Chilune is the Laughing Lady, the goddess of chaos, mischief, trickery, jokes, shapeshifters, and reincarnation. Though she might seem to overlap with Nystze in some particulars, she is a different goddess, at once more frivolous and more serious. She may seem concerned with minor matters, but at bottom she has a consistency of character that Nystze does not match.
Origins: Chilune was dreamt into being along with most of the gods of Arcadia. Some object to this, saying the great powers that be would never have created a spirit so mischevious. However, the presence of Nystze alone should be a sign that the stars do not value only order and changelessness.
Major Myths: Chilune supposedly created the shapeshifters, indirectly. When battling with another god in the heavens (sources vary as to which one it was), she was wounded, and her godsblood fell in a silvery rain that touched some Elwens and gave them the power of change. Some Elwen shapeshifters believe this legend and worship Chilune as a semi-foremother of their races, while others (notably the vhasi) reject the legend and worship of her.
Chilune was originally not the goddess of reincarnation, but the other gods supposedly gave her the job so that she would have something to do.
Chilune, according to some legends, once fell in love, a long time ago, with a male mortal. Again, the legends vary enormously as to who he was, what race he was, and what he may have been like. But he did not love her back, and ever since then Chilune has only accepted women into her service- because, say the legends, she does not wish a man to love her enough to reject her.
Chilune is also responsible for the creation of the lunei, the mischief-blades, and their scattering throughout the world.
Physical Details: Chilune has one Elwen avatar and a number of animal ones. Her animal ones tend to be those of the races who have come to worship her- foxes, gulls, and one or another of the great cats are especially popular. These animals usually have the power to cause chaos almost everywhere, and eyes of many shifting colors.
Her Elwen avatar is of a young lugga or gull Elwen woman, with pale skin and wide white wings. Her hair is white, save for a single streak of black, and her eyes green. She usually wears a long robe and slippers, and carries a lune.
Tenets of Worship: Chilune's worshippers regard themselves as the guardians of chaos in a world too often devoted to order. They often start anarchic and freedom-favoring movements, and are sometimes regarded as one of the reasons that there are so few nations in Arcadia.
Chilune's believers also try to spread laughter wherever they go, and dedicate themselves to cheering up the despondent and playing tricks and jokes on the too-serious. These jokes range from the simple and obvious to elaborate trickeries that may take months to set up. They must be funny, or they are not considered to truly serve Chilune; if an element of cruelty is added but no one laughs, the joke is considered a failure.
Clerics of Chilune, as mentioned, are always female, though the goddess accepts males among her lay worshippers. They may be of any race, but are most often of the shapeshifting races. As such, they often serve their own people as a source of divine advice. Chilune is particularly concerned with using her priestesses to maintain the shapeshifting societies in a balance between Elwen and animal, so that they neither lose their wildness nor become beasts.
Chilune's duties as goddess of reincarnation rarely concern her lay followers, though some of them deliberately choose rebirth (if they can) when they die. Such followers are said to always find their way back to the goddess.
Priestesses of Chilune wear one of her symbols, usually go barefoot or clad in slippers, and carry a lune if they can. These mischief-blades create chaos all around them: enemies' weapons will shatter, their belts will slip off and tangle around their feet, they will slip on unexpected banana peels, and so on. This effect sometimes takes in friends, too, and so few people will willingly fight beside a priestess so armed.
Major Centers of Worship: Chilune's worship is popular among wanderers and practical jokers, but they rarely build temples. Her greatest temple, generally considered to be one that any believer should make a pilgrimage to if possible, is on Feathergem Isle among the luggai. Here she grants visions of the future, and the gull Elwens sing their hauntingly beautiful songs. Male visitors are only permitted to remain on the island for one day.
Other temples are found in the Lonil Valley where the jarumi or fox Elwens dwell, on the Great Plains of Minamar amid the cheernmai or cheetah Elwens, and in the south of Kemiebeyst where live the vehlkreai, the cougar Elwens. As mentioned before, no vhas worships her, and she has no temple in the Wolf Kingdoms.
Other Names: Lady of Chaos, Lady of Mischief, Lady of the Shapeshifters, Soul-Mistress, Gull-Dancer.
Major Symbols: A gull in flight, a fox, a slipper, a lune.
Relations with Other Powers: Chilune is good friends with Nystze, and sometimes works in concert with her. She tends to oppose the designs of Suulta, whom she considers too orderly, and those of the other gods when they threaten her people.
