Jislana, Lord of Dance
The Fleetfooted, The Sand Dancer, The Blade Mistress, The Sea Sprite Queen
Lesser Deity
Symbol: A swirl of footprints in sand
Home Plane: Arborea
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Dancing, Freedom, Martial Arts, Oceans, Sailing
Worshipers: Dancers, Rebels, Monks
Cleric Alignments: CG, NG, CN
Domains: Liberation, Travel, Water, War
Favored Weapon: “Quick-Tap” and "Soul-Cut", (Scimitars)
Jislana the Lord of Dance is a figure that few on Ortho remember. Indeed, only a few sea chants and sailor's myths survive of the goddess along with a smattering of shamans from superstitious cultures around the Isles of Thaera. Oddly, more individuals remember Jislana's proxy, Po Ji, than they do the goddess herself.
Jislana doesn't mind and dances on.
Jislana tends to take the avatar of a beautiful twenty-something young girl with long dark hair flowing behind and a free flowing translucent dress. Jislana is always barefoot and tends to dance rather than walk. She is often armed with a pair of scimitars that she can conjure out of thin air at will.
The Blade Mistress was once worshiped by the Fishermen, Entertainers, Sea-Elves, and Swordsmen. While never an especially popular goddess, Jislana always attracted a reasonable following from those whom viewed life with a sense of joy and wonder.
Jislana's faith was divided sharply amongst those sea men who venerated her as the lady of the waves plus those who viewed her as the embodiment of self-perfection. During the tyranny of Alzrius and later the early days of the Harmonium, she became the symbol of rebellion against his rule. Unlike Chal, Jislana cared nothing for anarchy but merely the end of harsh rule.
Oddly, despite her own Chaotic nature, Jislana was the Patron of Monks on Ortho until that role was taken from her by The Lords of Order. Her followers were still tremendously disciplined and focused but were often inclined to wander the world in an unorganized fashion, seeking wrongs to right as the wind might take them.
The holiest days of Jislana's Faith was the "High Tide" which was always set at the end of Summer and "Low Tide" which was always set at the beginning of Spring. These two day were celebrated with much dancing, singing, and festivals. Her monks were specifically allowed to break their traditional vows of fasting and poverty to enjoy themselves on these days.
Jilsana tended to be venerated in road-side shrines and beach-side Temples rather than large and elaborate in-land territories. Her monasteries were once a very common sight in Shoryku and the Empire of Thaera. Now, most of them have been converted to the worship of the Lords of Order or demolished. Still, there are some small ones spread out that occasionally receive a pilgrim that seems guidance in a world gone mad. Jislana worshipers tend to favor the color blue and dress in it.
History and Relationships: Jislana is the favored child of the Fox and the one that was considered his heir for most of his reign. Both he and Jislana were the gods most focused on the welfare of mortals on the planet Ortho while, simultaneously, being those most committed to the Harmonium's failure. Ultimately, both of them were unable to prevent the domination of the OCA from covering the whole of the planet.
Jislana takes this loss stoically and believes that the people of Ortho made the choice to abandon the ways of Chaos of their own free will. She bears the least amount of grudge towards the people of the OCA and would be surprised to find that many consider the Harmonium a force that can still be driven from the planet. Mostly, Jislana has spent her time in Arborea and planting seeds of her faith in developing worlds that appreciate a sea goddess. Should an Ortho clergyman beseech her, she might be interested in returning to once more try and help the planet achieve a balanced world view.
Jislana was once the avowed enemy of the Saeduenical and her clergy slew literally thousands of that goddess' priests during the wars with Thaera. Jislana still has difficulty understanding why the good Lords of Order came to the rescue of that god when it seems more sensible that the just should ally against the evil. Likewise, Jislana hated the evil Lords of Chaos and was an enemy of both Ghanalim along with his sister Namaneil.
Jislana is a close associate of Deep Sashelas the Sea-Elf deity, Branchala from Krynn, and also Lathander from the Forgotten Realms. Oddly, she has no problem with allying with Lawful Deities so long as they hold the principles of good higher than those of order. Jislana is also an enemy of Hextor, though their quarrels are mostly set off the world. Nevertheless, her presence helped convince Hextor to encourage his hobgoblins to join with the Knights of Harmony.
Jislana, unlike most Lords of Chaos, keeps a Chosen. Po-Ji the Wanderer is nearly a demigod in strength and much more focused on battling excessive Law on Ortho than she is. Jislana has been considering sponsoring him for full deity membership with the Fox's blessing but it is unlikely he'll agree until something seriously changes on Ortho.
The Harmonium's Take: A juvenile delinquent and seducer of young men. The dancer is a temptress into rebellion and neglect of spiritual matters. She has little to no self control, and encourages the same flaws in her followers. Her followers refuse to acknowledge any lawful authority, are anarchists at heart, and contribute nothing to their communities. They are leeches. Her followers may be found among Otaki, sailors, and other rootless peoples. She destroys authority and property if called to by her belief in freedom for all. She keeps no promise she makes and holds no bond sacred, acting in the name of misguided freedom.
The Dark: Jislana is not a goddess willing to be tied down to any one person, place, or cause - but that doesn't mean she does not care about anything but herself. She has a boundless energy that she gives to her causes and her actions on Ortho, but she rarely manages to stay long enough to see the action through entirely, leaving that to her followers or other powers allied with her. She is skilled at seeing to the heart of the matter before her, and at leading others into doing the right thing.
The only cause Jislana has never abandoned is an ongoing quest to destroy the very concept of slavery. It is this quest that has made her the enemy of Saeduenical and all purveyors of evil order on Ortho.
In addition, after the split of the pantheon she holds a strong aversion to making promises, as the last one she made was to Baelae and it did not turn out well. Even now she regrets their quarrel and that she was not able to convince him to come with her.
Dogma: The world is an ever changing, growing, and shifting place. It is like the waters of the ocean in some places, utterly chaotic, and the beach in others where a semblance of stability is ever fighting the tide. Focus your inner strengths, grow them, and use them to make the world a better place. Remember that nothing lasts forever but that's a good thing since it allows new things to take their place. Love strongly and passionately the life you live.