Ianna, the Lioness and Queen of Victory, is the twin goddess of the Empyrean Cult in Medieval Vala, with a peaceful and a warlike side, worshiped for her power to unite opposites.
| Type | Deity |
| Spheres | Love, war, victory |
| Symbols | Nine-pointed star; lion |
| Sacred animals | Lion, falcon |
| Spanish entry | Ianna — la Leona, diosa de la dualidad |
History
She has been worshiped since before the Schism of the Empyrean religion. The paladin Thalia Cristalia was the prophet who united the aspects of often-rival sister goddesses.
The Temple of the Sword and the Veil
One temple, two orders:
- The Temple of the Veil employs priestesses as sacred courtesans and counselors to the great noble families. They work through love, seduction, wisdom and diplomacy, weaving ties between houses.
- The Temple of the Sword trains the dancing blades, an elite force against chthonic darkness, masters of close combat with any blade. They are the region’s most sought-after bodyguards; people come to watch them train or to try to qualify.
The temple proscribes, as aberrant and terribly pleasurable, exactly the rites of the old forest cults found underground.
On the frontier
On the Blackwater frontier, in 724:
- The last village upriver has a chapel of Ianna, where a dancer found half-dead is cared for “like a sister”.
- A lone dancing blade from the capital’s temple, with a silver dagger bearing the goddess’s symbol, travels with the band upriver.
- Before the dome temple’s dragon, one of the dancers shed her armor and offered herself as tribute; the curious creature took her beneath the altar and devoured her.
- At the legate’s fort, a notable dancer of Ianna gathers a company she calls the Claws of the Lioness.
Open questions
- Which of the two dancers was devoured is not settled.