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Origins

Ethena Cures a Blind Man

In the year 171, Ethena was taken to the market in Laencaster with your parents. While there, she encountered a blind man named Aviv who sat on the ground, begging for money. What no one knew about this man was he was afflicted by The Blinding Sickness.

“What is wrong with you?” Ethena asked.

“I can’t see. I can’t find work and cannot feed my family without my sight,” Aviv replied.

“You can see, and you can find work,” Ethena said, “you only need trust in The Creator.”

“If The Creator can give me back my sight, I will serve him until the end of my days.”

Without hesitation, Ethena held the mans face and placed her thumbs on the beggar’s eyes. “Then your sight is restored.”

The man began to weep, “Who are you, child, that you can make the blind see?”

“I am Ethena. We are chosen by The Creator to do great works.”

“I will keep my word,” Aviv said, “and serve The Creator until the end of my days.”

Local guards saw what had transpired and reported it to their captains.

Ethena Heals a Thief

While in the city of Laencaster, Ethena and her parents came across a thief who was being brutally beaten by the guards. Ethena interposed her self between the thief and the guards and the guards stopped, apprehensive to hurt a child.

"What kind of men are you," Ethena demanded of the guards, "That you would beat another man to death?"

"He is a thief!" The guards insisted, "we caught in stealing food from The Market."

"And for this, you would kill him? How else must a man survive if the city demands he pay for his food but fails to give him any opportunity to do so?"

The guards thought on this and left the thief alone, because they could not answer.

Ethena placed her hands on the thief's injuries and they were suddenly healed.

"You are too young to be a mage," the thief said to Ethena, "and also too kind."

"What is your name?" Ethena asked him.

"I am Yissa of Halsworthy," he answered.

"Take the food you have and go home," Ethena instructed him, "I will pray that The Creator finds honest use of you."

"I will go and find honest work, young lady."

These guards, too, reported what they saw to their superiors.

The First Sermon

By this time, word had begun to spread of a young priestess who was healing the sick and the injured free. The next time she was in Laencaster, a crowd of people stopped her.

"You heal the sick and the wounded," they said, "why do you not charge for this as the other priests do?"

"I am not a priest," Ethena answered, "I am but a humble servant of The Creator."

"Tell us about this creator," the crowd demanded.

Ethena stood on the circa and began speaking to the people. As she did, more and more people came to listen to her speak.

"I am Ethena, and I have been choosen by a great angel to bring word of the True God to you. The Herald of the Most Divine demands that we listen to her teachings so that we might all come to the loving embrace of The Creator. In order to be chosen for entry unto Heaven, we must honor and obey the laws of The Creator."

"What sort of god cares whether we enter such a blissful afterlife?" A man in the crowd asked.

"The only god," Ethena answered, "The Creator loves all of his creation, but we have fallen away from his will and he beckons for us to return to him so that we might live in everlasting peace."

"Tell us these laws," another man asked, "so that we might to be with this god."

Ethena told the laws to the people as they were told to her by The Herald of the Most Divine.

  1. You shall marry for eternity. Once entered into wedlock, you shall honor that contract for all eternity, for in Heaven your marriage will not be annulled. No marriage past your first is honored in Heaven. If your spouse dies, you shall not remarry for your marriage is still binding in Heaven.
  2. You shall not engage in sexual activity until you are married. And only engage in sexual activity with your spouse.
  3. You shall not murder.
  4. You shall forgive the wrongdoings of others as The Creator would forgive you.
  5. You shall not consort with demons or devils lest you face the wraith of The Creator and his host of angels.
  6. You must obey all commands given to you by an angel of The Creator.

Ethena Protests The Grand Summit

After Ethena gave her speech, much of the crowd dispersed. But several stayed to receive healing.

"Lady," one man asked. "if The Creator says 'do not consort with demons or devils,' what does he say abut the magocracy? For it is clear they deal with evil spirits often."

"The Herald of the Most Divine has denounced The Grand Summit. They make deals with blasphemous spirits to increase their own power and the magi torture the innocent the amuse the demons. The Grand Summit will face the wrath of The Creator."

Ethena did not know there was a noble in the crowd and when the noble heard this he became incensed with Ethena.

"First you speak heresy against the temples and now you speak treason! You are no chosen one, but a upstart trying to rouse a rebellion under the name of a false god!"

"It is the temples that speak heresy and by teaching the gospels of their demon-gods. The Creator has chosen this country to begin his revival."

The crowd began to shout and argue with each other and attracted the attention of the city guards.

"She is a heretic and a traitor," the noble said. "I want her arrested at once!"

Ethena's Parents Killed

The guards tried to seize Ethena, but her parents intervened. The guards fatally beat her parents. This angered the crowd who rushed the guards to protect Ethena, who had been curing the sick.

A few people from the crowd took Ethena and snuck her out of Laencaster. "Go. Hide in the forest and never return. For if they find you, they will surely kill you."

Ethena hid in the forests for some time. There is much speculation about how she managed to survive.

The Pilgrimage

Ethena hid in the woods for a few weeks, being provided for by The Herald of the Most Divine. Until she instructed Ethena to go to Whiteridge. She ministered there and healed the sick as she had done before. But this time, she did it in secret. Telling each person she spoke to and each person she helped to tell no one about what she did. But her stories spread anyway, until the guards at Whiteridge found her, and she was forced to flee again.

Ethena then went to Dawnsfield. Learning from her past experiences, she only stayed long enough to help and minister for a few days, then she moved on. She then visited Oddwick, Foulcrest, Black Hollows and many more towns. In time, Ethena became a folk hero throughout all of Thessal and managed to continue to elude the authorities by using a little ingenuity, a little help from the locals and a little guidance from her angel.

The Tribulations

Ethena's Retinue

Ethena Returns to Laencaster

Ethena Defends herself at The Grand Summit

The Exalted March

The First Inquisition

Ethena's Warning

Ethena Marches on Laencaster

The Revival

Ethena Refuses Coronation

Ethena Creates a New Government for the People

Ethena Builds The Grand Cathedral

The Martyrdom of Ethena

The Herald's Last Visit

The Inquisition Marches to Corven

The Inquisition Destroyed

The Martyr