Saint Maryah

Saint Maryah was born on 22 Fading Sun, 526 AS, in the town of Shedar, Shimarain. Nothing is known of her parentage, and very little of her early life, save that she was from her youth the victim of crime--the stories of her life state that her parents were murdered one night leaving the girl alone in the world.
Subsequently her life was one of moving in the shadows and struggling to survive until she gained enough knowledge and experience to become herself an adept criminal.Her exact date of death is unknown; in life she was mysterious and frequently faked her own demise, thus it was well after her eightieth birthday that she was finally assumed to be legitimately dead.
She was elevated to the ranks of the Magedar in 642 AS; this was a controversial move on the part of the then Archpriest Leru Hindarun; however he justified it by explaining that crime is an unfortunate part of life, and that murder, death, and plague are constants. The goal of this elevation was intercession on Maryah's part, against crime, murder and violence. 
The Faithful tend to approach her in this way--to stave off these negative aspects of life and provide mercy and succor from them. However the criminal element in lands dominated by the High Path approaches her very differently--as a patron saint of nefarious and illegal activity, to keep the forces of law at bay, and to bless and bring success to endeavors from theft to murder. Among them she is seen as the patron saint of assassins.
Her greatest shrine, in the city of She'pradek, Shimarain, is devoted to the healing of the sick and serves as a court of law during trials of heinous crimes; criminals sentenced to execution in these trials are often buried in the catacombs beneath it so that their bodies and souls may be guarded and imprisoned by Maryah in the next life. However the other side of her worship claims, quite quietly, that these executed criminals form an army of sorts--spirits of the night who do Maryah's bidding and assist criminals in their work.
Those priests devoted to her service adamantly insist there is no truth to such things; their daily work is as healers, and tenders to the dead, preparing them for burial. They provide comfort to the bereaved and work tirelessly to ease the pain of loss.
== Veneration ==
Maryah is a maged most hope they will not have to approach, but for whom they are grateful if the need arises. She is not held as the patron of any city, kingdom, or country, but is present in most temples of the High Path--death is, after all, a fact of life and an inescapable one.
Category:Shimarani People
Category:Magedar
Category:High Path