Alil, Lady of Passions
| Favored Race | Human |
|---|---|
| Element(s) | Fire & Spirit |
| Home(s) | The Seas of Passion & Over a Churning Silver Sea |
| Alignment | Chaotic Neutral |
| Symbol | A Chalice |
| Porfolio | passion, indulgence, desire, revelry, wine & spirits, new experiences |
| Worshippers | courtesans, the degenerately wealthy, the amorous, certain sorts of bards, bar patrons and owners, thrill-seekers |
History in Avendar
In the wake of the war of fire, the rising Aelin culture was shepherded by a trinity of goodly gods, born of the best impulses of the Aelin race. Aeolis was the first, a god of Love and Gallantry. Serachel was second, the divine patron of Arts and Culture. The third was Alia, Mistress of Emotions and Celebration. For a time, the Aelin waxed mighty and their influence spread over the land. But yet even in this time of plenty a cancer grew in the heart of the Aelin people. Serachel walked among the Great Cities, experiencing the pleasures of the mortal world. In time, he came to convince his sister-goddess Alia to join him in his travels amongst the people. Alia, like Serachel, soon became enamored of the mortal sphere and the experiences it offered. Urged by her brother-god, Alia immersed herself deeper and deeper into the affairs of mortals, she indulged in their intrigues and addictions. She would come to lose her sanity, and in the end, herself, to these excesses.
In the final days of the War of Night, however, Serachel's treachery was revealed as he made his own desperate bid for power. Cursed for breaking the divine pacts, Serachel was bound beyond the Nightmare Realms. Aeolis wrested the being once known Alia from the prime material plane, but his sister-goddess was now changed by her immersion in base mortality, far from the divine pantheon. Calling herself Alil, now, her original portfolio of chaste love and joy became twisted, degenerating into a religion of desire and revelry. A mercurial madness born of deprivation from her mortal flesh began to gnaw at Alil's mind. No longer a true god of the Aelin, her worship began to devolve into a diverse and anarchic menagerie of the mortal races of Avendar. As Alil's religion fell from grace in Aelin circles it began to find roots with those who sought enjoyment in life for its own sake and those seeking new experiences.
Goals and Methods
Alil seeks new experiences and sensations. Barred from walking the material plane by the ancient pacts of Divine Balance, she has been forced to experience the world of Avendar vicariously through those who worship her. The centuries have jaded the Lady of Passions to the simple joys most Avendarians enjoy, and she seeks followers willing to push their senses to the limit to offer their goddess the shadow of that which she hungers for. It is said that Alil also seeks a manner in which to bypass the Divine Pacts which keep the gods from walking amongst mortalkind. Joys and sorrows felt through her faithful are a pale thing in comparison with wearing mortal flesh once more.
Organizations and Followings
Like many chaotic deities, Alil's followers form few coherent organizations. Patterns have emerged, however, in those who worship her.
Revelers of the Chalice
"Come then, we've got plenty enough wine for everyone! Care to dance?"
The Revelers of the Chalice is the name taken on by those who worship Alil in her aspect as the Goddess of Revelry, Spirits and Indulgence. The Revelers travel Avendar seeking good food, good company and good wine. Viewed somewhat disdainfully by many as drunken drifters or amorous bardlings, the faithful tend to keep a low profile when traveling to avoid the unwanted attention of the Law. The Chalicesworn are known to organize great celebrations around feast days. Often lasting for weeks, these gatherings serve both as worship to their Goddess, and as a forum to tell of their travels to their fellow faithful.
Sensates of Alia
"Come! Let us push ourselves to the breaking!"
These students of the senses are the oldest of the orders to follow Alil, with a history reaching to before the goddess' change. The Sensates believe in personal growth through experiencing the extremes of their mind and body. They are often found undertaking dangerous tasks to test their physical and mental limits. Also amongst the Sensates are those who are knowledgeable about Alil's past as Alia, and seek a way to restore her to her former glory in their travels. This faction within a faction looks down disdainfully on the more degenerate elements of her worship, seeking dignity and respect for the Lady of Passions.
Children of Indulgence
"Just once more? Please?"
Self-interested, indulgent and impulsive, the Children of Indulgence lose themselves to their passions, mirroring the fall of Alia in their worship. Dedicants experience life to excess, drinking, reveling and seducing as they flit from one addiction to the next. They are often discounted as hopeless degenerates. While there are those of the Indulgent cultivate this image for their own gain, just as many, if not more, of them are erratic addicts to the pleasures of the world. It is rumored a faction of the Children undergo ritual debasements that mirror the metamorphosis of Alia to Alil to show their devotion. The ritual acts themselves are the subject of much scholarly (and barroom) conjecture.
Individual Followers
Followers of Alil, as previously mentioned, are a very diverse lot. Anyone who seeks to follow their passions, benign or not, has the potential to fall under the sway of the Lady of the Chalice. Those who find her favor are said to be given power over passions by their goddess, swaying the feelings of other mortals. Others are said to be given the power to withstand the poisons they put into their bodies. Alil's fancy, however, is fickle. Followers quickly learn not to depend on the blessings of a mercurial goddess whose attention can be as fleeting as the wind.
Relationships
Alil is viewed with either pity or scorn by the rest of the Divine Pantheon. Alil does not concern herself with other gods, however, as she focuses on her current obsessions. Her brother-gods, Aeolis and Serachel, constantly vie for her attention and alligiance. Serachel seeks to bring Alil under his thrall, turning her into another pawn in his never ending games while Aeolis attempts to bring Alil back from her madness and restore the goddess once known as Alia to her former glory. The interactions of her church mirror this, as the faithful find themselves the target of shadow wars of influence from various factions.
