Faiths of Sublanarya: Erys the Pink Lady

Erys is a goddess of mysterious origin: some say she is the descent of Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night, others say she is a wayward daughter/sibling of Grimnir Blue-Cloak or Puck Goodfellow or Pyrra, and others say she was born of the immaterial lies of mortals. Perhaps the goddess of discord prefers things this way. Confusion is her forte.

But, among the clergy of gods opposed to her wickedness, there is a theory that she is none of those things but instead she was a mortal witch who tapped into a higher power and rose the status of a goddess. The theory goes on that the witch preferred the freedom of her mortality and the challenges present in it. It is documented that there have been many Pink Ladies throughout the history of Narya, evil enchantress who use their magic to conquer and destroy, and it is believed that each one is a reincarnation of the goddess. It is believed that Erys seeks out a particularly attractive host who seeks her power, then takes over their mortal body, and reincarnates generation after generation into the descendants of that host until the host body is destroyed, she regaining her divinity, and starting the cycle once more. Perhaps she enjoys this more direct and mortal existence, where her powers are magnitudes greater than most mortals instead of being outshined by her immortal rivals who seek to keep her in check. After all, her pride, jealousy, and cruelty are legendary.

She takes pleasure in bringing ruin to all: from the young, fair and beautiful to wise, old and powerful kings, and especially to those that would deign challenge or insult her, even if they did so by accident or not at all. It was one such petty revenge that resulted in an entire country falling to ruin.

The legend goes that many of new gods were invited to the extravagant wedding feast of a powerful ancient king and his new blushing bride. Left out of the invitation was the Pink Lady, Erys. The invitations, most likely, were offered to the greater dieties as a token of respect but, when the gods obliged and sat in the garden of the mighty king, Erys took her lack of invitation as an insult and quickly grew jealous of the party that the gods and goddess were enjoying. She turned her eye to mischief and revenge, looking for a possibility for trouble, and found it.

The Four Sisters were taking turn admiring the handsome princes at the feast and, in particular, their attention fell upon a particular young man. Seeing her mark, she crashed the party and made her way towards the sisters.

So, the story goes, that Erys cast a spell upon the apple tree that the prince was sitting under so that a golden apple would fall, hitting his head, and roll to the floor. The Four Sisters rose to help the boy to his feet, he picked up the apple, and read aloud the rune inscribed on the skin: "For the Fairest of Them All".

The prince looked at The Four Sisters, who were too bewitched by the object, and the Four Goddesses asked the prince to give them each the prize. He could not give each of them the apple, so they pushed further and made it a contest. Each offering him a prize for his pick in turn: Delfina offered him safe passage on the seas and the sea's bounty, Soffia offered him wisdom and skill in war, Pyrra offered him passion and creativity in art, and Terra offered him patience and years of great harvest. The young man did not wish to insult the goddesses. In desperation, the boy thought he had solution that would not disrespect any of the goddesses.

He walked past them and handed the apple to the bride. After all, it was her wedding day and, at a wedding, the bride is "the fairest of them all". And, in truth, this may have pleased the goddesses and freed the young man from his impossible task if the apple had not been bewitched by Erys. Upon handing the apple to the bride, it had two immediate effects: they fell madly in love and the wedding party fell into a stupor.

By the time they were stirred from their relaxed state, the prince had stolen the bride away onto the fastest ship to his homeland. This bride's new husband demanded justice and the kin of the prince begged for mercy. It didn't take long for both sides to be in a civil war that would rage for years with the fate of the prince and the bride in the middle.

Erys may not have been invited to the party or been awarded the prize of the Golden Apple, but she had the last laugh.

Title(s)

The Pink Lady, Queen of Chaos, Erys of Discordia, Malocalypso,

Pantheon(s)

New Gods

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Symbol

A pink rose or a hand holding a pink apple

Realm

Limbo

Portfolio

Chaos, destruction, madness, petty revenge, beauty, rumors, lies,

Domains

Trickery, Arcana

Worshipers

Gossipers, bards, artists, dancers, actors, models, jesters, anarchists

Favored Weapon

The whip

Holy Day(s)

Feast of Fools