Another saint awaits inclusion in your campaign! Today’s article brings you St. Brigantia, courtesy of Christina, and a reminder to check out the Midgard Tales Kickstarter before it ends.

The clerics of Mavros number his saints at 20, and the 25 Martial Books of Mavros, the god’s holy texts, are replete with tales of their deeds. Among these 20 saints, St. Brigantia of Valera and Saint Whiteskull of Bratislor, have attained godhood in their own right, the former being highly respected throughout Midgard, and the latter only being known among the populace of Morgau and Doresh and among the ghouls and darakhul of the Ghoul Imperium.

St. Brigantia

Lady of a Thousand Victories, the War Queen, the Steadfast Defender, the Great Archer, the Fist of Battle
Domains: Glory, Protection, Strength, War
Subdomains: Defense, Honor, Resolve, Tactics
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Favored Weapon: Long spear (longbow in Perunalia)

St. Brigantia is the goddess of staunch defenders and professional sellswords. Those honoring her have a deep regard for their profession, and never betray their duty or betray their employer (in the case of mercenaries) once they accept an assignment.

Brigantia’s followers study war in all its aspects, and mercenaries dedicated to her alternately select employment as defenders or attackers to improve their tactical skills at each. Her more fanatical followers always choose the position of the underdog, taking on the greatest odds so they might enjoy the greatest rewards in heaven, including being selected as an einherjar in the Northlands.

Worshipers: Although shrines to Brigantia exist in many of Mavros’ temples, mercenaries praying to Brigantia need not visit them to seek her blessing. Brigantia, in fact, prefers prayers to her be delivered on the field in the heat of battle. Mercenaries seeking her favor dedicate first blood and first kills to her, and offering one’s own blood with a drawn dagger across the palm before a fray shows deep respect for her, and is believed to draw her attention to a battle.

In Perunalia, Brigantia is seen as the Steadfast Defender and the Great Archer. Perunalia has long held their walls against invaders, and they call Brigantia to aid their stand against Mahroti aggressors and advances from Magdaran war parties. Just like the mercenaries, the Daughters also show their reverence to St. Brigantia by drawing blood with their arrowheads before a contest to show their respect to the Great Archer and beseech her attention to their displays of mastery.

This goddess holds the affection of all Perunalians, and their households and archery schools always display some representation of her with her magical longbow, True Strike, whether it be a painting, sculpture, piece of pottery, or some other artistic depiction.

Symbols and Books: St. Brigantia’s most common symbols are the spear and the longbow. Cults worshipping her for her strength regard her as the Fist of Battle, and wear a symbol of a silver-fisted, gauntleted hand upon a black disc. Brigantia has no holy texts of her own. Her followers revere Mavros’ holy books: the 25 Martial Books and the mystical Soldier’s Journey.

Famous Shrines and Priests: Because Brigantia’s priests seek their goddess on the battlefield, few true shrines exist to her in Midgard. Those existing few are mere altars residing in Mavros’ temple. In Perunalia, however, where the Daughters are forced to defend their homeland almost daily, and where the Great Archer is greatly revered, they host dedicated shrines to her within each of their five great archery schools in Sephaya. At these schools, a cadre of priestesses resides within each, though only women may consult with them.

Masks: In Perunalia, where Perun/Mavros is viewed more as the God of Thunder, Brigantia is sometimes considered his feminine Mask; she is his war aspect and the sensible tactician. In other lands, she’s viewed as a Mask of Sif, leader of the Valkyries.

Other Faiths: Saint Brigantia holds no faith as her greatest enemy or ally, as her soldiers and mercenaries are called upon to fight on various sides of any given conflict. Her followers view other faiths as pawns in the Great Battle, and they utilize them as such.

Saint Brigantia has never married or born children. Her love of battle keeps her attention focused elsewhere. In this regard, she and the demigoddess of Perunalia, Duchess Vasilka Soulay, have much in common, though the object of their interest differs. Saint Brigantia does counsel the demigoddess, and if she truly calls anyone an ally, it would be Duchess Soulay.

What the Brigantia Demands: Brigantia demands professionalism, a devotion to perfecting one’s martial skills and tactical knowledge, and honor to one’s employer and employment contracts.

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