Atay, the Grand Countess of Sorrow, is often considered, together with her brother Adin, one of the two triplet siblings of Avon, the Grand Count of Emotions. Of the three siblings of emotions, Atay is the only one who strays from their Dorro appearance, instead taking on the form of a Mikaru woman. Atay represents the negative feelings of sadness, loss and mourning, and thus is, compared to her siblings, a much less popular deity. Nonetheless, she also represents the fact that, without the bad in life, good wouldn't exist, as well as healing from negative emotions, and moving on with life, as to not wallow in ones' own sorrow, but instead moving on despite the sadness in ones' heart.
Atay is known to work closely together with Vith and Prethao, helping lost souls that passed on with unfinished business accept their deaths and the sadness surrounding it. In fact, her realm within The Marble Cathedral, the Realm of Sorrow, is specifically made for the purpose of helping the departed deal with the negative emotions that they died with. Atay mainly serves Rencal Kei-Rhai, Merikira te Ruvea and The Golden Scribe.
Basic tenets of Atay:
- Do not fear the dark days, for without them, the bright days would lose all meaning.
- Cry, unburdened and without shame. Sadness is meant to be let out, not bottled up.
- Mourn those that left you, and cry about your loss, but do not be afraid to smile again someday, for life is not always good to you, but also not always bad.