Lands of Tyranny
Day 1 of The Philosopher, Year 414
Umbra
Symbol: A dark veil, a rose on a skull, an unlit black candle
Goddess of Darkness, Loss, Oblivion, Memories, Numbness, Secrets, Silence & Solitude
Umbra is a multifaceted deity, mysterious to the most already in the past, her cults are said to be the ones who better survived the coming of the New Gods due to the secrecy that is inherent in her worship and clergy. People worship her to gain the favor of the darkness, to hide their mischief, their plots, their vengeances and schemes, but other people instead are attracted and pay homage to the nurturing, protective nature of this goddess.
Her name is often whispered by common thieves before committing their crimes, often even by ones that are citizens in the Empire, well knowing that they would be judged by their Gods. It is also those that fear the judgement of their peers or of society, breaking tabus, or doing things that would be considered shameful, such as prostitution, indulging invices, meeting with lovers...they are the ones that call upon the name of the Lady, wearing black or dark scarves and veils when they walk the dark alleys where they conduct their immoral, or shameful businesses.
​
This contributes even more to the reputation that this goddesses has, giving an easy time to the Inquisition and the Faith of the three to depict her as evil, and protecting only the worst of society.
The Lady of Secrets’ name is also whispered often in the noble courts, where gossip, affairs and betrayals are plotted and enacted in secrecy. Although it is still in the courts that Umbra is worshipped for some very opposite sides, such as protecting the identity of unwanted children or people that would otherwise be condemned to a terrible life, if not deprived of life itself.
Indeed, beings of every kind and race entrust their secrets to the Lady, or pray to her not for forgiveness, but for forgetting past acts that bring grief and regrets. Those troubled souls affected by terrible pains, experiences, or memories, pray to Umbra for her gift of Oblivion, sometimes becoming some sort of menders of others' pains, other times, ending their own lives in the embrace of the Dark Lady.
Some small daily rituals and offerings in the name of The Lady of Darkness include tying black laces and strings on the body or on doors and entrances, turning lights and candles off, blackening windows, or something as simple as closing curtains.
​
Umbra, being the Lady of Darkness and silence, has great appeal also to some creatures of the Underdark, especially Dark Elves, who often do find great suffering and loneliness in their hard society.
​
​
Even if the cult of Umbra is persecuted even in Dark Elves society (though usually private worship is tolerated), some of her followers somehow end up meeting each other and forming small groups, meeting in secret to share their pains and regrets, or to simply be together in the silence and darkness of the Underdark. It is not unheard of some surfacers that feel a dangerous attraction for the darkness and silence of the underworld, and it is rumored that some of the cults of Umbra of the surface and the depths are in contact: although, due to their secrecy, these remains, in fact, voices, carried by the wind...
A particular philosophy has developed during the years and somehow in parallel both on the surface, in particular in Hyman, and in the Underdark, which takes roots as likely has connections with the cult of Umbra. According to these philosophies, existence is a trial of pains, some of which unavoidable, and there is only a way for people to live a good life: being impossible to change the world, one can change the way they react to it, especially by progressively shutting down all of their emotions and feelings.
Author: Rashan