Naxera

Patronage:

Deception, Fae, Flowers, Apathy

Primary Clerical Order:

The Blackguards

Propitiation:

Practical jokes, general mischief, gardening.

Date of Birth:

1st of Lateblossom, 898 FED

Family:

Naxera is the youngest daughter of Zynterra and Feidhleamad. She has two siblings, Ghazreli, God of Nature, and Kerna, Goddess of War.

Appearance:

The appearance of the Seraphim morphs to resemble the race of the beholder. In many cases, the Seraphim appear human, as humans have long since monopolized art and depictions, skewing the expectations of other races. Though there are still many facets of a Seraph's appearance that are consistent across depictions.

Naxera has one of the most distinctive looks of the pantheon. She bears a fair resemblance to her mother, matching the diamond face shape and vibrant green eyes. However her hair is dyed neon green, and is shaved bald at the sides to create a Mohawk of about three inches in height. If not for her perpetual slouch, she'd stand at six foot flat. She's rarely seen in any outfit other than her black leathers, accented with pollard metal spikes on the shoulders and around the cuffs.

Trickster, Gardener, Whatever...

Naxera is the youngest child of Zynterra and Feidhleamad. Though not as aggressive or arrogant as her siblings, she caused just as much trouble in her youth. She is an unstoppable prankster, versed in the magics of illusion and deception. Some of her practical jokes have run for decades at a time, and any tale about her, even those she recounts herself, must be taken with a pinch of salt.

Naxera's pranks often go too far, and her laissez-faire attitude to tidying up the ensuing mess led to hear association with apathy. Her laid-back attitude then won her the favour of the fae creatures of the world. They declared her their queen, though the position necessitates little actual procedure or presence. Besides her trickery, the only pastime to elicit interest in her is gardening. This gave her dominion over flowers and, in turn, constant antagonism from her brother Ghazreli.

This antagonism reached its peak when Naxera pestered Ghazreli to the point of disaster. A prank involving living flowers invading the favoured hiding spot of her brother saw him retaliate by destroying every flower on Rivaazlin in an instant. All flowers today are born of the replacements Naxera gave from her own meadows. This marks one of the few times Naxera has tidied up after herself, and seemingly marked a turning point in her apathetic attitude. While still lazy and complacent, she has not conducted a prank with such consequences since, perhaps evidencing a more careful side of the Lazy Daisy.

The Third Challenge to the Throne

Oh, you heard about that? Wow, that must have been... [substantial pause] Era of Swords? Yeah, no it was cos I remember the Third Halfheart Crusade had just ended. Hectic... hectic... What did you wanna know?

Right, yes, my claim to the throne. Well, Ghaz had done it, K had done it, it only seemed right. Can you believe they both pulled that stuff right before my birthday too? Twice! As far as I’m concerned that’s an open ticket to screw with them until this damned frost thaws. Maybe longer. You know one time [redacted]. You didn’t hear that from me though. Seriously, don’t repeat that, she’ll kill you.

Huh? Fuck, sorry. She drives me nuts. Uh... Right, right, yeah, yeah, so I did what the other two did. I requested an audience. Took some convincing, she thought I was kidding. But anyway, eventually we met up. I think she took it a bit more seriously when she saw I was wearing proper god clothes. Not this old thing. And she’s all like, ‘Is something the matter, darling?’

And I’m very sombre looking at this point, so it was a fair question. I clear my throat and say, ‘I have some difficult news for you, mother.’ Her face sinks like rocks and right away I can’t look at her. Kerna had mentioned that look before but, wow! It hurts. I start studying a painting... [substantial pause, then a smile] a painting Dad had been working on nearby. I’m drifting over towards it without noticing right away. His art... did that, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen. But yeah, she drifts over too, we’re both just kinda staring at it for a while. When she’s ready she asks, ‘Well, don’t keep me in suspense, darling. A wandering mind is sense's foe.’ I still quote that sometimes, cooler though, less formal. Y’know, ‘Tell me before I throw up,’ or something.

[Deep breath. Summons small illusions of paintings, originals presumably Feidhleamad’s. Quite remarkable.]

So, I break the news. Sharp and quick. ‘I want the throne.’ She sighs. It was a sad sigh, like she’d lost something. ‘I drew up a document,’ I tell her, ‘Like Kerna. She said that was best.’

Right away she snaps from a sort of melancholy upset to an insulted kind of upset, you know? She’s like, ‘Kerna told you to do this?’

And I take ombuds with that... huh? Oh, sorry. What’s an ombuds then? Oh! Sounds like a fun job. Anyway, I take umbrage with that because I’m no soldier. K can’t tell me to do shit. But I stay cool. I’m like ‘I decided for myself, actually. But I was hardly going to ask Ghaz for advice, was I?’ I take out the little scroll I had done up and hand it over.

She’s trying to untie the little bow I put on it but its a trick one that doesn’t untie and she’s trying to play it cool as she’s like tugging at it. She’s like, ‘Naxera, dear. You really don’t need to... You’re only eight hundred.’

And I’m throwing out stuff like, ‘I just think it’s where I want to go with my career.’ and ‘I’m nine hundred next decade!’ and she’s.... [laughter]. She’s still fiddling with the bow so I take it off for her, there’s a knack to it. Hold on I think I have one here... So! You just [redacted]. But don’t go telling everyone how to do it because then it won’t work. Like how everyone knows that card trick where you flip through the deck face down but your thumb is secretly on the bottom card which you’ve already checked and you get someone to tell you when to stop and then you pretend to guess the card but you just pull the one you checked from the bottom. Oh, you didn’t know that one? It’s good. Where was I?

Yes, she was just reading the scroll. And I can watch her realise just how serious this all is. I had all the right jargon and legal nonsense I needed. Bit insiulting that it suprirsed her so much that I knew it all. And eventually she hits the actual claim and she’s like ‘Naxera, this says you want the throne “if and only if Ghazreli marries a dog”.’

And I’m like ‘Keep reading,’ cos I know it gets better.

So she keeps going and says, ‘“But you’ll hand it over to Ghazreli if he can prove he genuinely loves the dog.” Naxera what is this?’

And that’s where I just burst. I mean the ugliest start to a laugh you can imagine. Snot, spit, the whole nine yards. And... and she... [extended fit of laughter]. She... [further laughter]. Don’t judge her but she... [see above]. She starts whacking me with the scroll. She’s... [breathless wheezing laughter] she’s like ‘Naxera! Am I not under enough stress?! I’m trying to end a war, Naxera! A five-hundred-year-long one! And your brother and sister in the middle of it riling everyone up! Have I not enough to worry about?!’

Oh, man. She is whacking me too. I’m tryna get my arms in the way but I’m just laughing too much. She’s going through the entire script, all moms have a script. ‘What if I’d died tomorrow and that was the last thing you’d said to me?’ and ‘What would your father think of that?’ and ‘If Kerna stuck her hand in a fire would you?’ [Extended laughter, and a series of impressions of the Allmother].

That’s all her though, did you know? All those little things your mom came out with when you were a kid. She coined it all. Mostly about me, but the other two got their share... Hmm? Do I think she’ll be back? Yeah, obviously. If you’re gonna ask dumb questions, I will literally just leave. The Day the Flowers Died? Yeah, I can talk about that. So basically...

Background:

The following was recorded by an unknown Zhrish transcriber with exemplary shorthand. Only official government transcribers would have been taught shorthand, but records of employment have been lost. They were likely burned for warmth in the following years. Luckily, someone preserved what constitutes the third claim to Zynterra’s title as ruler of the Seraphim.

Regarding the document's veracity, this writer had the opportunity to ask Naxera herself at a recent gala. This writer asked Naxera, ‘Did you present a claim to the throne to the Allmother?’ Naxera replied, ‘Yes.’ and immediately smirked at me, before wandering off. At that moment, this writer realized asking the God of deception for the truth may have been a vain effort.