Yssarel, the Wildmother

Greater Deity

Domains: Life, Nature, Peace
Cultural Names: Tal'Khuna in Nurathar, Shanmu in Shen-Su, Kihowa among the Tavaska

Yssarel is the goddess of life, nature, healing, and the wild. Creation traditions credit her with filling Eldareth with its first plants and animals, while several peoples also name her among their creators.

Orcs, gnomes, and the Tavaska preserve particularly strong traditions of being shaped by Yssarel, though they are unlikely to be the only peoples whose origins are tied to her. Since the death of her sister Lyrael, Yssarel is said to have chosen silence, and no accepted account records her speaking aloud since.

Symbol

Yssarel's symbol is a crown formed from flowering vines. Its branches and blossoms represent the many forms of life that sprang from her creation and continue through each generation.

The circle sometimes shown around the crown belongs to the amulet or medallion carrying it and is not part of the symbol itself. Green is the color most closely associated with her faith, commonly paired with white or gold.

Depictions

Yssarel is commonly depicted as a tall woman with reddish or auburn hair, green or earth-toned skin, and plants growing through her hair and clothing.

Her appearance varies between cultures. Forest traditions may give her branches, vines, or features drawn from woodland animals, while coastal depictions incorporate coral, kelp, and marine life. Some portray her at an immense scale, with mortals and animals small enough to rest within her hands.

Her eyes are usually shown in shades of green or gold.

Divine Realm

Yssarel resides in the Emerald Wilds, her divine realm within Arborea.

The Wilds extend across one of the natural passages between Arvandor and Aquallor. Their terrestrial reaches contain forests, rivers, wetlands, grasslands, mountains, gardens, and cultivated land before gradually giving way to estuaries, islands, reefs, kelp forests, and open sea.

The transition between the two layers is gradual within Yssarel's realm. Rivers broaden toward the coast, freshwater mingles with the sea, and the ecosystems of Arvandor give way to those of Aquallor without requiring passage through a conventional portal.

Life throughout the Wilds is abundant but never completely still. Rivers change course, animals migrate, storms reshape the land, forests expand when conditions allow, and populations rise and fall as part of the natural cycles that sustain them.

Those who dwell there are expected to live without exhausting the land or driving other life from it. Hunting, farming, fishing, and harvesting all have a place within the Wilds, provided enough remains for the surrounding environment to recover.

Since Yssarel ceased speaking following Lyrael's death, those seeking her guidance within the Emerald Wilds instead watch the wind and changes in the natural world for signs of her attention.

Origins and Divine Role

Yssarel arose during the earliest age of creation, when Elgalar called life into the newly formed world.

Lyrael shaped the lands and seas, and Yssarel filled them. Forests spread across the earth, grasses took root, and animals entered the waters, skies, and wilderness.

Many traditions also place her among the creators of mortal peoples. Orcs, gnomes, and the Tavaska retain especially old accounts of being shaped by Yssarel, while other cultures preserve similar claims. How many peoples ultimately arose through her hand is unknown.

She is also credited with establishing the cycle through which living things grow, reproduce, die, and sustain what follows. Death belongs within that cycle. Waste, needless destruction, and taking more than the land can replace do not.

Her worship later became closely tied to cultivation and healing. Priests and druids devoted to Yssarel tend the sick and wounded, assist childbirth, care for animals, and help damaged land recover.

The Silent Goddess

Yssarel is said to have stopped speaking after Lyrael's death.

The reason remains uncertain. Some traditions attribute her silence to grief, while others describe it as a vow whose purpose she never revealed.

Her followers believe she still answers through the wind. A breeze passing through a still grove or an unexpected shift in the air during prayer may be taken as a sign, though such moments are rarely treated as clear instructions.

Many of her rites therefore include periods of silence in which those present simply listen.

Worship and Practice

Yssarel is usually worshipped outdoors. Sacred groves, springs, gardens, old trees, and protected stretches of wilderness serve as places of prayer throughout Eldareth.

Offerings are commonly returned to the land. Seeds are planted, water is poured onto dry soil, and portions of a harvest may be left for wildlife. Hunters may give thanks after taking an animal, while farmers seek her blessing before planting or when exhausted ground needs time to recover.

Her followers often become involved when settlement or the use of natural resources causes lasting damage. Their concern is practical: whether a forest will regrow, a river remains healthy, or animals are being taken faster than their numbers can recover.

In Nurathar, Tal'Khuna is honored through sacred groves and traditions connected to family and the land. In Shen-Su, Shanmu is celebrated through flower rites, planting ceremonies, and seasonal observances.

The Rootwardens

Yssarel holds an important place among the Rootwardens, though their traditions reflect the life of the Hollow Depths rather than the forests of the surface.

Their depictions draw from vast root systems, fungi, luminous plants, underground waterways, and other life that thrives without sunlight. Yssarel may be shown emerging from roots or surrounded by the strange flora of the deep places.

Her silence carries particular importance among them. Prayer often involves listening to water, leaves, spores, and shifting roots for signs of her presence.

The Tavaska

Among the Tavaska of Shahoya, Yssarel is known as Kihowa, the Mother-of-Paws.

Their oral traditions call the Tavaska her First Children and teach that she gave them the gift of Shifting so they could live alongside and protect the animals and lands around them.

These stories also remember Lessarith the Deceiver as Snake-in-Smoke. She corrupted some of their ancient kin, transforming them into the first Ssith'katha. The tale remains a warning against pride, temptation, and the desire to dominate what was meant to be shared.

Yssarel and the Triad

Yssarel was among the strongest divine opponents of Lessarith and Vorandor.

Vorandor's Creeping Rot spread through forests, waterways, animals, and inhabited land, leaving entire regions increasingly difficult to survive. He later unleashed the Scab-Rot Plague, a fast-moving disease that caused severe physical decay and resisted both ordinary treatment and much divine healing.

Lessarith's corruption of the Tavaska's ancient kin gave their conflict another lasting place in Yssarel's traditions. Yssarel ultimately stood with the other gods who opposed the Triad and helped drive them beyond the mortal world.

Tenets

• Protect life from needless harm.

• Take no more than the land can replace.

• Return something when you take from the earth.

• Learn how a place lives before changing it.

• Care for the sick, wounded, and vulnerable.

• Leave enough for those who come after you.

• Do not seek mastery over every living thing.

• Listen when Yssarel answers through the wind.