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of mysteries as much as anything else. Many non-elvesfind it easiest to think of Sehanine as the companionof Corellon and the god of the moon, but to elves
sheis much more than that. The moon passes from
onephase to the next,
and Sehanine watches over all suchcycles, be it from
season to season or cradle to grave.She is midwife to elf mothers, ushering souls
into theworld. She is also thought to stand beside
dying elves,to greet their departing spirits and set
them on the pathto 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, andthey mark he r symbol on graves
a nd tombs to invokeher protection of the dead.
In these comfor ting aspects,Sehanine is often imagined
as a willowy, gentle maleelf with shining eyes that reveal both melancholy andtenderness in their gaze whe n depicted alongside hisbe loved Corellon.In stories of the
Seldarine, Sehanine is Corellon'ssteadfast companion
, the one being who can persuadeCorellon to
pause and reflect rather than allow hisemotions to rule him. Corellon can be res
plendent withjoy 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'smood 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, butothe
r stories hint at a deeper truth. T hey say Sehaninewas formed from the first d rop of
blood spilled fromCorellon's body, and so she reminds
Corellon that evenas 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 theird reams for signs. But
Sehanine has a nother way ofsending messages
to the elves of the world. The cres-cent-shaped cataracts that appear in the eyes of
anelderly elf at Transcendence are symbolic of
the moon-bow, an astronomical phenomenon with wh
ich she isassociated. It appears in the night sky above the moon
as a luminous
arc of refracted light, no brighter than themoon
itself. O nly elves and some half-elves can perceivethis sign, for it is meant only for Corellon's
people. Whatit signifies depends on the phase
of the moon. Above afull moon, when it is most often
detected, it means thatan elf of great importance and advanced age will soonjourney to Arvandor. Elves who see the sign might becompelled to seek out this
individual to commune withand learn from before
the elder departs the world. Themoonbow appearing
above the moon during its otherphases can be interp
reted in many ways, depending onthe season and the timing of its appearance. A
moon-bow appearing above a new moon is the most
dreadedsign, for it is
said to signal a coming per iod of great up-heaval and
many deaths.Lunar
Worship. Temples to Sehanine Moonbow area lmost a lways a ligned with the heave
ns to enable thepriests to track the motion and phases
of the moon. Thesleeping quarters of the priests are
positioned such thata shaft of light from the full moon
falls on them whilethey are sleeping, and this silver
light of Sehanine caninfluence 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 fullmoon. Cups, bowls, cloak pins, and plates of silver
a refound at her shrines,
as well as those dedicated to theSeldarine collectively.
The weapons and gear used byCH AJ>T.CR 2 I ELVES47