Viridia
Viridia is the goddess of nature, known as the Willow Mother, the Queen of Thorns and the Green Lady. Her domains are life, nature, harvest and the seasons, and her symbol is the acorn.1
Teachings
Viridia reigns at the borders of civilisation and beyond. She is the goddess "not of what is crafted, but of what has grown", and she puts the protection of nature and the balance of life first.2
She does not mind people gathering natural resources or hunting game, so long as the balance of nature is respected. Those who heed the breeding seasons and the ancient parts of the forests in their work are not counted as her enemies. But it is believed that if nature is polluted and things get out of control, she will not hesitate to send plagues and disasters.2
Adopt the pace of her. For she is the one who has patience.2
Worship
Foresters, hunters and all who travel through the wild pray to the Green Lady so that her wrath does not fall on them. The most common way to worship her is a solitary pilgrimage to a sacred place in the wilds, and any gardening work can count as worship if it is done with that intention.2
Not every orc is a raider: many Orcs live in harmony with nature and worship Viridia instead of Korhak. Yet orc life is harsh and ruled by survival of the fittest, and even Viridia's followers among them cannot wholly turn away from violence.3
In the Empire
Humans seldom pray to the goddess of nature within The Empire, where most churches belong to Alarath and Amarath. Some clerics of Viridia find a place by hiding their faith within the ranks of more accepting clergies. Leylanda is one of them: a pacifist who prays to Viridia while serving under the clergy of Amarath in the local temple of repentance in Reik's Gate, and who holds the power of nature to be the main force keeping the evils of the crater at bay.4
Notes
Sources
This article draws on:
Images in this article
Lands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide (Bad Badger Games, 2024), p. 31. Art by the Bad Badger Games team.
Related articles
RegionThe EmpireThe human realm at the heart of the Lands of Exile, an absolute monarchy heavily shaped by faith, ruled from Marble City by the unbroken line of the Red Eagle and divided into five provinces under their Sovereigns.ConceptExiled PantheonThe gods worshipped across the Lands of Exile, held in the mythology of Teneris to be the children of the Dark One, and honoured in temples, churches and the holy city of Sanctuary.
DeityKorhakThe god of strength and violence, prized by mountain tribes, marauder clans, orc warbands and mercenaries, whose creed holds that the strong should rule and that only a worthy fight earns his blessing.CharacterLeylandaA pacifist worshipper of Viridia who serves among Amarath's clergy in the temple of repentance at Reik's Gate and has joined the Servants of the Moonlit Circle.
DeityAlarathThe god of war and justice, patriarch of the Exiled Pantheon and protector of the Empire, who prizes courage above mercy and whose paladins are said to serve him even beyond death.
DeityAmarathThe god of home and compassion, twin of Alarath, known as the Protector of the Weak, Mender of Wounds and Lord of Mercy, the god of all people to whom healers, families and villagers turn.
DeityApatheThe goddess of broken fate and sole deity of the drow, the Mother of Spiders, the Seer and the Breaker of Promises, who foresaw the Desolation and led her elven followers underground.
DeityAquaronThe god of sea and rivers, the Lord of Sea, First Shipmaker and Blue God, patron of sailors, who sheltered the fleeing elves and taught them seafaring.
DeityMalacharThe god of luck and outcasts, the Lord of the Spinning Coin, the Smiling Fate and the Darkwing, who once spied on the Dark One for the gods and now shelters those whom society casts out.