Malketa,
Queen of Heaven
Goddess of the sky, patron of Tanith.
Among the most ancient deities worshipped in Realmgard, the sky goddess Malketa was first brought to Realmgard via colonies established by the ancient Melkartite Kingdom originating along the Wandering Coast of the continent of Arena immediately to the south of Realmgard, which came to encompass much of southwest Realmgard over the centuries.
Malketa is often depicted clothed in purple. Fittingly, this sort of purple die, which came to be associated with Imperial prestige and authority, was itself also first introduced to Realmgard by the Melkartities.
Today, Malketa is best-known as the patron goddess of the Duchy of Tanith, the remnant of the former Melkartite domains in Realmgard located at the extreme south of the Sea’s Edge Peninsula. The image of Malketa holding the Sun and Moon is used as the emblem of the Duchy of Tanith.
Both the current Tanithite nobility and their Melkartite forebears trace their descent back to Malketa herself. The ancient Melkartite Kingdom was traditionally divided into seven noble houses, each one claiming to origin with one of the seven daughters of Malketa and the mortal princes they chose as husbands.
Though traditionally thought of a Tanithite deity (and historically associated with the Melkartite ancestors of modern Tanith), Malketa has historically found many devotees across cultures. Reflecting the readiness with which the Elves adopted foreign gods as their own, after the marriage of the Melkartite Queen Anath to the Elven Emperor Acanthus and the incorporation of the Melkartite Kingdom into the Empire, Malketa came to be incorporated into the traditional Elven pantheon. Similarly, due to the long-standing influence of Melkartite culture on the Sea’s Edge Peninsula, Malketa continues to be widely worshipped in Pelayo and Torres.
Even before the incorporation of Melkart into the Elven Empire, Malketa was a familiar figure throughout Realmgard thanks to the industrious and far-travelling Melkartite merchants who frequented many of the continent’s port cities. Similarly, although the Melkartite Wars between Melkart and what was at the time the Kingdom of Natalis (destined to become the Elven Empire) were long and bitterly-contested, they also stimulated extensive cultural exchanges between the two polities, including the earliest adoption of the worship of Malketa among the Elves. Malketa has also come to be associated by the Auroreans with their patron goddess Nainen.
Although Malketa is generally viewed as a regal and maternal figure, there are many stories of the goddess rising with wrath against evildoers — in particular, oath-breakers, those who wrong or offend her priestesses, and those who mistreat children are frequent targets of her retribution. In these myths, Malketa is shown to have a clear penchant for inflicting ironic punishments on the wicked. Similarly, though Malketa is held up as the ideal epitome of femininity, she is also invoked in a traditionally masculine role as a war goddess and military protector of Tanith.
The current Duchess of Tanith, Elissa, is known to be a woman of such surpassing grace and beauty, as well as political acumen and honour that she is often held to be the mortal incarnation of the goddess Malketa.
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