Lesa

Symbol: Two Roses with intertwined thorny stems.

Colors: Red and White with silver or gold trim.

Alignment: Neutral Good

Worshippers' Alignment: Any

Area of Control: Found Love, Marriage, Relationships, Lost Causes

Clerical Domains: Protection, Healing

Lesa has few clerics, and almost no formal temples. There are shrines to her almost everywhere, commonly incorporated into shrines to Kelvos.

She is said to most often take the form of a human woman wearing a simple peasant dress with few embellishments.

Where her Lover Kelvos is feared, Lesa is more traditionally revered. The custom of making an offering to Kelvos to keep his attention away from the couple has been retained largely unchanged, but the intent and certain details have changed.

The proper offering is brought to an altar or shrine by both lovers at night. The offering consists of:

a flower, representing the feminine influence of Lesa
a bottle of wine, beer, or base liquor, representing the masculine influence of Kelvos
a suit of fine clothing from each lover
a small gem or gems, valued at about 30 to 50 gp

The lovers approach the shrine together, place the items on the altar, then kneel together in prayer. First a prayer to Lesa, that their love abides any travails that life might throw at them. Second a prayer to Kelvos, that he protect the lovers from betrayal, adultery, or abuse.

Before Lesa became a demigoddess, she was a woman of simple beauty living with her widowed father. When Kelvos met the kind Lesa, she was like a spring day after a long winter, and thawed out his cold heart. Lesa encouraged Kelvos to perform many kind and selfless acts to win her affections. Alas, her father did not approve of the relationship or believe Kelvos' efforts were sincere. Due to Kelvos' powerful magics he could not keep the two apart so he sent an assassin to kill him. The assassin came upon the two, walking in the woods holding hands, and took the opportunity to slay Kelvos. Alas, the poisoned crossbow bolt was turned aside by Kelvos' magics, and struck Lesa instead. She died instantly, and there was nothing that Kelvos could do, aside from tracking the assassin, capturing him, and torturing the truth out of him. He then traveled to the house of Lesa's father, told him what had happened then, after cursing him to wander forever as a doomed spirit, slew him with a single word.

Though Lesa's soul left her body, four gods intervened to keep her from Kelvos or join the Cycle. Yeraiah was moved by the circumstances of Lesa's death, and asked Dagath to sequester Lesa's soul and keep it from joining the Cycle. Dagath was (relatively) new to his job and reluctant to make exceptions, so brought the matter to Mikon. Mikon realized he could not judge impartially when it was Yeraiah making the request, so asked for Toran for advice to remain impartial. Toran's determination was to allow the sequestration if Yeraiah accepted responsibility for the safety of the soul. She accepted, and Lesa's soul came to dwell with Yeraiah.

While Kelvos was amassing power on the path to godhood Lesa avoided being seen by Kelvos. He had reverted to his selfish nature in Lesa's absence, and she feared what he would do if he found her. The circumstances of her death of course did not help matters. Lesa would secretly--though with the tacit approval and assistance of Yeraiah--visit the ghost of her father, cursed by Kelvos to roam the world as a restless spirit. She found it easier to discuss the circumstances of their deaths than to face Kelvos who had survived.

As the years rolled on, Lesa came to visit her father's spirit more and more, even being glimpsed once or twice by the faithful of Kelvos. In time, a small cult had grown around her, both within and without the community of Kelvos' followers. It wasn't long before Lesa had begun to grow powerful with the belief of her followers as a god does, but because she was still being hidden, she was not able to answer prayers or fully come into her power. It wasn't until a faction among his followers revealed evidence that Lesa wasn't completely gone that it became impossible to ignore any longer.

A huntress of Kelvos (now of Lesa) acquired the evidence of Lesa's existence and helped convince the gods to step aside. But this alone was not enough, for Lesa was still fearful. It was reasoned that the best way to bring Lesa out into the light was to enable Kelvos and Lesa to speak to one another through mortal vessels. The huntress, together with the High Priestess of Mikon & the Equalizer of Mikon's Will, and the huntress' spouses, two Annihilators of Aarilax, they devised a ritual to channel the divinities into two priests of the respective gods.

The details of this conversation are recorded here by the aide to Sage da Medican.

Both Lesa and Kelvos share certain duties between them, often working together. Notably they will grant prayers for couples in jeopardy, tip the balance in favor of someone who has no hope of success, and steer a person to meet their potential lover.

Lesa personally helps in counseling mortals in their relationship troubles, helping them to communicate openly and honestly with one another. She is also said to have a hand in bringing estranged lovers back together. She is said to value forgiveness, honesty, and reconciliation.

It is common practice that, when a relationship that was orchestrated by Lesan followers fails due to abuse, adultery, or betrayal, it is then referred to the faithful of Kelvos to decide appropriate consequences.

There is one shrine to Lesa just south of Finmaegen Keep that she shares with Kelvos, making it a joint shrine to the Lovers. There are many small shrines about the land, and some have caretakers, some do not. Clerics are often male, but not as a rule.

The duties of the clerics are simple... Gather more followers, match make, as well as help anyone who seems to be in a hopeless situation.

Lesa

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