Solara
Goddess of Light · The Radiant Dawn · The Eternal Flame
Domain
Light, Protection, Healing, Truth
Alignment
Lawful Good
Status
Active
Factions
The Radiant Order, The Dawnguard, Order of the Radiant Sun
Solara is the goddess of light, dawn, and protection — the most widely worshipped deity in the civilized world. Her faith forms the spiritual backbone of Fort Valiance and much of the Shattered Coast. The Cathedral of Radiance in Fort Valiance is the seat of her organized church, and her clergy serve as healers, protectors, and spiritual guides to the populace.
Holy Symbol
A golden sun with twelve rays extending outward, the longest ray pointing skyward
Worship & Rites
Solara's faithful gather at dawn for prayers, turning to face the rising sun with arms outstretched. Her temples are open-aired where possible, designed to catch the first and last light of day. Offerings include golden wheat, white candles, and small sun-shaped tokens hammered from bronze. Her clergy wear white and gold vestments and carry sunburst medallions.
Clergy & Organization
The Radiant Order serves as Solara's organized priesthood. They are divided into three branches: the Hospitallers (healers), the Luminaries (scholars and teachers), and the Dawnguard (militant arm). The church has recently been rocked by the Radiant Schism — a theological split over the proper response to the Dragobloom plague and growing corruption in the world.
Holy Days
Festival of the Eternal Dawn
Celebrated at the summer solstice. The longest day of the year is marked with parades, communal feasts lit by thousands of candles, and a ceremonial re-lighting of the Cathedral's eternal flame.
The Brightening
Observed at the winter solstice, marking the return of longer days. Followers keep vigil through the longest night, lighting candles hour by hour until dawn breaks.
Lore & History
Solara's worship predates the Sundering, though her faith was fundamentally transformed by that cataclysm. In the age before, she was one deity among many — a sun goddess revered by agrarian cultures. The Sundering, and the darkness that followed, elevated her to the primary deity of civilization itself. When the world broke apart and the seas rose, it was Solara's priests who organized the survivors, tended the wounded, and kept the flame of hope burning.
The modern church faces its greatest crisis in the Radiant Schism. Conservative factions argue that the Dragobloom plague is divine punishment and that the faithful must endure through prayer and devotion. Reformist factions insist that action — even violent action — is required to combat the spread of Nekrosyl's corruption. This theological divide threatens to tear apart the most powerful institution in the civilized world.