turan Goddess of True Love and Seduction Symbol: Polished Bronze Mirror, Swan or Group of Swans Home Plane: Terra Alignment: Chaotic Good Clergy and Temples The temples of Turan are dominated by female acolytes and priestesses Their primary goal is to find the proper marriage of a man and woman, based on love and not based on wealth or land acquisitions They use cards and dice to augur the fates in order to match men and women properly Afterwards, a magical charm or elixir might be used if one of the parties does not see they are right for one another T uran is the goddess of love, fertility, and vitality Where Ishtar is a heavenly goddess devoted to all life and a number of domains, Turan is more focused on the love between two people, rather than specifically childbirth However, she is definitely in conflict with Ishtar in places and people rarely honor both goddesses Acolytes of Turan make and sell cosmetics and clothing to help women attract a mate Paladins of Turan follow similar thinking, but mostly defend the temples from attacks by local authorities who want to see the temples removed far from the cities Turan’s paladins are great diplomats for this very reason, focusing on debate rather than the sword to solve problems Turan is a young, winged woman commonly associated with birds She surrounds herself with a large retinue of swans and maidens, which she calls lasae The lasae are spirit guardians who follow people during life and guard their graves after death Each person has his or her own lasa They carry mirrors which are used to hold a person’s best memories The warm breath of love; to demolish the most stone of hearts Oh, Turan! melt the icy crust around the center of mankind; so that we may find each other Her aim is not to help others procreate, but rather to aid lovers in finding one another In this regard, she is quite a naive goddess In a violent world, her aims are almost comical, but this does not stop young men and women from worshipping her, and continuing on until a first child is born She is a gossamer lining of silver amongst a world of dark clouds But there is a dark, seductive part of Turan that only the wisest rulers have come to understand In fact, in most cities, Temples of Turan are not allowed within city walls Young men, women, and even mothers are so enthralled by the goddess’ allure, temples must be kept from one’s sight, “lest those who are easily beguiled be brought into the temple every day.” Worshipers No one grows up worshipping Turan She is the goddess men and women turn to for aid in finding true love—and later help in making children But once people find Turan, they find it hard to stop following her They come to temple daily and make offerings, praying for more and more guidance, perhaps to keep their marriages strong Dogma Turan’s primary duty is to bring lovers together, tempting a heart here and there to make a man or woman fall for their destined love But she is not above using more powerful magics on the fated, when necessary In defense of true love she is a fierce guardian Many tales exhibit her violence against aggressors who stand in the way of who she deems fated for true love Perhaps because they can’t pull themselves away Families are buried together in underground tombs, which are built to look like living quarters Paintings adorn the coffins, showing couples in loving embrace (forever) Another of her darker aspects is seduction, and all followers are secretly knowledgeable about the seductive arts —including tactics and compelling magic Once a year prior to spring, Turan’s followers engage in rites which encourage coupling Gifts and sweets are often exchanged during these pairing rituals Turan 65