Kamien

Goddess of Rivers, Streams, and Springs; The Sparkling Maiden; Old Widemouth; The Water Lady

Lesser God

Alignment: Neutral

Domains: Charm, Community, Travel, Water

Symbol: A fish riding upon three wavy lines upon a green copper amulet

Garb: Robes of turquoise, brown, and azure with bracelets and anklets of blue

Favored Weapons: Javelin, shortspear

Form of Worship and Holidays: Spring and fall floods bring sacrifices to Kamien to ensure that rivers do not rise too high. At midsummer Rising, followers gather at rivers to appeal to the goddess to keep them flowing.

Typical Worshippers: Women, nymphs, sprites, nereids, other water creatures and fey, prostitutes, boatmen, bargemen, fishermen, river giants

Kamien is the embodiment of springs, streams, and rivers, appearing as a woman with skin like silvery rippling water — earning her name as the Sparkling Maiden — or as a great silvery scaled fish — usually called Old Widemouth for resembling a massive bass. Bargemen and fishermen who ply her waterways toss coins into streams, fountains, and brooks to ensure safe passage and plentiful catches.

Kamien is one of the earliest Hyperborean deities, even predating that civilization, representing the springs and streams that provided plentiful water sources that allowed early humanoid settlements to be established and thrive. As such, she became a community deity and was seen as protector of the town well, spring, or other water source required for their continued survival. As societies advanced and maintenance of water sources and the ability to find them became more sophisticated and reliable, her role as the protector of the community transformed somewhat into that of protector of travel and trade upon the waters of her streams and rivers. It is this aspect that is most frequently seen in her worship today, though settlements that greatly rely upon yearly flooding or preservation from such floods still revere her in the older incarnations through semi-annual flood festivals and the yearly Rising ceremony at midsummer to beseech her to keep the waters flowing throughout the dry season.

Already considered an ancient deity among humans, Kamien’s reach extends even farther back into the mists of time beyond even human civilization. In her earliest incarnation she is considered to be the mother of the nymphs and sprites and is a member of the Court of the Fey as a protector of fertility. Knowledge of this aspect is largely lost among human cultures today, though some prostitutes (usually in riverside communities) venerate the Sparkling Maiden for her seductive qualities, probably related to her relation to fey such as nymphs and nereids that are known for their beauty and allure. Her ancient background is further recalled vaguely in old wives’ tales about the dangers of visiting the local spring or well at night because the Water Lady might come and steal the foolish visitor. That this could be a reference to Kamien and the sometimes predatory fey among her followers is a possibility, though it could just as easily be nothing more than a parental admonition to children to avoid drownings and other water accidents while unsupervised.