Editing Aiza, Minor Goddess of Fate

Aiza was once a nature goddess. Though she is often credited with the creation of Calian, she didn’t actually create the land. Instead she encouraged landmasses to rise from the waters and bind themselves together. Then, she went to work covering the ground with a multitude of flora. In its early days, Calian was a massive forest that rivaled the beauty of the flora in the Feywild. Aiza also didn’t create the people of Calian. All manner of races in the Material Plane came to settle the country over time.  Aiza revealed herself in the quiet of the natural world, and the people revered her, though something was off with them. People who lived in Calian felt lacking the longer they stayed: void of passion, reason, and a respect for the natural order of life and death. Aiza decided it was her duty to teach the people these things, so she had four children: Omri (a god of life), Enya (a goddess of passion), Alvi (a goddess of reason), and Dell (a god of death). Following their mother’s lead, the gods of Calian bestowed their virtues on the people of Calian. Over the centuries, the landscape shifted to better reflect the tastes of the different gods. The center of Calian remained lush and forested. The northeast became a beachy coast, the southeast transformed into a humid swamp, the northwest became mountainous, and the southwest turned into a desert. This transformation of the land was a gift from Aiza to her children. It would be the last gift she ever gave them. Although Aiza was thought of as the head of the pantheon, people began to direct the majority of their worship towards her children because they thought their virtues had more immediate use. Aiza’s jealousy stewed for years. Then, a death cult that solely worshipped Dell conducted a ritual to empower him. It is unknown whether or not this ritual actually succeeded, but it disrupted the balance of Calian, and Aiza declared full scale war against Dell. Omri and Enya sided with Aiza while Alvi chose Dell. The final battle between these gods was so great that it shunted Calian into a state of limbo beneath the waves. Aiza’s children fell into stasis and lost access to their powers, but Aiza had a trump card: a forest gnome named Keeper had been Aiza’s prisoner for a century after she attempted to steal from her. Aiza was able to latch onto Keeper and keep her alive as she drifted through the ocean and eventually washed up on Amusa. While Keeper was buffeted and tossed about by the waves, Aiza’s essence as a goddess changed. She relinquished her connection to nature and held the red string of fate taut: fate was now within her power to manipulate.   

After bringing Calian together, Aiza dispersed her essence throughout the land in the form of Glimmerflame: golden flames that glowed brightly, but didn’t actually burn. She also erected the Gleamtree at Calian’s heart: a giant oak that burned brightly with the purest Glimmerflame. Aiza also created sentinels that could keep the heart of Calian safe from intruders: Warforged infused with Glimmerflame.  

Aiza’s worshippers are called Aizans. Those  truly dedicated to her teachings are called Lightnringers and would often go on to become Wildfire or Land Druids and Clerics of Nature or Light. There are three basic tenets followed by Lightbringers. 

 

# Respect the natural world. Take only what you need from nature lest it take more than necessary from you. Nurture plant life and tend to the wild when possible.

# Always offer others a chance to realize their inner light, even if this realization must come at the end of battle. Do not kill those who yield to the light in earnest.

Aiza’s favored languages are Common, Primordial, and Sylvan. She enjoys Common because it is a language that connects people from all races and backgrounds, Primordial because it is old and reminiscent of elementals, and Sylvan because of its Fey beauty. 

== Powers ==

Formerly, Aiza favored nature-based spells and abilities, but at the moment her power is much more subtle. By pulling her red string of fate tighter, tying it, or letting it fall loose, Aiza can influence the outcome of others’ actions. She has kept the aspect of herself focused on light. It was said that Aiza could illuminate any darkness, even the darkness of someone’s heart.