Nehalennia

In a time long forgotten, when humans, elves, heroes, valkyries and gods lived alongside each other, a merchant named Talis was traveling the ocean to buy and sell his wares. He was an experienced sailor and had a faithful crew of men. He was close to the coast when a terrible storm approached quickly and blew his ship into the cliffs, shattering the boat and strewing his chests of gold and treasures about the water. He was thrown overboard, as were his men. Talis fell unconscious, and when he woke up on the beach, he found himself surrounded by debree and planks. But there was no sign of his men. He stood up to examine the condition of his own body, he was all cut up from the debree he had laid amongst.

He looked about his surroundings on the coast line in front of him, and noticed a shallow path heading away from the beach into the forest. So, he started making his way inland, fighting the tree branches that were being whisked about by the wind and storm.

The storm was still raging violently when he came to a crossing in the road. He decided to take the path that looked more traveled. Soon, he noticed the vegetation lightening, and as he came into a clearing, gazed upon an altar with a bench beside it. Nearby was a grove of trees and a lush garden. This was a welcome place to rest a moment. He recognized the altar as being one denoted to the goddess Nehalennia, the patroness of travelers. He said the following prayer: "I thank thee for saving me from death on the ocean. I have nothing but myself to offer as a token."

Totally exhausted, he layed down on the bench, pulled his pouch underneath his head as a pillow, and took a deep breath in relief. The sky was opening up, the wind was subsiding, the stars started lighting up in the sky. With his keen eyes and knowledge of astronomy, Talis was able to recognize his whereabouts from the configuration of the stars. He drifted off into a restless sleep, his body aching and his stomach grumbling quite loud.
He was awoken by a soft voice, "Please join us for some food and drink, and a soft bed". He could not deny that invitation, and as he opened his eyes, he gazed into the deep blue eyes of a wonderful creature leaning over him. As he looked closer, he noticed that she was carrying a basket with fresh fruits and vegetables under one arm, and herbs and flowers in the other hand. As Talis sat up, rubbing his eyes in disbelief, he was welcomed by a large black dog licking his hand without barking or snarling. "Come, my friend, you are safe here", the lady said in a soft tone, He watched the female creature and her canine companion walking toward the small grove of tress, her golden hair waving in the wind, her white gown revealing the beauty of her well-shaped body.

He followed the two to a small building, and was greeted by the songs and laughter of several other travelers. The lady addressed him once again. "My name is Elen, this is my house. Please come eat, drink and tell us of your journeys. But first, we have prepared a bath for you" , and with the brush of her hand, she lead him into a room in the back. She poured water from the cauldron on the fireplace into a pitcher, poured it into a tub with water steaming in it, then sprinkled sage over the water. "This will help cleanse your wounds.", she said with such a gentle smile, and walked out of the room to give him privacy. He quickly disrobed, climbed into the tub. The warmth of the water felt good, the cuts on his body and feet were stinging a bit from the herbs, but after a few moments, he could feel his whole body rejoicing and rejuvenating. A servant brought him fresh clothes to wear, he was very grateful for that.

Talis joined Lady Elen and the others at the table, her dog always beside her feet. He enjoyed the food, the songs and stories, but the long travel had taken a toll on him for the day. He retreated to a room that had been prepared for him for the night, yet still could not rest. Bad dreams kept haunting him, he was moaning in his sleep.

Some time between sunset and sunrise, he was awoken by the smell of lemongrass and mint. As he opened his eyes, Lady Elen was standing in front of the fireplace with sprigs of herbs in her hand. She was crumbling them into the fire. The aroma filled the room in no time, it was very soothing to Talis. The room was filled with candles, the light was dancing on the walls.
Elen took a small flask from the mantle, and with her calm voice asked him to lay on his stomach, so she could tend to his wounds.

He did as asked, she poured some oil into her hands, rubbed them together and applied some onto his back. Humming a lovely mellow tune, she covered his back, arms and legs with the oil, working it into the sore and aching muscles. He could feel her warm hands flowing over his skin. Once in a while, her golden hair and the softness of her body would brush against his body and skin. He felt very comfortable in her presence, at peace and safe.
Her loving, caressing touch kept sending shivers throughout his body, he enjoyed her gift of pleasures much as her touch of healing. He could not help but surrender his body and soul to the magic of her presence. This loving being was here just for him, giving to him what was hers to give, and accepting, in return, his moans of ecstasy and satisfaction. He soon drifted into a restful sleep, not aware that his companion left the room.

He awoke the next morning, refreshed and rejuvenated. The cuts and scrapes from the day before had vanished. Looking about in the room, he noticed that the fire had gone cold, the candles burnt down. Sounds of voices were coming from the other room, and upon entering, he recognized some of his crewmen who had survived the storm as well. They had with them one of the treasure chests that had washed ashore from the boat.
The table was once again set with nourishment of bread and fruits, but Lady Elen was not to be found. One of the peasants took him by the side and told him: "You are a very fortunate man. Our Patroness travels through the land quite a bit. You had the privilege to be healed by her. " Upon hearing this, he asked where to find a stone mason so he could have an altar erected in her honor near the beach where he washed on shore, so he could find his way back to this place on his future travels. He gave the servant a pouch with gems. "It will be done, kind Sir" said the servant and bowed.

Leaving the sanctuary refreshed and nourished, Talis stopped at the altar one more time, to thank the goddess for saving his life, He had been in the presence of the goddess Nehalennia herself! With a whistle on his lips, Talis joined his crew members, they continued the journey, knowing the patroness was watching over all of them.

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This story is about the Goddess Nehalennia. Here is what I found about her:
Nehalennia .Gallo-Belgic. Primarily associated with protection of travelers over the sea. Her known temple locations are always on the coast, and surviving inscriptions often praise her for successfully completed voyages, or implore her for similar journeys to come. She is invariably associated with a large dog as a companion. She has occasionally been conflated with the Roman Goddess Fortuna. Note also the Anglo-Saxon Elen.
Aside from her notable interest in sailors and travelers, She also seems to have been a Goddess of wealth and plenty - the cornucopia is a primary symbol of hers. I can also infer that She had some healing functions, in that any divine image accompanied by a dog would have had some medicinal attributes (dogs were universally regarded as symbols of healing and medicine in early times).
Fortuna: (Roman) Goddess of luck and chance, often combined with the Hellenic Tyche. Note also the Celtic Nehalennia and the Anglo-Saxon Elen.
Elen: (Anglo-Saxon )A sea-Goddess, particularly focussed as a protectress and patroness of seafarers and sailors. She is clearly a source for or derivation of Nehalennia, a Gaulish Goddess with very similar attributes.