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Darkness? Retribution? And Endurance?
NIDAL! :D
Nidal has had a Desnan underground going for quite some time, and living in the shadows of that country without compromising yourself is like playing Dystopia 2: Turbo Edition on Nightmare Mode. And that place would have a lot of use for all three of those aspects...
I'd be tempted to make this demigod some revolutionary or vigilante who either went the martyr route(and managed to escape with their soul before the kytons took it) or pulled off a Never Found The Body ploy.
I'd hesitate to just make it Nidalese Batman, but there's a lot that could be done with that core.
(making this demigod a risen kyton sworn to Desna could be a thing too, particularly with the Endurance aspect)
It feels like a demigod that would draw a lot of loner vigilante types, or small tightly knit groups of the same. But maybe it could be played as a twist on Milani's faith as well. It's also a faith for revolution, but it acts much more slowly, bides its time, and waits for the right moment to make its move. And when it does, it strikes hard.
Come to think of it, benign spy networks that are also mystery cults to this demigod could be neat.
I'm sure there's at least one ninja clan on Golarion that would see those three aspects as divine virtues too. :)

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Hi Mikaze. I figured you'd be on this like the female iconics on Carrion Crown. You're a bit later than I expected ;)
I hadn't thought of him interacting with Nidal. Good thought. I can picture his coming to full ascendency while doing work in Nidal.
I forgot to mention there is also an alien/aberrant aspect to him.

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Retribution, Darkness, and Endurance?
Sounds like a tireless hunter or revenant. A creature that just won't stop until it exacts its revenge. Kind of like Jason from Friday the 13th. The Relentless Slayer.
Interesting. I had been leaning towards something like this but hadn't arrived at that point yet. Throw in the CG twist and you have something less petty as Calistria but not as bound as Iomadae.

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Hi Mikaze. I figured you'd be on this like the female iconics on Carrion Crown. You're a bit later than I expected ;)
I hadn't thought of him interacting with Nidal. Good thought. I can picture his coming to full ascendency while doing work in Nidal.
I forgot to mention there is also an alien/aberrant aspect to him.
Huh...
Did you want this entity to have origins in Golarion? Because if you're going with an alien angle, the possibilities explode all over the place. Like maybe a related giant space bug that followed Desna around during her journeys, or a champion from another world with an environment built around the aspects you want him to have.
Keeping him on Golarion, there's still a ton of ways for it to go. If you go with the Nidalese angle, mabye he was touched by something not entirely malignant from the plane of Shadow? Or going a darker route, and cerainly tying into his Endurance aspect, maybe he was a survivor of one of the Kuthonite's more brutal sacrificial rites involving turning their victims into semi-kytons, or something similar at the hands of one of the Umbral Shepards(seen in Inner Sea Bestiary).
This is probably stretching the "aberrant" aspect, but maybe there could be a bit of Reverse Bogeyman at play? That is, maybe this guy(or a part of him) was once something of a living nightmare from the Dimension of Dream that saw the dreams Desna guards over and fell in love with them. Feel like that's moving more towards the esoteric though, while those three major aspects seem to call for more immediate and solid representation on the material plane.

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The NPC wrote:Huh...
Did you want this entity to have origins in Golarion? Because if you're going with an alien angle, the possibilities explode all over the place. Like maybe a related giant space bug that followed Desna around during her journeys, or a champion from another world with an environment built around the aspects you want him to have.
Keeping him on Golarion, there's still a ton of ways for it to go. If you go with the Nidalese angle, mabye he was touched by something not entirely malignant from the plane of Shadow? Or going a darker route, and cerainly tying into his Endurance aspect, maybe he was a survivor of one of the Kuthonite's more brutal sacrificial rites involving turning their victims into semi-kytons, or something similar at the hands of one of the Umbral Shepards(seen in Inner Sea Bestiary).
This is probably stretching the "aberrant" aspect, but maybe there could be a bit of Reverse Bogeyman at play? That is, maybe this guy(or a part of him) was once something of a living nightmare from the Dimension of Dream that saw the dreams Desna guards over and fell in love with them. Feel like that's moving more towards the esoteric though, while those three major aspects seem to call for more immediate and solid representation on the material plane.
I do want him to fit in Golarion. One thing thing I had been thinking about was there was an almost duel aspect to his mind.

Tacticslion |
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This is probably stretching the "aberrant" aspect, but maybe there could be a bit of Reverse Bogeyman at play? That is, maybe this guy(or a part of him) was once something of a living nightmare from the Dimension of Dream that saw the dreams Desna guards over and fell in love with them. Feel like that's moving more towards the esoteric though, while those three major aspects seem to call for more immediate and solid representation on the material plane.
Building off of this for a bit (sorry, I got lost for about a week or so), and your interest in a dual aspect of his mind...
Do you remember the kalashtar from Eberron in 3.5?
Because something along that lines could make for a phenomenal origin for this guy.
It's quite possible that he has two origins (or rather three), not just one, and that one origin is literally that nightmare-turned-love-dream while the other might be a leftover fragment of something shadowy that followed Desna around and infected, say, a mortal man who went through the tortures of Nidal.
Heck, it's possible that the dream-spirit thing took the/a aberrant shadowy thing, manipulated it (either with or without its approval, whether or not it followed/loved Desna) and implanted it (along with itself) inside a mortal martyr (or near-martyr) of hers to create a new "animating spirit" that conjoined to the mortal body and soul. If you wanted a little bit more alien... the dream itself could come from an alien or aberrant creature. This would certainly lead to two (or more) elements of his mind being a central core of his personality.
It would certainly create a nifty and unique kind of non-evil corporeal undead, and might be an interesting origin for a new godling.
Related, though slightly different: what happens when, say, one of those starry night nagas (or whatever they're called) from another planet who has the dream template gets "lost" while exploring the dream world and accidentally comes across Desna? Perhaps said creature had fully become a dream spirit by this point but chose to follow her instead of the nightmares. Or was even liberated by Desna when she'd been captured and tormented by Denizens of Leng, and sought a way to repay a goddess. Or an animate dream. Or anything, really.
Another completely different angle would be from the world of Apostae... perhaps one of the only ones to ever escape that planet (if not the only one)... perhaps by passing through the shadows and finding hidden passageways that don't exist in the material, and ultimately using the plane of shadows to pass through an interminable void, guided only by the dream of a butterfly's wings until after an eternity finally, finally finding a new, home, a "free" place to live... Golarion. This, of course, happened <insert amount of time ago here> and by going for so long through the eternal darkness <insert "Sanity's Requiem" here> he took on some aspects and power thereof. In all of this, it's quite possible that he ran into something or someone that wronged him or others close to him and long sought vengeance. This may or may not have been the reason he left his planet in the first place. In fact, in the course of seeking vengeance for an evil wrong, perhaps he got stuck on the shadow, which is why Desna led him to Golarion. Certainly a reason for him to have an alien sensibility (and, perhaps, an aesthetic, if you want one of those... alternatively, he could have been changed during his time in the shadow (like how in my head-canon - though this has been nixed by James Jacobs, I believe - Desna was by Curchanus).
I have a few other really vague ideas, but nothing I'm able to put into words at this time. :/

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Oh wow. I'm in love with this. :D
Going the Kalashtar-like route, it feels like an umbral shepherd would be the natural fit to plug into the role of "aberrant shadowy thing". Everything could play out naturally from there.
Re: "starry nagas". Do you recall where those are mentioned? I thought you might mean the lunar nagas introduced in Bestiary 3, but they aren't an exact match(though they do get related with some very Desnan behavior quite a bit!)
That Apostae refugee possibilty is really scratching at the brain too. Augh, want more on the Ilee badly.

Tacticslion |

Oh wow. I'm in love with this. :D
Going the Kalashtar-like route, it feels like an umbral shepherd would be the natural fit to plug into the role of "aberrant shadowy thing". Everything could play out naturally from there.
Re: "starry nagas". Do you recall where those are mentioned? I thought you might mean the lunar nagas introduced in Bestiary 3, but they aren't an exact match(though they do get related with some very Desnan behavior quite a bit!)
That Apostae refugee possibilty is really scratching at the brain too. Augh, want more on the Ilee badly.
Huzzah! I'm glad you like it! :)
And yeah, no, I totally meant Lunar Nagas (I was kind of super distracted by a wonderful son, in a bit of a hurry, and didn't have my books available, so no d20pfsrd-fu in that post) and, while they weren't Desnan, per se, the reason I mentioned them at all was a) their half-remembered connection to the celestial night-time bodies (also they kind of look starry in the picture) and b) they were literally aberrations, so it sounded like a nifty "fit" to me. The dream creature template is the thing that allows them to go exploring the world of dreams and maybe eventually become a creature of dreams (... sort of; a GM would have to stretch the idea behind their "dream travel" quite a bit, but again, I was in a hurry and distracted at the time, soooooooooooooo...). In truth, you could make the case for just about any aberration...
I do think something like the oronci actually has one of the best "suffering aberration with a cause" stories going for it, which could come into play here. I also like the idea of good-aligned orc-blood things, so it wins bonus points there.
Other Aberrations that are related to dreams and/or the night (and thus could be appropriate for various reasons): moon beasts, the elder things, the humble and incredibly awesome super-fly I-totally-want-one-to-be-a-greater-god-now flumph (one of my characters is contemplating how to sponsor one to divinity... before himself), incutilis (specifically their puppetmaster ability seems kind of appropriate), lorelei (their murmur ability seems too perfect to pass up); things like the dark young or get of Iblis provide weird old-god connections that are tempting to look at, too, although they don't provide too much in the way of theme. Of course, the god could always literally be a star spawn of Cthulu, too, which might be too perfect. >:D
Will-o-wisps (for the stars/light/dark, dreams/fears connections) Yithian (or at least the creatures behind the strange bodies for the kalashtar-angle), somalcygots (that live in the literaly darkness of space) or seugathi and/or neothelids seem relatively appropriate, too.
While I tend to avoid third-party stuff, trench newts for the shadow-aberration and possessors for the kalashtar-spirit-othermind angle might be nifty to look at.
Incidentally, there are a lot of aberrations, and searching through them took a lot of time. Ah, well. :)
And yeah, the Ilee are some of the most fascinating things. My suspicion (if you don't mind the vague possibility of a disappointing "behind the curtain of mystery" pet theory) is that they're all an aberrant and sterile variant of mongrelmen. The fact that they're an entire society built around the idea of adopting kids and loving them like they're their own is amazingly cool (even if said kids are created by machine at apparent random). If my sister didn't think that RPGs (at least non-video/computer-game RPGs at any rate) were "of the devil" (that's a paraphrase: no one has ever said that ever, but they lived in conservative south in the 80s soooooooooooooooo...), I'd totally recommend that to her, as she and her husband have adopted five kids (so far) and open their home as a foster home. Aaaaaaaaaaand that's off topic. (But that entire family is awesome, and I love my nieces and nephews!)
Quick query: what do you mean by "umbral shepherd"? Is that a (prestige) class, a creature, a rank or title, a social caste, or something else?
FAKE NOT REALLY EDIT: answered my own question with a really, really easy-to-make d20pfsrd search. Leaving my ignorance/goofiness on display for all to see, though. :)
And... oh, man is that an amazingly perfect fit! :D
As far as the more humanoid(ish)/corporeal body, Fetchlings, Dark Folk (specifically Dark Stalkers), Orc-blooded creatures, and Halflings all seem like they would make an interesting fit, I think (as would, for that matter, an oronci or sterile, variant aberrant mongrelman). ;)

Tacticslion |

While I tend to avoid third-party stuff...
I wish to clarify: I usually avoid 3rd Party stuff to recommend to others, while I, myself, am fully cool with it and use it. :)
You guys are coming up with a lot interesting ideas I don't know if I should mention the couple of details I left out because it would probably bring things down...
Hey, we're doing this mostly for you (though also because it's fun), so, if there's stuff we need to know... tell us! :)
(Although if it's too harsh you might want to put it into...
... just to be sure. :)

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I meant to get back to this but got side tracked when the game I was in got delayed due to CPap issues. Anyway...
First thing to mention due to events in game the demigod is now a demigoddess.
The demigoddess is tripartite in her formation. Power, Knowledge, and Direction.
Power comes from a lost divine spark and binds her to Desna. Knowledge comes from something "That is not dead" and laid for five ages of men waiting. Direction comes from the soul that binds them all together.
Core Edicts: -Make the darkness safe. A place to hide and rest. Purge it clean and make it comforting.
-Endure and teach other to as well. Both physically and spiritually. By example if nothing else. That which is broken can be brought together again and that which is not broken may persevere.
-Retribution goes where the Law cannot. Dispense that which is morally right and deserved but never more than that lest it become petty vengeance. Vengeance indulges the one. Retribution serves all.

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Now that Chronicle of the Righteous is out, have you considered representing this idea as an Empyreal Lord, complete with an Obedience and boons? :)
My DM and I did bounce some ideas back and forth a while back. Nothing concrete. I do imagine her working readily with the Black Butterfly. Especially as the clock in Osirion counts down.

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So her favored form of combat would be her claw. Is there a claw like weapon or would followers get the claw if they have one and quarterstaff if they don't kind of like Apsu?
Domains: Chaos, Good, Darkness, and Strength.
Also, she will have a special group of servitors called fleshlings (Working name) who are her eyes and ears where she cannot be. I'm thinking one of the boons might be to gain the service of a fleshling.

Tacticslion |

From looking at the weapons, there are optional flavors of...
Cestus
Punching Dagger
Spiked Gauntlet
Hook Hand (possibly a hand-held device instead of a replacement-for-a-hand, but it could be seen as a "sign of favor" in terms of endurance)
sickle or kukri (hand-held, true, but a slight re-flavoring could make either work, I'd say)
klar (kind of a shield/endurance and attack/retribution!)
scizore (weird, alien, and claw-like!)
axe-knuckles
flying talon (for a weird, alien, "ranged claw" vibe)
sai (kind of looks like a claw)
thorn bracer (nifty thorn motif!)
Or, if you're into Eastern Weapons...
bich'hwa (curved dagger)
fighting fan (could have nifty butterfly motifs)
kama (should have mentioned this earlier)
Madu (not what you were looking for, but it's another "shield/weapon" thing, that uses horns on a shield, that I thought might look neat if you like it)
Pata (a modified punching dagger)
kerambit (kind of "claw-like" dagger)
lungchuan tamo (hidden daggers in a sheath; kind of the whole, "sudden strike with claws" thing)
shang gou (curved swords)
tiger fork (both sounds appropriate and can be used as kind of a quarterstaff-thing)
...
...
... or you could actually go with the thing that describes itself as "claws".
tekko-kagi ("Also known as the iron claw, this device consists of a fanlike structure of five 10-inch blades secured to a sturdy handle strapped to the forearm of the off-hand." Benefit: A tekko-kagi can be used an offensive weapon, defensively like a buckler, or to disarm an opponent’s weapon without provoking an attack of opportunity. It provides its owner with a +2 circumstance bonus on attempts to disarm or sunder swords or other slender-bladed weapons.)
You know, if you're into that sort of thing.
:)
Hope those help!

Tacticslion |

First, as an ascended being, I'm surprised she wouldn't be an outsider. I'm curious what you're thinking with that? It sounds cool, I'm just curious!
Second, despite the description, Empyreal Lords are pretty definitively not just angels, but celestials of all sorts. Thus it seems to be a fairly informal term - kind of a generic title, like "Sophont" is for a sentient creature in Schlock Mercenary.
In any event, given the chaotic nature of some Empyreal Lords, there are certainly some of them that would likely not only approve of her becoming an Empyreal Lord, but just throw it on her as an honorary title (kind of like how I - in my head-canon, not actual canon - think Desna became an "honorary" god by way of Curchanus before becoming a "real" one, probably when she inherited his portfolio).
Some (though likely not all!) of the lawful ones might be a bit dubious, but being allies of the chaotic ones, if those allies bother to give an "official" honorary title, it could still hold weight. And - while one could exist - I've seen no reason not to let her have that title.
... not that she has to ever become a "real" one.

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I could see being given an honorary title and as I think of it she would more than gladly stand with them when called. While a mortal she was a devout Desnan and Desna would act as a patron of sorts. As such she would work closely with The Black Butterfly and that could be her in.
She is a transcended being yes, but her type is more akin to aberration than outsider. So she has more physically in common with a great old one than an outsider demigod.

Tacticslion |

Heheh, yeah.
Also, something weird happened to an edit I made to my earlier post.
Thus, I must reconstruct it, sadly.
EDIT: I'm actually really interested in what you mean by some "aberrant traits" or things like that. Could you elaborate?...
Wait. Wait. Wait. Waaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiit.
"is now a demigoddess"
...
... does that have anything to do with this post you made in an otherwise unrelated-seeming thing*? 'Cause if so, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
Are you also using the mythic rules? SO! CURIOUS!
* Look, it's not like I'm stalking your old posts trying to find where you went, "I wish" or "I would like" or "I want" or anything in order to give you a surprise (hopefully inexpensive**) Christmas gift or anything, even though you never post anything like that anywhere in all of forever so it makes it really hard to find something. If by "not like" you mean, "not not like". Which I know I do.
** Like five-dollars-ish. :)

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Heheh, yeah.
Also, something weird happened to an edit I made to my earlier post.
Thus, I must reconstruct it, sadly.
** spoiler omitted **
After consideration her favored weapon will be the Iron Claw (or Tekko-kagi).
Also, Mikaze if you want to use her after a fuller write up is put together i'd be totally cool with that.

Tacticslion |

Tacticslion wrote:Heheh, yeah.
Also, something weird happened to an edit I made to my earlier post.
Thus, I must reconstruct it, sadly.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
After checking with James Jacobs she wouldn't be an Empyreal Lord but she would definitely an ally.After consideration her favored weapon will be the Iron Claw (or Tekko-kagi).
Also, Mikaze if you want to use her after a fuller write up is put together i'd be totally cool with that.
Reference: spoiler...
1) Yes, that's the one I meant. Something must have happened in the url-transfer. Whoops!2) THAT. IS. AWESOME.
3)
4) Nice evasion of the implied question in the spoiler, by the way. Relevant: questions? Sure!
5) Since that's kind of cheating on my part...
SUCH AWESOMENESS HERE.
I'm with Mikaze: I'm watching this with interest as she's very likely to end up in our game-world as an NPC. We've three burgeoning sort-of-almost-demigods in our games across Golarion: one in the Mwangi/Serpent's Skull (the showdown there is going to be... mythic), one in Westcrown/Council of Thieves, and one in Harathia/Kingmaker. It's going to be interesting, and very likely she'll be part of our eventual burgeoning pantheon.

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Reference: spoiler...
1) Yes, that's the one I meant. Something must have happened in the url-transfer. Whoops!2) THAT. IS. AWESOME.
3) ** spoiler omitted **
4) Nice evasion of the implied question in the spoiler, by the way. Relevant: questions? Sure!
** spoiler omitted **5) Since that's kind of cheating on my part...
** spoiler omitted **...
2) Thanks.
3)That is a very good point. Nicely done and it works with how she is chronicling their adventures. So having that as an early trial of endurance is a great idea. Stripped of part of herself she had to reunite her aspects with the new form that had been given her. She had to endure the reintegration, the new form, and the after effects of The Flaying. As Desna said "It was a new journey."
4) Let me look around and get back to you. Thanks :)
5) PM forthcoming.

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Here's the write up. If needed it can be edited later. Warning: It is long. I hope you enjoy.
Cadmus-Nibiru
-The Keeper in Darkness
CG demigoddess of Darkness, Endurance, and Retribution
Domains: Chaos, Darkness, Good, and Strength
Favored Weapon: The Reaching Claw (Tekko-kagi)
Allies: Desna, The Black Butterfly
Cult
Holy Symbol: A white triangle pointed down on back spiked circle.
Temples: Natural underground places, basements, backrooms, and hospices
Worshipers: Good intentioned vigilantes, Rogue law keepers, Good aligned monsters, healers, Monster hunters, Those who prefect themselves through trials
Minions: Good aligned aberrations, Azatas, Neutral and chaotic Angels
Cadmus-Nibiriu is a demigoddess of darkness, endurance, and retribution. The demigoddess is a former mortal who is tripartite in her formation. Power, Knowledge, and Direction. Power comes from a lost divine spark and binds her to Desna. Knowledge comes from something "That is not dead" and laid for five ages of men waiting. Direction comes from the soul that binds them all together.
She watches over not the moral darkness of evil but the physical darkness. The darkness of night when rest is called for and the darkness that shelters and hides. She teaches those who follow her to make such places safe for evil lurks there for just this quality. She does not shun the light but the dark places and times are a realm in just as much need of protection as others.
To endure is to persevere and grow strong. This applies both to the physical and emotional. As such she holds that such strength allows one to accomplish one's tasks. That needed stamina to stand just a little longer or being able to run that last few feet to make it to the end. And to shield that which is held dear, because when the rock endures the many stand on it.
Cadmus-Nibiru knows all people need and some people, be it for punishment or teaching, need a just retribution. All must accept the consequences of their actions sooner or later and she dispenses to those who evade or feel they are above what is due to them. This is not to say she does not believe in mercy and if the desire to make up for one's actions are sincere and the urge to change true she will entertain such pleas. As Desna once said to her "Sometimes mercy is needed to teach one to endure."
Cadmus-Nibiru appears as gorgeous Azlanti woman with emerald eyes and raven hair, but like many she has another face. The second one is gray skinned with crimson eyes. Claws and tentacles are her chosen weapons when she bares this face. Both of these visages are her true form because she is both beautiful and terrible, often at once.
She appears to potential worshipers not in some grand display, but simply and quietly before them. She says "You have a task you wish accomplish. I can grant you the power you need." She then offers her hand. If they stand up straight and take the offered hand then they are brought into her priesthood. As such her clergy tend to be a very focused and dedicated lot. Despite the grim stoicism of many of her followers she knows how to laugh and encourages her people to take moments to breath.
Her core holy book is "The Edicts." The core of which states "Make the darkness safe. A place to hide and rest. Purge it clean and make it comforting.Endure and teach other to as well. Both physically and spiritually. By example if nothing else. That which is broken can be brought together again and that which is not broken may persevere. Retribution goes where the Law cannot. Dispense that which is morally right and deserved but never more than that lest it become petty vengeance. Vengeance indulges the one. Retribution serves all."
The clergy tend to celebrate the holidays local to their area when they want to do so, but they do have one specific holiday they honor. They call the day "The Rejoining." They take this day to remember what has been lost and to mark new beginnings. It commemorates an event early in Cadmus-Nibiru's trials as written in her other holy book the "Trials of Sin" where she was stripped of part of herself and she had to reunite her aspects with the new form that had been left to her. She had to endure the reintegration, the new form, and the after effects of this event which came to be know as the "The Flaying". As Desna said "It was a new journey."

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Still digesting amidst work, but love. Liking her distinction between retribution and vengeance too, which could lead to all sorts of fun between her and Ragathiel and Calistria.
Also gotta say it's really nice to have a good-aligned example of body horror. :)
Tacticslion wrote:Loooooooooooooooooooooooove it.Thanks :)
Also, Mikaze. Remembering one of your previous posts in another thread. Can Cadmus-Nibiru be the one who gives Vildeis a hug? ;)
Cripes, she's probably one of the few that understands her.

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Late night or grave? My condolences.
Looking forward to any further thoughts once you've had a chance to digest. I hadn't thought of Ragathiel but yes hehe. Calistria definitely. She's also in just the right position to rub Iomedae the wrong way and still have her grudging respect. I'm pondering the next section where I go into her relations with some of the other demigods and deities.
Glad to give an alternate example. :)
I can see that. I approve. Hugs abound!