Althea

Position	Greater Deity
Symbol	A Blue Rose
Colors	Argent and Blue
Celestial Symbol	The Evening Star "Telmentar"
Alignment	Neutral Good
Home Plane	The Dome of Heaven
Portfolio	Healing, Love, Compassion, Protection, Families, Marriage
Domains & Inquisitions	Good, Healing, Protection, Community Conversion, Truth, Illumination, Spellkiller
Cleric Alignment	CG, LG, NG
Favored Weapon	Soldier's Defense (bill)
Other Names	Star Mother, Heaven's Queen, The Healer, Telmentar Goddess of Creation (Myrddion), Holy One, The Queen of the Heavens, The Blessed Lady (sildanyar), The Lady of the Stars, Compassionate One, The Comforter, Mithril Lady (khazad)
Commonly Associated Organizations	Temple of Althea, Soldier's Defense Hospital (ongrid), Order of the Blue Rose, Order of the Hymn, Order of the Pillar
Some IC Hangouts	Alexandrian Grid: A10: Temple District, A06: The Verdant Earth, A06: The Soldier's Defense Wilderness Pointe Grid: W01: Herbal Shop

Third among the Gods of Good is Althea Telmentar. Althea is the goddess of healing and compassion. She inspires people to trust in the triumph of good, to undertake compassion and mercy, and to support one's community and family. She provides the comfort of healing as she provides the comfort of the hearth and a loving home. Restoration is her divine right and she seeks to aid in the healing of the soul. However, given her role as a protector of the vulnerable, alongside her husband Daeus, there are those she will not take in--namely, those unrepentant of their ways, who threaten those she holds dear.

She also patrons steadfast love, and is a known friend of silver dragons. Althea is also the wife of Daeus and the two rule the heavens together. Their love for one another is seen as one of the constants in the universe and is a favored subject of bards and scholars. Together, they represent steadfast love, in counter to the example provided by Maugrim and Taara, who are said to rule the hells. Although Daeus stands locked with his brother in eternal struggle, symbolic of the roles of Good and Evil, Althea as the Foundation has more earthly concerns. Yet, when magic broke, their daughter Eluna would stand against Taara, with her mother's strength as well as her own.

Few deities are as revered and as loved as Althea is. She is a goddess that seeks to heal all ills and minister to all beings, be they of good, neutral, or evil origins. She believes in the ability for good to redeem its own and would nurture those She can to the light, though some are beyond even Her reach.

Although depicted as a gentle goddess, in truth her gentleness comes from understanding and Her wrath great when roused. It is a mistake to say that she is a pacifist. It is more that she is both patient and understanding, but even this has its limits and Her gentleness should be confused with neither pacifism nor weakness. Her knighthood, the Sentinel Guardians, act swiftly in defense of the downtrodden and prosecuted.

The children of Althea and Daeus are Eluna, Gilead, and Tarien.

Dogma

The path that Althea walks is a hard one. Those who follow her calling often need to shine like beacons and possess an inner strength, illuminating the darkness to bring those lost into the light. They are asked to exhibit patients, and seek understanding before acting.

As her husband is the Knight of Justice, so Althea is the heart of his order. Working together, they believe in the upholding of the principles of what is good, and to stand against the corrupting forces of darkness. If he is its execector, she is its foundation. These principles are reflected in their respective clergies.

Embodying kindness, love, compassion and tolerance, her followers work to bring hope to others. As great counselors and comforters, especially in times of need, their wisdom is rarely spurned. Willing to listen, their truthful words can only strengthen hearts in the long run.

With Daeus, she extends her protection to the meek and downtrodden. Together, they work to make a better world with different, but interlocking tools. Where his clergy advocate justice and good governance, Althea encourages patience and greater understanding. Althea's bravery through compassion is unnmatched, and her followers are some of the "first in, last out" to disable evil's works. Together, they urge their followers to stand as beacons to what is good and right in the world, though their methods and priorities may differ. Althea's followers then, do not tend towards pacifism, but careful action.

Temples and the Faithful

It is the duty of Althean faithful to tend to the earthly and bodily needs of individuals. It is sometimes said that Althea is the Foundation, and that Daeus is the Justice that strives to protect it. In general, her temples are strongest in civilized lands with a semblance of structured order and living. In these areas, the temples of Althea and Daeus may often be found side.

It should come as no surprise that common folk love Althea's church and clergy quite dearly. They can be counted on to be generous in their support of various locations and many of her faithful dedicate themselves to lifelong missions of healing and to the alleviation of suffering. They speak for the oppressed, guide the lost, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, care for orphans, gather herbs to make medicine, and give shelter to the shelterless. While never able to do as much as they would like, they are active in the daily affairs of common folk. Her faithful walk a difficult path but their faith makes them all the stronger for it.

Those who look upon Althea and the travails of her faithful with scorn or believe that their compassionate nature is synonymous with weakness sorely underestimate both the goddess and her followers. When it comes to political machinations and outright combat against the forces of darkness, Althea favors a behind-the-scene approach while her clergy are tireless in their efforts to remove scourges of the land and other causes of suffering. In order to cause less violence and suffering, Althea's faithful favor more covert and strategic actions, rather than open warfare.

Althean faithful may be guided by traditions within their faith. Examples are below.

Titles
Cleric	Hearthguard
Paladin	Sentinel
Inquisitor	Pardoner

Althean Clerical Traditions: Althea's clergy are known for both their strength and compassion. Althea encourages subtlety and intelligent to work towards the least harm, and greatest good. Her priests often work with the priests of Daeus to maintain the social good. Even when indoors or during cloud cover, Althea's priests always instinctively know the position of the evening star named Telmentar, and they always face it when praying.

Althean Paladin Traditions: Paladins of Althea are often protectors of the weak. They serve often as guards to Althea's good works and as defenders of those who cannot aid themselves. It would be a mistake to call them pacifists. Rather, they are encouraged to be strategic, with both shield and strength.

Clerical Vestments

They favor loose light blue robes with gold or silver trimmings and hoods, worn over a breastplate that is often emblazoned with a rose. Many carry long quarterstaff as well as numerous scroll and potion cases for the purpose of carrying healing accouterments.

Avatars

Althea’s traditional appearance is that of a simple white, silver and pink robed woman with dark hair and a blue staff. Her hair is long and full, falling past her waist with two slender strands curling to fall in front of her shoulders. Sometimes she is hooded and she walks the world as The White Lady, in simple white robes with little by way of excessive design or color on them. Her simplistic appearance belies her great power and influence in the world. She is not given to extravagant appearances or displays but the color blue is always about her and evident on her form in some fashion or another.