Selvaris
Keeper of What Remains, Warden of the Last Record, He Who Watched the Leaves Fall
Selvaris does not preserve everything, he preserves what remains.
There was a time when Selvaris was not as he is now. When he was known not as a keeper, but as a patron - one who watched over a multitude of elven peoples whose names now survive only in fragments, if at all.
They are gone, eradicated from existence due to some unknown event. Gone, but not forgotten. Not entirely.
Selvaris did not restore them. He did not attempt to rebuild what was lost. He did not turn away from the absence they left behind. Instead, he observed it. He understood it.
And he chose to keep what remained.
Now, Selvaris is the god of what survives loss - of truth stripped of illusion, of memory that endures without comfort, of endings that cannot be undone. His role is a burden of tragic necessity.
Those who follow him do not expect hope.They expect clarity.
And for many, that is enough.
Faction: Pure
Symbol: A vulture perched upon a stack of weathered, bound texts
Divine Sanctification can choose holy or unholy
Portfolio: Truth, Memory, Loss, Preservation, Endings, What Endures
Sacred Animal: The Vulture
To followers of Selvaris, the vulture is not a scavenger - it is a witness. It does not kill, it does not interfere, and it arrives when all else has ended.
The vulture sees what remains when empires fall, flesh decays, or stories collapse. The vulture does not mourn, it reveals. To drive away a vulture is to deny the truth of an ending.
Sacred Color(s): Deep Violet– Represents the Unknown Desire, part of oneself not yet understood. Star White – the moment of clarity, the instant when doubt vanishes and the path becomes obvious. Burning Gold – the execution of desire, the moment where intention becomes reality. Void Black – Everything that is abandoned, sacrificed, or consumed in pursuit of the flame.
Bleached Bone — Represents endurance, that whichcannot be reduced further. Faded Umber — Memory without attachment; what is remembered without longing. Dust Grey — Symbolizes the passing of form and the quiet transition from what was to what remains. Dull Gold — indicates a proven truth, that which has endured time, loss, and retelling.
Common Sayings: “What remains… is what mattered.” “Clarity comes after.” “It is already decided.”
Cultural Variations: Selvaris is worshipped distinctly based on how people interpret loss, or how truth vs comfort is valued.
In Elven Cultures
Selvaris is deeply tied to elven history—but not universally loved.
Some elves revere him as:
The One Who Remembered
the keeper of what could not be erased
the reason their people were not completely lost
Others view him with quiet resentment:
he did not intervene
he did not restore what was taken
he chose preservation over salvation
Among these groups, his common saying, “Vael’thirae… en sel’varin.”(We remember… and that is enough.) …is spoken with very different meaning:
reverence in some places
grief - or even accusation - in others
In Scholarly & Academic Societies Selvaris is highly respected. He or his temples are seen as:
the patron of truth
the foundation of accurate record
the enemy of revisionism
His followers often hold positions such as historians, archivists, and legal record-keepers.
In these cultures, Selvaris represents, “Truth, whether it is convenient or not.”
In War-Torn Regions Selvaris is both valued and distrusted.
He is valued because accurate records matter and the truth of events must be preserved.
He is distrusted because he does not prevent loss and he does not intervene in catastrophe.
Soldiers often say “Aethren stands with us. Selvaris writes what’s left.”
In Rural & Oral Traditions Selvaris is less prominent. In cultures where stories are passed down orally or shaped by emotion and meaning, Selvaris is often seen as cold, overly rigid, or dismissive of how things felt.
Some even believe “A story told wrong but remembered… matters more than one told perfectly and forgotten.”
In Imperial / Authoritarian States
Selvaris is… complicated. Rulers respect him in theory but fear him in practice. This is mostly because:
he cannot be influenced
he does not allow truth to be altered
his followers resist propaganda
Some regimes attempt to control Selvaris’ clergy, restrict access to archives, or even rewrite history anyway. These efforts rarely last.
Divine Expression
The Pull is not constant—it arrives in moments of heightened tension, desire, or clarity.
A DM may offer The Pull when:
a character hesitates at a pivotal moment
a character is pursuing a deeply personal goal
failure would define the character
success would cost something meaningful
Benefits
Once per scene (or GM-triggered), you may guarantee success on one action.
You cannot hesitate or retreat.
Afterward, you suffer a consequence determined by the GM.
Edicts
Pursue what calls to you, no matter the cost
Act when certainty strikes—hesitation is betrayal
Embrace intensity in all things
Recognize and honor the defining desires of others
See beauty in what consumes you
Anathema
Abandon a defining goal out of fear
Suppress desire for comfort or approval
Force another to follow a path not their own
Live without passion or purpose
Turn away when the moment of truth arrives
The Pull
There are moments - rare, sudden, undeniable - when everything else fades. A single thought remains. A single path becomes clear. A single desire eclipses all others.
This is known as The Pull.
Those who experience it:
lose fear
lose doubt
lose the ability to turn away
For a time, they become something more—and something less.
Lore
Low DC / Well Known
There was once a being who saw something beyond the world.
Not above it. Not below it.
Beyond it.
They reached.
Others begged them to stop. Warned them of what it would cost.
But they had already understood.
When they burned, something answered.
Not with mercy. Not with destruction.
With recognition.
That being did not survive.
But what they reached for remained.
And it has been calling ever since.
There are no true temples to Vesperis—only places where something was chosen over everything else.
Cliffs where lovers stepped into the void together.
Workshops where creators burned themselves out to finish something impossible.
Cities abandoned for a vision no one else could see.
These places are known as Kindling Grounds.
Those who follow Vesperis believe:
Desire is the truest form of existence
To deny it is to live falsely
To burn is to be seen
They do not gather in churches, but in moments—fleeting, intense, irreversible.
The First Flame (Vesperian Myth)
High DC / Unavailabile
Not yet discovered in game.
Blessings & Relics
Vesperis grants power in moments of total commitment.
Manifestation:
Light gathers unnaturally. Shadows stretch toward something unseen. The air feels thinner, sharper.
Common Effects:
A single action becomes inevitable—success is all but assured
Immunity to fear, hesitation, or restraint
Greatly increased potency in one decisive moment
Complete disregard for self-preservation
Afterward:
Collapse, ruin, or irreversible consequence often follows
Worship & Culture
Worshipers: Artists, visionaries, zealots, cultists, lovers, revolutionaries, the beautifully doomed
Clergy
There is no formal structure—only those who have been changed.
The Kindled
Those who have felt the Pull and survived. They gather in fleeting circles, sharing visions, creations, and obsessions.
Most do not last long.
Flamebearers
Individuals actively consumed by a singular purpose. They are often brilliant, terrifying, and short-lived.
Witnesses
Observers who record acts of total devotion—not to prevent them, but to ensure they are remembered.
Cleric Training / Identity
Clerics of Vesperis are not stable, nor are they meant to be. They tend to be intensely focused, emotionally volatile, and capable of brilliance and catastrophe in equal measure.
They do not guide others, but instead - ignite them.
Day-to-Day Practices
Meditate on personal desire
Act daily toward a singular defining goal
Seek out moments of intensity or transformation
Mark places where lives changed irrevocably
Quests
Complete an impossible creation or act
Help another realize their defining desire
Discover and document a Kindling Ground
Push a moment of hesitation into irreversible action