Maya

Maya, the Great Mother
Realm	Creation
Symbols	The Great Grey Owl
Relatives	Callisto and Sinope
Allies	None
Enemies	None
Order Name	None
Temples	None

Maya, the Mother of Humanity, was once the Goddess of Creation. As the Great Mother, She existed at the fount of all Creation. Reality as it was experienced through ordinary consciousness could be ultimately understood as a manifestation of Her fundamentally creative energies. The multiplicities and complexities of Creation belied their origin in the same Source, and this illusion was called the Veil of Maya.

History

Maya began as an Aldar maiden in the Age of Myth. After she was raped by the mysterious Unnamable Horror Maya gave birth to twins, the first humans, an act which brought ostracisation from her fellow Aldar. Much grief was borne amongst Gods and Aldar alike in the Chaos Wars that surrounded the new race, so Maya was raised to Godhood by Sarapis, the Logos to better oversee them. The strife and suffering of Her mortal descendants during Her long watch aggrieved the compassionate Goddess for uncounted years and in time She entombed Herself in the earth of the Siroccian Mountains, sleeping in a place called the Shrine of Ascension.

The year 395 A.F. marked the conclusion of one epoch and the birth of another. Sarapis, who had overseen all Creation since the beginning of Time, merged Makali, the Goddess of Destruction, and Maya, the Mother of Humanity, into one being: Maya, the Great Mother. Imbuing the new Goddess with His own power, He passed on to Her the mantle of Supreme Creator of Achaea.

In 613 A.F., Maya sacrificed Her divinity to raise hundreds of mortals as demigods in hopes of defeating the forces of Bal'met, the Worldreaver. The feat was a success, and in the aftermath, Maya relinquished Her waning immortality to return to Her beginnings as an Aldar, departing to an unknown place to lead a mortal life.