Elysia, the Sleeping Savior

The Promised Savior

At the heart of the city of Sanctum lies a massive complex of temples, gardens, and elaborate tombs. In the very center of this district sits a magnificent cathedral, dwarfing all other houses of worship. Within it is a simple sarcophagus, hewn from bright marble. Interned within long ago lies the sleeping body of a young woman named Elysia.

History

The true origins of Elysia are unknown. Lost in the chaotic remaking of the world, obscured by time and the shifting sands of fractured memory, her story begins not with grand pronouncements or thunderous displays of power, but with a whisper to the devout.
She was a princess, or a queen, or perhaps a goddess. A great army stood at her back, led by heroic demigods beyond anything Yrdde had ever seen. A great enemy, a darkness now obscured by time, had swept across the land, claiming all life before it. Despite the might of her great army and the heroism of her champions, they could do little more than slow its advance. As they fell and were consumed, she reached deep within herself and made a single, solemn plea. The whispers do not state what happens next.
Centuries drifted by. Empires rose, societies flourished, and Elysia slumbered. Then, fate, chance, or perhaps a subconscious nudge from her hazy, dream-infused mind, brought a group of desperate refugees to her forgotten tomb. They huddled within the cool stone chambers, seeking refuge from a ferocious storm. And as they slept, their minds were flooded with visions – fragmented, distorted echoes of her final moments, the cataclysm, sacrifices made long before Yrdde ever existed.
These refugees awoke transformed. Wounds were healed, spirits invigorated, their hearts aflame with a fervent devotion to the entity they believed had rescued them - Elysia, a name plucked from their dreams' swirling chaos, a label to cling to with newfound hope.
With unimaginable effort, they brought Elysia's sarcophagus - still sealed, its contents unknown - to the heart of Sanctum, the most devout city of the old Empire. It became a focal point of worship, a monument to their belief in a savior who had endured and who promised to return when the world faced its darkest hour.

Beliefs

Worship of Elysia centers around the Cataclysm and the Nightmare. These beliefs are unique to this religion, there is no great war or rebirth mentioned in the history of the Eternal Emperor, and to most the idea of a different world existing before Yrdde is considered laughable.
Adherents see the cataclysm not as a destruction, but a transformation, a purging of a flawed past and the creation of a new, sky-bound world through her sacrifice. They believe that evil is a permanent part of existence, and that all sentient life should, in one way or another, fight to keep it as weak as possible, delaying the second cataclysm for as long as possible.
Elysia will one day awaken, it is believed, if the darkness can be held back long enough. With her new army of faithfuls at her side, she will drive evil from the world for good, and remake Yrdde into a paradise.

"Elysia, the Sleeping Savior... darling, talk about a goddess with a serious case of narcolepsy! A millennium-long nap while the world burns? Honestly, you'd think even a deity could sense the irony. And those Sanctumites? Bless their hearts, they’re like lovesick puppies waiting for their master to return from a grocery run that's lasted a few centuries too long.
They build magnificent cathedrals, whisper their deepest desires to a stone coffin, and practically bathe in incense, all in hopes of getting a little nudge from the snoozing salvation. They say she’s gathering strength, preparing to face some grand, apocalyptic threat. Darling, if I were her, I'd be gathering with a bit more haste.
Of course, there are always whispers that she's already helping – rumors of miracles at her tomb, of warriors brought back from the dead. Frankly, it's a good enough story – faith, fear, a slumbering goddess waiting to save the world… I’ve spun a few yarns like that myself (with fewer miracles and slightly less divine intervention). But until she actually wakes up, it’s all just a giant guessing game.
Until then, I’ll keep my wits sharp, my blade sharper, and maybe invest in a few shield amulets. Even goddesses can't sleep forever, eventually there's going to be a wake-up call." - E Dawnstrider

Realm

Sanctum

Age

Unknown

Circumstances of Birth

Paracausal Reality Alteration

Place of Death

The Place Beyond the Sky

Aligned Organization

The Sanctum Alliance