Leira (goddess)

Forgotten Realms Deity
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name=Leira
title=Lady of the Mists
The Lady of Deception
The Mist Maiden
Mother of Illusionists
The Guardian of Liars
The Mistshadow
home=LimboThe Courts of Illusion
power=Lesser
alignment=Chaotic Neutral
portfolio=Deception, Illusion, Mist, Shadow
alias=
super=

Leira is a fictional Faerûnian lesser deity of the "Forgotten Realms" campaign setting.

ymbol

The symbol of Leira is a triangular plaque of cloudy, swirling gray mists, pointed downwards.cite book | last = Greenwood | first = Ed | authorlink = | coauthors = Grubb, Jeff; Martin, Karen S. | title = Forgotten Realms: Cyclopedia of the Realms | publisher = TSR Inc. | date = 1987 | location = USA | pages = pgs. 11-12 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0-88038-472-7]

As a deity

Leira is quite an enigma, she never tells the truth when falsehood will do. Everything she does and says is shrouded in layers of illusion and lies. She believes the truth is worthless and that misbelief and falsehood are what gives life meaning.

She has quite a small following, her Priests, known as Leirans (or worshippers of the mistshadow) wear silver masks, or sometimes disguise themselves to deceive those around them. Leirans are supposed to speak the truth only to other Leirans. High-level clerics of the Leiran faith are called Mistcallers.

Every morning, and on every moonlit night, Leirans lay face down and pray to the Lady of the Mists. If there is ever mist, Leirans walk through it and pray. The most revered act in the Leiran faith is the Unmasking, a purification ritual performed when new followers enter the religion.

History

Ten years after the Time of Troubles, Leira was slain by Cyric, using the sword Godsbane (actually the god Mask in disguise). Cyric then went on to subsume Leira's portfolio.

Some believe Leira is still alive and that she uses her death as a grand illusion, but the general consensus is that she is a dead power.cite book | last = Grubb | first = Jeff | authorlink = | coauthors = Greenwood, Ed | title = Forgotten Realms Adventures | publisher = TSR Inc. | date = 1990 | location = USA | pages = pg. 23 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0-88038-828-5]

References