Poleva

Summary

Poleva has ever shifted in Uatkara's religion with regards to her importance. She is among the oldest of still canonized goddesses, if not the oldest or even the 'first'. Adorned by the head of a jackal and wearing the turquoise-teal reed dress of old nebusian dresses, Poleva is a goddess of waters (principally rivers and oases), gold and coined wealth, winds (particularly rains), precarious fortunes, and life. The unrelenting deserts are ever defined by their struggles for water, as most everyone will perish without it. In this respect, before the Black Pyramid and the adoption of magic to create water, earning Poleva's favor was a matter of life and death.   Typified by her stern nature, Poleva is considered a hardy goddess, almost as hard as the deserts. Knowing little of compassion and less of good wealth, it is said she hoarded all waters that could be found, scrutinizing those who might prove worthy. Those who stirred her ire wandered without end, dying beneath Akenra's blazing light in the wastelands of Sa-kemet. These foreboding tales cowed even the most outrageous of persons into quiet reverence. Such were the only ones worthy of finding Poleva's coveted oases and their life-sustaining waters. Woe be to those who failed to pay tribute, for the waters would dry up, and the crushing sands would follow on the wind.   In time, Poleva's importance shifted as more stable forms of water harvesting came about. Deep well digging, in particular, saw her dominion shift to these underwater reservoirs. So-called 'Poleva's Treasures', any number of shoddily dug-out wells collapsed as those same unworthy people tried taking her waters. In time, however, codified worship and glamorous temples to her eased Poleva's sensibilities. Thus the waters flowed more freely, and the beginnings of civilization followed. Poleva took coins--those of lustrous metals or exotic crystals--as tribute. Of the time, they were little more than novelties, for true wealth was measured in jugs of water. In this way she became associated with mercantilism and the rise of currency, which many in Sa-kemet framed in water-centric language. It is still considered, even today, good manners to give tribute to Poleva as one travels from oasis to oasis.   The advent of magically created water further shifted Poleva from her prominence as a goddess. It is understood that all water created comes from her most prized of vaults, and so it is treated most seriously. As the fear of dehydration has faded in civilized Sa-kemet, Poleva is given due reverence but other goddesses have long taken standing over her. Those who leave safe cities, valleys, and other water-rich places know to keep Poleva close in their hearts. In the end, no matter how great a nation, if the water stops then the sands will come. Hence many of Atenkhet's coinage is printed with visages of Poleva or her holy symbols. Of all the goddesses, she is the one everyone has in their pockets.