Chrystalis
The beautiful Goddess of Mana and Love, Chrystalis is the head of the Light Gods as well as the Web Pantheon as a whole. She is one of the oldest and most powerful of divine entities, having existed in one form or another since the dawn of time along with her husband and champion, Tahran.
Religion
Strangely, despite her age and her status as head of her pantheon, Chrystalis' worship has never been terribly organized. There are Chrystalan temples in every known dimension, yet every attempt to create a cohesive hierarchy, dogma, etc. has failed. It's believed that the goddess herself discourages this; Chrystalis values experience, intuition and emotion over logic, and thus her nature does not easily lend itself to an organized religion. One of the few universal beliefs held by all Chrystalans regardless of sect or practice is that she is the essence of mana, and is the very lifeblood of magic in the Web.
The most common form of Chrystalis' faith is an ecstatic mystery religion, practiced by solitary worshippers as well as small groups. The Shining Path, as it is known to initiates, originated in the Mana Dimension and enjoyed widespread popularity in antiquity. Details of this mystery cult's rituals and practices are unknown to any but initiates, but it is said that they free initiates from the fear of death and suffering. Two practices that are known to the larger world, and that the Walkers of the Path are famous for, are the kirtan, a ritual singing of ancient hymns to the goddess and her consort; and the Spiral Dance, in which worshippers cleanse an area of mana impurities by dancing spirals along particular ley lines.
Since the departure of the Gods and the rise of high technology in the Web, Chrystalis' worship has been in decline. Nearly everyone pays her lipservice at one point or another, but those who profess to wholeheartedly worship her are generally seen as quirky kooks or dangerous witches at worst. Her followers have never been persecuted outright, except in Aryth, where their views on the nature of mana and magic are considered anathema to established thinking, unscientific, and downright dangerous.
Myth and Legend
Chrystalis' origins are lost to time. Some say she was the first of UL's children; some believe that she simply sprang forth from the void. Whatever the case is, she was the first Goddess, and the first Sorceress. Tahran, as the first Knight, has always been with her, as well; as the personification of the Sorceress/Knight soul bond, they find it difficult if not impossible to exist without one another. He is her lover and her champion, and words cannot describe the depths of their feelings for each other.
Thanatos, Chrystalis' most hated foe, has also desired her almost from the beginning, and she has always scorned him. Among certain Chrystalans, there is a belief that he also has a type of soul bond with Chrystalis, though it is a negative one. His dharma is believed to be hopelessly entangled with hers, and their conflict is an eternal one.
Incarnations
Chrystalis has had numerous mortal incarnations, across numerous dimensions, perhaps more than any other deity besides Tahran and Thanatos. Her last avatar was a mysterious human Sorceress named Aurora Garamonde. Born in the Purelands of the Mana Dimension to a pair of Elemental mages, she was orphaned at a very young age and had the memory of her divine nature tampered with by Thanatos. She was eventually fostered by the legendary Doman samurai, Cyan Garamonde, and came to learn the arts of the dragoon in addition to her prodigious magical skills. Aurora married a young paladin by the name of Joneleth, who was in truth Tahran's avatar, and the two eventually ascended after recovering their memories. It was about that period when the Great War began in earnest, and Chrystalis took her rightful place as head of the Light Gods, leading the fight against the Dark Gods.
When the war was over and Celiose asked the Light Gods to return to The Place Which Is No More, Chrystalis felt betrayed; perhaps more than any of the Light Gods, she is tied to the mortal realm in inexplicable ways, and did not want to leave it. However, UL persuaded her to relent, and she departed in sadness.
Her fate, along with that of the other Light Gods, remains unclear.
