Tirosina is the goddess of dark music, dark magic, dark beauty, ravens, pain, and torture. She is most commonly called the Lady of the Black Rose. One of the Thirteen, she is the most unusual of them: the only one of the great gods to have once been mortal.
Origins: Tirosina was born as Tiro, a mortal land Elwen maiden who was probably the child of a starborn Elwen. She mingled her essence with that of Sina, an ancient dark spirit believed to have escaped the collapse of another universe, and underwent apotheosis. The details of just how she did this have long since been hidden.
Major Myths: Several running stories concern Tirosina; she has been one of the more active gods of Arcadia. She gave the ravens intelligence, since they were her favorite birds, and originally bred the Ashjarumi, creatures like mingled lions and foxes (though Epakohta took them from her slavery).
She is also an ancient foe of the Deerfriend family, since the Lord Somal cut off three of her fingers. Because he did it while she was in her true form, and no avatar, she could not grow them back. Her servants did hunt him down and sacrifice him, but he died in joy, and she was deprived of true revenge. Tirosina has been known as the Maimed One since that day.
Those who have seen Tirosina in Elwen form since have noted that she is missing four fingers, leaving only the thumb on one hand, which might point to a story as yet untold.
Tirosina also persuaded the god Mirsun into an attack on Yubro Deerfriend, who created life, since it apparently interfered with the creator god's prerogatives. However, Mirsun was wounded so severely that he dropped into a healing sleep.
Tirosina is also credited with the founding of the Ravenshadow family.
Physical Details: Tirosina has several avatar forms. The most common of these is a large raven, or else a raven with an Elwen head. The Elwen head is very beautiful, with pale skin, dark blue-black hair, and darkflame eyes. Tirosina rarely makes any attempt to disguise her divine status.
When she appears in Elwen form, which is rare due to her disfigurement, she is also immediately recognizable: a tall Elwen woman with darkflame eyes and almost corpse-pale skin, clad in a white robe. One hand is missing all its fingers but the thumb, and constantly drips drops of silvery godsblood.
Tenets of Worship: Tirosina's essence, and the focus of her worshippers, is creation, the dark form of the impulse of which Mirsun is the bright side. Her priests and priestesses are artists, and are encouraged to create constantly, and without worrying about the consequences. They are especially good weaponsmiths.
Tirosina also has some dominion over the creatures of the air, and therefore her clerics worship birds and ask their aid, harming none, but especially not ravens. A flight of ravens is taken for an omen, and one raven by itself a sign of the goddess's approval.
Torturers make up a small part of Tirosina's clergy, but they are present. Often, if they are devout worshippers of Tirosina, their focus is on learning more about the body so that they can create new things from the knowledge. Several emotional and mental sciences founded on pain are rumored to have been born from this knowledge.
Bards are praised and valued among the Music Mother's clergy, and Tirosina sometimes touches them at the height of their inspiration, so they sing of pain and rage and revenge from the inside.
Tirosina's clerics traditionally wear dark cloaks lined with silver, but this has become common only for formal ceremonies. Lay worshippers as well as clerics will often wear a raven feather or pendant in the shape of a raven about their necks.
Major Centers of Worship: Tirosina has no cities under her exclusive dominion, but this is not seen as a disadvantage by her clerics. The disapproval most societies express towards their arts means that an "organization" of many small independent clerics is actually better.
All ravens worship Tirosina, and some Ashjarumi regard her as a creator goddess. Some dedicated bards and torturers also pay homage to her, and her clerics are found among all Elwen races, especially land Elwens.
Other Names: The Music Mother, the Lady of the Rose Harp, the Maimed One, the Seven-Fingered, Mother of Darkness.
Major Symbols: The black rose, the raven, the raven feather, the Rose Harp (a harp of dark wood strung with black rose stems).
Relations with Other Powers: Tirosina is not really close with any of the other gods, though on occasion she works with Dermand because she has always been fascinated by the viaquia. She opposes Suulta, who would see all land Elwens worship her. She also encourages the spread of war, which sometimes brings her into conflict with the peaceful policies of Sarastaa.
