Waukeen
The Merchant’s Friend, Liberty’s Maiden, the Golden Lady. N lesser power of wealth and trade (She/Her)
Pantheon: Faerûnian
Symbol: Upright coin with Waukeen’s profile facing left
Realm: Outlands / Ringlands / The Marketplace Eternal / House of Barter
Known Proxies: Raavik (bariaur priest, proxy of Waukeen [he/him] / N) is based in Sigil; Keelira (gynosphinx, proxy of Waukeen [she/her] / N) oversees the House of Barter.
So you want to know about Waukeen, aye? Now there’s a tumultuous story cutter, and one that’s probably not played out fully yet. Waukeen is one of those tripartite trinity powers, appearing as the Merchant’s Friend, a patron of all kinds of merchants; Liberty’s Maiden, the embodiment of the very concept of trade itself; and the Golden Lady, a shadier figure who’s the patron of cross-traders and shady dealers.
They say she’s a sight for sore eyes too—cutters who’s spotted her in her quarter in the Marketplace Eternal, say she shimmers with gold from head to toe. Chant goes she prefers to appear as a young woman bedecked in wealth, with lions of gold resting at her feet. She’s a vision of what every cutter in Sigil dreams to be—rich beyond measure, free as the wind, and shrewd as a baatezu in a contract negotiation.
Her powers are said to be as dazzling as her persona. Imagine a stream of gold coins pummelling her foes, or a flame strike wrapped in a helix of gold. Waukeen walks on air, levitating with grace, her eyes a solid gold mystery, piercing through all misdirection to get to the heart of the deal.
Well—I say she’s a sight for sore eyes, but frankly, recently she’s not been a sight for any eyes. See, recently on the prime world of Toril there was this whole brouhaha they called the Time of Troubles—chant goes the overpower of the Faerûnian pantheon that goes by the name of Ao kicked all of the powers out of their cosy realms in the Outer Planes and stuck them on Toril. This all worked itself out in the end, but not for poor Waukeen, who had simply vanished, and was missing in fact for ten cycles. You’d better believe that caused all sorts of problems in the Marketplace Eternal, what with the prices crashing as traders were spooked, Waukeen’s temples closing their doors, merchants shutting up shop and leaving the House of Barter for more upbeat quarters in the Marketplace Eternal, and worst of all the churches of the other mercantile powers jockeying to get their grubby paws on Waukeen’s jink and Golden Palace, take over the House of Barter and shut down the underground trading in Goldveil altogether. Some allies they turned out to be, right?
As it turned out later, during all the kerfuffle that most cunning of tanar’ri lords Graz’zt had tricked Waukeen in a tanar’ri bargain and imprisoned her in the Abyss! Tripped off by a prophecy from Toril, a band of hearty bloods stormed Azzagrat and rescued the Golden Lady. Songs are still sung about the size of the reward those bloods must have received!
Now Waukeen’s return was nothing short of a market rally. She came back with a vengeance and a broader skill set, blending the divine with the cunning of a rogue. She kicked out the priests of Zilchus who’d repossessed her temples, redoubled the protections for the Goldveil. Since then however, she’s rarely seen in the House of Barter and seems to be spending a lot more time holed up in her Golden Palace. Her proxies have been notable in their opposition to all kinds of trade with the Abyss, and particularly Azzagrat, in retaliation for the tanar’ri lord’s schemes. These sanctions are slowly spreading beyond the House of Barter, as other powers of the Marketplace Eternal stand with Waukeen in solidarity—at least above the counter.
But cutter, while you might not see the Golden Lady floating down the street any more, if you find yourself wandering the Marketplace Eternal, keep an eye out for signs of her favour. It might come as a coin on your path, a daffodil sprouting where none should grow, or perhaps a pair of golden eyes watching from the shadows. Sometimes, just sometimes, the divine essence of Waukeen herself might bless your endeavours. But remember cutter, it’s not just what you buy, but how you sell it that counts.
Canonical Sources:
- For Duty and Deity [2e] — Waukeen’s proxies are briefly mentioned here, p10 & 58. FD&D is an epic adventure based on the rescue of Waukeen from the Abyss. If you’re planning on running this then obviously your version of the Marketplace Eternal will still be in turmoil.
- Manual of the Planes [5e] p85 (brief description of the power)
Sources:
- Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
- Forgotten Realms wiki — this is a really nice summary of all things Waukeen from the point of view of her prime worshippers
