Aura

at a glance

• Patron deity of the United Kingdom.
• Symbol: eight-pointed blue star
• The Guide of the Dead (Reaper).
• Deceased (2012 AD).

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character profile

Name: Aura (or-ah)
Gender: Cisgender female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Nationality: English

Magic:

• Identifiable by the colour blue (e.g. when she creates light, it is blue-tinted).
• Aura was highly skilled at most forms of magic when she was alive.
• Now that she is deceased, Aura's magic is restricted to the Staff of the Dead. She has little power in the Realm of the Living.
• Aura's Staff of the Dead (which takes the form of a scythe) enables her to pass between Life and Death, bringing souls along with her.

Appearance: Aura is small, a little over 5 foot, and petite. She has very pale skin and a heart-shaped face which is ageless. Since dying, she has turned completely grey with the exception of her eyes, which are an unsettling bright blue. Aura is usually seen in the outfit of the Guide of the Dead: hooded ice-blue robes, her divine pendant visible around her neck, scythe in hand. When she releases the scythe, she reverts back to the greyed-out clothes she died in: shorts and a tank top. She doesn't wear shoes.

Looks favourably upon:

• The dead and dying.
• Good, righteous people.
• People who have made mistakes and show remorse/are trying to correct them.
• Fairies native to Shaman.

Looks unfavourably upon:

• Those who fought alongside Gwythr in the Shaman civil war.
• Royals, dictators and other leaders not democratically elected.

Personality: Dying has given Aura more confidence than she had in life; while previously overwhelmed by her position as a goddess, she now seems to accept it. She has a genuine desire to help people and will offer assistance, if available, to almost anyone in need. She is strongly introverted and has a fear of crowds. Aura is curious and has a keen interest in science and progression. She is an unspecialised genius and adapts quickly. Aura also has a vicious temper and lacks self-control when she goes into a rage. She believes strongly in second chances and has the rare ability to listen without passing judgement.

Relationships with other deities:

• Close friends with Mallos, Thoth (now deceased) and Caspian (now deceased). She hasn't gotten back in touch with Thoth or Caspian since their deaths but maintains contact with Mallos.
• Enemy of Gwythr.

epithets

Native language: English
Native term: lady, madam/ma'am
Epithets: weret-hekau ("great of magic"), sedjem-seperu ("one who hears prayers"), semesu ("eldest one"), wer'er-netjeru-nebu ("one who is greater than all other gods"), sanekhu ("the life-giver")

council role

Aura is not currently a member of the Council of Originals. She was the founder of the Council of Originals and formerly served as its first Chair before being forced to resign in 990 AD. She was expelled from the Council in 1919.

Aura currently serves as the Guide of the Dead (Reaper).

monotheistic cult

Aura has numerous monotheistic cults. The largest is known as Aurania, or the Auran Church, and compromises at least 2.5 million fairy followers on Earth. The Auran Church is based in London and has a strict hierarchical structure, headed by the Prophets.

First Prophet: Lord Dahshoor
Second Prophet: Lady Dahshoor
Third Prophet: Sir Albert Buckley
Fourth Prophet: Sir Richard Carter

Lord and Lady Dahshoor are married. Lord Dahshoor is rarely seen these days, with his wife performing most of his duties. Beneath the Prophets are a circle of High Priests and beneath them, several other layers of priests.

The Auran priesthood of the main Church are fairly corrupt and undertake secret practices of questionable legality and morality. The Church is inflexible, dedicated to converting the world to the 'true' path, and widely dismissive of other religions and of the other deities. Because of their huge following, the pyramid organisation and their access to almost unlimited resources, they are a force to be reckoned with and even the Council of Originals has to be careful how they approach them. Lady Dahshoor is one of the greatest hypnotists on Earth, and a sizeable number of the missionaries have persuasive or hypnotic abilities.

Aurans in general are good people, but the leaders are largely power-hungry, selfish and in it for self-gain. There is no holy book; instead, the Prophets of Aura divine her will and translate it to the rest of the following. Only the four Prophets can interpret the will of Aura, which gives them the ultimate authority. Since she died, the Church leaders can more or less say and do as they please. Aura's return as the Guide of the Dead has caused a great deal of confusion among the Prophets, who have yet to make a formal announcement on it.

Many of the Auran followers are casual regarding their religion, but some are more fanatical. The diversity can be likened to Christianity. Outside of the main Auran Church there are a number of smaller Auran cults of varying extremity.

role in polytheistic cults

Aura has a prominent role in most polytheistic cults, regularly appearing as a queen or leader of the other gods. She can have variant personalities, sometimes appearing as an aloof and regal leader; sometimes a motherly, protective figure; sometimes rash and hot-tempered; sometimes calm and knowledgeable; sometimes melancholy. Across different religions and mythologies, Aura is one of the hardest deities to pin down and seems to have multiple identities.

Because her roles and personalities are so variant, Aura is identified with a wide array of themes. She is frequently credited with the creation of Earth and the universe and regularly appears as a goddess of creation, the heavens, the stars and solar systems. She is also credited with the creation of magic and is strongly associated with all forms of magic. Additionally, Aura is connected to seasonal change, both hot and cold seasons. Depending on the cult, Aura can appear as a fiery goddess of the summer sun or the cool and gentle goddess of the winter moon.

In mythology, Aura regularly appears as both a leader of the gods and a guardian of the people. She tends to appear as a figure who sticks up for ordinary people, frequently donning disguises to spend time among mortals. Although she's rarely punitive and doesn't often impose curses, her temper is often a cause of strife in many myths, creating conflict with other deities or causing magical anomalies. A common theme in many myths is one of mortals needing to prove themselves to Aura in order to attain access to her magic, which is widely seen as more powerful than the other deities'.

Since her role as the Guide of the Dead has been revealed, Aura has now been firmly identified by numerous religions as a god of the dead.

reputation on shaman

Aura was the original god of Shaman and is widely viewed in a positive light for her many contributions towards keeping the planet safe. She was not an affable or likeable person and those who knew her personally were often disappointed or had mixed views about her. However, she is still remembered as a force of good who eventually gave her life to protect others. "Auran" is the default monotheistic fairy religion on Shaman so she has a large number of followers here.

Since returning as the Guide of the Dead, Aura's reputation has shifted slightly. For some, she still represents a protective figure and her ability to travel between Life and Death is awed; others find her new role creepy or distasteful. These days, Aura is largely regarded with a mixture of wariness, fear and reverence. Since she most commonly appears to guide dying souls over to the Realm of the Dead, her appearances are usually met with a nervous reception.

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