Darja

The God of Magic
Also called: The Silent One, The Jade Heron

Deific Rank: Greater Deity

Symbol: A heron in silhouette, often rendered in jade-green

Home Plane: The Astral Plane

Alignment: True Neutral

Portfolio: Magic, knowledge, spell creation, research, libraries, sorcerers, wizards

Worshipers: Arcanists, Pathfinders, librarians, sages, scribes 

Cleric Alignments: Any

Domains: Artifice, Knowledge, Magic

Favored Weapon: A Gentle Admonishment (hanbo)

Silent and inscrutable, wreathed in smoke from her ever-present ornate pipe, Darja (Dayr-jay) is said to know everything worth knowing – but prying a secret out of the Jade Heron is a difficult task indeed. Daughter of Kanaste, she is said to be shockingly beautiful when her face is visible, but always wearing a neutral, distant expression. Embodying magic as the ultimate expression of knowledge, she is impartial and detached, preferring subtlety to brute force, yet just as likely to employ the most destructive evocations as the most undetectable illusions. She has a habit of interrogating souls passing through the Astral Plane on their way to the afterlife, in order to add to her stock of knowledge. Conversations with Darja can be either frustratingly vague and philosophical, or shockingly blunt and direct, depending on the subject matter. They are, however, always brief.

History and Relationships
Darja is introverted and bookish, and not prone to seeking out companionship from other gods or celestial beings. The only time that she laughs or smiles is in the present of her foremost ally, Haanoc. She was born fully grown from a tear brushed from Kanaste's right eye, and though she rarely speaks, she knows secrets unknown even to the Mother of Mothers. She is good friends with Veymaa, however, and on rare occasions, sometimes seeks out other Anur like Komate to ask their opinions on esoteric subjects.

As the goddess of Artifice, she assisted Komate with the weaving of a magical veil for Fieraa. The two goddesses are depicted in myth as having a complex relationship, being shown simultaneously as chaste lovers, teacher and pupil, and deific rivals. What is absolutely certain is that Darja's magic and Fieraa's writing are intrinsically bound to each other.

Dogma
Wield power wisely and sparingly.

Be subtle, even to the point of formlessness.

Speak when you have good cause.

Respect the wise and the learned; denounce those that pretend to greater knowledge than they possess.

Clergy and Temples
Clergy of Darja wear long, hooded, gray robes trimmed with jade green at hem, collar and cuffs, with wide sleeves. Her temples resemble libraries more than anything, and boast impressive collections of books and numerous trained scribes on hand to assist with research and transcription. Her clerics and paladins typically pray at either sunrise or sunset for spells.