Taliash

Taliash (pronounced TAH-lee-osh) is a pantheonic goddess commonly associated with travel, whimsy, storytelling, fresh water, and storms.

Aserdian pantheon

Tucana (pronounced too-CAH-nah) is a goddess of travel, whimsy, storytelling, and fresh water. She is also the patron of nomadic groups and peoples - it is believed that she taught them that travel brings wisdom and a breadth of experiences, and that there is always more to see in the world.

Her clergy are habitually itinerant, traveling widely to meet other followers of the goddess and grow her flock. They are endlessly keen in conversing with all, but rarely seek to proselytize, far more interested in sharing what they have heard and picking up the latest tales than in spreading their faith. To those living in particularly remote areas, the clergy of Tucana are often critical in keeping up with the events in the broader world. Tucana's priesthood widely share and recount traditional religious stories as well as those of their own creation, not only as methods of religious instruction but also simply for entertainment.

Tucana is commonly depicted as a woman sitting amongst a flock of waterbirds, who crowd around her as if intently listening to a story. In some representations she is one of these birds herself, most commonly a spoonbill, larger and more elaborately colored than the rest.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Explore, listen to and share the stories of others, experience new cultures, spread joy, share any news you learn
Anathema: Tell a boring story, belittle other cultures or beliefs, foul rivers

Chaskan pantheon

Taliash (pronounced TAH-lee-osh) is the goddess of travel, whimsy, storytelling, fresh water, and storms. She is also commonly associated with alcohol, merriment, and taverns. Her followers believe that consuming drinks with others leads to the best stories, both as old ones are misremembered or exaggerated and as new ones are created.

Taliash has a large following across Kishar. The sights to be seen and experiences to be had out in the world are a strong draw to many. Adventurers and travelers are her quintessential followers, but they are by no means the only ones drawn to Taliash. Her faith tends to have a far larger emphasis on worship through deeds than through prayer. Storytellers and keepers of oral narratives also typically follow Taliash.

The goddess watches over all the wanderers of the world, especially those that listen to the narratives of those they meet and share them far and wide. To her faithful, leaving one's home and exploring the world is the greatest calling in life. To revel in new experiences and tales is a form of prayer to Taliash, and her most devout travel endlessly towards this purpose, never passing up an opportunity to hear legends of local heroes and monsters as they go.

Taliash is also a god of rivers and springs, often so critical to safe travels through otherwise dangerous or remote parts of the world. She is widely seen as a guardian of those that make regular journeys using freshwater routes, and many toss offerings to her in the water to ask for safety on their travels. Taliash is also commonly connected to storms, an association originally drawn by her tengu followers but now widespread.

Her clerics can be found across the world, often in regions very far from their place of birth. They are endlessly keen in conversing with all, but rarely seek to proselytize, far more interested in sharing what they have heard and picking up the latest tales than in spreading their faith. To those living in particularly remote areas, the itinerant clergy of Taliash are often critical in keeping up with the events in the broader world.

There are many stories about the origin of Taliash. In some she was the great primordial river that filled the world's oceans, washing away the evil waters of the Flood, and in others she was the first storm that pushed people to shelter, giving them cause to tell each other tales for comfort and amusement. One very popular narrative is that she was born from laughter itself. It should be no surprise that the faithful of a god of storytelling have many legends about their deity.

In large part due to the transitory habits of many of her clerics, there are few formal churches of Taliash. Her religion is highly fluid, a set of practices that constantly shifts as her followers from different parts of the world meet with each other and share their means of worship.

Taliash's holy text is The Rivers and the Winds, a long and meandering story that her clerics memorize and recite as part of prayers or simply for entertainment. The Rivers and the Winds is a tale about the fantastical places and people encountered as the main character travels the world, with brief jaunts to other planes, usually told with the goddess herself as the principle figure.

Taliash is commonly depicted as a humanoid woman amongst a flock of waterbirds, crowded around her as if intently listening to a story.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Explore, listen to and share the stories of others, experience new cultures, spread joy, invite Taliash to listen to your stories
Anathema: Tell a boring story, belittle other cultures or beliefs, foul rivers

Hellean pantheon

Triteia (pronounced try-TAY-ah) is a goddess of the sea, trade, travel, rivers, and hospitality. She is the patron of those that journey throughout the world, whether that be to see the sights, engage in commerce with communities near and far, or for any other reason.

Triteia often walks amongst mortals disguised as a traveler in distress. Those that prove their faith through providing her with aid are favored by Triteia, while those that ignore or mistreat her inevitably face woes of their own. The goddess is usually even-tempered, but nothing sparks her ire faster than those who act selfishly or withhold hospitality from strangers. High waves and rough seas are said to be a reflection of Triteia's outrage, and many sailors are especially zealous about showing accommodation and generosity towards others lest the goddess' displeasure cause them direct harm. Many merchants can be found amongst her faithful as well, as can healers and adventurers.

Temples to Triteria are found across Hellea but are especially common in communities along rivers and coasts. Travelers often make her temples their first stops when arriving in an unfamiliar place, as they know the priests there will always provide them lodging and helpful information about local events.

Triteia is usually depicted as a younger woman with salt-sprayed hair. Sometimes she visits the world astride her seashell chariot pulled by hippocampi.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Accommodate all guests and visitors, explore, experience new cultures
Anathema: Be rude or inhospitable, foul waters, belittle other cultures or beliefs

Khapeshan pantheon

Qadesh (pronounced kah-DESH) is a goddess of travel, storytelling, rivers, and oases. She placed fresh water in the world to pull people together out of the hostile desert, providing the impetus for the earliest societies to grow. The goddess remains highly important as the patron of adventurers and others who travel widely, sharing tales of the sights they see and people they meet as they do so.

The act of telling a story is seen as pious to adherents of Qadesh's faith. They have a particular penchant for fictional tales, especially long and intricate epics, but shorter stories and accounts of real events take on religious importance as well.

The grand temple of Qadesh is located in Faiyan, a city in upper Khapesh. Temples to the goddess often have elaborate fountains and waterworks that serve as objects for contemplation and prayer. Though Qadesh's temples and shrines can be found across the kingdom, most of her priesthood are itinerant, wandering paths both widely traveled and seldom taken. In doing so they teach the tenets of their goddess to those they meet along the way, aid fellow travelers, and share news of the places they have been. Unlike with the devotees of Qadesh's interpretations in some other pantheons, however, these clerics retain close ties to their home temples and regularly return to receive guidance and instruction from the leadership of the priesthood. Some clerics and champions of Qadesh act as water-bearers in the harsh landscapes of the Red Lands, ever vigilant for travelers that have succumbed to thirst and dehydration.

Qadesh is depicted as a humanoid figure with ostrich feathers in her hair. In some imagery she holds a walking staff or a pot of water that is poured out to form a river.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Provide water to those in need, explore, listen to and share stories
Anathema: Sully rivers and oases, selfishly hoard water

Talgazan pantheon

Austron (pronounced OW-stron) is a goddess of travel, art, music, fire, and ghosts. It is believed that she was the spark that created the first bonfire, bringing people together to share in the festivities that pass the cold nights. Through selectively weakening the barriers between the mortal and divine worlds, she also plays an important role in bringing ghosts back to the physical realm.

In some regions that follow the Talgazan pantheon, and in particular in the Whispering Hills, campfires commonly attract lost ghosts. These ghosts are believed by many to be servants of Austron that have come to hear news of faraway places and pass them along to their goddess. It is said that the goddess actually has a keen interest in the lives of mortals, but has been stopped by the other gods from visiting the world directly, as the last time she did so her actions threatened to allow Ubilai to regain his form.

Austron is often depicted as half-spectral, her body losing opacity towards the extremities.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Explore, light communal bonfires, create artistic works
Anathema: Disrespect or attack ghosts unprovoked, extinguish a fire around which ghosts have congregated, remain in one place for too long

Elven pantheon

Nethans (pronounced NETH-anz) is a goddess of travel, stories, the air, and flight. As a goddess of flight she is seen as closely connected to the aeroliths and those living on them. Among followers of the Elven pantheon, her worship was once much more widespread, but today she takes a relatively minor role. Many Redemptionist elves still pray to Nethans, however, as they wish to one day return en mass to her aerial embrace.

It is traditional to give a small offering to local birds, seen as Nethans' emissaries, before one sets out on a long or possibly dangerous journey. Doing so ensures they will watch as one travels, passing knowledge of any potential threats or hazards to Nethans so that she can divert them from the path.

In the Elven pantheon Nethans is considered to have a more regal appearance than in her depictions in other pantheons. She often takes the form of an elven woman with wings made of clouds, sometimes with an entourage of wisp-like birds.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Explore, listen to and share the stories of others, fly
Anathema: Kill or injure a bird, hinder a creature or object's ability to fly, foul the air

Tengu pantheon

The Great Storyteller has countless names, collected by the deity from amongst all of those used by her disparate followers. As such, the goddess is rarely referred to by name, and her epithet is almost always used instead. She is a goddess of many things, though primarily a deity of travel, stories, and whimsy.

In addition to her other roles, the Great Storyteller encourages her followers to collect trinkets and other baubles, as they help in remembering the many places one has been. Her aspect as a storm deity is far more emphasized in the Tengu pantheons than with other variations of the goddess. Her religion is fluid, something that is made obvious by her followers' ever-changing rites, rituals, and prayers, varying greatly over distance and time.

Her clerics can be found across the world, often in regions very far from their place of birth. They are endlessly keen in conversing with all, but rarely seek to proselytize, far more interested in sharing what they have heard and picking up the latest tales than in spreading their faith.

The Great Storyteller is given a distinctly anthropomorphized form. Tengu usually see her as much like themselves, frequently depicting the goddess in the appearance and garb of a mundane traveler, laden with the evidence of places she has been.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts: Explore, listen to and share the stories of others, collect trinkets and keepsakes
Anathema: Foul fresh water, rid yourself or others of sentimental objects, prevent others from traveling