mordenkainens tome of foes

•••

of mysteries as much as anything else. Many non-elves

find it easiest to think of Sehanine as the companion

of Corellon and the god of the moon, but to elves

she

is much more than that. The moon passes from

one

phase to the next,

and Sehanine watches over all such

cycles, be it from

season to season or cradle to grave.

She is midwife to elf mothers, ushering souls

into the

world. She is also thought to stand beside

dying elves,

to greet their departing spirits and set

them on the path

to Arvandor

. Sehanine serves as patron of the lost and

a ny w

ho travel, as well as those w ho seek mean ing.

E lves beseech her to provide relief from madness, and

they mark he r symbol on graves

a nd tombs to invoke

her protection of the dead.

In these comfor ting aspects,

Sehanine is often imagined

as a willowy, gentle male

elf with shining eyes that reveal both melancholy and

tenderness in their gaze whe n depicted alongside his

be loved Corellon.

In stories of the

Seldarine, Sehanine is Corellon's

steadfast companion

, the one being who can persuade

Corellon to

pause and reflect rather than allow his

emotions to rule him. Corellon can be res

plendent with

joy or s ha ki
ng with anger, but a word or a look from

Sehan

ine is enough to check or subtly a lter Corellon's

mood and behavior, redirecting the god

to a less ex-

treme

course of action. Some elven legends treat Se-

hanine as Corellon's spouse or as a favored

child, but

othe

r stories hint at a deeper truth. T hey say Sehanine

was formed from the first d rop of

blood spilled from

Corellon's body, and so she reminds

Corellon that even

as a divine being, he can be harmed.

Sehanine's priests often seek her guidance by enter-

ing into a state of true s leep and sifting through their

d reams for signs. But

Sehanine has a nother way of

sending messages

to the elves of the world. The cres-

cent-shaped cataracts that appear in the eyes of

an

elderly elf at Transcendence are symbolic of

the moon-

bow, an astronomical phenomenon with wh

ich she is

associated

. It appears in the night sky above the moon

as a luminous

arc of refracted light, no brighter than the

moon

itself. O nly elves and some half-elves can perceive

this sign, for it is meant only for Corellon's

people. What

it signifies depends on the phase

of the moon. Above a

full moon, when it is most often

detected, it means that

an elf of great importance and advanced age will soon

journey to Arvandor. Elves who see the sign might be

compelled to seek out this

individual to commune with

and learn from before

the elder departs the world. The

moonbow appearing

above the moon during its other

phases can be interp

reted in many ways, depending on

the season and the timing of its appearance. A

moon-

bow appearing above a new moon is the most

dreaded

sign, for it is

said to signal a coming per iod of great up-

heaval and

many deaths.

Lunar

Worship. Temples to Sehanine Moonbow are

a lmost a lways a ligned with the heave

ns to enable the

priests to track the motion and phases

of the moon. The

sleeping quarters of the priests are

positioned such that

a shaft of light from the full moon

falls on them while

they are sleeping, and this silver

light of Sehanine can

influence their dreams and

impart messages to them.

Offerings to Sehanine

are mostly made from silver,

often shaped in a way that is reminiscent of the full

moon. Cups, bowls, cloak pins, and plates of silver

a re

found at her shrines,

as well as those dedicated to the

Seldarine collectively.

The weapons and gear used by

CH AJ>T.CR 2 I ELVES

47