Maiko's Note
You won't find temples built in their name.
Not because the Nodilani lacked faith — but because faith, to them, was sight. The gods weren’t figures to be begged or praised. They were the rules of the universe made visible: fire rising, stars returning, breath taken and given back.
Mama Gadun is the frame. Daninsha is the lens. Sulmalàn is the voice behind your eyes.
When Keith first read the phrase "Shin tei ka Mamilani" carved into the mountain stones, he whispered it aloud — slowly, carefully, like brushing dust from memory. He didn’t ask what it meant. He simply stood there for a long time. I believe he understood.
And maybe you do, too.
The Godesses of Madun
Shndjal: Tei Ka Mamilani
Faction:
Nodilani
"Three lights, three paths - yet all return to the stars."
— Ancient Endulani proverb
1. Overview
In Drabàshabal, the divine triad of Madun is known as Tei Ka Mamilani, literally “the three mothers.” Each goddess represents a fundamental aspect of existence, and while different cultures emphasize different goddesses, together they form a cosmic whole - a balance of light, spirit, and matter.
2. Origins
Tei = the (plural)
Ka = three
Mamilani = mothers (from mama + plural suffix -lani)
They are invoked in full only on rare occasions - at births, deaths, and celestial events. The phrase “Shin tei ka Mamilani” ("to see the Three Mothers") is a poetic way to describe death, vision quests, or moments of cosmic clarity.
3. The Triad
Religion among the Nodilani is not about worship in the sense of pleading to beings beyond. It is about reverence - a way of recognizing the divinity within nature, time, and the great forces that bind the universe. The Three Mothers - Tei Ka Mamilani - are not separate from the world. They are the world.
The sun is not a goddess above the sky. She is the sky - a radiant presence the people call Daninsha, "our star."
The universe is not a sentient will. It is the vast, ancient expanse - Mama Gadun - the Great Mother who contains all things.
Only Sulmalàn, the third of the triad, approaches something more personal. She is the spirit, the dream, the mist - and she sometimes appears.
Mama Gadun: Universe, Creation, Law, Matter; favoured by the Empire (Hanjelani) as “Holy Mother of All”
Daninsha: Star, Light, Life, Time, Seasons; favoured by the Awashalani and the Kosuklani, called “Our Star”
Sulmalàn: Spirit, Death, Vision, Transformation; favoured by the Endulani as the “Mist Mother”
4. The Seen Goddess
While Daninsha and Mama Gadun are revered as forces known, Sulmalàn is the goddess felt. She is encountered in ritual, in vision, in trance. Those who consume the sacred Sulanum mushroom often report contact with her:
A voice in the mist.
A luminous figure in the soul.
A presence that bends space and time with wordless wisdom.
Among the Endulani and some of the Pashevalani, Sulmalàn is experienced, not merely imagined.
But to others - especially the Hanjelani - she is far less defined. They may still depict her among the triad, yet they do not trust the visions or believe them to be real. She is seen by them as symbolic, perhaps even dangerous.
5. Mama Gadun - The Cosmic Godmother
To the Hanjelani, Mama Gadun is the first cause, the great designer of all form, structure, and order. She is the universe itself - the grid that holds the stars, the law that shapes matter. Worshipped not through ritual, but through legacy: every temple, every carved record, is a tribute to her.
She is often depicted as a vast presence without form, the sacred void from which all emerged.
6. Daninsha - The Motherstar
Daninsha is the radiant goddess of the star itself, central to farming cycles, celestial alignment, and the keeping of time. She is a mother, a clock, a guiding fire. The Awashalani build stone henges to track her solstices, while the Kosuklani revere her in every oasis where life returns.
To the Kosuklani, Daninsha is not only the giver of warmth but also a sacred embodiment of truth and vulnerability. They speak of her as Daninsha deran - “the naked sun” — a title invoked in surprise, awe, or deep reverence. It reflects the belief that the goddess, in her most honest and uncovered form, offers both life and judgment. In ritual and language alike, Daninsha deran celebrates not shame, but the sacredness of the revealed. Her bare light touches even the most hidden corners of the soul.
Through this lens, Daninsha is seen not just as light, but as continuity - the beam that connects the past to the future, and the body that gave birth to time itself.
7. Sulmalàn - The Soulmother
The veiled goddess, Sulmalàn is the keeper of visions, dreams, death, and rebirth. To meet her is to cross into mystery. The Endulani invoke her during burial rites beneath the Shulunbao trees, and speak of her appearing in mist - often just before a Sulejel walks.
She is not feared, but approached with caution and reverence. Those who meet her in Sulanum visions are changed forever.
Maiko's Note
You won't find temples built in their name.
Not because the Nodilani lacked faith — but because faith, to them, was sight. The gods weren’t figures to be begged or praised. They were the rules of the universe made visible: fire rising, stars returning, breath taken and given back.
Mama Gadun is the frame. Daninsha is the lens. Sulmalàn is the voice behind your eyes.
When Keith first read the phrase "Shin tei ka Mamilani" carved into the mountain stones, he whispered it aloud — slowly, carefully, like brushing dust from memory. He didn’t ask what it meant. He simply stood there for a long time. I believe he understood.
And maybe you do, too.
