Meretrissia

Meretrissia
The Goddess of Beauty, Love, and Affection. She is also acclaimed as the Lady of Art and Music, and the Goddess of Erotic Passion. Meretrissia, as Goddess of Beauty, is the embodiment of beauty and teaches mortals to seek truth through beauty and worship. Those who follow the teachings of Meretrissia, and propagate beauty and promote harmony, are granted charm and grace. The Goddess teaches that mortals should give themselves to love, and commands them to open their hearts to it. Meretrissia holds no limit on the number of lovers one may have, but demands focus on the quality of the essence of love, not the quantity. She teaches that, "No matter the seed, if the shoot is nurtured with love, will not the flower be beautiful?", and blesses the love of those which is pure and untainted. Meretrissia discourages relations with undead, such as vampires, and concurs with the teachings of Cycluminus that vampires have impure spirits.

She is one of the most controversial of The Nine Makers, as unlike Amaria, who is dedicated to the perfection of the warmth of love, Meretrissia is devoted to the passion of and fire of love. She is also the goddess of erotic passion. In just the North Auros Empire, there are dozens of cults dedicated in her name to things as varied as the arts, beautification, and erotic instruction. Meretrissia's sphere of love is distinct from that of Amaria. Amaria is described as the goddess of marital love and affection, or love derived from happiness. Meretrissia is described as the goddess of erotic pleasure and passionate love.

The Goddess makes her will known to mortals through her sybil, who is revealed to her priesthood via the ceremony known as the “Exalted Protocol of the Meretrissian Sybil”. The ceremony is known only to the priesthood of Meretrissia, and is kept secret from the general population, including acolytes of other Divines. Meretrissia is also known as the Divine who "pays Men in Moans". Followers of Meretrissia are known to practice the “Meretrissian Arts”, and bestow a Mark of Meretrissia upon others. Meretrissia is rumored to have personally authored the controversial book “Meretrissian Arts”, which depict any number of sexual acts. Critics of Meretrissia have condemned her as the "goddess of whores and lepers" and criticized the alleged practice among her worshippers of mocking the scarred and misshapen. Others consider her a lustful and passionate goddess.

She is sometimes thought to be the Mother of Sharess and it is often mistaken that the two are actually the same entity.

Commandment
"Meretrissia says: Open your heart to the noble secrets of art and love. Treasure the gifts of friendship. Seek joy and inspiration in the mysteries of love."

Prayer
"Come to me, Meretrissia, for without you, my words must lie dull and leaden without the gilding of grace and sagacity to enchant the reader's ear and eye."