Verenestra

(The Oak Princess, the Nymph Queen, Oaklady, Goddess of Trees)

Lesser Power of the Planes, N(CG)

PORTFOLIO: Female faeries, charm, beauty
ALIASES: None
DOMAIN NAME: Wanders/The Seelie Court (the Oak Bower)
SUPERIOR: Titania
ALLIES: Artemis, Baervan Wildwanderer, Baldur, Hanali, Celanil, Lurue, Obad-Hai, Rillifane Rallathil, Shiallia, Silvanus, the centaur pantheon, The Seelie Court, the Seldarine
FOES: Cegilune, Erythnul, Eshebala, Malar, the Queen of Air and Darkness, the Orc and goblinoid pantheons
SYMBOL: Filigree-edged silver mirror
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN

  Fickle and vain, Verenestra (VAIR-en-ess-trah) The Oak Princess embodies the unearthly beauty that many female faeries possess. She represents the power such beings have over males of many species, and has adopted as her charges the dryads, nymphs, and sylphs that so often exercise such influence. She is flighty and follows the whims of her emotions, but she is also deeply sensitive and caring towards her charges.   Child of Titania and inheritor of her beauty, Verenestra is sometimes said to have no father but the wind that blows through the tree boughs of The Seelie Court. More often she is seen as daughter of Titania and Oberon, while some few try to reconcile these two tales into one. As with her brother Damh, The Oak Princess has adopted a number of faerie creatures as her charges, particularly those that share her eternally youthful appearance and demeanor. While her motives for taking on her charges were in part similar to Damh’s desire to reduce the burden their mother had taken upon herself, Verenestra’s myths portray her decision as one made out of recognition that female faeries often face greater and more diverse threats than other sylvan creatures. These same myths describe her adoption of the dryads, nymphs, and sylphs as having infused them with eternal beauty that could serve as a weapon in itself, supplemented by additional magical gifts.   Outside of her origin myths, faerie stories about The Oak Princess are rarely adventuresome tales; some are moral tales that have her learn valuable lessons after getting embroiled in trouble due to her vanity or haughtiness, while others revolve around pursuit of her affections by a variety of overly amorous suitors. Tales in the first category portray her personality as one of compassion and good nature, but struggling with vanity, flighty rashness, and fits of jealousy, but her actions never intentionally inflict harm. Most of these tales involve mortals, but the most prominent feature other deities, such as Eshebala, who try to trick or lure her by exploiting her weaknesses in order to undermine The Seelie Court. Some sorrowful tales relate the origins of fallen or corrupted faerie folk, such as unseelie nymphs, through the manipulation of Verenestra and her faults by the likes of Cegilune or the Queen of Air and Darkness. Other tales are purely comedic, designed to delight and teach listeners life lessons. The second category of tales are nearly universally comedic, although some have darker undertones about the dangers outsiders pose to faerie folk. In these stories, The Oak Princess leads amorous males and deities of other pantheons on merry chases in order to dissuade them from their desires. Such tales may include many other deities and creatures on both sides of the chase, or they may include none at all. In the end, the amorous male usually has their ardor cooled enough to call off the chase, with a few ending somewhat differently. A handful of tales end with Verenstra, feeling flattered by her pursuer’s skill and tenacity, allowing herself to be caught for a night of passion. In no tale is she ever caught against her will, but that is not to say all of her suitors appreciate her antics; some deities she has evaded in these tales are said to have turned their disappointment into anger or hatred, and sworn revenge upon her.   Verenestra’s relations with other deities are often dependent on her personality. She is vain and not a little bit jealous of other goddesses of beauty; she snobbishly spurns the company of deities such as Aphrodite and Sune. The exception is her strong friendship with the elven goddess Hanali Celanil; this is a relatively recent development due to Lady Goldheart’s concerted effort coupled with her tender kindness and love of life. By contrast, it has been said that The Oak Princess has had more than one dalliance with Baldur, the Aesir god of beauty, as well as various other beauteous male deities. She is also strongly allied with a variety of nature powers, although only with Rillifane Rallathil is she regularly romantically linked. Baervan Wildwanderer has long made his romantic interest in The Oak Princess known, but as yet she has not returned his feelings, although the two remain friends and allies. Verenestra rarely visits the Prime Material Plane on her own, only doing so to visit with particularly wise and old nymphs, dryads, or sylphs, or to entice particularly handsome and charismatic males into short-term dalliances, after which she may reward them with a modest magical item from The Seelie Court. Otherwise, she only accompanies another sylvan power on missions of import and communal interest, such as protecting ancient sylvan lands and the faeries who dwell therein.