Broadly in favor of humanity

• Domains: Change, Introspection and Self-Discovery, Community
• Patronage: outcasts, artists, prophets and mystics
• Symbols: peacock feather, lyre
• Favoured
  • colours: a rainbow
  • animals: peacocks, lyrebirds, colourful birds of paradise
  • plants: grapes, wheat, roses

Summary

Lyrebird is a shapeshifting deity that protects those that are renounced by others. They claim everyone that wishes for their patronage and provide for anyone that doesn’t feel at home anywhere.

Other than that, Lyrebird isn’t interested much in mortal affairs, and mortals outside of their sphere of influence aren’t usually interested in Lyrebird, either.

Attributes

Morals and values

Lyrebird values just one thing in this world: being true to yourself. Anything that seeks to restrain one’s self-expression and freedom is frowned upon. As such, though they do not particularly care for rules or laws one way or another, Lyrebird and their followers often find themselves at odds with the local governments. Especially since Lyrebird has no issues with committing crimes (including lying, even if that seems contradictory to the dogma) if it’s what it takes to protect someone.

It is because the other facet of Lyrebird’s central tenet, an extension of it, is not judging others and thus welcoming everyone, regardless of how different from you they are, creating a sense of community. Being true to yourself comes to mean loyalty to your people, too. It is not a blind doctrine, though. Lyrebird does not obligate people to stay with those who hurt them; mindless commitment is the opposite of self-discovery, after all.

Appearance

As a proud shapeshifter, Lyrebird does not possess a baseline for their appearance. They can look like anyone in the world. Though they tend to prefer a roughly humanoid body plan, it’s not unheard of for them to appear as a beast or a non-humanoid race. They also seem to have a penchant for jewellery and other adornments.

Most of Lyrebird’s forms have one or two identifying elements that repeat consistently, though; the most common ones are: heterochromatic eyes and a nasty burn scar in a visible place. But it’s still not guaranteed that they will appear with any of these qualities.

Personality

Lyrebird is generally a gentle, benevolent deity with a playful attitude. While perfectly capable of elegance and eloquence, Lyrebird enjoys breaking the decorum by being silly and pulling harmless pranks. They’re both talkative themselves and an attentive, engaged listener. In most cases, they come off as cordial and passionate, and generally pleasant to be around.

That being said, there are also people who would describe them as temperamental and vicious instead. That is caused by the fact that Lyrebird has little mercy for those who intentionally seek to harm their proteges and once antagonised, will hold a grudge for a very long time, if not forever. Though it is possible to receive forgiveness, it hinges on the person exhibiting true, honest remorse, making amends and genuinely apologising. Few people have the mental strength for the kind of growth and soul-searching that those require, and as such, Lyrebird is often perceived by outsiders as unreasonably jaded and implacable.

Relations

Lyrebird is on great terms with most deities specialising in music and various other arts. It is not unheard of for them to share spaces and followers. They also tend to be on good terms with deities of magic or alchemy, due to the ever-changing and mystical nature of those disciplines aligning perfectly with Lyrebird’s principles.

However, one would be hard-pressed to find a lawful deity being particularly fond of Lyrebird. Most are neutral towards them at best, usually seeing them as a featherbrained clown. In some cases, there’s even outright hostility towards Lyrebird due to their patronage over people ostracised by law and society.

Religion

Followers

There are no organised cults worshipping Lyrebird, though many groups have them as their main — or even only — patron. This is because Lyrebird poses themselves as more of a familial figure, like a sibling or a parent, rather than someone to be revered. They aim to be a friend and a protector of their people instead of their leader. So, though Lyrebird would not abandon people just because they want to worship them as a “proper” deity, they certainly favour groups who have a more close and personal approach.

Temples and priests

There are no grand temples dedicated solely to Lyrebird, and in fact it’s hard to find anything more than a shrine. Sometimes, places of worship dedicated to deities of arts, music and theatre will also feature a spot for Lyrebird, but that’s about it.

It has nothing to do with the size of Lyrebird’s following. It is simply that in accordance with Lyrebird’s tenets, places of community are built instead of places of worship. What would usually go towards giant temple halls, in the case of Lyrebird will create soup kitchens and shelters, as well as libraries or performance stages.

The few shrines that do exist tend to just be a quiet space where the reserved and shy can share their prayers with the deity. They’re usually only decorated with whatever people bring — flowers and colourful fabrics, children’s crafts, the like — and there’s no formally appointed priests. Where other faiths would put a statue of their deity to denote an offering spot, Lyrebird’s shrines tend to have a decorated mirror, letting the worshippers see themselves in the deity they follow.

Portrayal

Portrayals of Lyrebird keep in mind their shape-shifting nature and as such, there’s no standardised way to portray the deity. There’s as many versions of Lyrebird as there were artists trying to capture their looks. The only recurring feature is the inclusion of a colourful feather, usually from a peacock, that lets people know that a specific piece of art is portraying Lyrebird.

Sometimes, candles are added at the feet of her statues or affixed to her hair, mimicking her signature stars, and illustrating her glow or the light of knowledge she brings.

Rituals

A common tradition — but by no means mandatory — is to take on a new name once you become a part of the community surrounding Lyrebird’s worship. It is a way to announce the arrival of your true self, and usually entails a big celebration.

Parties, in general, as well as performing art and creating any kind of arts or crafts, are the most common ways to worship Lyrebird. Life is, after all, about happiness and enjoyment and self-expression, and thus sharing those with the world is a natural thing.

Usually, Lyrebird’s followers think of themselves as one big family, and even the deity themself is referred to as one of their kin rather than a god.

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