SHEN-LUI – The Great Queen of the Oasis

Status:  2nd Generation Elder God

Level:  75000

Avatar:  Barint

Shen Lui is a popular oriental nature goddess who is held in high esteem by all the other oriental gods. She is at one with her Flora and Fauna and enjoys sanctuary on the very outskirts of Bifrost (when she is actually there!).

She is generally depicted as a woman of great beauty dressed in a light green almost transparent chemise dress and carrying a beautiful Mithril dagger

She is the first daughter of Feng Po the Wind Lord. Shen Lui was charged with the fertility of both animals and plants. In her young days Shen Lui was a stroppy daughter; her tale begins with Shen Lui’s angry withdrawal from Eä by Feng Po. She was dragged ‘home’ to Bifrost when she became cross with one of Daleth’s streams crossing her woodland glade. She threatened to destroy the whole Forrest in her rage so Feng Po had to step in to prevent this event. This made Shen Lui even angrier and she ran away and hid from her father. In her haste she put her left foot in her right shoe and her right foot in her left shoe.

As soon as Shen Lui left Eä a terrible blight struck the eastern lands and ruin faced the first shoguns. Huge dust storms rose up, the trees withered, fields became parched, animals ceased to produce offspring and Famine and Death stalked the land, littering the cities and country side with corpses.

When an angel sent by Eshu failed to locate Shen Lui the Great Feng-Po approached the Zhang-Ko Lao to find his daughter. Zhang-Ko Lao ranged the world searching. He searched the world without avail and finally gave up and sat down in despair. Zhang-Ko Lao then sent a bee to look for Shen Liu although Feng Po protested that so small a creature was unlikely to have any success when he himself had been baffled. But Zhang-Ko commanded that the bee should sting the missing goddess when it found her.

After a long search, the bee came across Shen Lui who was fast asleep in a meadow. Stung on the hands and feet Shen Lui burst out in a second storm of anger and continued the ravage of the land. It was not until Hachimoto defused her fury by means of a magical ceremony that she was persuaded to return to Bifrost on the back of a magical eagle.

She flew back to her temple and her duties. Only then did Shen Lui end the dust storm, revive vegetation and aid animal husbandry.

After her return, Eshu did Feng Po a great service and as rewarded Feng Po gave him Shen Lui’s hand in marriage. This marriage was totally against Shen Lui’s wishes for Eshu was now terribly bloated and fat, but her father commanded her to look to Eshu’s every whim.

Whilst Shen Lui lived with Eshu she refused to lay with him until they had been together for 5 years. Eshu agreed, but commanded Shen Lui to always look beautiful in his presence and to make sure his food was always bountiful. Shen Lui endured Eshu’s company for a year and a day, after which time she could bear his grotesquely bloated body no longer. She ran to her mother, Tsien Amerasu, and begged for sanctuary from her husband, and annulment of the marriage contract. Tsien Amerasu seeing how distraught her daughter was agreed to hide Shen Lui until she could persuade Feng Po to agree. Feng Po refused his wife’s pleading and dragged his daughter back to Eshu. From that point forward Shen Lui refused to serve her husband, saying only that for each demand he made of her, she would adventure a year away from Bifrost. After another year and a day Shen Lui left Eshu to travel. On her return to Bifrost she designed, with her mothers help, a sanctuary on the edge of Bifrost, where Eshu could not tread. She never returned to Eshu’s side, their marriage never having been consummated or annulled. Eshu never made the effort to make her return.

Despite this Shen Lui is still prone to wandering and when this happens drought and famine occur on Eä.

SYMBOL

WORSHIP

Worship is open to only mortal females who are selected as guardians of the sacred tree at the age of 6 for a minimum of 30 years. During this time they must maintain a strict vow of chastity on penalty of being buried alive (given to the earth).

TEMPLES

Shen Lui temples are always open to the air and are situated in the most bewitching of the forests with a stone statue or carving of Shen Lui watching over the glade.

HOLY DAYS

There are no particular holy days. Shen Lui’s followers hold regular feasts to her honour in thanks for her blessings. These are especially frequent around autumn and late summer when most will offer thanks for crops and the such. No man is allowed to attend the festivals.

FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

Shen Lui’s followers are friendly to all genuine lovers of nature. Being openly hostile to all the defilers of the forests as it is wanton or pointless destruction, which excites their anger. They hate Daleth and all that honour him, and will do anything to ruin rivers that they hold special.

They also avoid all Eshu followers, who are prone to try and force them to break their vow of celibacy, in reprisal for the way Shen Lui treated Eshu.

All other religions are treated with neutrality.

CULT REQUIREMENTS

Female virgins only, who join the cult at the age of 6.

STRICTURES

• Never harm an animal, except in self-defence or for food.
• Never permit another to harm an animal, except in self-defence or for food.
• Never allow wanton destruction of plant life.
• Must remain chaste (If virginity is compromised Priestess will be buried alive – regardless of circumstances)
• Never allow flowing water to pass through Shen Lui holy ground.