![[Ehlonna.png]] **Intermediate Deity** **Alignment**: Neutral Good **Titles**: The Lady of the Forest, Guardian of the Groves, Ehlonna of the Forests --- ### **Overview** Ehlonna is the serene and graceful goddess of forests, nature, and wildlife, venerated by rangers, druids, hunters, and those who live close to the land. She embodies harmony between mortal civilizations and the natural world, encouraging compassion for animals, the beauty of untamed wilderness, and protection of sacred groves. Ehlonna is often depicted as an ethereal woman of radiant beauty, garbed in flowing green robes adorned with flowers and leaves. She sometimes takes the appearance of an elf or human maid, approachable and kind. To her followers, Ehlonna is not only a divine protector but a beacon of love and reverence for nature. She opposes those who seek to despoil the natural world—evil predators, blighters, and despoilers who raze forests for their own selfish needs. --- ### **Domain and Influence** Ehlonna’s domain is that of **forests**, meadows, and pristine wilderness untouched by evil or corruption. She is particularly revered in temperate and sylvan lands, where her influence manifests in: - **Thriving Flora and Fauna**: Sacred glades where animals and plants thrive under her protective gaze. - **Harmony of Life**: Natural beauty enhanced by the balanced co-existence of all creatures. - **Forest Groves**: Her sacred sites—ancient, untouched woodland sanctuaries that exude peace and magic. Ehlonna’s presence can often be felt in sun-dappled clearings, shimmering pools, and places where wildlife flourishes in quiet abundance. Birdsong, the fragrance of wildflowers, and shimmering beams of light piercing a canopy are seen as her signs of approval. --- ![[EhlonnaSymbol.png]] ### **Symbols and Icons** Ehlonna’s **symbol** is a **unicorn’s horn**—a representation of purity, peace, and the bond between Ehlonna and the creatures of the wild. Other symbols include: - **Unicorns and Deer**: Creatures that embody grace, innocence, and natural wonder. - **A Bow and Quiver**: Tools of hunters who respect nature, rather than destroy it. - **Blooming Flowers**: A token of her nurturing influence on the forests. Her favoured colours are **forest green, soft browns, and gold**, hues that evoke the majesty and tranquillity of nature. --- ### **Worship and Tributes** Ehlonna’s faith is widespread among those who cherish and protect the natural world. Worshipers include **rangers**, **druids**, **hunters**, and forest **settlers** who look to her for guidance. - **Morning Prayers**: Her followers offer simple prayers at dawn, seeking her blessings on their journeys through the wilderness. - **Offerings of Harmony**: Devotees offer fresh flowers, fruits, and seeds as thanks for her gifts. Dead animals killed for food are honoured with a quiet prayer of gratitude. - **Caretaking the Wild**: Followers strive to heal damaged groves, nurture sick animals, and cleanse wilderness desecrated by corruption. Druids and rangers consider themselves **stewards of Ehlonna’s will**, embodying her ideals of protecting forests and the creatures within. Festivals held in her honour celebrate life with dances, feasting, and gifts to the earth. --- ### **Clergy and Temples** Ehlonna’s clergy include **druids, clerics**, and **forest guardians** who live close to nature, often in secluded groves or hidden woodland shrines. They wear simple garments **greens, browns, and leaf-crowned adornments** emphasizing humility and closeness to the land. **Temples to Ehlonna** are rarely imposing structures but rather sacred **natural spaces** integrated into the wilderness. Examples include: - **Sylvan Groves**: Outdoor shrines where saplings, wildflowers, and natural springs mark her presence. - **Woodland Chapels**: Tiny sanctuaries carved into living trees or beneath leafy canopies. - **Clearings of the Horn**: Sites where unicorns have been seen, often blessed as holy ground. --- ### **Powers and Abilities** Ehlonna’s powers revolve around **nature’s harmony, protection, and restoration**. She is at once a nurturing force and a fierce defender of the wilds. Some of her notable abilities include: - **Bless the Wilderness**: She ensures plants flourish, waters remain pure, and animal life thrives wherever she treads. - **Shape the Land**: She can purify corrupted land and restore forests to their pristine, unspoiled state. - **Summon Forest Guardians**: Ehlonna calls upon unicorns, dryads, treants, or other woodland creatures to aid her or her followers. - **Bow of Light**: In battle, she wields a celestial bow that fires arrows of pure radiance, defending nature from evil incursions. Her clerics gain access to divine magic related to **healing, animal friendship, plant growth**, and the ability to summon or speak with woodland creatures. --- ### **Myths and Legends** **The First Unicorn** The most sacred legend of Ehlonna recounts how the **first unicorn** was created from her tears as she wept for the suffering of animals hunted without mercy. The unicorn swore eternal fealty to her, becoming the purest symbol of her love and protection for all creatures. **The Blighted Grove** A tale warns of a time when Ehlonna faced an evil blighter who corrupted an ancient woodland, spreading sickness and decay. Ehlonna confronted the foe herself, wielding her radiant bow. As she purged the corruption, her radiant arrows bloomed into great flowering trees, restoring the grove to greater beauty than before. **Ehlonna’s Starfall** Legends speak of a forest where trees seem to glow under starlight. It is said to be a blessed site where Ehlonna’s magic touched the land directly, and stars fell into the earth to heal the wild forevermore. Druids and pilgrims seek this site for wisdom and renewal. --- ### **Allies and Enemies** Ehlonna is allied with nature-aligned deities such as **Obad-Hai** (the Shalm), who embraces balance, and **Chauntea**, goddess of agriculture. While they may differ on where the boundaries between nature and civilization lie, they share reverence for life’s beauty. Ehlonna despises gods and entities that **despoil and corrupt nature**, including: - **Malar**, the Beastlord, whose violent, predatory hunts pollute the balance of nature. - **Talona**, whose poisons and disease ruin the purity of the wild. - **Lolth**, whose monstrous spiders taint the natural harmony of caves and forests alike. Her greatest nemeses are **blighters** and **corrupt druids**, whose acts of destruction strike at her very domain. --- ### **Encounters with Ehlonna’s Influence** Adventurers who encounter Ehlonna’s influence find her presence in places of peace and beauty. Examples include: - **Sacred Glades**: Enchanted clearings where unicorns graze and animals show no fear of mortals. - **Wild Guardians**: Rangers or unicorns might test trespassers to ensure they respect the land. - **Restoration of Nature**: Ehlonna’s clerics might call on heroes to defend ancient groves or cleanse blighted lands tainted by necromancy. Signs of her favour include sudden blossoms of wildflowers, animals gathering in peaceful coexistence, and pools of impossibly clear, drinkable water appearing in dire times. --- ### **Conclusion** Ehlonna, the Lady of the Forest, embodies nature’s vibrant beauty, its delicate balance, and the need to protect it against destruction. She inspires her followers to live in harmony with nature, teaching compassion for animals and reverence for the wilderness. Whether appearing as a goddess of radiant calm or a fierce guardian, her presence reassures all those who find peace in the wild places of the world.