Alissiya, Shieldmaiden of Kalix

### Aliases

She of Two Shields, She Who Guards the Queen, The Steel Maiden, The Divine Protector, The Holy Shield

## Depicitions

### Avatar Description

A shieldmaiden in heavy plate armour with two bladed shields

## Affiliations

### Open Worship

Yes

> *"My Queen, my shields are your shields."* - Alissiya's vow to Kalix
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Alissiya, Shieldmaiden of Kalix, is the Greater Goddess of Protection and Loyalty. Vowed to protect Kalix with her life, she maintains a constant vigil of the Divine Throne, never leaving the side of her Queen. Alissiya has a deep kindness in her heart, and she wishes to inspire others to protect the weak.

Alissiya's avatar is an imposing figure; a 12ft. tall, muscular women, wearing full plate armour. Two large, bladed metal shields adorn; they represent Alissiya's desire to protect others, but also that she is willing to use whatever force is necessary to do that.

## Alissiya's Influence

The Divine Protector champions the value of loyalty; betrayal and cowardice are viewed as the two greatest sins by her Church. She promotes the tenets of loyalty, bravery, and justice to her faithful, although she is a rather inactive deity; her constant guarding of the Divine Throne means that she has very little time to carry out any plans of her own. Instead, Zeyack acts as her sword, a more active deity aligned very closely with her values. Still, Alissiya does occasionally bless mortals with her gifts.

### Alissiya's Goals

More than anything else, Alissiya wants to protect Kalix, her queen; she is defined by her loyalty and desire to defend Kalix with her life. Kalix's will is Alissiya's will, and she aids her queen however she can. However, when not under direct command, Alissiya's main goal is to maintain the Pantheon of Kalix and to eliminate any threats. As mentioned above, once a threat is identified, Zeyack is frequently sent to remove it. Much of this happens without Kalix ever being aware of the threat until after the issue has been dealt with; Alissiya does not want to distract Kalix from ruling, and Kalix understands that Alissiya is competent enough that it does not need direct supervision.

### Divine Relationships

Alissiya is defined by her relationship to Kalix; they have been united from the beginning of both of their existences and Alissiya has never left her queen's side. Alissiya views Kalix as a friend, a mentor, and a superior, and her loyalty is unwavering. In turn, Alissiya is the only person Kalix really views as a friend, but also views her as a valuable pawn; Alissiya allows Kalix to not have to worry about her own safety and instead focus on running her eternal empire.

Zeyack is a Lesser Deity, yet his mastery of combat and his strong sense of justice has made him a valued ally and friend of Alissiya. Zeyack holds the title 'Champion of Alissiya', a title he cherishes. He is the first line of defence of the Court of Kalix to Alissiya's last, and he is a true friend of Alissiya; he is one of the few people who can approach her at the Divine Throne and let Alissiya rest, even if just for a moment. He is also the sword to Alissiya's shield; whenever a threat presents itself in the outer planes, Zeyack marches to whenever the threat may be to deliver divine justice.

Alissiya has a working relationship with the lesser deity Lingoth; Alissiya's armour was created by Lingoth, and it is one of the forge god's greatest works. Alissiya initially looked at it with suspicion, but after an inspection by The Ironfather, Alissiya accepted the armour and has used it ever since.

## Worshipping Alissiya

The Church of Alissiya encourages worship through action; followers of Alissiya are expected to worship by standing watch and keeping vigil over others. Walls and watchtowers are treated as sacred as her temples, and in fact, many of her temples are built into the walls of cities.

Her festival day is Maiden's Day, on the 12th day of Summermorn.

## Myths of Alissiya

Alissiya has a few myths, as a central deity in the Pantheon of Kalix.

***The Meeting of the Queen.*** See The Meeting of the Maiden.

***The Choosing of the Champion.*** Alissiya acknowledged that she could not defend Kalix along, so she sought to find a lesser deity to aid her. There were many candidates, but all were flawed and unworthy; they were either lacking in loyalty, lacking in skill, lacking in kindness, or a combination of the three. Alissiya sent out further searches to find a champion, and there were a few candidates, but they were still unworthy. Finally, Zeyack arrived, fury in his eyes. He marched into the Kalix's palace, and challenged Alissiya to a duel. Kalix approved, and the battle was held. Alissiya assumed the duel would end almost instantaneously, but Zeyack held his ground. Alissiya clearly had the upper hand, but Zeyack would not yield. While their weapons were locked, Alissiya asked Zeyack what she had done to anger him, with Zeyack replying that she had sent her scouts out unprotected, and that he was fighting for them. Alissiya then knew she had found her champion; she apologised to Zeyack, struck him down, and then helped him back up. She asked Zeyack to be her champion, and he accepted.

## Alissiya's Champions

**Alignment:** Usually lawful, often good

**Suggested Classes:** Paladin, Fighter, Cleric

**Suggested Cleric Domains:** Life, Order, War, Light

**Suggested Backgrounds:** Soldier, City Watch, Athlete, Knight

Alissiya's champions are guardians and protectors, defenders of the weak. They worship her for their own protection, and for the strength to protect others.

### Alissiya's Favour

Alissiya wishes to protect all in Kalix's embrace, and she does that on the Material Plane through her chosen champions. Those who deeply care for and protect others are frequently given blessings from Alissiya when she is able to. The Alissiya's Favour table offers several suggestions for the nature of your connection to the Goddess.

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

### Devotion to Alissiya

Servants of Alissiya find strength in bonds of loyalty and their will to protect others. As a follower of Allisiya, consider the possibilities on the Alissiya’s Ideals table as alternatives to those suggested for your background.

 **6** | **Vigilance.** I am a bulwark against the Terror. I am a Defender of Mortals. I am a Devout of Alissiya, and I will know no fear. (Any)

### Earning and Losing Piety

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

* Protecting the weak and defenceless
* Watching over others when they are vulnerable
* Sacrificing yourself for the good of others
* Building or restoring a temple to Alissiya or Kalix

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

* Betraying your superiors or your friends
* Leaving the weak to fend for themselves
* Blaspheming Kalix
* Initiating conflict or being the aggressor in a confrontation

Those devoted to Alissiya worship the goddess openly, as they know the gifts of the goddess are effective at providing comfort to the defenceless and at warding off those who would seek to harm them.

#### Alissiya's Devotee

*Piety 3+ Alissiya trait*

As a devotee of Alissiya, you have proven yourself to be willing to protect others, even to risk of yourself. As a bonus action, you can invoke the Shieldmaiden's protection; a spectral shield forms in front of you, providing you with a +1 bonus to AC for 1 minute. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

#### Alissiya's Votary

*Piety 10+ Alissiya trait*

You gain the Protection and Interception fighting styles. The first time you use either of these in a round, it does not use your reaction.

#### Alissiya's Disciple

*Piety 25+ Alissiya trait*

Your loyalty to your friends overpowers any fear you feel. You are immune to the frightened condition.

#### Champion of Protection

*Piety 50+ Alissiya trait*

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