Kihala
From Mizahar Lore
 The Lifegiver | |
| Race | Goddess |
|---|---|
| Title | Goddess of Life |
| Domain | Life |
| Divine rank | 2 |
| Worshipped in | Taloba, Throughout Mizahar |
Contents |
Overview
Kihala is the goddess of life, one of the major gods of Mizahar. She is the counterpart of Dira, and a good friend of Tanroa, the goddess of time. She and Dira worked closely with Caiyha to ensure a balance of life and death throughout Mizahar. While she regrets the necessity of death, she accepts it for what it is - if there was no death, there would be plenty more suffering, after all.
Appearance
As far as deities go, Kihala is quite approachable. She appears as a young, vibrant, beautiful adult female of a race consistent with that of the person she is appearing before. Those who encounter her feel a motherly vibe from Kihala and find it difficult to not treat her as such. No matter the race she appears as, she is always dressed in simple garb appropriate to the race whose form she takes. Her clothing is always white and lacks any other adornments. Other features include hair coloring that varies between red and blonde and her eyes are always a brilliant blue. Wherever Kihala walks, life follows. Whether its flowers growing in her footsteps or butterflies fluttering about the area where she is present. The air around her also always smells fresh, clean and energizing.
Worshippers
While a high regard for life is respected by Kihala, her followers take that respect to a completely different level. Those who embrace Kihala and worship her as the Mother of all Life, wander Mizahar working to encourage life in all its forms. These people are known as Marassa. Although not a formal religious organization, the Marassa are highly respected throughout Mizahar; some cities being an exception such as Ravok and especially Sahova. It is not uncommon for a city to have a shrine dedicated to Kihala tended to by a Marassa. Such shrines are usually simple structures of immaculate cleanliness and filled with all manner of life and depictions of life. Having a Marassa assist with the birth of a child is considered a great blessing with such duties common among those marked by Kihala. In fact, Marassa tend to serve these types of roles within a given area including; being a midwife and offering blessings to pregnant women.
One of the less common yet very important duties that Kihala tasks the Marassa with is dealing with untimely death. Every sentient being and many non-sentient beings, have a destiny; a plan set forth by far greater forces in the universe. All too often, these destinies are interrupted by untimely death. Even Dira, Goddess of Death, recognizes that there are times where death happened too soon. In these cases, she defers to Kihala to handle the situation. This is where the Marassa come in. When a death occurs and it is considered by Kihala to be an abnormality in the great cycle; something that happened that opposes the will of the force of destiny and fate, she may task a Marassa to reverse that death even if only temporarily. In these cases, the dead are returned to life and are maintained by the Marassa until they are able to accomplish what they were meant to in life; no matter how grand or how mundane.
Allies and Opposition
Kihala is closely aligned with Caiyha and Dira. Caiyha is the Goddess of Nature and as such a huge source of life in countless forms. Dira is Kihala's opposite however they are not directly opposed to one another. Instead they work together to ensure that the natural cycle of life and death is not overly compromised by outside forces. Kihala may mark one who is also marked by Dira but such a person may never become one of her priests. The same goes for Dira in marking those already marked by Kihala. While the two may compliment each other to some extent, neither would dare upset the balance by thrice-marking one who has marks from the other. Kihala despises Vayt as he is the source of slow suffering and misery of the weak and frail. Kihala values all life and Vayt is in opposition of that. She also will never mark someone who is marked or follows Rhysol or Krysus as they both abuse, manipulate and ultimately destroy life. She is fond of Cheva as the Goddess of Love which often results in the creation of new life. Rak'keli is also a close friend of Kihala as the Goddess of Healing promotes health and healing among the living. Uldr is an affront of Kihala as he embraces the mockery of life. Kihala will also never mark a nuit. She actually feels great sadness for them as they fail to acknowledge the beauty that is life and the necessity of the natural cycle.