Race: Ixifar
Domains: Rebirth, Vengeance
Ethos
Life is a blessing. Disease is a curse. The sick and wanting, and those who tend them, look to Avaren's fire for comfort and cleansing. She appears as an Ixifar matron clad in white with a cloak of gold and wings of white fire. Her symbol is a phoenix enfolding an egg in its wings.
History/Relationships
Avaren began as the mortal Haven Melrose, an Ixifar hierophant from the town of Jastrey. She was known for being a skilled and generous healer, offering her possessions and magic to anyone in need. Tales tell of how she was captured by the fiend lord Drak, a servant of Hursisa, and banished him rather than allowing the paladin Thalenir Lestral to show him mercy. Her ascension on the first's first of Arathost, 5,730 NB marked the beginning of the Second Ascendant Age and the ultimate defeat of Drak.
As one of the Chosen, Avaren has had little time to form relationships with other immortals. Her defeat of Drak and her dedication to cleansing sickness has made her a fast enemy of Hursisa. She treats life as sacred, which places her at odds with Dhuroscht and Etejeril but friendly toward Antasia and Istensia. Due to her generous nature, many posit that she is Mynra reborn, though there is little evidence of that.
Dogma
The fire of life is sacred. Shelter the sick, the mad, the helpless, and the poor. Show them warmth that they may rise anew and pass that warmth onto others. Give generously to those in need, for there is no greater wealth than a charitable heart. Show no mercy to those who sicken the body with disease or poison the soul with malice. Lift your cleansing fire and purge the world of hatred and pain.
Followers and Temples
The followers of Avaren are split into two main bodies. Custodians, servants to the warming fire, dress is white and gold and devote themselves to tending those in need. Clavigers, servants of the cleansing fire, dress in red and gold and form the military arm of the priesthood, protecting the custodians and rooting out agents of corruption.
Temples of Avaren are called warrens. Most are built in urban areas suffering from some sort of affliction, such as a plague, Scorn, Verge madness, or a more social disease such as poverty or war. Warrens include ample space and bedding to house the poor or the sick, and may be specialized as sanitariums, orphanages, or the like. Few include graveyards, since servants of Avaren practice cremation over burial.