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Deity: Yithini, Goddess of the Sublime Ascent

She cares nothing for words or oaths. The sound of one foot after another as you press on against adversity. That is your prayer to the one above.

Setup: Most folk have little trek with Yithini, as her domain over the sky and other lofty places is both physically and philosophically distant from their unassuming lives. Sure, one might offer a little prayer for better weather, but there are other, more accessible gods of rain and wind to make tribute to first.

This is just how Yithini wants it, as her patronage extends not only to those places that rise above others, but to people who seek to rise above their current circumstance to reach heights that others could not. Athletes, scouts, daredevils, and those who live in harsh climates all receive her favor, which often takes the form of a surge of supernatural vigor or inspiration just when it’s needed most.

These boons deliver a worshiper into Yithini’s second aspect: that as the steward of sublime enlightenment. Just as an arduous climb can lead one to observe beautiful horizons, or years of inquest might lead to a moment of transcendent discovery, Yithini’s philosophy of perseverance known as “the Ascent” promises a just reward at the end of rigorous trials.

Just like the sky she holds dominion over, Yithini is depicted in a multitude of forms, usually that of a mighty creature of the air such as a dragon, roc, or kirin. Othertimes she appears as a woman of indistinct features made of the stuff of the sky itself.

Adventure Hooks:

There are three great sacraments one can make to the lady of endless blue: complete a great physical undertaking that goes beyond the limits of what you thought possible, meditating in a tower open to the sky, and defeating a great beast of the air in fair combat. Imagine the party’s surprise when after climbing a mountain, discovering a fallen fortress, and defeating the beast nesting within that they suddenly earn the goddess’s attention. No sooner have they made camp for the evening and begun nursing their wounds does a windstorm pick up, buffeting the party before picking up the one of their number most aligned to Yithini’s ideology/most in need of her help and flinging them out into the empty sky. Buffeted by winds, the purloined partymember will hear a voice whispering a challenge to them, a greater feat of bravery and daring beyond which ascension awaits. Her message imparted, The goddess will deposit the hero serval dozen feet above a nearby mountain lake, the fall damage stopping just short of killing them but possibly giving them a wicked ache to remember her by.

A theological overlap exists between Yithini and Kord, lord of storms, being that both deities have domains associated with the sky and with achievement. Given that the priesthoods of both gods tend to favor action over ideological prattle, the general consensus is the two are sometimes rivals and sometimes lovers who none the less respect the challenge the other provides. Such a challenge plays out before the party when a fighting tournament they’ve been invited to hosts both an Aarakocra windcaller and a brawler who happens to be an unwitting saint of the storm. As the two get closer to a confrontation, the weather around town worsens, threatening to break out into an actual hurricane should the two clash. Both deities are pouring more power into their champion in a petty game of oneupsmanship that might do untold devistation should the two champions actually clash.

It’s common practice for exceptionally tall buildings to have a small statue of a dragon or other flying creature in an exterior alcove positioned near their pinnacle for luck, as this minor concession to the Zenith for the mortal intrusion upon her sky. When a cat burglar looking to infiltrate's a wizard’s tower accidently sends such a statue toppling to the streets below during his ascent, it ends up letting lose a chain reaction that not even the goddess could have foreseen. For one, the cat burglar managed to survive the air elemental summoned to punish his transgressions, which is now rampaging around the city’s lower district looking for the elusive desecrator. Two, the elemental’s sudden appearance in the wizard’s recently tossed study ended up scattering a large number of arcane research notes into the streets below, most of which is harmless scribbling but some rare scraps have actual arcane formulae on them just waiting to be set off. Third, all this chaos is going to draw the party right to one of the wizard’s rivals, who hired the thief to steal important relics and make it look like an overly ambitious smash and grab.

Wilderness: Odyssey to the Thundering Isles

The hammer blows let out echoes of thunder across the stormy sea throwing off lighting-sparks with each impact, as nebulas and unknown stars swirl in the darkened clouds: The gods are at work at their forge tonight, and the firmament trembles with the violence of their creation.

Setup: Every Sailor who plies the sea of dreams knows to best avoid the Thundering Isles, as even in the calmest of weather those bleak and blasted cliffs are an ill place to try to land a ship, and the waters surrounding them are churned by frequent, raging storms.

Still, these isles are a holy place, utilized by the gods of storm and creation as forge, anvil, vault, and testing ground for the artifacts they’ve wrought. Ancient temples are carved into the stone so as to better survive the violence of the island’s storms and other more deific calamities. These structures are usually deserted, but sometimes host castaways, hermits, or knowledge seekers come at great pains to study the workings of the divine. The isles are also populated by a stern clan of giants, who serve as attendants and wardens for the god’s creations, and who give very little trust to trespassers no matter how they might come to the island.

Great secrets lay within the heart of the thundering isles, but to uncover them one must brave the very worst of wind and wave, and risk angering the gods who are ever protective of their creations.

Adventure Hooks:

While most storms push outwards from the isles, the party’s vessel is caught within one that smashes their hull on the many reefs surrounding the divine archipelago and forces them to flee to shore. Searching for a place to weather out the seemingly infinite rain, the party encounters a cathedral that may serve as a suitable basecamp, if only it weren’t occupied by a nest of monsters crawled up from the tide.

She-who-beholds-the-thrashing-of-serpents is a giant with a problem: as the youngest daughter of a family of immortals, she wants nothing more than to escape the incessant demands and expectations of her clan, and find somewhere to snooze that doesn’t resound with the pounding of reality shaking hammers. To this end, “Thrash” has taken a quick jaunt over to the mainland, to find a nice valley to nap in, a valley that just so happened to be experiencing drought, which was blissfully relived by the cloud break caused by her arrival. In her quest to shirk her chores, the rebellious teen giant may have inadvertently stared a cult, one that grows increasingly bold as they steer their “Rainbearer” figurehead towards more aggressive miracles.

Beautiful replications of living creatures, anvilwrought constructs are a common sight on the thundering isles, produced by the gods themselves or by the giants imitating their forms. Occasionally one of these creatures is caught up by the storms and carried to the mainland, where it might crash land in the countryside, or rampage about, energized by the lighting. Mortal artificers will pay high prices for the chance to examine the handiworks of the gods but they may have to compete with wind spirits ( or even late-arriving giants) sent out to retrieve these damaged works of art.

Encounter: Trial of the Tides

Exploring along the seacliffs, the party discovers a tiny, lopsided tower on a promontory overlooking the water. After Investigating they are introduced to a mad old hermit who’s dedicated his life to the goddess of the moon, winds and sea, maintaining the tower as an impromptu observatory, lighthouse, and temple to his patron.

After some pleasantries and an offer of smoked fish and a little brinegrass tea, the hermit invites the players to take part in a ritual to evoke the goddess’s blessing.

The ritual is simple enough: At the appointed time, they must run down the steps from the tower and enter a nearby tidal cave, a network of tunnels worn through the seacliff by centuries of crashing waves. At this point the tidewaters will be at their lowest, and like the clever creatures that make their living by the ebb and flow of the sea, they must snatch up what they can within the cave before the waves return and reclaim all of their bounty. They will have six hours to explore and extract the wonders of the cave, returning up the stairs and present their offering to the hermit when they are done, who in turn will bathe the object(s) in moonlight to determine if their trail was indeed worthy of a divine blessing.

Challenges & Complications:

Attempting to enter the cave at another time or without the pre-trial ritual enacted by the hermit will lead to the party discovering only a small fissure int he rock, barely enough for two of them to stand in elbow to elbow. Both the space and the treasures within are liminal, and exist at the grace of the goddess.

Should the party fail, they will need to wait for a full turning of the moon before they can try again. The Hermit is happy to host them, and may offer cryptic advice for their subsequent attempts.

The caves are full of distractions intended to slow the party in their attempt to find a worthy offering. An early Chamber may have opalescent shells the party will have to laboriously dig out of the sand, while another might contain a tide pool full of numbing urchins. Locked chests full of stones, false maps, phantom sirens to lead the unguarded astray, the cave’s traps grow ever more devious as the party delves within.

Rewards:

The party is free to keep any of the “mundane” treasures found within the sea cave, often manifesting as valuable flotsam, or oceanic magical items. Unlike many other potential offerings, these do not regenerate on subsequent attempts.

It appears the goddess has a sense of humor, or is perhaps a bit loony, as her most potent gifts are often disguised among her obstructions: One chest of stones among many, different only in that it bares her symbol, will turn to silver ore in the moonlight. Waterlogged maps of the caves intended to lead them astray may become maps to undiscovered islands, or to other treasures buried along the coast. Those who listen and perform the ghostly notes of the siren’s song for the hermit may find him singing along, a haunting ballad or a bawdy jig that contain a hint of prophecy: a great reward for those with the wisdom to listen.

At The very back of the Sea cave, in the most dangerous and well guarded chamber there is a scratched and pitted bottle, within which is a wrecked ship rendered in miniature. The Hermit weeps when he sees it, and will tell the party the story of how he was saved from such a wreck by his goddess, and offered his life to her in thanks. He will offer the bottle, but no reward will come immediately, and he will ask the party to return in the cycle of the moon.

When they do, the hermit will greet them as his saviors, and guide them down the stairs to the moonlit beach himself. There he will reveal the bottle, and the tiny model ship within restored by his careful craftsmanship and sailing on a sea of silvery mist. He will remove the stopper, and as the mist flows out of the container it will coalesce into a proud ship with a hull of silvery wood and sails of moonlight. His goddess has found them all worthy, and has gifted them this vessel to do with what they wish.

For his faith, the Hermit has been transformed into a celestial, and is to serve the party as their humble captain. Forever a paired with the ghostly ship and blessed with knowledge enough to sail them across all the seas and to any shore touched by her lunar light . Both he and the vessel can be recalled to the bottle for easy transport, but summoning either requires moonlight ( for the Hermit) or moonlight and a large enough body of water (for the ship).