The Wings of Ashtaroth

Appendix: The Gods of the Southern Shore Part 1

The Gods of the Southern Shore, Ranked in Order of Importance, Presented to the Heq-Ashqen Samelqo eq-Milqar in Year Thirty-Six Eshmunen III by Crown Prince Ashtaroth eq-Eshmunen with an Addendum Following Criticism by the Heq-Ashqen and an Expanded Description of the Goddess Tanata and Her Works

The gods of the Southern Shore are here presented in ranked order of importance. A thousand and a thousand years before the present age, these gods, worshipped by our forefathers on the island nation of Old Elu, were brought to the lands that would become Qemassen, eq-Anout, and Indas. Scholars in eq-Anout claim our gods bear traces of the spirits worshipped by the tribes who dwelt in these lands before Queen Elibat's arrival, but these are simple fictions to justify Anata worship of certain lesser deities in the major temples of Ledan.

First is ABAAL,father god, head of the pantheon and husband of the fertility goddess Tanata. He is the father of Adonen and Ashtet. His appearance is like that of a man, or he may appear as a crowned ram, or with the tail of a fish. In our blessed city of Qemassen, the heq-Ashqen of Abaal is the king himself, though the typical duties of a heq-Ashqen are delegated to the Ashenqa who regularly serve in Abaal's temple. He is associated with justice, the harvest, storms, and in some areas he is also worshipped as the sole master of the ocean. A thousand and a thousand years before the present age, Abaal placed upon Queen Elibat heavy necklaces of gold and bracelets of silver. These, Abaal tells us, represent the burden of kingship, and it is for this reason that upon a king's coronation he must walk the length of the Shedi Qalana, gifted a heavy necklace by every temple. He must walk unaided to the doors of ivory that adorn Abaal's temple with these rich weights about his neck. Should the king fall, a sacrifice must be made by the king lest misfortune fall upon Qemassen.

The second is the great TANATA, goddess of fertility, the harvest, marriage, motherhood, childbirth, justice, and patroness of Qemassen. She may appear as a beautiful woman with full breasts, as a lioness, a heifer, or as a phoenix. Her symbols are those of the looped Massenqa cross, the moon, wings, or of a night sky. A statue of Tanata adorns the face of Tarefsa Tithmeseti, protecting the city.

In some circles, Tanata is considered a keeper of mysteries and a goddess of magic, while other peoples worship her as a war goddess. She reigns over the other-sky, a realm of the dead where the souls of the worthy ride beside her on a barge made of stars. Her temple is one of the most resplendent of all the gods. Tanata's barge grants her affinity with water, and so her holy places and shrines frequently include sacred fountains.

As the queen of the river of stars, she blesses her Ashenqa with rich baths, the most famous of which is painted blue and gold with stars, so that her Ashenqa might wash themselves in her celestial stream. The temple of Tanata has provided some of the most renowned of Qemassen's high priests from its ranks, and our current heq-Ashqen is one of their number, as well as the youngest known heq-Ashqen of his temple to become heq-Ashqen of the city.

Ashenqa under Tanata preside over marriages, advising on matters of conception, pregnancy and childbirth.

Tanata's mysteries are some of the most secret of all the gods. She has many rituals associated with that which she oversees. Most curious is the rite performed upon the ascension of a new heq-Ashqen of Tanata. The priest is sent alone inside the holy debir at the heart of Tanata's temple with bells adorning his person and a tether bound at his waist. Should Tanata reject the potential successor, the Ashenqa outside the debir will know that he was expired due to the cessation of the bells' chimes and may pull his corpse from the holy space without entering. The bells also perform the important duty of protecting the heq-Ashqen as he passes between the threshold of the debir and the rest of the temple. A record of those found unworthy by the heavenly queen may be found in the library at the temple of Tanata—the grandest and most extensive of the temple libraries. The colour blue is sacred to her, and her priests are to be known by their azure robes, tattoos, and the sacred metals with which they decorate their ears. In years past, Ashenqa of Tanata would shave their hair to the scalp with sacred razors, but this practice fell out of favor during the reign of King Isir.