Somnan
The Gravedreamer | The Dream Regent | The Sleepless Sleeper | The Great Mediator
Patronage:
Death, Dreams, Sleep, Neutrality
Primary Clerical Order:
The Dreamer's League
Propitiation:
Respect for the dead, tending to graves, fairness and objectivity
Date of Manifestation:
Sometime before 595 BE.
Family:
By his wife Vána, Somnan has two children. Qaregnon, born 681 FED, and Lemios, born 500 ES.
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.
Somnan is almost always depicted as a middle-aged man with pale skin and gaunt features. Depictions that stress his lethargy show long, straight, dark brown hair that almost obscures his countenance, while kinder drawings show it cropped with greying temples. His sunken blue eyes are always bloodshot from lack of sleep, and the rings beneath those eyes are always present. He typically dons cascading, regal, blue robes that look fit for a king and for a good night's sleep all at once.
Caring, Peerless, Exhausted
The Endless Dream, sometimes called the Last Dream, is the afterlife that most mortals find themselves delivered to at their death. Its creation was a simple matter. Mortals died, and that went against the designs of Zynterra. She found herself unable to amend this flaw and was distraught. Somnan, her brother, gave her a gift. Already having supremacy over slumber, he created a final dream for souls to reside in once their bodies withered. This is were all good souls come to rest.
The Endless Dream eventually pivoted to be the preferred residence of the Seraphim. Here, they were away from the petitioning of mortals, among souls that want for nothing. The Dream is an abstract land, but a valuable one. It has been the target of invasion and attack from other-worldly beings more than once, but never to any success. Often, invaders crave the valuable souls at rest there. Greedier factions seek to control the Gods themselves.
The Setting of the Nights
The people had made their homes and dwellings and their inns for hospitality. And the people then grew tired, as their labour had been monumental. It came time for the setting of the nights. None were suited for this decision except the first three, who had made the earth and sea and everything after.
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First was Zynterra, Zynterra who reached down and took the largest rock of Rivaazlin and planted it in the sky, where it turned slow and steady. She looked to the stars, and she said, ‘Follow in the light of my gift and chase the sun from the sky and bless all with the warm and long embrace of dark.’
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And the stars did so with pleasure. They heeded the slow guidance of the moon. Nights were long and full of mirth and rest and leisure. And in the corners of all things lay towns that forgot the sun, who slumbered in lieu of labour. The people were too-much gifted and lived without urgency. Their bellies rumbled and the knowledge of walking was lost to some.
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Second was Lughad, Lughad who saw the laze of unshod people who yawned instead of hardening the skin of their hands. And Lughad found the lightest stone and anchored it in the sky, where it turned quick and carelessly. He looked to the stars, and he said, ‘Follow in the light of my gift and wait for your time. Rise only when the sun is content to rest and bless all with the memory of effort and passion.’
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And the stars did so with pleasure. They heeded the rapids of the moon. Nights were short and men were wild with fervour and love for work and art. And in the corners of all things lay towns that forgot the moon, who laboured in lieu of slumber. The people were too-much gifted and lived without rest. Their energies eroded the body as they worked beyond the designs of the Allmother.
Third was Somnan, Somnan who perceived the nonsense of things and sought balancing. And Somnan found the perfect stone, and laid it in the sky, where it turned moderately and with sense. He looked to the stars, and he said, ‘Follow in the light of our gifts, take guidance from my kin and heed them equally. Then you will guide my gift in turn. Rise in the half-year as my sister wishes and rise in the half-year as my brother demands and bless all with the measure of Gods.'
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And the stars did so with pleasure. They worked with the sun, and they worked within their ability and within their want. All things saw this sense and thought it good. The tide looked to Somnan’s stone, as did the crops, and the wombs, and the seasons, and joined in his rhythm.
Background:
The Setting of the Nights is an ancient tale that teaches us of our moons. These satellites, Elio, Vimma, and Ardea, all named for devotees to the Original Trinity, have always been central to life. With a glance, most all of Rivaazlin can infer omens and prophecies from patterns in their stages.
Stories such as these exist across Rivaazlin to explain the behaviour of the moons, they often have conflicting details, but all agree that Somnan was instrumental in the setting of the nights. This particular account comes from a Hakawati from the Peladine Emirate. The Thelaronian scholar who documented the account failed to note the Hakawati’s name, though noted that the storyteller recounted a multicultural version of events that he had apparently collated over years of sailing between the continents of Virtreos and Izodil. Supposedly, this account includes only details that appeared in more than one version of the tale, lending perhaps to its brevity.