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The Star-Eyed is the goddess worshiped by the Shin'a'in and the Tayledras. After the Cataclysm, She helped both peoples descended from the Kaled'a'in to establish a new home and gave them a perpetual mission.[1][2] Her people know that She has an active interest in them, but they also know that She expects them to do everything in their own power to resolve their own problems.

She is also mentioned to have provided (and quite possibly created) the first Companions to the first King of Valdemar, and as such, has a strong connection to the Companions. She is implied by name to be one of the Twins worshiped by the mage-smith Lashan (who later became Need), Karanel the Fighter.

She is associated with the stars and the night. She is known to have a male companion, who is called "Hunter, Guardian, Rover, Guide." Interestingly, the Fighter of the Twins had a sibling known as Hunter. In "Sun in Glory," it is implied that the Star-Eyed is the companion of Vkandis. This implication is raised again in Storm Warning, Chapter Nine, when Vkandis' companion is revealed to be the goddess Kalanel.

Representatives[]

The Shamans of the Shin'a'in provide spiritual functions, but She accepts Kal'enedral into her service personally. The Kal'enedral pledge to guard and serve all of the Shin'a'in, rather than a single clan. They are trained by the "veiled ones," Kal'enedral who have passed on, who still serve her. In an unprecedented event, she made Dawnfire her avatar, and later Tre'valen as well. She sent them to succor An'desha while he was possessed by Falconsbane.

Appearance[]

She has four faces or aspects: Maiden, Warrior, Mother, and Crone. When she appeared to Tarma, she came as the Warrior:

"...the radiant figure... glowing faintly within a nimbus of soft light, appeared to be leshya'e Kal'enedral, but was unveiled--her body that of a young, almost sexless woman. A woman of the Shin'a'in, with golden skin, sharp features, and raven-black hair. A swordswoman garbed and armed from head to toe in unrelieved black--and whose eyes were the featureless darkness of a starry night sky, lacking pupil or iris."[3]

In every face, her eyes are compared to the starry night sky--the origin of her most common name, the Star-Eyed. To a lesser extent, the eyes of Companions resemble her eyes.

Shrines[]

The Shin'a'in use tent-shrines that are easy to pack and move as they migrate across the Plains.

"The tent-shrines of the Clans were always absolutely identical in their spartan simplicity. There were four tiny wooden altars, one against each wall of the tent. In the East was that of the Maiden; on it was her symbol, a single fresh blossom in spring and summer, a stick of burning incense in winter and fall. To the South was that of the warrior, marked by an ever-burning flame. The West held the Mother's altar, on it a sheaf of grain. The North was the domain of the Crone or Ancient One. The altar here held a smooth black stone."[4]

In the series[]

The Star-Eyed is often referenced among her faithful, but She makes an appearance in the following works:

Notes[]

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