Adyana

***“**I require no rituals or hymns. To take a breath is to worship me.**”***
— Adyana

**Adyana**, commonly referred to by mortals as the **Breathgiver**, is the Goddess of Air and the Sky. Adyana is one of the most ancient and prominent of Enselonde's Gods and closely watches over and often directly intervenes on behalf of her followers. Adyana personally oversaw the transformation of the Gemstone Islands from a desolate afterthought to a blooming region and is particularly prominent there. She entered Withdrawal after the Divine War and retreated into the Palace of the Clouds, where she remains to this day, high above Qiu Island.

## Forms

Adyana rarely reveals herself in any physical form, even to her most prominent worshippers. Sightings of the Goddess have been both rare and contradictory, as it seems she shies away from using the same form twice. The most common appearance attributed is as a green aurora in the sky, yet a myriad of other forms have been attributed to her. Some say she appears as a Harpy or an Evin with green feathers, others say she appears as a gigantic Dragon made of clouds, whereas other accounts describe her appearing as a Human or various species of birds. While the forms vary, the colour green tends to be the one similarity among all of them.

## Domain and Undergods

Adyana's domain revolves around air and the sky at large, including all manner of elements associated with it. Her domain is large and she has many Undergods, mostly found scattered across the Gemstone Islands or the highest altitudes of the world.

* **Air - Adyana**
* Birds - Mylunea
* Breath - Nommos Keth
* Clouds - Xonos
* Firmament - Thaserys
* Flight - Guing Shegong
* Fog and Mist - Gymios and Eimios
* **Sky - Adyana**
* Tornadoes - Edon
* Wind (In General) - Comdall
	+ Eastern Wind - Great Dragon of the East
	+ Northern Wind - Great Dragon of the North
	+ Southern Wind - Great Dragon of the South
	+ Western Wind - Great Dragon of the West

## History

### Appearance and Sacrifice

Cossyxia was the first Goddess and the first thing created by the One in 5875 BW. Cossyxia would become the Goddess of the Stars, bringing light to an otherwise dark and empty universe, filling it with Undergods and Divine Offspring, each of which gave birth to their own stars. Cossyxia's own star, Clia, prominently stood at the centre of this new realm: Cossyxium, the universe. In those early days, the Gods numbered few, yet Clia's powerful and unstable magic would give birth to many Divines. Adyana would be the first of these starborn Gods.

In the year 5798 BW, with pressure building inside Clia for decades, a great solar flare erupted. From Clia's white flame erupted a brilliant green flare that catapulted itself across the heavens: an unstable mass of magic and the first of its kind. Cossyxia and Zinnos, God of Time, regarded the being curiously as it travelled through the stars, occasionally leaving behind green nebulas that remain visible to this day to astronomers with the right equipment.

As the magic entity began to calm down and gain its senses, it named itself Adyana: the first starborn Goddess. Adyana was fundamentally different from the other Divines that existed thus far, who had either been handcrafted by the One or seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Despite these differences not resulting in any form of hostility, Adyana nevertheless lived as a hermit, feeling that Cossyxium could never be home to her.

In the coming centuries, as other starborn Gods were born from Clia, some began working on a home for themselves: a rocky and inhospitable place that at the very least would provide solid footing in an otherwise empty universe. That home would be Enselonde. Spurred on by the creation of this new realm, Adyana joined other Divines such as Ivos and Sylvir. While the creation of Enselonde had begun, it would forever remain a barren and inhospitable place with Cossyxium seeping into it as nothing was separating it from the void. At that moment, Adyana pushed back against the void surrounding the nascent world with all her might, creating a plane in between which became the firmament, the barrier between Enselonde and Cossyxium. So great was the effort that Adyana's form was ripped apart in that moment. Instead of becoming the ruler of the sky as she is known today, she became the sky itself. It would take many centuries for her to regain a proper body, yet her sacrifice allowed for the emergence of life at the hands of Nyara.

It was only in the twilight years of the Age of Creation that Adyana's scattered essence clumped together enough to form a body once more. She had been severely weakened, most of her essence still holding up the sky. Adyana would never reclaim her power, as doing so would cause the firmament to collapse and all life to end. In her prime, she would have rivalled Cossyxia's power, yet Adyana was now no mightier than most other Divines. To focus on other matters, she created the great dragon Thaserys to defend the firmament and act as the first among her Undergods.

### Claiming the Gemstone Islands

With most Divines having their own fiefdoms for their followers, Adyana's late appearance made her somewhat of an oddity with no devotees to call her own. There was, however, an abandoned patch of island off the South's western coast, the still unnamed Gemstone Islands, populated by nothing but a handful of Xiphian coastal villages. Adyana staked her claim to the islands without any contest and began transforming them to her heart's content. Most notably, she created the twin Avian races: the Evin and the Harpies in 1276 BW.

Under Adyana's gaze, the Evin and Harpies spread across the Gemstone Islands in clans, becoming fervent worshippers of the Goddess of the Sky and mastering a new school of magic: Adyanomancy, the manipulation of air. With time, however, the two races began to squabble over land and resources. The Evin began gaining the upper hand over their Harpy counterparts, their tribes growing increasingly larger and more centralised. Adyana chose not to intervene in this course of events. This resulted in two things. The first was a near-hegemonic control of the Evin over the Gemstone Islands, leading to the rise of the First Evin Empire in 1204 BW. The various Evin Empires would maintain oft-disputed control over the islands all the way until 593 BW. The second consequence was that some Harpies began getting disillusioned with Adyana as early as fifty years after their creation, rejecting the worship of the Goddess and often being labelled heretics in the process.

With time, Evin control over the islands became more draconian. While the Second Empire provided a glimmer of hope in terms of interracial cooperation, the rise of the Evin supremacist Third Empire dashed these hopes against the rock. Throughout these centuries, Human Freemen from the South also began settling on the islands. An early yet major symptom of the discontent with the Evin and Adyana came in the form of the Harpy Migration to the Mainland with a myriad of clans choosing a new life over Evin dominance, often abandoning the worship of Adyana during the trip. The status quo was beginning to show cracks. Thus, when a newborn Goddess fell from the heavens, crashing into the Gemstone Islands, it came as little surprise that the archipelago went up in flames.

The new Goddess in question took the name of Piqumi, the deceased daughter of the farmer who cared for her, and a cult quickly formed around her. Those close to her saw their fortunes significantly and often drastically improve. Word spread rapidly of a new Goddess who controlled luck and fates, and the disenfranchised peoples of the Gemstone Islands, primarily Harpies and Humans, flocked to her. Her followers grew and centralised, forming the Guidaozhen - the "Followers of the Golden One". It should be noted that Adyana and the Third Empire were not particularly pleased with this development. The Third Empire, with Adyana's favour, moved against the Guidaozhen, slaughtering these thus far peaceful followers and forcing them underground. If they had hoped that this would have quelled the movement, they were wrong, as it only made them more militant.

The year 970 BW is often viewed as the start of the War of Two Suns, the Two Suns in question referring to the Goddesses Piqumi and Adyana respectively. The Guidaozhen emerged from the holes they were hiding in, launching a full-scale rebellion against the widely unpopular Third Evin Empire. Notably, a large amount of Evin sympathisers had joined them, causing further infighting amongst Adyana's loyalists. What followed was a hasty effort to organise a reactionary movement to oppose the Guidaozhen, resulting in the formation of the Laidaozhen - the "Followers of the Green One". Yet, it was too little, too late, as the Third Empire was more or less destined to fall. It did so in 952 BW following the death of its last Skylord, Zesoq. Six years later, the short-lived Fourth Empire was born, aligned with the interests of the Guidaozhen.

The rise of the Fourth Empire proved to be a boon to Adyana in the long term, despite being a setback at face value. One particular point of contention is that under Skylord Iatoh it outlawed Adyana Worship outright, which was simply too radical a move for many more moderate Guidaozhen. For many, joining the ranks of Piqumi's forces had been a pragmatic choice to topple the Third Empire, not to defeat Adyana. The Goddess of Air had been worshipped since the inception of the Evin and Harpy existence, and to spurn her was an insult to both her and the ancestral ways. The result is that the ranks of the Guidaozhen rapidly thinned out. With the Third Empire gone and the Fourth Empire being simply too radical for most people's tastes, many simply walked away to return to civilian life. The Fourth Empire fell shortly after Iatoh's death, and the War of Two Suns would drag on for centuries. Despite this, however, Adyana's Laidaozhen would gradually gain the upper hand. Piqumi threw in the towel and abandoned the Gemstone Islands in the year 614 BW, solidifying Adyana's control with the Laidaozhen-aligned Sixth Evin Empire.

While the Evin Empires were not long for this world, Adyana once more became the dominant deity of the Gemstone Islands. The Guidaozhen continued to exist, yet became largely isolationist. When the Sixth Empire gradually crumbled to a demographic crisis, there would be no Seventh to succeed it. Instead, the era of Human domination had begun, starting with the Qiu Dynasty. To Adyana, it must have been a pleasant surprise to see the Humans on the islands continue to diligently worship her as the Evin and Harpies had before them. During this time, as the Faith of the Five Gods began to be formed by Freemen, Adyana was also included in this due to her essential role in the creation of life. Adyana's grip on the hearts and minds of the Gemstone Islands' denizens became solidified and would remain all the way to the present day.

### Divine War and Withdrawal

As the number of Freemen across the South grew, many flocked to the Gemstone Islands. With Adyana having a large Human base worshipping her, she became one of the first Divines to criticise the enslavement of Humans in the North, drawing the ire of many of her fellow Divines and the Freeholds. She quietly watched on and even covertly supported the Human Rebellions. When the Third Human Rebellion broke out and the Kingdom of Humanity formed in the South, Adyana openly urged the thus far neutral Qiu Dynasty to join the conflict. When other Divines like Ildius and Ihyll began openly contributing to the Human cause, Adyana followed suit. A disproportionally high amount of Adyanomancers were present in the Human armies as they pushed into the North.

As the Third Human Rebellion escalated into what would become the Divine War, Adyana did not shy away from direct involvement. Her number of Undergods swelled during this time, many acting as lieutenants to the Goddess during the war. Adyana's role was a reactive one, not seeking out conflict yet keeping a custodianship over the Gemstone Islands. Her main enemy during the Divine War was the Freehold-aligned God of Water, Sylvir, who tried and failed many times to flood the Gemstone Islands, his waves pushed away and scattering under the onslaught of wind. Even as the Divine War began to turn around with Lyxis the Blind's conquests, the Gemstone Islands remained a bastion of stability as the Kingdom of Humanity collapsed all around the South.

Lyxis made an attempt to invade the Gemstone Islands, freezing the oceans to pass. Her armies descended on the Qiu Dynasty in 17 BW. Exhausted from war and low on manpower, the Qiu Dynasty fell rapidly, yet the islands did not. Lyxis returned to the Mainland to continue her doomed campaign in Da'al Mon, leaving behind a general by the name of Onvyr the Cruel, who occupied the eastern islands with a large Hyllidan garrison, yet they only faced ruin. Adyana was not content with letting Hyllidans dominate her people and elevated six warriors to the title of masters to fight on her behalf. They were Master Zhun of the Sword, Master Li of the Spear, Master Jianying of the Staff, Master Chungyu of the Axe, Master Fenli of the Sabre, and Master Tian of the Bow. While these names may not ring bells for most Northerners, these six masters went forth with their goddess' blessing and her weapons, raising armies and rapidly pushing the Nytalyrians out of the Gemstone Islands, becoming legendary heroes of their time. Adyana would eventually merge the six masters into one grouping, elevating one to the rank of grandmaster to serve as the leader of this group. They would become the Hexad Lotus, the order of Divine-sponsored guardians of the Gemstone Islands often found at the centre of the Qiuan history and the spiritual successors of the Laidaozhen. While their order would shrink from leading great armies to acting as lone guardians with time, the Hexad Lotus and Adyana were inseparable. It only took a few generations for the position of grandmaster to be synonymous with the role of being a Champion.

Adyana relied increasingly on the Hexad Lotus to act as her eyes, ears, and mouth following the Divine War as she entered Withdrawal, retreating into the Palace of Clouds. Since those days, only the Hexad Grandmasters communicated with her directly. For most others, she became a distant Divine, one that mere mortals could never lay their eyes upon.

### Present Day

While dynasties have risen and fallen since the days of Adyana's Withdrawal, her involvement has usually been minimal, the Grandmasters acting on her behalf instead. The recent Gemstone Wars, however, have changed everything. The Fühlgartian-Qiuan War served as an existential threat to the Qiuan people. The Gemstone Islands were devastated, most cities reduced to nought but ash and memories, and the Nadai Dynasty faded into obscurity. The Hexad Lotus, so often called upon to act as the islands' greatest hope put up brave yet futile resistance. The Grandmaster and three masters lost their lives. Only the Master of the Sabre, Princess Liang, and the Master of Spear, Xueqin He, remained. The former was an exile, the latter had turned his spear against the Qiuans in service of the Republican cause.

As the Gemstone Islands fell to banditry and warlordism, Adyana kept a close eye on Liang Nadai, her last master, sheltered away at the Amagoian court. While her involvement in the Great War has been indirect for the most part, Adyana showed a clear favour towards Liang and the larger Monarchist alliance she aligned herself with. As the Monarchists invaded the Gemstone Islands to try to restore something resembling order, Adyana would appear for the first time to non-outsiders, pleading with various warlords to join the princess' cause. Some agreed, others did not, and the Gemstone Wars continued. While many expected Liang Nadai to restore the Nadai Dynasty, her followers would take a more religious approach, founding the Hexad Empire. The Hexad Empire is an anomaly, as never before had the Hexad Lotus wielded direct political power. Nevertheless, Liang Nadai became the Grandmaster tasked with restoring the Lotus and the islands to their former glory while bringing the ageing Xueqin He to justice. So far, successes have been limited, yet not insignificant, as the Hexad Lotus has made some progress against its two main enemies: the Republic of Lao Muji and the the Yingzheng White Kingdom, both opposing the Lotus for different reasons.

With many Gods exiting Withdrawal in recent years (or being forced out by Syarus), and with Adyana more directly involving herself with the state of the Gemstone Islands, some expect her to break Withdrawal in the near future, too. It would certainly be an unprecedented change given Adyana's tendency towards isolating herself from mortal affairs. There have been some fears that, would Adyana once more get directly involved with her islands, it could lead to the hegemonic and totalitarian control of the Evin Empires, a far cry from the relative liberties enjoyed under the Human dynasties.

## Champion

*Main Article: Champions*

Adyana's Champion has historically been the sitting grandmaster of the Hexad Lotus, chosen among the six masters following the previous grandmaster's death. This selection is usually done by Adyana based on merit, not seniority, with some seemingly odd choices having been made amongst the masters over the centuries. The current grandmaster of the Hexad Lotus and Champion of Adyana is Liang Nadai who has served as something of an unprecedented choice. With Liang Nadai founding the monarchist-aligned Hexad Empire during the Great War, she is the first grandmaster who wields direct political power in the Gemstone Islands.

## Artefacts

*Main Article: Artefacts*

* **Adyana's Axe** - Adyana's Axe was created for the Hexad Lotus' Masters of the Axe. It grants its wielder the strength of an ox, cleaving through enemy soldiers and structures with ease. The axe was last wielded by Master Xiao Dua during the Fühlgartian-Qiuan War, last seen alive on Xiatang Island. Xiao Dua is presumed dead, yet neither his body nor the axe were ever found despite extensive efforts by various local warlords and governments.
* **Adyana's Bow** - Adyana's Bow was created for the the Hexad Lotus' Masters of the Bow. The bow commands the wind itself, its arrows striking with such force that they can pierce any armour. Some claim the bow can even change the weather, clearing or creating storms at will. The bow was last wielded by Master Fen Lei during the Fühlgartian-Qiuan War. She died during the Raze of Zengyu and the bow was subsequently captured and brought back to Fühlgart as a trophy. It was stored in the vaults of Freistadt, yet was stolen during the Senate Crisis. It is currently believed to be in the possession of the Provisional Government in Kalzberg.
* **Adyana's Sabre** - Adyana's Sabre was created for the Hexad Lotus' Masters of the Sabre. The sabre is infused with a tremendous amount of Adyanomancy, allowing it to create great green arcs that slash and burn at range. The sabre has remained in the possession of Liang Nadai, the current grandmaster, and was the only of Adyana's weapons to continuously remain in Lotus hands, even during the princess' exile in Amagoi.
* **Adyana's Spear** - Adyana's Spear was created for the Hexad Lotus' Masters of the Spear. The spear is extremely sharp, able to pierce through most armour like butter and grants its wielders vastly enhanced agility and speed. The spear is currently in possession of Xueqin He, former Master of the Spear who sided with the Republicans during the Gemstone Wars and turned the spear against the rest of the Lotus.
* **Adyana's Staff** - Adyana's Staff was created for the Hexad Lotus' Masters of the Staff. It allows its wielder to directly harness the powers of **Adyana**, allowing them to commit near-apocalyptical feats of Adyanomancy if they so desire. The staff was wielded by Master Rongwen Su during the Fühlgartian-Qiuan War on Qinwei Island, where he vaporised both himself and the staff with a great magical surge rather than having it fall into the hands of Xueqin He. It was reforged recently by Adyana during the reformation of the Hexad Lotus.
* **Adyana's Sword** - Adyana's Sword was created for the Hexad Lotus' Masters of the Sword. The sword grants its wielder an uncanny level of perception and foresight, with many Masters of the Sword having acted as advisors and sometimes even oracles for the Lotus. It was last wielded by Grandmaster Qingyun Tang during the Fühlgartian-Qiuan War who died during the Raze of Zengyu while saving the live of Liang Nadai. The sword was taken by Xueqin He and gifted to Bai Zehling, who currently wields it as his personal weapon.
* **Skykiss** - Skykiss was a powerful enchanted bow created by Adyana and gifted to the so-called Hundred Lords who resisted the occupation of the Gemstone Islands by the Kingdom of Sallant in the 5th century AW. As the Hundred Lords would go on to found the Haishu Dynasty, so too did the bow remain in possession of the Haishu emperors. When the provincials gathered some centuries later under Yuxin Nadai to form the rivalling Nadai Dynasty, the two fought over control of the islands. When it became clear that the Nadai Dynasty would stand as the victors, the last Haishu emperor, Zhaobai, melted down the bow out of spite. Adyana would go on to curse the city as a result, with Haishu being wiped off the map by a great storm soon after.