Gosaena

Gosaena Domain Death Symbol a silver or grey sickle on a field of green Pantheon Neutral Smite/Bane Bane Critical Cold

Despite resurrections, deeds, and other ways to return to existence, death is an ultimately final thing. When the bridge between life and death is crossed for the final time, and a soul is allowed through the Ebon Gates, Gosaena is there waiting on the other side. She is the goddess of death.

Unlike Lorminstra, when a spirit comes to Gosaena, it will not be returning to the mortal realm. Gosaena is a pariah among the other Arkati. She is gifted with foresight, most specifically, knowledge of when everyone and everything will die. The Arkati, now gods to the mortal races, had no desire to recall their own mortality and so outcast her. Neither pantheon will claim her, and no one will speak to her save Jastev, whose own talent for foresight makes him sympathetic to her plight.

Gosaena never speaks, except on very rare occasions to Jastev. She is as silent as the grave, and takes the souls due her without regret, compassion or malice, only impartiality.

Gosaena's preferred humanoid manifestation is that of a beautiful woman with pale skin, long silver hair, and ice blue eyes. She wears grey robes and a large grey cloak that covers brilliant white feathered wings. In manner, she is silent and impartial. Her symbol is a silver or grey sickle on a field of green.

Shrines, Statuary, and Holy Places

Cleric Guilds

Displayed in the Prayer Rooms of each Cleric Guild is a state of Gosaena. These prayer rooms are considered a holy shrine to multiple deities.

Beautiful and ethereal, Gosaena looks at you with serene impartiality. Peeking out beneath her full cloak are a pair of sturdy wings. Held carelessly in her hand is a lethal-looking sickle. The curve of her sickle mirrors the curve of her lip.

>touch Gosaena
You reach out and touch the statue of Gosaena.

Silence fills your mind, as quiet as Gosaena's embrace.

Wehnimer's Landing Cleric Guild

Located in the Antechamber of Others is a statue of Gosaena. This area is not considered a holy shrine.

This sculpture portrays a beautiful woman with pale skin, long silver hair, and ice blue eyes. She is clad in grey robes and a grey cloak that fails to completely cover her brilliant white-feathered wings. Upon the sculpture's base is her symbol, a silver sickle on a field of green.

Kharam Dzu Cleric Guild

In the room with Guild Master Kordrum is a statue dedicated to Gosaena. It is considered a holy shrine.

[Cleric Guild, Lava Room]
The room is filled with bubbling magma. A small island sits in the center of the pool, connected to the outside by a thin stone bridge. On the island stands a tall statue of a woman, her wings stretching high into the cavern. Pieces of skeletons ring both shores of the lava lake, some trying to crawl away, others towards the beautiful statue. A pedestal of stone rests at her feet. You also see a small tunnel and Guild Master Kordrum.

>read pedestal
In the Common language, it reads:
"Death is the ultimate journey."

Spell messaging

Major Sanctuary (220)	The world around you is swallowed in silence and a cascade of feathers obscures your vision... [Sanctuary of Final Embrace] Moss green marble walls rise from black-veined white floor tiles only to disappear in the shrouded darkness of the ceiling. Solace fills you in the deep silence of the sanctuary, while a slight breeze carries the odd feather past you. A faint luminescent light glows from somewhere nearby, its source unseen. Pale light floods your vision as all around you turns to black and the world dissolves...
Well of Life (308)	As you sense your souls have linked together, a sensation like feathers brushes over your face.
Blind (311)	Cleric sees: As your faith overcomes (target)'s weakened defenses, your skin grows cold as the calm, silent power of the Mistress of Eternity flows through you. Target sees: (Cleric)'s face shimmers and vanishes, and, in its place, you see a somber woman swathed in a grey cloak. Her face is as pale as alabaster, and her features are composed with perfect, unwavering serenity. The air grows cold as her ice blue gaze rests upon you. The intensity of the vision overwhelms you, and everything dissolves in a wash of grey, leaving you blinded.
Prayer (313)	Cleric sees: Turning your thoughts inward, you ask for the impartial hand of your deity to protect you. A delicate sensation like the caress of a feathered wing runs over your face from brow to chin, and you sense that your prayer has been granted. Others see: Grey light fills (Cleric)'s eyes briefly.
Censure (316)	Cleric sees: In silence, as befits your devotion, you mouth the words of a sacred incantation and channel the power of divine displeasure toward those deserving of punishment. Others see: (Cleric) silently mouths an incantation that does not seem to be in any language you know.
Raise Dead (318)	Cleric sees: Wrapped in an aura of chill, you close your eyes and softly begin to chant. As the cold air that surrounds you condenses you feel it slowly ripple outward in waves that turn the breath of those nearby into a fine mist. This mist swiftly moves to encompass you and you feel a pair of wings arc over your back. With the last words of your chant, you open your eyes and watch as foggy wings rise above you and gently brush against (target). As they dissipate in a cold rush against (target), you feel a surge of power spill forth from you and into him. Target sees: Wrapped in an aura of chill, (Cleric) closes her eyes and softly begins to chant. As the cold air that surrounds her condenses it begins to ripple outward in waves that turns the breath of those nearby into a fine mist. This mist swiftly moves to encompass (Cleric) and slowly coalesces into a pair of ethereal wings that settle into a protective arc over you. With the last words of her chant, the wings surge forward and gently caress you. You feel a surge of power lance forth from Cleric into you, and moments later the fog dissipates, taking the chill of the air with it. Others see: Wrapped in an aura of chill, (Cleric) closes her eyes and softly begins to chant. As the cold air that surrounds her condenses it beings to ripple outward in waves that turns the breath of those nearby into a fine mist. This mist swiftly moves to encompass (Cleric) and slowly coalesces into a pair of ethereal wings that settle into a protective arc over (target). With the last words of her chant, the wings surge forward and gently caress (target), only to dissipate moments later taking the chill of the air with it.
Intercession	A stillness steals over you, distancing you from yourself. A soothing peace seeps outward from your core and strips away the clamor of daily living. Sounds fade away, divorced from their meaning in the cool grip of complete and utter silence. In moments, the silence is broken as though it never was, but though that crystalline quietude passes on, the peace it imparted remains.
Divine Wrath (335)	As you pour your soul into an appeal to Gosaena, you know that you are heard. Everything around you seems to slow down as a deep, biting chill sinks through your skin and into your very heart. From the corner of your eye, you glimpse slight motion. Although you still can perceive sound, no sounds seem important when compared to the silence at the center of your being. The power of Gosaena has answered your prayer. An ethereal pair of feathered white wings materializes from midair and closes around (target). You realize that you had ceased to hear the sound of your own heartbeat only when you become aware of it again, and other sounds filter back into your awareness as well. Warmth returns to your body as your connection to Gosaena lessens.
Miracle (350)	Cleric sees: Stealing all sound as it travels to you, a soft zephyr gently caresses your skin and you sense the frigid brush of final death near at hand. A tug on your spirit heralds the arrival of impossibly long feathers in shades of white, grey, and black, as they appear before you and coalesce into a beautiful insubstantial being. It lifts you up into its arms and you feel as if you have found home in its embrace. Wings that you did not notice before unfurl to cocoon you for several moments before you feel the chill air depart and all at once the feathery figure is gone. A rain of feathers falls around you, each dissipating seconds before it touches the ground. Others see: Stealing all sound as it travels, a soft zephyr gently sweeps through the area turning the air frigid. Impossibly large ethereal feathers in shades of white, grey, and black, drift in and are carried to the prone form of (Cleric). At once they converge into a beautiful insubstantial being. Kneeling beside (Cleric), it gently lifts him into its arms and cradles him there for several moments. Lowering its feathery forehead to (Cleric), the being unfurls a pair of pale wings and creates a cocoon around him. Suddenly, sound returns, dispelling the ethereal being and creating a rain of feathers, each dissipating seconds before it touches the ground.
Divine Strike (1615)	Paladin sees: A pillar of dusky silver radiance manifests around (target). Others see: (Paladin)'s eyes glow with ice blue light, and a glimmering pillar of dusky silver radiance manifests around (target).
Aid The Fallen (1620)	A radiant silver beacon encompassed by a translucent green corona rapidly descends from above, striking (target) in the chest. It soon expands to encompass his entire body before finally beginning to wane. The beacon shines brightly one last time and tapers into nonexistence, taking (target) with it.
Judgment (1630)	Paladin sees: You briefly close your eyes, and a pair of brilliant white, feathered wings unfurl from your back momentarily. A faint silver-grey light builds up and emanates from your hand before it takes on the shape of an ethereal sickle! An arc of silver-grey tendrils spiral out from the blade of the ethereal sickle, striking (target)! The ethereal sickle departs without a sound. Others see: (Paladin) briefly closes her eyes, and a pair of brilliant white, feathered wings unfurl from her back momentarily. A faint silver-grey light builds up and emanates from (Paladin)'s hand before it takes on the shape of an ethereal sickle, and (Paladin) thrusts it forward! An arc of silver-grey tendrils spiral out from the blade of the ethereal sickle, striking (target)! The ethereal sickle in (Paladin)'s hand departs without a sound.

Behind The Scenes

Gosaena was originally described as possibly an evil local goddess whose power was less than it had been in antiquity. The only reference to her was as "Empress Gosaena" on The Graveyard gate, a holdover from the Empress Kadaena who was not what we would now call an Arkati. Kadaena and Gosaena have no resemblance to each other, except for their apocalyptic dispositions. While the I.C.E. Age form of Lorminstra had a serving spirit who would cross the Gates of Oblivion, there was no one corresponding to Gosaena, making her a purely original aspect of Elanthian history.

The following scene in The Rift may be intended to allude to the transformative demonic nature of the Kadaena theology.

[The Rift]
A woman stands at the head of the huge cavern.  The right half of her is perhaps the most beautiful woman you have seen.  
Her skin is the color of milk, and blonde hair streams down over one feathered wing.  The other half of her body is the 
opposite.  The skin is rough, with matted hair tangled with a wing like leather.  In her right hand she holds a staff of 
light, with which she gestures towards a field of surpassing beauty.  Her left bears a scythe, pointing towards a pit of 
angry flames.
Obvious exits: east, west

Related articles

• The Gods of Elanthia - Gosaena, Mistress of Eternity (official documentation)