Melira Taralen was a minor elven goddess of bards, the fine arts, and song magic. Like many of her mortal contemporaries, she too had a benefactor, the leader of the elven pantheon Corellon.[1][4][5]
Description[]
Melira appeared as a pretty, 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) tall elven female with flaxen hair and brilliant blue eyes garbed in an equally bright blue robe.[4]
Personality[]
Melira was a vivacious goddess[4] who, despite favoring musicians, did not dislike those without talent and indeed saw efforts to teach others how to musically express themselves as heartwarming.[1]
Powers[]
Aside from being a skilled artist an performer and in addition to her normal spellcasting abilities, Melira could cast ghost sound, uncontrollable hideous laughter, rainbow pattern, lamentable belabourment, permanent illusion, and irresistable dance, each once every minute. Every three minutes she could cast animate objects with the power of the greatest clerics. She was immune to illusions, psionics, movement-restricting spells, and all sound-based powers.[4]
Possessions[]
At all times, Melira carried a special lute with an uncountable number of powers possessed by various other magical bardic instruments and a +3 longsword which was twice as potent against evil beings (like harpies or wicked bards) that used illusion or sound to deceive or harm other beings.[4]
Realm[]
The holy symbol of Melira.
The closest thing Melira had to her own divine realm was the Evergold, the sacred Arborean fountain of youth closely tied to (among other goddesses) her mother.[1]
Activities[]
Melira was most often at the Evergold, singing and playing as her mother relaxed.[1]
Relationships[]
Melira's mother was Hanali Celanil, the elven goddess of beauty and love. Melira was technically a servant of her mother rather than Corellon himself, but given that he was Hanali's superior she did so by extension, even leaving aside his status as her artistic patron.[1]
Melira had no true foes of her own, though as a member of the Seldarine she opposed the drow and goblinoid deities. If she could be said to have any personal rivalry, it would be her friendly rivalry with the god Milil, as their similar portfolios made her feel he might be "poaching" her worship. Even so, she counted him and his superior Oghma as an ally, and the two deities of song sometimes duetted.[1]
Unbeknownst to anyone except Corellon and Milil, and suspected only by Labelas Enoreth, Hanali Celanil, Erevan Ilesere, and Sehanine Moonbow, Melira was in fact the daughter of Milil. The Lord of Song had also spent some time in a female form called Taralenarra, who acted as a mysterious mother figure during Melira's childhood.[6]
Worshipers[]
A priestess of Melira (second to the right).
Melira had worshipers of all alignments, though her worshiper base tended towards non-evil elves and her clergy specifically away from lawful tendencies. Her faithful were usually musically-inclined or appreciative of music, as she not only favored the musicians themselves but also their patrons, allegedly gifting boons upon those who treated their artists well. Notably, her clergy was absent of regular clerics, as she only sought those with proven musical talent to comprise it. About 70% of the clergy were specialty priests called Brystars, the rest a motley of half-elf bards, elf minstrels, mystics, and other sorts.[1]
There were few temples solely dedicated to Melira; her places of worship were often groves (especially where festivals were being held) and she otherwise had shrines within guildhalls or temples of Hanali. Rather than happening on set dates, holy days were simply declared just before a festival, with the vestaments of bright blue robes being worn at such times. On such days they celebrated by singing, dancing, and reciting poetry. The clergy had few duties or goals save for perfecting their individual musical skill and helping to train and hone others in their singing, strumming, and songwriting.[1]
History[]
It was rumored that Hanali Celanil sent Melira to Corellon so she might be his apprentice, and that she proved so skilled that the Coronal of Arvandor "set a place in the stars for her".[1]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Chris Perry (December 1996). “The Seldarine Revisited”. In Pierce Watters ed. Dragon #236 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 11–17, 25.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 43, 48. ISBN 978-0786966240.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 59–60, 62–63. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Denise Lyn Voskuil (March 1990). “The Elfin Gods”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #155 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 20–22, 24.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chris Perry (September 1998). “Magic of the Seldarine”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #251 (TSR, Inc.), p. 30.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (2023-10-09). "Melira Taralen". Greenwood's Grotto (Discord).