Nymeia

Nymeia is one of the oldest gods, and one of the most mysterious. She openly claims rulership over dreams and stories, mysteries, portents, and omens, although only she knows the true extent of her domains. She is said to have been the first witch, potentially giving her some sway over magical practice. Nymeia is unusual in that her divine domains are not related to her primary duty as the shepherd of the Lost Dead, those who die without another god claiming their soul. Because of this, she is often mistaken for a goddess of death or fate. Most humanoid cultures offer some kind of reverance, though typically moreso out of a sense of obligation for her role in the afterlife. One notable exception is her worship by hags, who consider her their patron and foremother. Her epithets include the Spinner, the Queen of Dreams, and less reverentially, the Graveyard Hag. Among hags, she is known as the Great Crone or the Hag Mother.

Symbols and Depictions

Nymeia's most significant symbol is a stylized spinning wheel, a craft she is said to have invented and taught to mortals. The athame is hers, as a ritual tool of the witch, as well as the besom or stick-broom. Dice and other games of chance are sacred to her.

Although like all deities, Nymeia can choose her appearance on the Material Plane, she always appears as a hunched and gnarled older woman, her face hidden by the hood of a dull gray cloak. She typically appears to be of average human height, although any other racial details are often obscured by the cloak and may change depending on her audience. At least one written record describes her as fully taking on the guise of a hag.

Worship

Nymeia has no dedicated temple in any settlement in the Vale. However, most graveyards have at least a small shrine to her. She has two holy days: Beltane, on 30 April, and Samhain, on 30 October.

Clerics who worship Nymeia are usually of the arcana, grave, or trickery domains.

Myths

Nymeia's demiplane is the Spirit Realm, a hidden corner of the Feywild that is unable to be reached except by walking the Witches' Road. The souls of the Lost Dead, those without any other god's claim, rest in this somber, twilit grove. This makes her unusual among gods because her demiplane isn't located on one of the Outer Planes.

Nymeia's parentage or origin is unknown, and she certainly hasn't given any indication otherwise - though she has claimed to be as old as Steorra or Dohter. The only partner she is known to have had is Alephan, with whom she has two children: Byregot and Bifelgan, though little is known about this relationship as they give no indication of remaining together. Through Bifelgan, Nald and Thal are her grandchildren. She has three other children, of unknown parentage: Balogar and the twin goddesses Tymora and Beshaba.

Nymeia is said to have studied under Steorra for a time in her Starlight Citadel, although what she studied remains a mystery. This is another reason why Nymeia is sometimes considered to be a goddess of fate.

Nymeia is considered to be the mother of witchcraft, and is venerated by hags - humanoids voluntarily transformed by witchcraft - for this reason. Nymeia's stance toward hags is unclear, because they are not inherently evil, and the various races rarely want to interact with hags long enough to find out.

Nymeia's relationships with the darker gods are complicated. She is said to be Rhalgr's master, helping or hindering him according to her own hidden designs. Through her own relationship with Steorra, she is an enemy of Zehir. However, she opposes Zehir for her own reasons: his domain of untimely death - assassination and murder - opposes her own role as the caretaker of the dead. Asmodeus despises her for this also, as to him the souls of the lost are simply fuel to be used for his own campaigns and glory.