Iphazia

Iphazia is a goddess of wisdom, prophecy, and the sun. She features in the pantheons of many cultures, but only in the elven traditions of Evondafel and Molaza is she worshipped as their principal deity. She is noble and honest, with a passion for improving the lot of civilised folk. Her symbol is a golden sunburst, or sometimes a golden owl.

Iphazia is usually depicted as a slender, beautiful woman - typically an elf, even in human iconography - with a solar disk above her head and her halberd, Swiftreach, in hand. Her owl companion, Kormax, usually perches on the halberd’s tip. Kormax is said to be Iphazia’s eyes and ears during the night, when the sun - her usual window into the world - is absent.

Worship of Iphazia is particularly concerned with light - with a special focus on reflections and rainbows. Temples of Iphazia traditionally have a stained glass windows facing east and west; the east depicting Iphazia herself, the west the owl, Kormax. Iphazia is illuminated at dawn, in celebration of the sun’s light; and Kormax at dusk, reminding worshippers he watches during the night.

Iphazia is widely revered during the winter festival of the Iphaziad, when priestesses of Iphazia (all of Iphazia’s clergy are women) read portents in the reflections of iced up lakes and rivers. It is considered a bad omen should the ice thaw before the the portents are made.

Iphazia is the patron deity of the Jalliran city state of Iphazion, known as the City of Temples. Her temple, the Prismaon, is the grandest in the city. It consists of a vast golden dome with a spire of glass rising from its centre. On sunny days, the spire projects rainbows out to sea. It was built by elven exiles from Evondafel, keen to thank the locals for providing refuge, but also to outdo their kin by creating a bigger, better dedication to their god than what they had left behind. The Beliphaz in Evondafel, by comparison, is a fine example of a traditional elf cathedral, but is only half the size of the Prismaon - and lakes a glass spire.

Priestesses of Iphazia are usually trained from a very early age by temple caretakers called Solanates, who can be male or female. Priestesses are often wizards or sorceresses with strong divination powers, however, none are more prized than natural born oracles. The priestesses at the Prismaon and the Beliphaz are such.