![[Talona.png|400]] **Also Known As:** Lady of Poison, Mistress of Disease, Mother of All Plagues, The Plague-Crone **Lesser Deity** **Alignment**: Chaotic Evil --- ### Overview Talona is the Faerûnian goddess of disease and poison. She is one of the most feared deities in Faerûn and is blamed for plagues, sickness, poisoned wells, blighted crops, venomous creatures, and countless forms of physical affliction. Her worship rises during times of epidemic and declines during periods of prosperity, creating a cycle that has persisted throughout Faerûnian history. Talona is a lesser deity of the Faerûnian pantheon whose portfolio has remained largely unchanged for centuries. While many evil gods pursue conquest, domination, or destruction, Talona's influence is centred upon disease, poison, and the suffering they create. --- ### Domain and Influence Talona’s domain is one of sickness, corruption, and inevitable decay. Her power is felt in the rotting fields of famine, the fevered cries of the afflicted, and the slow, agonizing deaths caused by poison and plague. Talona's divine portfolio consists of: - Disease - Poison - Pestilence - Venom - Epidemics - Crop blights - Contaminated food and water Talona is worshipped and feared because disease affects every level of society. Farmers blame her for diseased livestock and failing harvests. Merchants fear outbreaks that cripple trade. Rulers fear epidemics that devastate cities. Common folk often invoke her name during times of illness in hopes of avoiding her attention. Her worshipers are a mix of those who revere her out of fear and those who embrace her teachings to wield death and disease as tools of power. While primarily worshiped in secret, Talona’s influence can be found wherever suffering and death take hold. Her influence extends to both natural and magical diseases, as well as poisons of every kind. --- ### Dogma Talona's faith teaches that disease and death are unavoidable realities of existence. Her clergy believe that sickness, plague, and poison are among the greatest forces in the world because every living creature is vulnerable to them. One traditional teaching of the church holds that life and death exist in balance, but that death is ultimately the greater power. Followers are encouraged to respect disease, understand it, and use it as a tool when necessary. Talontar are expected to spread Talona's influence, increase awareness of her power, and ensure that people continue to fear the consequences of ignoring her. --- ### Divine Realm Talona's divine realm is known as the **Palace of Poison Tears**. Under the Great Wheel cosmology it was located on Cathrys, the second layer of Carceri. Under later cosmologies it became associated with the Barrens of Doom and Despair. The realm is a vast marshland filled with poisonous vegetation, insects, parasites, disease-bearing creatures, and stagnant waters. At its centre stands a massive structure shaped after Talona's holy symbol. Among her servants are rats, dire rats, monstrous spiders, quasits, and other creatures associated with disease and infestation. --- ### Relationships with Other Powers Before the Time of Troubles, Talona served Bhaal. During this period she maintained a fierce rivalry with Loviatar, another servant of Bhaal. Loviatar frequently mocked Talona's appearance, influence, and number of followers, creating a long-standing hostility between the two faiths. Around 1369 DR, Talona formed an alliance with Shar. Talona is known to despise: - Chauntea - Mielikki - Tyr - Kelemvor These deities and their churches frequently oppose the spread of disease and corruption. ### Symbols and Icons ![[TalonaSymbol.png]] Talona’s symbol is a trio of droplets: one of blood, one of poison, and one of tears, representing the suffering she spreads. These are often etched onto amulets, weapons, and ritual tools used by her followers. Her sacred colours are sickly green and black, often displayed in her shrines or the vestments of her clergy. Her imagery frequently includes depictions of serpents, rotting plants, and diseased creatures. Talona is most commonly depicted as: - A diseased crone marked by sores, scars, and visible illness. - A beautiful woman concealing corruption beneath her appearance. Religious texts frequently describe her as a figure whose beauty has been ravaged by disease and time. --- ### Worship and Tributes Talona’s worship is often conducted in secrecy, as her faith is considered dark and dangerous. Her followers honour her with rituals steeped in venom, decay, and suffering: - **Plague Offerings**: Diseased animals, poisonous plants, and infected objects are sacrificed to Talona as tokens of devotion. - **Kisses of Death**: Worshipers deliberately poison themselves in controlled doses, believing that surviving her “kiss” proves their worth. - **Ritual Infections**: Her clergy spread minor diseases among themselves or their victims as acts of devotion. - **Curses and Contagion**: Many invoke Talona’s name when cursing others, hoping to bring about sickness or suffering to their enemies. Talona receives worship from a variety of individuals including: - The diseased and afflicted. - Poisoners and assassins. - Alchemists and apothecaries. - Healers and physicians. - Individuals seeking protection from illness. Many prayers directed toward Talona are motivated by fear rather than devotion. During outbreaks of disease, communities often make offerings in hopes that she will spare them from further suffering. Her worship has historically reached its greatest levels during major plagues, including the Year of Clinging Death (75 DR), the Rotting War (902 DR), the Year of the Scourge (1150 DR), and the Great Plague of the Inner Sea. --- ### Clergy and Temples Talona's clergy are known collectively as the **Talontar**, are both feared and despised. They serve as both healers and harbingers of death, offering cures for those who can pay or unleashing plagues upon their enemies. Her priests are often skilled in herbalism and alchemy, blending cures with poisons. Her temples are hidden and grim, often located in diseased swamps, abandoned ruins, or within the lairs of her most devoted cults. These temples are filled with venomous creatures, cauldrons of toxic substances, and relics steeped in death. Clerics of Talona are identifiable by their sickly green robes , which are traditionally washed but never repaired and their penchant for wearing masks or veils, often painted with serpent or skull motifs. Senior clergy often cover themselves in ritual scars or tattoos. The Talontar are skilled in: - Diseases and epidemics. - Poisons and antidotes. - Herbal remedies. - Alchemy. - Treatment of the sick. Many deliberately expose themselves to disease and poison while developing magical and physical resistance to such afflictions. Their expertise often leads rulers, merchants, and nobles to employ them as poison testers, physicians, or advisers during outbreaks. One notable organisation within her faith is the **Plague Rats**, a group of assassins, thieves, and wererats active throughout parts of Faerûn. --- ### Powers and Abilities Talona possesses divine authority over disease and poison: Her clergy receive divine magic associated with sickness, corruption, venom, and pestilence. - **Venomous Blessing**: Talona grants her followers immunity to poisons and diseases, allowing them to spread her gifts without suffering the consequences. - **Plaguecraft**: Her priests can summon pestilence, causing crops to wither, creatures to sicken, and entire regions to fall into ruin. - **Touch of Decay**: Talona’s magic can rot flesh, weaken structures, and destroy living tissue with a mere touch. - **Serpent’s Bite**: She imbues her champions with the power to strike with the speed and lethality of venomous snakes. --- ### Treatment of the Faithful Talona’s relationship with her followers is one of dark reciprocity. While she delights in their suffering, she rewards loyalty and devotion with power over life and death: - **Marks of Favour**: Devoted followers may receive Talona’s mark, a snake coiled around a droplet of poison, which can manifest as a tattoo, scar, or birthmark. - **Immunity to Suffering**: Talona’s chosen are often blessed with immunity to diseases and poisons, making them feared vectors of her will. - **Wrath of Neglect**: Those who fail to honour Talona’s gifts are often stricken with the very diseases they sought to avoid. The church encourages followers to understand and master disease rather than fear it. Talontar often study both the creation and cure of illnesses, viewing such knowledge as sacred. --- ### Myths and Legends Talona’s myths are filled with tales of suffering, betrayal, and the power of death over life: - **The Deadly Kiss**: In one legend, Talona kissed a mortal king who insulted her, infecting him with an incurable plague that spread across his kingdom. The land was abandoned, becoming a barren wasteland. - **The Creation of Poison**: Talona is said to have crafted the first poisons from her own blood, seeding the world with venomous creatures and toxic plants to remind mortals of her power. - **The War of Decay**: Some myths claim Talona was once a rival of Chauntea, spreading blight and famine across the lands to counteract Chauntea’s gifts of growth and life. Their battles are said to have created cursed regions still plagued by sickness and rot. - **The Betrayal of Moander**: Talona is rumoured to have betrayed Moander, the god of rot, poisoning his essence to claim dominion over decay and pestilence for herself. One of the most significant events in Talona's history was her conflict with the demipower **Kiputytto**. In -33 DR, Kiputytto challenged Talona's claim over disease. The resulting struggle devastated the nation of Asram through a succession of catastrophic plagues. Talona ultimately emerged victorious and killed Kiputytto. In later centuries, some texts referred to Kiputytto as an aspect or alternate identity of Talona, further cementing her victory and erasing much of Kiputytto's independent legacy. During the Time of Troubles, an avatar of Talona indirectly provided knowledge used in the creation of the magical affliction known as the Chaos Curse. --- ### Encounters with Talona’s Influence Talona’s presence is felt in areas struck by plague, famine, and unnatural death. Adventurers may encounter her influence in various forms: - **Blighted Villages**: Entire settlements may fall under Talona’s shadow, their inhabitants plagued by sickness and suffering. - **Venomous Relics**: Artifacts associated with Talona, such as cursed chalices or poisoned daggers, can spread her influence far and wide. - **Plague Cults**: Devout followers of Talona may spread disease as part of their worship, creating havoc wherever they go. - **Manifestations of Decay**: Her divine presence can be felt in the form of rotting flora, swarms of diseased vermin, or the appearance of venomous serpents. Direct manifestations of Talona are rare. Those who encounter her typically describe: - A gaunt woman marked by disease. - A withered crone bearing signs of countless afflictions. - A beautiful woman concealing illness beneath her appearance. Most mortals experience Talona's presence indirectly through plague outbreaks, poisoned water, blighted crops, infestations, or mysterious sicknesses. ### Conclusion Talona remains one of the most feared deities in Faerûn. Her worship has endured for centuries because disease touches every settlement, kingdom, and civilisation. Through her clergy, cults, and divine influence, she continues to spread sickness and poison across the Realms, ensuring that even those who do not worship her are forced to acknowledge her power.