Ezra (Deity)

Ezra is (at least presumably) a deity worshiped by members of the Church of Ezra. Also referred to as "Our Guardian in the Mists", Ezra is portrayed as a woman of grand stature but slim frame and black hair but pale skin. Her depictions portray her usual dress as long white robes, and she is usually shown carrying a longsword in one hand and a alabaster kite shield in the other. Her followers venerate her for her role in protection and healing of her people, though her followers recognize that she cannot save those who do not accept her in spirit. In imagery, Ezra's shield often carries the image of belladonna, a recognition of her healing aspect.

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Holy Symbol

A silver longsword superimposed on an alabaster kite shield and adorned with a sprig of belladonna.

Favored Weapon

Longsword

Spell-domains

Destruction, Law, Healing, Mists (exclusive), Protection

History

As one might expect, Ezra's true nature is a subject of contention among the different sects, congregations, and theologians of the Church. However, the general consensus among major traditions is that she was once a mortal woman, whom offered up her life as sacrifice to the Mists in order to protect the people in the face of rampant evil in the world. Some people hold that, sometime prior to becoming one with the Mists, Ezra broke her shield into five pieces and spread them through the Land of Mists. One such piece is held as a relic in Lechberg.

Although evidence exists in Ste. Mere des Larmes that her worship (or some facsimile thereof) may go back much earlier into the false history of Dementlieu, modern worship in the known history of the Land of Mists did not come until late 7th century of the Barovian Calendar. In 666 BC, Yakov Dilisnya experienced a seizure while riding on horseback in his native Mordent. While recovering, Yakov wrote the First Book of Ezra. He claimed that Ezra bestowed upon him divine insight to share with the rest of the world, and so the Church of Ezra was founded. As determined by the Rite of Revelation, Ezra apparently bestowed revelations to three more prophets in the decades to come, the most recent of which is Teodorus Raines, whose visions predicted the Time of Unparalleled Darkness and led him to establish the fourth, Lawful Evil branch of Ezra's church in Darkon.

Heresies

Several different ideas about Ezra considered heretical by her Church exist, both within and without her followers. Such heresies can be as simple as that she was a man. The House of the Sages area in Richemulot serves as a stomping ground and safe haven for heretics to the Church. These include the Danseurs Divin (whom espouse communion with the goddess through special emulation her ways), La Balise (the Avatar Heresy that supposes her mortal avatar is lost in some eldritch forest), and the the Échansons Heresy (which holds that she made herself mortal from the Mists and passed on a mortal bloodline.)

Outside of her faith, Ezra is seen by the Church of the Lawgiver, the strongest competitor to Ezra's church, to be the Lawgiver's concubine in Nova Vaasa. For their part, the Lawgiver's faithful in that land consider magic enacted in the name of another deity to be heretical.

Ezra is purported by some historians to have been a servant of Hala and her Church prior to becoming a goddess, but this claim would be most likely be met with hostility by Ezra's faithful.

Noncanon Information

The people of Liffe venerate Ezra as one of their Thousand Gods, though Ezra's church proper would probably consider this heresy.