(EVELYON - “HIGHEST OF WOMEN”)
“HOW LONG WOULD THE GODS ENDURE A PEOPLE
WHO HAD MADE HARLOTS OF THEIR HEARTS,
WHO HAD ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO BE NUMBED
BY VENAL EASE AND SLOTH OF SPIRIT?”
Hymnal-Saint Eveline: Saint of Borders, Iron, and Womanhood.
Aliases: Aspect of Ista, the Highest of Women, the Iron Maiden, the Mother Superior Evelis.
Symbols: Iron maidens, austere masks, cages, the eclipse, a woman’s body.
Worship: Allow no assaults against your sworn charge; approach guardianship with a full heart, offer deathless love for your wards; destroy evils which you cannot control.
Dwelling: The borders of Hazanite lands, Lagain, and the thresholds of sanctuaries.
Equivalents: Ista (Marathan/Mazzaroth), the Lilis (Hazanite land).
The enduring myth of Ista and her divine femininity purchased a permanent place in the Gailian mythology from its first mingling with the Marathan pantheon. Her image was fused with the Hazanite myth of the Lilis: creatures of the night who cohabitated with men, claiming dominion over them. While the Lilis were Exarchic in nature—and many believed they were children of the Exarch Odium—Ista’s capricious but nurturing myth contorted the creatures into jealous spirits of preservation and protection. Hymnal-Saint Eveline, also called Evelis, is believed to have emerged from this fusion: she is seen by the Lagainians, and especially the Hazanites (where she is lauded in their abbesses and cults), as a manifestation of a mother’s instincts and all which that entails.
In Hazanite lands, Hymnal-Saint Eveline is venerated as a guardian of their borders and their people, believed to repel the unworthy from entering the lands of Lagain. To them she is the daughter of Amet and Immota, meaning protection from those outside. The Order of the Midnight Sun has assembled in Hazanite lands as a militant warband of cantors devoted to the defense of Lagain’s borders, particularly against Imperial incursions and banditry. Notably, the Order contains an uncommonly high number of swordswomen, who are trained from their youth to become soldiers in service to the Orthian Concord. She is depicted as an open iron-maiden from which a beautiful woman emerges, uninjured from the spikes within; Eveline, in this sense, may be either the prison or the woman. She is also typically represented by a cantor of the Orthian Concord wearing an austere iron mask. In the Marathan heartlands, where she is still seen as an aspect of Ista, the mutable form of the woman within the cage is changed to reflect the styles of the times.
Acts of Favor
- Unworked scraps of metal (1 Favor)
- Hinges, nails, or a lock (2 Favor)
- A simple metal ingot of Bulk (1) or higher (5 Favor)
- Equipment forged of metal with Bulk (2) or higher (10 Favor)
Invocations
Defy Trespass Complexity: 1 Favor: 1 Range: Paces (1) Duration: Persist (1) AP: 1 Effect: You create a barrier of force that is 3 Paces wide and tall with a Hardness (0). Creatures attempting to pass through it must succeed a Willpower vs. Strength contest; on a failure, they must spend 1 additional AP to press through the barrier or end their movement early.
Repel Strike Complexity: 2 Favor: 2 Range: Touch Duration: Instant AP: 2 Effect: You perform a Counter against an attack directed towards you or an adjacent target. It uses your Willpower in place of Strength or Dexterity, and a 1d6 for damage.
Condemn Complexity: 3 Favor: 5 Range: Touch Duration: Persist (3) AP: 3 Effect: You encase the target in a prison of wrought iron with Hardness (3) and a range of Surround (1). They must also succeed a Willpower vs. Strength contest at the end of their turn; on a failure, they gain Bleeding (1).
Tip of Night Complexity: 4 Favor: 10 Range: Touch Duration: Persist (5) AP: 2 Effect: You prick the target with an iron spike, corroding them inside. During your turn, you may issue one command to the target by speaking it aloud: if they refuse to comply during their turn, you may instantly deal 1d8 damage that bypasses DR.
Interminable Shackles Complexity: 5 Favor: 20 Range: Touch Duration: 1 week AP: 5 Effect: The target must succeed a Willpower vs. Strength contest; on a failure, they are imprisoned under a mountain of jagged iron with Hardness (4) and a range of Surround (1).