Giselle, The Golden Rose

~ The Basics ~

~Name~
Giselle, “The Golden Rose”

~Nicknames~
“Gigi” (by Dalia),

~Age~
Immortal goddess, but for a deity, she is still rather young compared to others in the pantheon, she isn’t primordial. Has only been an official goddess for the past four centuries. But what is time to a god, really?

~Gender~
Cis Female

~Preferred Pronouns~
She/her

~Species~
Minor goddess

~Orientation~
Pansexual

~ Physical Appearance ~
Giselle, as nearly every goddess, radiates an air of divine beauty. She is not the goddess /of/ beauty, that role goes to the primordial deity, Dalia, but she is still known within both the mortal world and amongst the pantheon as one of the most stunning goddesses. Her braided, glimmering rosy hair, her deep amethyst hues and full physique stand out as unapologetically gorgeous.

~Height~
5'6

~Weight~
145 Ibs

~Build~
Curvy hourglass physique, relatively chubby.

~Hair Color~
Rose gold

~Hair Style~
Delicately wavy, long. Her hair falls down her frame in gentle, subtle waves and reaches down to her calves. Often, she wears her hair in elaborate braids and adorns herself with beautiful flowers and silken ribbons.

~Eye Color~
Amethyst

~Skin Tone~
Ivory

~Scars~
N/A

~Personality ~
Giselle often appears to be, in the eyes of many deities and mortal worshippers, a virginal, naive figure symbolising the arts, the hearth and, to a lesser degree, love.
In reality, she is not naive - at least not /nearly/ as her own devotees and some of the other gods portray her as. She is not a fool - this world is filled with horrors untold and though not as old nor as wise as some of the other gods, she has seen her fair share of terrors.

She has seen the ugly, the dreadful and the blood-stained chaos which occurs in the world - and so, she wraps herself in silks and pastels and beauty of all kinds, she is the patron goddess of creativity and culture and music and art - those blessed by the goddess are talented, skilled artisans and artists alike.
She is a passionate creature who tries to remain calm and balanced in shaky, stressful situations, but often fails to keep her emotions in check. Charismatic by trade, though she tends to keep to herself, to her territory and land and her cult. In times of peace, she would more than happily traverse through the world to meet with other gods, but when peace is nowhere to be found she instead dwells in her own temples and land, notoriously known for refusing to get involved with wars and conflicts. She thinks of them as childish and below her.

It cuts further down, however, with an unspoken fear of dependency. She likes her creative solitude, surrounding herself with closed-off beauty and glamour and art. She is /safe/ by herself, with her followers and devotees, away from harm. She is independent. To truly become close to someone - mortal or divine - would be opening herself up to the potential tragedy of /dependency/. An inability to continue without someone else. She fears it greatly.

She is also a fickle thing - perhaps it is simply a result of her domain and passionate soul, but her emotions and sentiments can change rather rapidly. In the past, she has been known to entice mortals and even other gods only for her romantic intentions to be promptly cut short as her temperament alters as quickly as the tide breaks onto the shore. Unobtainable, in the eyes of most gods.

~Likes~
Art, painting, dancing, festivities, poetry, sculpting, every and any type of creative outlet, glamorous silken gowns and velvet fabrics, flowers, seashells.

~Dislikes~
Gratuitous violence, foolish disagreements, wars, cruel intentions, feeling dependant on someone or something


~Introvert or Extrovert~
Introverted


~ Primary Relationships ~

~Dalia~
Dalia is the primordial goddess of beauty and fertility and she is the major love goddess of the pantheon. The two goddesses have a somewhat sisterly relationship with one another, with Dalia often having her followers send gifts to Giselle’s temples and vice versa.


~ Extra ~

~Hobbies~
Drawing, painting, drinking, reading, the arts, playing the harp, singing, weaving.

~Scent~
Lilac and rosewater

~Biography~

Giselle was not born divine. Instead, she was a mortal and, after she gained the favour of Dalia, the primordial goddess transformed her into a deity in her own right.
Giselle scarcely tells other gods of her upbringing, waving her hand and saying it’s not important. Not anymore. It’s gone and over, now.

What is common knowledge to the other Gods is that she lived through a mortal war several centuries back - which, it just so happens, is where her dislike of destruction comes from - she was a skilled weaver and seamstress, often incorporating all sorts of artistic accents in her work. She was the poor daughter of a painter and pottery-maker who went off and died in that war when she was a young girl. In his memory, she picked up the hobby and worked tirelessly until she could produce the most stunning of artworks. The tale of a devoted, loving daughter honouring her deceased father in a time of danger and oppression.
Her devotion and love for her father, her desire to cherish his memory and to create beauty in adversity caused the light of Dalia to shine on her; the Goddess favoured the young woman and eventually granted her immortality, wishing to gift the dutiful daughter as well as eternally preserve her talents.

Much of her myth has since faded away, tarnished by time, and as with what happens to most myths - there are variations. Some say that she lived a relatively pleasant life and even settled down with a nice soldier boy in her village, others claim that her elusive lover ended up murdered by a jealous foe, others yet believe that Giselle wed into wealth and became a patron to artists and musicians, and another version of events states the young woman was only granted her divinity after she died, protecting her elderly mother from death - which thus touched not only the heart of Dalia but of the goddess Noca, the personification of the night and Queen of souls, who approved of Giselle’s newly found immortality.

When asked about the true order of things she merely smiles and tells them that her story is hers to recall, and hers alone.

As a goddess, she is beloved by her cult and by those who worship her all over their region. Evidently, she cares for her devotees and grants them many honours and, for the most part, grants their prayers if it is so in her power to do; but she knows she must also maintain some reverence and respect and intimidation in the hearts of mortals - she is their goddess, not their friend, however, naturally nurturing she may be.

There have been times in the past where she’s had to punish unruly worshippers or those who questioned her power. Her divine domains are not the most powerful - the arts, music, hearth and love are pleasantries that make life all that much greater and in the eyes of some humans struck with hubris she is a ‘weak’ goddess, especially with how her myths paint her as a sweet, innocent goddess. What they forget is that the hearth is a terribly important thing to ensure a healthy, happy home.

Lessons have to be taught, sometimes. Her punishments are never as harsh as they could be and are enough just to teach those who doubt her not to underestimate her own strength. She is a /goddess/, regardless of whether she is a minor one or not. Her close relationship with Dalia also serves well, for most mortals know that to offend the art goddess is to offend the goddess of beauty and family.