“All will be revealed in time.”

At’ena is the goddess of time and holds domain over causality, fate, and free will. She presides over the timelines to ensure that no contradictions or impossibilities take hold in the various histories or futures of the planes. The At’enite Priesthood primarily works as seers who scry for omens of what is to come, but their methods and reasons may differ from place to place.

It is a commonly held belief that At’ena knowledge of the “future” comes from her past, and that she was formed at the “end” of the universe. Observing the end of the world, she realized that as it was, all life was complete and therefore meaningless, there would be no purpose to the universe unless life had to achieve that perfection. Thus, she took away knowledge from all parts of the universe, slowly obscuring it so that, from a mortal perspective, they would discover this knowledge and achieve perfection.

In reality, At’ena lives omni-temporally, at all times at once, and regards time as a fluid concept. This means that At’ena knows what will happen as soon as anything ever happens at any point along the time stream. She can act at any point in time before or after she decides to do so. This can give off the impression that At’ena does not answer calls or is not “paying attention.” The opposite is true, she is always answering calls that will have happened years, decades, centuries in advance, and always paying attention to all points in time “simultaneously”.

The complexities of time are often simplified to a linear cause-and-effect or past-present-future depiction for mortals, which falls short of the reality of Reto’tempo. Similarly, the ideas of Fate¹⁾ and Free Will(Free Will is considered to be the ability for independent actors to steer Fate in the direction(s) they choose, and be able to choose the path that is taken towards that end.)) are poorly understood by even the most devout of At'ena's priests. Many have their own beliefs about what Fate and Free Will mean, but nothing is known for certain.

Going by many names, Reto’tempo is the complex network of timelines that branch off, connect, and spiral off into infinite infinities. It is most often depicted as a web or tree. Many see At’ena as the grand weaver / caretaker of Reto’tempo, plucking off strands as they occur, and snipping those lost to impossibility.

Since much of the world is fluid under the actions of mortals, most predictions and prophecies given by At'ena only really take into account likely and probable timelines, or events that are preordained or otherwise inflexible. These “knots of fate” as they appear in Reto’tempo are incredibly difficult to unravel, and are usually so complex that At'ena can only warn her followers and the other deities of their consequences and arrival.

Before the mantle of At'ena was given to Freyja, she was never seen in any anthropomorphic form. Instead, At’ena manifested herself in thousands of ways through signs and omens. She spoke telepathically or in visions, using puzzles, riddles, and enigmas. In such a way, all signs and omens from At'ena were taken as her aspects.

In this incarnation, she often uses her abilities to make these manifestations subtle and powerful. At’ena appreciates those who craft intricate puzzles and plots, occasionally assisting them in some manner. People who cross her suffer her greatest wrath: she would reveal the true, unavoidable future for them to play out, often to their doom.

Some societies favor an aspect of At'ena called The Fateweaver, sometimes called At'ena Arachne. On Cahyali she is often called Seherine Anandi. The Fateweaver does not have a consistent appearance, sometimes presenting as a humanoid of indeterminate race, possessing spider-like traits, such as multiple eyes or multiple arms. Other times, The Fateweaver can also appear as a large human-sized spider, with the pattern on its abdomen in the shape of an open eye. In either incarnation, The Fateweaver is treated as a goddess of wisdom, cunning, wit, and stories. It is believed that she weaves all stories and fables into existence, and spins the Web of Time like a loom.

Arachne or Anandi is a more mischievous aspect of At'ena, acting like a trickster deity in order to outsmart foes and use her sharp tongue and wit to cut through others' ego and defenses. She is said to appear to those who are too prideful or ambitious and trick them into humiliating themselves and keeping their ego in check. Some believe that she quietly listens in the corners of taverns and guildhalls to collect stories from which to weave time and destiny. It is regarded as an omen (sometimes bad, other times good) to walk through a spider's web, as it means At'ena has big plans for you.

The One With A Thousand Eyes had no “true” form, and instead took whatever form that suited it in the moment. It was an aspect of At'ena that stood contrary to the ideals of her mantle. It believed that time and causality were chains that bound it and all others into a pitiful sham of existence, and wanted to free itself and create a world where such things had no meaning. It was malevolent and inquisitive, starting a calamity through consuming all existence and reality.

This aspect of At'ena no longer exists, but its disastrous history leaves a scar on those that lived through this time. It is remembered as a warning for the future.

The One With A Thousand Eyes (OWATE) was formed as a result of a rift in space time created in the middle of 2555 meant to avoid catastrophe on Frøsland, Jaern. The rift succeeded, but At’ena was damaged by the rending of time, creating the OWATE as a new, corrupted aspect of At’ena. The OWATE slowly corrupted At’ena and shattered her into many pieces throughout various planes across time-space, killing Old At’ena. As the OWATE began to consume more planes in its calamity, the Jearnian Gods considered it a threat and had a group of adventurers alongside the help of Freyja, a fractured piece of At’ena who would be the beginning of New At’ena, venture into the celestial plane of Reto’tempo and kill the OWATE.

Freyja was originally a member of a pantheon on another plane of existence, one consumed by the One With A Thousand Eyes (OWATE) in its calamity. She is now a culmination of multiple shattered pieces of At’ena from the corruption by the OWATE. As a goddess, she held over the domains of war, wisdom, and foresight. She is a hopeful aspect and always seeks to change the future for the better.

Freyja appears as a light skinned human, wearing a feathered cloak and often accompanied by cats. She is often seen with a bow of silver and a distaff, and capable of wielding a unique type of magic called seiðr native to her home, which allows her to see into and manipulate events in the future. This aspect is said to appear in times of trouble and disaster, acting as a warrior wielding both magic and weapons into battle with forces that threaten the world.

As Freyja is the culmination of multiple shattered pieces of At’ena, she has a split history. The most notable pieces that make up Freyja are the original Freyja and Freyalise.

As a result of the shattering of At’ena, Freyja existed as a member of a pantheon on another plane of existence, one consumed by the One With A Thousand Eyes in its calamity. She was able to see the hunger of the One With A Thousand Eyes coming for her plane, and worked to try to save it, but could only succeed in escaping the calamity herself as her followers' plane was destroyed. Freyja was able to reach the plane of Jaern, and ask the Jaernian deities to assist her and a group of adventurers in defeating the One With A Thousand Eyes, journeying to the previous celestial home plane of At'ena, and putting an end to the End of Time. Freyja was then granted the mantle of At'ena by Orus, while the other gods were hesitant to her arrival as a new god. The Huntress Freyja became an aspect of At'ena, her memories, experiences, and wisdom living within her. This marked the revival of At’ena.

Upon becoming At’ena, Freyja worked to restore Reto’tempo, also referred to as the Ancient Glade by herself and her followers, from the damage done by the OWATE.

As a result of the shattering of At’ena, Freyalise existed as a woman on the plane of þóheima, where she suffered many hardships that broke her down until eventually leaving for another plane. Upon reaching the plane of Arium she began the healing process of moving forward past her traumas and even worked to remove corrupted influences of the OWATE.

After recovering, Freyalise returned to her original plane of þóheima to find it reduced to a barren rock of fire and ash in her absence. Upon seeing this, she sacrificed herself and used her soul to become a new planet for this plane. However, in her sacrifice she had only killed the part of her from her past on þóheima and continued on as the person that grew through her travels.

At this point Freyja had begun to use her power over fate to guide all the remaining remnants of At’ena back together. As part of this, Freyja ventured to þóheima to assist Freyalise in protecting her planet from an Astral Dragon. In the process of killing the dragon, Freyja, Freyalise, and the other remnants of At’ena merged to become the true At’ena Freyja.

The Starweaver Seherine appears in the form of a young Dahabi elf, just at the age of adulthood, with light brown (or sometimes silver) hair, and usually wears what appears to be an elven cloak filled with the colors of the night sky, reflecting stars, moons, and constellations that slowly move across it, a gift from her mother Tenebrus.. She is commonly depicted and seen with a pouch that glows from the seams with the brightness of the sun, a gift from her father Peregrinus, filled with stars.

Seherine in this form is the goddess of wisdom and travelers, fate and fortune. She may also be called “Pathstrider” or “Starweaver.” She can be mercurial and mischievous, often playing tricks or using riddles and doublespeak to communicate, but isn't manipulative. People often say that she can be found at crossroads or while traveling, especially when one has a burning question or riddling doubt about an upcoming choice or decision. She speaks with these travelers, offers advice in the guise of riddles and analogies, before disappearing without a trace the next day.

Many famous works of fictitious literature on Cahyali include a reference to Seherine in this way, acting as an enigmatic guide to the protagonist that they meet seemingly randomly on the road, pushing them towards their fate and the climax of the story. Some believe that use of this trope and the inclusion of the Starweaver as an unnamed character is lazy writing.

Shuibian Seheyun, or the last Dianxia (Crown Princess) of Shuibian, is an aspect of Seherine found in the Abundant Expanse of Cahyali.. She appears as a beautiful and elegant Ruefang elf with pale skin said to be the color of pure white jade, wearing the imperial Ruefu (ancient Ruefang dress) of the Shuibian Dynasty. Often, she is seen with her long dark black hair down, flowing with stars in the inky darkness. Other times, she is seen in a general's ceremonial armor, with a jian (traditional sword) drawn.

Seherine in this form is the goddess of fate and wisdom, stars and moons, as well as war, strategy, and military insight. She is interchangeably referred to as Shuibian Seheyun, Shuibian Dianxia, Sehe Xingniang, or Xingzhou Yuhe. She is said to be shrewd and serious, and regarded as a patron goddess of heroic endeavor, appearing to those that beseech her in times of need and danger, and acting as a mentor and counselor to heroes. Some believe she appears to rulers as an advisor when they need strategic advice, testing them and making known the sacrifices and consequences of ill-planned and hasty actions. Others say she appears to those that are oppressed, and acts as a teacher in the ways of battle to help them overthrow their captors. Some epics and tales depict the Shuibian Dianxia as an immortal that is sent down from the Heavenly Realm (commonly interpreted as the Celestial Planes) to defeat evils that arise from the Ghost Realm (debated to be the Beneath or Kurago), or as a goddess that presents a chosen hero with a divine trial to expose their flaws and fallbacks, and learn from them.

WIP (Not a full aspect of Seherine, and instead an interpretation of Seherine Stella as Ninos’ sister, as part of the Ninos faith.)

WIP (Alwadiha Aspect of At’ena worshiped in tandem with Rudri within the Order of the Oneirophant.)

It is said that one of At'ena Obscura's Servitors, Ornias, was granted with the gift of prophecy in order to assist At'ena in creating signs. However, a Belief says that Ornias saw a future that caused him to go mad, and decide to act against At'ena, believing her future and destinies were a path to disaster. Ornias was one of the first Fallen Servitors, and due to his gift of prophecy, was able to escape being bound within the Beneath.. Some claim that the reason At'ena speaks in enigmatic riddles is to avoid revealing too much of the future to mortals, and avoid causing one to descend into madness like Ornias.