Goddess of Life, Journeys, Joy and Erotic Love
  Beauty, Good, Liberation, Luck, Passion, Travel. The Scourge. Warning Weapons.
  Portrayed as a jovial and nurturing (albiet carnally-minded and crass-mouthed) older woman, Essiah is the goddess who governs all the parts of life which are most worth treasuring. Existance is too short and too valuable, she teaches, to squander it upon banalities like status games, provincial tunnel-vision or complacent obedience. She favours those who choose to take risks in pursuit of a dream or desire, as long as those risks aren't foolhardy enough to show a lack of respect for life. She is the patron goddess of gnomes (along with Xavias) and adventurers -- especially those who choose to adventure simply for the joy of seeing wonderous things rather than more mercenary souls. Her clerics are free spirits that cannot be tied down to any one locale, seeing a new adventure on every horizon and having a man (or woman) waiting in every port.
  Essiah is Mara's older sister, and her counterpoint in all things. The two goddesses, extreme extrovert and extreme introvert, have very different viewpoints on love, and on what is valuable in life, but support each other loyally none the less. Essiah is also a staunch ally of Semirath, and frequently defends him against the harsh accusations of Erich in Immotian's grand celestial palace. Maeve favours Essiah, but Essiah does not return that friendship -- Essiah's brood take responsibility for their actions, while Maeve's could care less. Her priesthood has no formal temples or ranks, gathering together in the wilderness on nights of a full moon for wild baccanals where stories of exotic lands are shared and priests drive themselves into an ecstatic state in the hopes of receiving a vision from their goddess.
  Essiah asks that her clerics constantly seek out new experiences, always yearning for the land that can be seen on the horizon. The greatest sin in Essiah's theology is the betrayal of a true friend, and the greatest virtue is embracing (and, equally importantly, understanding) one's own passions. Essiah does not deny the darker passions like hate, grief, hurt or anger, nor does she sugar-coat them. She encourages her followers to embrace their feelings, dark or light, and to act on and through them (within the bounds of moral conduct), provided that the darker passions are never allowed to overwhelm or extinguish joy or delight. Sometimes even the nicest people have to do something ugly, after all.
  Essiah's holy symbol is a tiny statue of two humanoid figures (of any combination of genders) intertwined in an erotic embrace. Her chosen weapon is the scourge -- her clerics do not do violence lightly, but when they do they aim to hurt! She grants access to the domains of Beauty, Good, Liberation, Luck, Passion and Travel. She is Chaotic Good, and accepts followers of any Good alignment.
   Worship: Essiah accepts as sacrifices anything evil that is killed in accordance with the strictures of a Good alignment, though she especially glories in the offering of the bodies of creatures who degrade sexuality or represent sexual predation, such as vampires, succubi and incubi, evil nymphs or satyrs and so forth. She is pleased when her followers engage in activities that push them to their personal limits and leave them hot and sweaty, even in the unusual case where they don't take place in the bedroom. She is also pleased by exploration and discovery; the very act of traversing a lost city or ancient ruins pleases her. (Characters can monitor what percent of an area they've explored by checking their Journal). Finally, simple acts of goodness also please Essiah, as does resolving conflicts without violence.
   Essiah is angered by evil acts, especially attacking non-hostile creatures. She also dislikes her followers remaining in one place for too long -- in game terms, her favour can be lost if a character levels up more than twice in the same geographic area. (This clause is not implemented in Halls of the Goblin King, for obvious reasons.)
   Blessings: Essiah cheerfully aids her followers after only a nominal sacrifice, healing their wounds, purifying their bodies, lifting curses, transporting them to safety, easing hunger, removing fatigue, replenishing the spirit, curing blindness and permanent wounds and deflecting especially lethal blows. She will also ressurrect the rare follower who has served her ethos with exceptional devotion.
   Essiah grants her followers tutelage in alchemy and the physician's arts (that they might manufacture herbal contraceptives and abortifacients to gain control over their own bodies), and the ability to understand other people, making them better able to give and receive consent and be empathetic lovers. She gifts more experienced followers with magically swift movement and freedom of action, preventing them from being restrained or paralyzed. (Since she has already given this gift as a racial blessing to the gnomish race, gnomes receive bonus feats instead.) She is also known to grant beauty, wisdom and influence over dreams.

Domains: Beauty, Good, Liberation, Luck, Passion, Travel