(a.k.a. Yshirea Swindlepact)
"Hold yourself within the Circle. Let it protect you."
"Hold the Circle within yourself. Protect it."
Physical Appearance & Manifestations
Yshirea, despite being an Elder God, or perhaps in outright defiance of Berana’s ways, always manifests in the same manner. He appears as an elf, which is not to say as a Light Elf or a Dark Elf or even a High Elf. He manifests as an Elf of old, before The Breaking forever changed them. His form has been documented in tapestries and religious texts and holy murals and described by the Divo, the supreme holy leader of the Chorus of Harmony. He appears as a tall elf, broad of shoulders and strong of form. His ears are longer than those of the current races of elves and his skin looks like fine, pure marble or alabaster. His hair is long and pale blond, with a soft glow from within and it is held in tight control though a number of intricately woven braids. He also has a precisely groomed beard of the same pale blond luminous hair, it frames his lips within it and is long enough to have been carefully braided into a single braid, held in places by a thin golden band.
What is curious is that there are depictions of him, thought to be from before the Breaking, showing his skin to be unmarred. All depictions of him after The Breaking portray his skin as having what some have described as cracks which have been filled in with gold. These cracks are slightly raised and rounded as if he has been scarred. These cracks are most notably shown on his hands and his neck and face, the rest of his body often covered by his clothing. He always wears a long toga, intricately wrapped around his body, accented with pale blue embroidery depicting a series of interlocking circles around the waist. He is also shown to wear sandals which lace around the ankles and lower shin. These sandals are always depicted as being golden in color which have led some to speculate that the sandals are not sandals at all. Though what they might be is never brought up, at least in polite company.
Personality & Philosophies
Yshirea, in many places upon Ashiel, is seen to be obsessive, narcissistic, inflexible, prone to fury and lacking in empathy. He is also known among those who follow and worship him, to be supportive, nurturing, inspirational, accepting, and merciful. These traits may seem to be at odds with one another, but Yshirea is, as all the Elder Gods are, the embodiment of their domains. Yshirea’s domain is that of Order, the concept of Good and Evil does not enter his mind. He is concerned with the order of the world and all parts of it. This has led to conflict, mostly with Berana, but also with the others as well for Yshirea can become too focused on his goals to the detriment of all else. Yshirea prizes law, structure, patterns, systems, hierarchies, and cycles.
In the events leading to the Breaking of the World, it was never his intent to create the situation which led to such massive destruction. While after the fact he has seen how his actions were wrong, during the moment each action he took was a logical correct step in keeping with his purpose, maintaining Order in the world. Yshirea is not inherently evil, for like Berana and all the Elders Gods, he has the potential to commit acts which can and have been labels as evil by mortals. In some cases, as with the dwarves, the act is so reprehensible that he has been branded, figuratively speaking, with the worst crime that can be committed. At least according to dwarves. Yshirea also has the same potential for good acts and is known for them especially amongst those of the Chorus of Harmony, though not exclusively.
Yshirea believes he is the bulwark against chaos and the unmoored actions of his brother, Berana. He seeks to bolster order within Ashiel and reduce chaos to what, according to him, is the necessary amount. It goes without saying that he and Berana disagree quite a lot as to what that amount is.
Powers & Magical Artifacts
Yshirea’s powers are that of Order itself. All things are made of Order in varying degrees, for all things are structured. All things decay as well and while decay is of chaos, its necessity is steeped in order, for the end point of decay is the end of a circle. That circle’s beginning is the moment of creation. The strength of stone and wood and metal are all thanks to order. The word of law and the binding nature of a contract are also his. Yshirea’s powers lay in the rule of law and the structure and patterns of ritual and order. They are found in the creation of the new and the repair of the broken, the healing of the sick and injured. The light against the darkness and the song against the storm. These places, and others, are where you will find the hand of Yshirea has touched.
Yshirea’s rod is known among the Chorus of Harmony as the Rod of Commandment. It is depicted in the Libretto of Unity as a smooth white rod exactly one foot in length, cylindrical in shape and one inch in diameter. The bottom end of the rod is capped off with a golden point, while the top end has a spherical golden framework attached. Within this framework floats a smooth white sphere of the same material as the rod itself, which seems to be some sort of smooth polished white stone. It is with this rod that Yshirea can Command anything in the world, be it living or dead, or non-living. Order exists in all things and Yshirea can call to that order and make it do his bidding. With the Rod, the weather can be commanded to change, a river can be commanded to flow in a different path, a person or people can be commanded to do or not do something. In the hands of its owner, it is a powerful and potent tool for preserving and fostering Order. In the hands of a mortal, it could be a dangerous weapon or means of bolstering tyranny.
Followers & Organizations
Of those who worship and follow Yshirea, the largest and most well-known organization is the Chorus of Harmony located in the Theocracy of Ordina. The Chorus of Harmony is the religious order who holds Yshirea up as their Lord and the First Among Equals of the Elder Gods. The Chorus is also completely enmeshed with the day-to-day society of Ordina to the point that part of the Chorus is the government of the land of Ordina. The Chorus is roughly divided into three sections, one which deals with all religious matters, one which deals with all military matters and one which deals with everything else. At the top of the Chorus is The Divo, the supreme leader and the one who is considered to speak for Yshirea himself. The Chorus and the people of Ordina worship Yshirea and decry the worship of Berana, striving to follow the teachings within the Libretto of Unity and live an ordered life. The rule of law is strong within Ordinian society and behaving in a chaotic or unpredictable manner will often get the eyes of the Chorus upon you. Within Ordina, each city and town and even the smallest village or hamlet, will have a temple dedicated to Yshirea and for those to go to and praise him.
This is not to say that only the Chorus and those within Ordina worship Yshirea, there are small houses of worship and shrines built in his name found in many places. Those clerics and priests of Yshirea, who are not members of the Chorus, may still seem remarkably similar to them. While not steeped in the teaching of the Chorus, they do still follow the will of the God of Order. The main difference between the two is that those within the Chorus will often lift their voices in song to praise Yshirea, while those who are not have beautifully written prayers which follow a steady rhythmic pace of speaking. Followers of Yshirea will often wear his symbol, a metal circle either made of polished iron or gold. Those who have a symbol of iron will be incredibly careful to ensure that rust does not take hold of it, and those with a symbol of gold take particular care not to allow it to be deformed. Priests of Yshirea will often wear white robes of a style fitting for their homeland, while priests and clerics of the Chorus will often wear tunics and togas of white, much as Yshirea himself is depicted. Most of the people who bear Yshira’s symbol do so upon a chain around their neck, but there are those who show their belief more strongly by bearing his symbol snugly fitted around their neck. Those who do this are considered to be extremists and normal followers are wary of them.
Holidays & Services
The only actual holiday dedicated to Yshirea takes place on the 31st day of Yshras every year and is known as Benefici. It is a day of celebration for all of the good things in a person’s life, the health and well-being of friends and family and the embrace of the Cadence. It is also a day when, if young children have been good and followed the rules and caused no trouble or chaos during the year that they will awaken in the morning to find that Yshirea has left them presents within the holiday circle. Adults know that parents are the ones who provide these presents, but it is taken as a given that they are acting on behalf of Yshirea. Should a child be too willful and embracing of chaos, they will find within the holiday circle only a piece of coal for their gift. There is a well-known sermon among the Chorus that a piece of coal can be made into a diamond, pure and ordered, but only through time and effort can this be done. The gift of coal is at once both a punishment for chaotic behavior and a means of providing guidance, telling the willful child to change their ways. In most cases this is effective.
The Chorus offers regular days of worship upon each Order’s Day where men and women and families will go to be closer to Yshirea. Services are held from sunset on Chaos’ day to sunset on Order’s Day, so that all can find a time to attend at their convenience. Beyond this there are four larger ceremonies which occur during each year. Starting on the 3rd day of Seras and running to the 17th, the ceremony of Confession is held. During this time, the people of Ordina are urged to go to their priests and confess their sins, or the sins of their friends or family or neighbors if those sins are threatening the order of their lives. Individual confessions are private, but there is a public ceremony on the 17th where the number of confessions within each community are revealed to all. The 17th of Zolas is when the ceremony of Renunciation is held. Everyone who has confessed in the previous ceremony, and those who had confessions done for them by others, will be spoken to privately between the two ceremonies by priests of the Chorus. They will be counselled and encouraged to come forth during Renunciation and stand before all to renounce their sins and vow before Yshirea and the people that they will mend their chaotic ways.
The 17th of Estas is when the ceremony of Transformation happens. After renouncing their sins, those who have done so spend time working against their chaotic urges and seeking to master them. They are encouraged to seek help if they are finding it difficult, their friends and family offer support and guidance, as do the priests of the Chorus. This process may take years to complete, but when they have reached that point in their lives and both they and the priests feel it is time, when this ceremony comes around, they will step forward and proclaim to all that they have been transformed and chaos no longer had a place in their lives. If there are no people who are ready to stand then the priests will use this as a time to speak on the merits of and the pitfalls along the way to casting out chaos completely. Lastly, on the 17th of Yshras, is the ceremony of Affirmation. When someone has stood before all and claimed to be transformed, the Chorus will then seek to test them on this claim. This testing may take months, or it could be years before they are satisfied for the ways of chaos are cunning and sly. The testing is both blatant and subtle and only when the Chorus believes that the person has changed and has purged chaos from their lives, they will be taken before the Chorus and before Yshirea in his temple they will be affirmed as a lawful and ordered citizen.
Stories & Myths
Yshirea is known to have been woven by the Weaver from a single pure, perfect thread that she found after she had woven existence. The Chorus claims that Yshirea was woven first, while many other telling of the Tapestry of Creation say that Berana was woven first. Which is true is known only to Yshirea and Berana themselves and most mortals do not bother asking a question that will only, highly likely, make one of them angry. While Berana was responsible for the creation of several new races, it was Yshirea who made certain that these new races would fit within the order of the world. It was by his hand that the world accepted them. Yshirea is, perhaps much to his dismay, one of the parents of B’erysh, the God of War, for his conflict with Berana spawned that god and brought war to Ashiel forevermore. Yshirea also born a son with Seram, the Goddess of Life. Y’shram, The God of Purity and well worshipped by the High Elves, has brought his father much to be pleased about.
Yshirea’s part in the Breaking of the World is well known, for he trapped Berana in a prison and kept the touch of chaos from the world for so long that when Berana was unleashed Ashiel almost did not survive. This act, this disruption of order by his own actions caused the Dwarves to turn their backs on him. Until this point he was well worshipped by the Dwarves, for they believed in the rule of law. During the years of chaos that followed the Breaking and before the Dwarves were forced to abandon their greatest city, they held a grand congress to discuss the matter at great length. Their decision was written on the very foundation stone of that city stating that Yshirea, God of Order, was in breach of contract and would be from that moment forth, known as Yshirea Swindlepact. While this name was first only known among the dwarves, it has spread throughout the world. Though none speak it in the lands of Ordina, naturally.
There is also a story during the Breaking, when Yshirea went to greet stranger from outside of what the Weaver created. These strangers were the hordes of the Infernal Bureaucracy and they sought a place within Ashiel. Yshirea made a bargain with them to allow them to stay so long as they served and upheld the rule of Law and Order, which they were more than happy to do so. It was from this allowance that the race of Tieflings ended up eventually coming to be and while tiefling do have that infernal blood within them, they have found a home within the land of Ordina and many are the stories within Ordina of tieflings who have communed with Yshirea and found solace and guidance from him.
Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Male
Sexuality
Heterosexual
Divine Classification
Elder God
Alignment
Lawful Neutral
Church/Cult
Children
Eyes
pale blue
Hair
Long, tightly braided, pale blond
Height
6'5"
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