Tal'tyela

Divine Traits

Alignment: CN

Portfolio: Reclamation of civilization, ruins, the wilderness

Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Liberation, Plant, Ruins

Subdomains: Catastrophe, Entropy, Freedom, Growth, Thorns

Favored Weapon: Sickle

Holy Symbol: A crumbled tower wrapped in ivy

Tenets

1. Do not violate the sanctity of nature.
2. Remove the edifices that defile the wilderness.
3. Seek to undo and mend the damage to nature.
4. Never build a permanent structure.

Followers

Followers of Tal'tyela come from many walks of life, but all share in her zeal to return the world to the wilderness. Some walk a more peaceful path, trying to convince the sapient races to leave their walled cities to dwell in the wilds where they belong, while others walk the path of ecoterrorism and seek to actively destroy the strongholds of artifice. Her worship is especially popular in Central Aggrestis, where the inhabitants have been fighting off colonization efforts (especially those who have struggled against Edeir, the nation responsible for killing Tal'tyela's tribe).

Some villages that have actively worked to reduce their harm to nature, dwelling in natural structures instead of mined stone or felled lumber, can maintain a positive relationship with the Greenmother's followers. These villagers might expect blessings from Tal'tyela's priests and druids to bolster their hunting and gathering (but never their crops or domesticated animals). But Tal'tyela's wrath is infamous, and it takes very few missteps to go from a divinely-blessed village to a smoking ruin.

Church of Tal'tyela

Because of her edict against permanent constructions, services to the Reclaimer are held in open, untouched ranges of wilderness. The faithful prostrate themselves in uncultivated soil and pray among trees never touched by mortal axes. Some priests travel with large tents, so that they can hold service while sheltered from wind and rain. While this does circumvent her edict against building structures, more devoted faithful scoff at the need to use man-made items to protect them from the elements.

Famously, a small church of Tal'tyela failed to understand her laws, and a chapel to her was carved out of the face of a mountain. Her followers were prosperous there, as they could actually draw in faithful and collect tithes... but the Stormbringer is not impressed by wealth or civilization, and during a great storm the cliffside collapsed and killed the priests and worshippers who had run to the church for protection.

Relations

As a nature deity, the Heritor maintains at least a neutral relationship with the gods of the elemental pantheon, but generally considers Degelys to be a borderline traitor (due to his connection with civilization and law), andZanthe to be unreliable.
She has a positive relationship with Tamsin when the two aren't competing for leadership of the world's druids or arguing about the correct way to protect nature. Surprisingly, she and Nuschin have a long history of cooperation and possibly even romantic liaisons, as his goal of spreading disease and rot goes well with her endless crusade against civilization.

Mortal Life

Tal'tyela was a wild elf in life, and lived as the shaman of her nomadic tribe. Their people had long contended with the colonial Edeirians, which culminated in the Jaguar People delivering an ultimatum: leave our land or be our enemy.

The colonists responded to the threat with a preemptive strike. They killed the tribe and built a city on the blood-stained ground. Tal'tyela and a handful of others survived the massacre, but in the end the rest succumbed to disease and injuries. Alone, Tal'tyela returned to the newly-built Edeirian city and razed it to the ground.

Since then, she has been dedicated to undoing the works of man and letting nature take back what mortals stole from it.

Mental characteristics

Gender Identity

Female

Divine Classification

Intermediate Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Greenmother, Stormbringer, The Reclaimer, The Heritor

Birthplace

Aggrestis

Gender

Female