Avalon

Avalon is the goddess of justice, valour and benevolent rule. The first of the gods to appear before mortals, she is said to have arrived at the behest of a frightened child, her form given by their idealised notion of knights; this opened the floodgates for the other deities to make their presence known and ushered in the First Contact. She is always seen clad in gleaming steel armour, usually riding atop an alabaster unicorn shod in barding, and typically carrying a sword, lance, or mace, paired with a tower shield.

## Worshippers

Unlike most deities, whose presence upon the Material Realm is primarily felt through their Herald, Avalon shares a fragment of her divine power with any pure-hearted mortal, essentially nominating a great number of minor Heralds to spread Good far and wide, rather than investing only in a single creature. As such, she is the patron of any Good-aligned Paladins or Clerics who do not swear allegiance to any divinity or force, in addition to those who expressly follow her teachings. Similarly, Avalon accepts Chaotic Good Clerics, despite their alignment being more than one step away from her own, viewing Chaos and Law as simply differences of opinion and ultimately less important than defeating Evil and furthering the cause of Good. She does not accept Lawful Neutral Clerics, as they are prone to putting order before the greater good.

## Temples

Avalon’s primary place of worship is Castle Gwynwall, home of the Knights Most Heavenly; a devout order who follow her teachings and aim to spread Good throughout Morisia by defeating the forces of Evil. The castle is capable of flight, and so swears no allegiance to any territory, as the Knights believe that the only way to stay entirely pure of influences that would detract from the cause of Good is to remain independent. Despite this, the castle has spent the past few years entrenched in the Hellfront, the western edge of the former nation of Athia, at the border of Velouve. The castle occasionally relocates within the Hellfront in response to Velouvian advances, but has slowly been losing ground and pushed eastward.

Gwynwall's central building is a great cathedral dedicated to Avalon, a grand affair of marble, gold leaf, and many decorative water features filled with holy water, often used in baptisms or other religious ceremonies, with decorations of deep blue cloth. Its clergy is vast and strongly hierarchical, with bishops, archbishops, reverends, and the like, often with long, flowery titles such as 'Our Most Heavenly Archbishop Valerian of Waters Most Pure', with said titles typically becoming longer and more complex with one's rank. The exception to this is Ser Beddishare, who serves as head of the church, one of Gwynwall's Council of the Knights Most Heavenly, and head priest of Gwynwall's central cathedral; their title and name are both simply "Ser Beddishare".

Avalonian churches and temples elsewhere in the world take on a form most practical to the region, though if reasonably possible they attempt to emulate a similar style, often featuring high ceilings, large windows, and solid stone construction. Most notably in Velouve, Avalonian worship is highly persecuted, forcing those few who dare offer her prayer to use shabby abandoned buildings or cellars, often decorated sparsely with simple blue cloth so as to avoid notice.

## Teachings

Avalon’s teachings primarily take two forms - the first is that of fables and tales of heroics meant both to inspire goodness and teach moral lessons primarily to children, of whom Avalon is known to be particularly fond; and the second is of tales of her own deeds, with a particular focus on the times in which she failed or barely prevailed, typically reserved as warnings for the devout. The goal of these tales is instead to warn and remind the over-eager of the dangers trying to do the right thing can pose.

Avalon's holy text is the *Aegian Edicts*, a tome of various stories, songs, and adages espousing Avalonian ideals and customs. Roughly half is aimed at children, with simple moral tales and easy-to-remember and fun-to-sing songs. The other half is aimed at more mature readers, with tales featuring more moral ambiguity or the struggles one might face in living up to knightly ideals. The Aegian Edicts are commonly available in full, as well as in smaller editions directed toward a specific audience for practicality - a smaller pocket-book that does not feature children's tales for travelling Paladins, for example.

## Relations

Avalon openly considers all Good deities to be good friends and allies, though her serious nature often puts her mildly at odds with the capricious Hibiki. She appreciates the good that Ennos brings to the world by ensuring fair and honest trade, and respects Ripthene's skill at arms, relying on the unpersonable natures of most Evil deities to discourage Ripthene from fighting on their behalf.

She resents both Esurient and Phlogiston, whose greed and wanton harm to others infuriates her, but their self-centredness limits the threat they pose. She has an extreme hatred of The Twins, offended both by their conduct toward mortals - killing any who oppose them and mistreating those who serve them - and the fact that they are ascending to deific status through means unknown, but clearly at the expense of fellow deity Misericorde.

Strangely, while she has a similar disdain for Misericorde's conduct, she is much more forgiving, seemingly aiming to reform the cruel goddess rather than destroy them. The reason for this comparative tenderness is currently unknown.

When interacting with mortals, Avalon usually takes one of two approaches - that of a stern knight, or a caring mother. She views all children as innocent, even those who have done wrong, while adults are usually instead reprimanded. Few interactions have taken place with Avalon outside of warnings or admonishments given the difficulty of accessing her Divine Realm and the fact that none believed to travel there have ever returned, though those who claim to have encountered her in the material realm usually claim that it was at a time when they were most vulnerable, with the goddess protecting them in some way and providing a reassuring or calming word.

## Divine Realm

Avalon's Divine Realm is *Shield's Rest*, said to be an island bastion with a great tower at its centre, supposedly accessed by wading upstream through pure waters, but only by a person of purest heart and who has no further calling, and no regrets or deeds hanging over them. Some Paladins undertake this journey as a final pilgrimmage, never to be seen again, though on occasion their weapons or shields are found in even far-away streams, perfectly maintained, as if dropped there moments before. As nobody attempting to visit the realm in this manner has ever returned, this remains only a well-documented theory.

In the glimpses of Shield's Rest mortal eyes have seen, often in dreams, it is commonly reported that a great number of men and women - many featuring great wings or animal features - bustle about as if preparing for war, the fervour of which seems to have been increasing over time.

## Edicts & Anathemas

Avalon expects her followers and those she empowers to abide by certain rules. Things she encourages her followers to do are her Edicts, and things she demands they refrain from doing are her Anathema. Worshippers of Avalon - especially those who are empowered by her such as Clerics and Paladins - are expected to actively perform her Edicts if reasonably possible, and those she empowers who conduct actions she considers anathema will likely find her divine support withdrawn, lest it continue to be abused.

Avalon does not expect those she patronises who are not explicit worshippers of her to carry out her edicts, but she expects them to at least refrain from committing anathema.

Avalon's Edicts are, in no particular order:

* Combat evil.
* Instill good values in children.
* Act with dignity and grace.

Avalon's Anathema are, in no particular order:

* Abandon a friend or companion in need.
* Harm children.
* Permit evil acts you are aware of to continue if you could reasonably stop them.