Lissala

Lissala

(Deity)

Titles

Modern worship
The Sihedron Scion
Ancient Azlant
The Order of Virtue

Adjective

Lissalan

Realm

No known presence in Great Beyond (formerly Axis)

Alignment

Modern worship
Lawful evil
Ancient Azlant
Lawful neutral

Areas of Concern

Runes, fate, duty, obedience, reward of service

Worshipers

Azlanti, Thassilonians, rune giants

Edicts

Work hard and demand others do so as well, cooperate or avoid conflict with ophidian creatures

Anathema

Disobey a superior, shirk your duties, destroy a book

Follower Alignments (1E)

Modern worship

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Ancient Azlant

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Modern worship
Evil, Knowledge, Law, Nobility, Rune
Ancient Azlant
Knowledge, Law, Nobility, Rune

Subdomains (1E)

Modern worship
Devil, Language, Leadership, Legislation, Memory, Thought, Wards
Ancient Azlant
Language, Leadership, Memory, Thought, Wards

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Fate, glyph, magic, toil

Favored Weapon

Whip

Symbol

Sihedron

Sacred Animal

Snake

Sacred Colors

Gold, green

Images of Lissala

Source: Into the Nightmare Rift, pg(s). 70ff (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 130–131 (2E)

More information about this subject might be available on StarfinderWiki.

Lissala (pronounced lis-SALL-uh) is the goddess of runes, fate, and the reward of service, and was once a major religious force in the empire of Thassilon. She was depicted either as a stern woman with no mouth, or as a creature with a snake's lower half, a human woman's upper half, six wings, and a Sihedron for a head.

History

Lissala's faith originated on Azlant, where she started off as a demigoddess whom few people understood.

When Thassilon was founded, its First King Xin, a follower of Lissala, brought her faith to Avistan from Azlant, where it saw a renaissance. She taught the philosophy of the seven virtues of rule, guidelines that promised rewards for both rulers and their subjects if her teachings were strictly followed. These were eventually perverted into the seven mortal sins by the runelords; Lissala eventually embraced the evil sin magic and became a true deity. She also outlined the workings of fate to her followers. Lissala also seems to have been, if not the source, then one of the major teachers of the art of rune magic, through which the rulers of Thassilon erected their mighty works and controlled the populace.

Near the end of Azlant and Thassilon, the Lissalan cults who stayed in Azlant dwindled in number and were regarded as heretics by the Thassilonian cults, who often sent missionaries to purge them. Krune, the final runelord of sloth, was also her final chief priest. During the reign of the runelords, her religion become more slavish and violent, emphasizing flagellation and mortification of the flesh.

Externally hosted image

Lissala in her warlike aspect.

After Earthfall, which destroyed both Azlant and Thassilon, Lissala's cult was almost wiped out on Golarion. In 4713 AR, the Lissalans resurfaced to free their leader Krune, but he only lived long enough to be defeated and killed by agents of the Pathfinder Society.

Relationships

Lissala was a rival of Amaznen, the other Azlanti god of magic. Their disagreement stemmed from the fact that Amaznen taught that some knowledge should be kept secret, while Lissala believed that knowledge should always be shared.

Some Lissalan cults were enticed by the dogma of Sicva and sometimes worked alongside her followers, as both goddesses recognised the importance of duty and structure.

Servants

Chief among Lissala's servants is her herald, Kurshu the Undying, whom she created from the parts of many different creatures.

Religious symbols

Lissala is known to have two types of religious symbols: her main symbol is a variant Sihedron rune (see right); her second type was a whip twisted into the keyed rune of the particular rune magic practitioner using it.

Church of Lissala

Those few followers remaining believe that knowledge can be gained by following a path of self-harm in an attempt to burn knowledge into their minds. Rune giants refuse to believe Lissala is dead and continue to worship her.

Rumors have been growing that clerics of Lissala have been reappearing, and that some of the runes of Thassilon retain some connection to her.

Temples and shrines

Only the ruins of the Great Temple of Lissala and the smaller temples in fabled Xin-Shalast in Varisia and the Hold of Belkzen remain to indicate the awesome power she once wielded over the hearts and minds of the ancient Thassilonians.

Holidays

One of Lissala's high holidays is known as the Feast of Sigils.

References

Paizo published a major article about Lissala in Into the Nightmare Rift 70ff.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.