"Through pond and grove, town and road,
Lyra's got her harp wherever she goes!
She sings to her heart's delight, following rivers wherever they flowed,
She knows no rest and dances with her sun-kissed feet on her toes,
She goes a-strumming with her oaken carved lyre,
Her hair shimmering in light, so red and vibrant like fire!"
"Lyra's Mirth", A Halfling Jig to Lyra, written by Petunia Stoutheart
Lyra the Songstress, also known as the Songmaiden, Joybringer and Conductor of the Great Harmony, she is the goddess of song, merriment, and music. It is believed it is she who first discovered the joys of music and the beauty of things immaterial.
History
The tales of Lyra's origins stretch back far beyond the Forgotten Age, said to be among the very first of Aranor's mortals given form and she who invented music, travelling wide and far to joyously spread her new discovery and earning the love of all she met wherever her feet carried her. She is widely counted among the very first mortals to ascend to godhood, forever remembered and cherished for her gifts to Aranor that precious few could possibly dispute. Her legacy carries on in various annual festivals and countless songs, a figure of legend and a muse to most aspiring musicians. Sightings of her appearances in grand celebrations and during particularly moving performances of music are a regular feature in folklore, many of which may well be true, considering the Songstress' fondness for walking Aranor still in the forms of various mortal guises and sometimes even her true avatar.
Characteristics
While known to assume countless different forms in her covert dalliances upon the surface of Aranor her favoured form is that of a comely, bright-eyed young woman with a shock of red hair, a warm olive complexion, and an ever-smiling, freckled face. Content to remain much the way she did in mortal life with no embellishments nor flair typical of a goddess, Lyra is known to be humble, humorous, and friendly, if not fickle, her attentions known to be fleeting and her fancies ever shifting. With few cares for the wider affairs of the other pantheons, Lyra remains devoted to the mortal world, perhaps more so than any other greater deity of Aranor, intent on perpetuating her gift to the world she dearly loves.
Worship
Perhaps second only to Alissa in the breadth of her worship, it is often a cyclical manifestation, prayers and tributes raised to her name during her sacred holidays such as the Revel of the Flowers beginning on the 60th of the Sword, the Blue Moon Vigil on the 35th of the Hearth, and the Brightnight Festival on the 44th of the Moon. Even on celebrations outside of her holy days it is customary to give praise to Lyra in a prayer for good spirits and peace ahead of an important celebration ranging from weddings to coronations.
It is common for smaller places of Lyran worship to take the form of small shrines in the festival grounds of villages maintained sporadically with offerings of flowers, songs, or precious glimpses to the private moments of lovers of whom such sights are a popular meeting place. Within towns and cities the temples of Lyra will unfailingly double as theatres or stages to host all manner of creative expression, occasionally becoming the sites of full bardic colleges.
She will regularly bless musicians and performers with sudden epiphanies and sparks of inspiration, manifesting occasionally in true miracles or divine magic, as will she do so to her preachers during the times of her holy days that her presence is felt but most often in only temporary brushes of her favour. Full clerics of Lyra are rare as only a few are able to warrant her favour - and more importantly, attention - on a permanent basis, but those whom do, are exceptional perpetuators of her gifts indeed. It is not uncommon for her chosen few clerics to be her lovers as well, since it is widely known the entirety of her pantheon descend from her mortal trysts.
Her worshippers believe the afterlife they are bound for is to join in her Eternal Chorus to sing as part of the Great Harmony, uniting every mortal in song.