Lissala (lis-SALL-uh)

Lissala 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.
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.