Zeyack, Champion of Alissiya

## Zeyack

### Aliases

The Great Knight, The First Paladin, The Oathbearer, The Palace Guard, The Respected Lesser, Asmodeus' Foil, The Chivalrous Sword, Paragon of Paragons, He Who Smites

## Depicitions

### Avatar Description

A huge knight in plate armour wielding a greatsword

## Affiliations

### Open Worship

Yes

> *"With Zeyack as my witness, I vow to act just, kind, and when necessary, with righteous fury."*
> - Lady Astilia Longmorning the Paragon, Legendary Paladin
>
>

Zeyack, Champion of Alissiya, is the Lesser God of Knights and Paladins. A champion of goodness, Zeyack truly believes that Eldaron can be a brighter place, and believes that that change must come from the Pantheon of Kalix; the Divine Queen will rule regardless, and resisting her divine empire would just cause unnecessary bloodshed and pain. A very active deity, he carries out what acts of justice and compassion he can, whether directly in his duties as guardian of the Palace of Kalix, or through his own champions on the material plane.

Zeyack appears as a 18ft. tall knight in plate armour that covers his entire body, wielding The Holiest Avenger, a divine greatsword crafted by Blondinth, Creator of Weapons. Many believe that when a paladin smites a foe, Zeyack empowers their weapon with his own and that is where the burst of radiance comes from.

## Zeyack's Influence

As a lesser deity, Zeyack's domain is narrower than that of greater deities; he is that god of knights and paladins. Every warrior who swears an oath to do good, swears it with Zeyack as their witness, whether that warrior be mortal or outsider. He also has a small sway over the domain of Alissiya, Shieldmaiden of Kalix, as the goddess granted him permission to do so; he is her champion, after all.

### Zeyack's Goals

Zeyack wishes for all the universe to be a good place; for none to suffer, for all to feel safe, and for all to be happy. However, he acknowledges that his goal is unachievable, as mortals and outsider and even deities will never all agree with one another. Still, he believes any who can should strive for that goal, as it will make all of Eldaron better, regardless if it never achieves perfection.

### Divine Relationships

Alissiya, who Zeyack is the champion of, is his close friend and truest ally. Zeyack sees that Alissiya shares many of his ideals, and that she wants the best for everyone. Although he does not voice it, his loyalty to Kalix is negligible compared to his respect and love for Alissiya; if he was forced between saving his queen or his friend, he would choose Alissiya without hesitation, even though it would cause Alissiya to have an eternal hatred of him.

Zeyack is loyal to Kalix, and he would not break his oath to her without great reason to. However, he understands that Kalix merely desires power and authority, and has no intention to do anything with it. Zeyack sees this as wasteful, as real good could come from proper usage of such authority, yet Kalix has no desire for such reform.

Zeyack is good friends with Farwander; as Zeyack is such an active deity and frequently has to travel to various planes, the god of travel often accompanies him. The two have spent long times bonding, and even when Zeyack cannot travel due to his duty to defend the Court of Kalix, Zeyack loves to hear Farwander's stories of the planes and experience them that way.

Zeyack is also good friends with Blondinth, Creator of Weapons; Blondinth created The Holiest Avenger, Zeyack's greatsword, in order to compete with Alissiya's armour (made by Blondinth's rival, Lingoth) when Zeyack duelled her. Zeyack remembers this kindness and in the rare moments he does have time when he is not on duty or on a mission, he can be occasionally be found aiding Blondinth in her forge.

### Primordial Relationships

Zeyack has a special role in the Pantheon of Kalix; his prowess in combat means that even beings more traditionally powerful of him pay him respect. As such, he has many more dealings with primordial beings than divine ones.

Zeyack is known as "Asmodeus' Foil", but this title is misleading of their true relationship. While many see Asmodeus as a villainous schemer, a grave threat, and a being of unmatched malevolence, Zeyack sees a cheeky troublemaker who only needs a stern talking to and a slap on the wrist. The two have a friendly rivalry, with Zeyack even been known to call Asmodeus "brother", much to the Lord of Hell's chagrin. Still, Zeyack does treat Asmodeus' misgivings with seriousness, and many who know the lesser deity theorise that Asmodeus only tolerates and accepts Zeyack's mocking as he has received a smiting from the god in the past and does not wish to relive the pain it caused. It is a fitting explanation on why the Paragon of Paragons can walk through the Nine Hells unopposed.

Zeyack also has a lot of interaction with the angels of Mount Celestia, but it is a very different compared to his interactions with the devils of the Nine Hells; the angels of Mount Celestia see Zeyack as one of their own, and have even asked him to abandon the Pantheon of Kalix to join them on Mount Celestia. Zeyack declined, but he is still on incredibly amicable terms with the angels. As such, any diplomacy Kalix wishes to conduct with them is usually done through Kalix.

## Worshipping Zeyack

Zeyack encourages his worshippers to be as active as he is; Zeyack's temples are used as community centres, homeless shelters, and hospitals, depending on what is most needed at a time. They are also places of rest for any paladins and knights who fight for good.

As a lesser deity, Zeyack does not have a dedicated festival day. However, many squires and paladin acolytes are promoted to knights and paladins after swearing an oath on Maiden's Day (12/04), the festival day of Alissiya.

## Myths of Zeyack

Zeyack, being such an active deity, has many myths about him.

***The Choosing of the Champion.*** See the same in myths of Alissiya, Shieldmaiden of Kalix.

***The Crafting of The Holiest Avenger.*** As Zeyack challenged Alissiya to a duel, Blondinth feared that Zeyack would have no chance due to the armour Lingoth had made for Alissiya. As such, Blondinth crafted a holy greatsword, with a blade of radiant light, able to slice through even the strongest armour. Alissiya could only parry the blade with her dual bladed shields. Zeyack struck the shields with such force in the duel, that chips of the radiant blade were cast across the planes, which were used to craft Holy Avengers elsewhere in the universe.

***The Abyss Breach.*** During the Breaching, there was a large breach in the Abyss. Hordes of demons rushed out into the Astral Plane, ready to destroy the other planes and the deities of the Pantheon of Kalix. Unfortunately for them, Zeyack was just returning from a meeting with Asmodeus in the Nine Hells, and charged at the demonic legion. Zeyack devastated the horde, and even killed over a hundred Balor. He pushed the horde back to the breach and held it until the breach could be patched closed by The Maker.

## Zeyack's Champions

**Alignment:** Usually lawful, often good

**Suggested Classes:** Paladin

**Suggested Cleric Domains:** War, Order

**Suggested Backgrounds:** Soldier, Knight, City Watch, Folk Hero

Zeyack has very few dedicated worshippers who aren't paladins or knights. They worship The Great Knight in order to fight for justice with greater fervour and strength.

### Zeyack's Favour

Zeyack has many chosen, for he sees all knights and paladins dedicated to the forces of good as his chosen. Still, those of virtue surpassing the rest are given blessings of greater power. The Zeyack's Favour table offers several suggestions for the nature of your connection to the God.

 **6** | You have no idea why Zeyack shows interest in you.

### Devotion to Zeyack

Servants of Zeyack are empowered by belief in justice, chivalry, and compassion. As a follower of Zeyack, consider the possibilities on the Zeyack’s Ideals table as alternatives to those suggested for your background.

 **6** | **Chivalry.** It is a knight's duty to defend the weak and to fight with honour. (Good)

### Earning and Losing Piety

You increase your piety score to Zeyack when you expand the god’s influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:

* Protecting the innocent
* Keeping your word and any oaths you make
* Slaying fiends, particularly devils
* Building or restoring a temple to Zeyack or Alissiya, Shieldmaiden of Kalix

Your piety score to Zeyack decreases if you diminish Zeyack’s influence in the world, contradict his ideals, or make him look ridiculous or ineffectual through acts such as these:

* Rejecting a good person's call for help
* Slaying celestials, particularly angels
* Summoning fiends, particularly devils, or making deals with them
* Breaking oaths you make

Zeyack's followers are expected to live by their god's virtues; they are champions of good, and do not hide their devotion to the tenets of the oaths they make to Zeyack.

#### Zeyack's Devotee

*Piety 3+ Zeyack trait*

As a devotee to Zeyack, you have demonstrated you possess the heart of the hero. You can call on Zeyack’s favour to cast heroism with this trait, a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

#### Zeyack's Votary

*Piety 10+ Zeyack trait*

You can cast crusader’s mantle with this trait. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

#### Zeyack's Disciple

*Piety 25+ Zeyack trait*

You are a true paragon of Zeyack's justice and righteous fury. Whenever you cast spell with 'Smite' in its name, you have advantage on Constitution checks to maintain concentration till the spell ends, and enemies have disadvantage on any saving throws made against the effects of the spells.

Additionally, all your weapon attacks or unarmed strikes against fiends deal an addition 1d8 radiant damage.

#### Champion of Champions

*Piety 50+ Zeyack trait*

You can increase your Strength or Charisma score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.