 2-in-6 chance and if you're an elf, you have a 1-in-6 chance.
Fey Madness
Your alignment becomes Chaotic Neutral. Whenever a creature asks for your aid, roll a d20. On a 10 + your Charisma modifier or lower, you agree to help that person, but sabotage everything in the process.
Blessings of Tal'Moray
- You can the ability to adapt to your environment. You roll and add an additional d10 to any saving throw or skill check that deals with the environment.
- You become incredibly beautiful, no matter your flaws. Your Charisma modifier doubles.
- You gain the ability to change your sex after 8 hours of meditation. Your entire appearance changes as a result. If you become pregnant as a female, you cannot swap again until you give birth.
- Your empathy becomes boundless. You always know the source of a creature's mental pain or happiness, and add a d10 roll to see through lies.
- Butterflies and caterpillars protect you. If poisoned, you have a 2-in-6 chance of a butterfly sprinkling you with dust that serves as an antidote after 8 hours. If your equipment is damaged, caterpillars use silk to repair it over a course of 8 daylit hours.
- You learn the voice of beast and nature. There is a 1-in-6 chance of beasts or natural elements having a conversation with you when spoken too.
- When you die, you'll be reborn inside of a massive silk cocoon. Your new form will be of a different race entirely.
- You can always predict the weather up to 10 days in advance and have a 1-in-6 chance of persuading it to change.
- When kissing someone else, there is a 1-in-6 chance they fall in love with you. If you ever hurt them in any way, they become your greatest enemy, and actively plot your death.
- Your eyes begin to hypnotically change colors every few seconds. You can see what others find beautiful, pleasing, or enjoyable.
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