Lileath
 | |
| Titles | Lady of Mists |
| Type | Elder Goddess[5] Elf God |
| Domains | Prophecy Dreams Fortune Chivalry Honour Nightmares |
| Aspects | Lady of the Lake Ladrielle Corrigyn |
| Home | Silverspire[4] |
| Relatives | Isha (daughter) |
| Affiliation | Bretonnia High Elves |
| Followers | Cult of Lileath Cult of the Lady of the Lake Grail Knights Lothern Tor Yvresse |
| Symbols | Twin swords, Alinor and Valenor[6a] |
Lileath revered by humans as The Lady of the Lake or simply The Lady, is the Elven Goddess of Prophecy, Dreams and Fortune.
She is supposed to be the giver of dreams; those that have pleased her receive pleasurable dreams whereas those that have upset her receive nightmares. She is also the national deity of Bretonnia and the patron of chivalry and honour. Lileath also took up the name of Ladrielle, the Lady of Mists, revered as a mysterious and aloof god by the Elves of old.
Beyond Bretonnia, many human nations or cults consider her as either a servant of Myrmidia or the goddess herself. [8a]
Contents
Appearance
Lileath is portrayed as a gloriously beautiful Elf maid with white angelic wings, dressed in flowing garments of pure white gossamer and carrying the Staff of Lileath.
Cult of Lileath
Worship of Lileath is popular among the seers of the High Elves who claim to divine the future through the interpretation of dreams.
History
Before the Elves came to the world, the gods lived and loved with two of the greatest being Kurnous the Hunter and Lileath. As he dwelt in the forests and she lived in the sky, they could never meet but the goddess asked the Smith god Vaul to craft her a gift to show her love that she felt the same way. However, Khaine learned of the gift and intercepted Vaul, demanding that he be given the bow into which Lileath had poured her love and soul. [9]
He threatened to torture Vaul if he was not given the bow, but the smith gave it to the goddess Isha who proclaimed that none save Kurnous would ever find the Moonbow and she cast it down from the heavens. Although he suffered at the hands of Khaine for some time, Vaul later told the hunter what had happened but he could not find it, despite Lileath staring down upon its hiding place from the sky. Eventually the Elves came to the land and the gods were banished to the heavens, ensuring that the lovers would remain apart and the children of Kurnous would howl their love for Lileath at each full moon. [9]
As an elder goddess she was older and more powerful than even Sigmar and the Empire's young pantheon. Rescuing Shallya from Nurgle himself and curing her consort Taal's unholy affliction.[5]
End Times
In 2524 IC she visited a sick and dying Ariel, telling her that she was responsible for her malady having hidden a shard of true ice in the roots of the Oak of Ages. Leaving her a gift of warming white fire, she told Ariel/Isha that her plan was to save her children and she would fight alongside the mortals to ensure it happened and until her own demise.[10a]
She sacrificed herself during The End Times, passing her title on to her daughter, whom she conceived with the elven hero Araloth and giving her access to a mortal realm untouched by chaos. The guardians of this realm were her immortal Grail Knights, used as part of her plan to rebuild her legacy.[5]
Ladrielle
Ladrielle, the Lady of Mists, is the protector of all things that are hidden or lost, and patron of travellers in the wilderness. By tradition, she is the only goddess to any longer walk the mortal world, and there are tales of her coming to the aid of those lost amidst the mists of Yvresse or upon the trackless ocean. Her worship is therefore chiefly observed in those cities, such as Lothern and Tor Yvresse, where Elven wanderlust has never faded. Ladrielle's face is always hidden by a veil, but many Elves assume she is the most beautiful of goddesses. Others, however, suspect she is merely a guise adopted by another deity, one whose true aspect is concealed behind the ashen silk.
In fact, the latter were the closest to the truth - during the End Times, Ladrielle revealed herself in Athel Loren as the moon goddess Lileath before Alarielle, Naestra and Arahan. She appeared to have taken refuge in Bretonnia under the guise of the Lady of the Lake after the arrival of the Chaos Gods.
The Lady of the Lake
Lileath foresaw the end of the Warhammer World on the day of her ascension to godhood, working tirelessly to try and thwart the threat of Chaos and the Undead.[5] During the Time of Gilles le Breton, Lileath chose Bretonnia as her own mortal realm. She slowly began to favor the Bretonnians even more than the elves of old, bestowing upon their greatest warriors a part of her own power and forging their nation into a chivalrous and noble land with which to fight her enemies.
The Lady is served by her own cult. The word of her prophetess, the Fay Enchantress, is the supreme law of the land. The Enchantress crowns the new King of Bretonnia and can even depose him. The Cult is maintained by the Grail Damsels, women of great beauty and mystical power, taken at a young age to act as her priestesses. The Lady is personally attended to and served by the lost Sons of Bretonnia, men who were also taken from their mourning families, never to be returned.[4]
Her chosen champions are the powerful Grail Knights. These divine warriors are former Questing Knights whom she has deemed worthy to sup from the Holy Grail, a sacred chalice revealed to be filled with her own divine lifeblood. Even a small fraction of her essence elevates these men above mere mortals, making them the ultimate knight.[4]
Bretonnian knights regularly pray to her asking for her protection before a battle.
Bretonnian peasants, who usually fight as men-at-arms, do not take part in such mass prayers; they are forbidden to do so upon pain of death[1][2]. They are considered to have no honour, which allows them to use unchivalrous ranged weapons.
The Lady of the Lake is an extremely powerful goddess, one of the elder gods of the elven race. She mostly resides on Silverspire, a mountain near Athel Loren. She is known to the Wood Elves as Corrigyn, Daughter of Mists, and considered neither friend nor enemy.[3] She is also take residence in a mystical courtroom, which can appear beneath one of Bretonnia's many sacred lakes.[4]
Magical Artefacts
Lileath was reputed to have given three gifts to the elves, known as the Blessings of Lileath.[1] These were: the Star Crown, said to give the wearer vision of all times and places known to the Gods; the Amulet of Sunfire, which burned so bright and pure no evil creature could stand its presence; and the Staff of Lileath, which grants its wielder terrific arcane might. The Star Crown was shattered into many shards during The Sundering, the Amulet of Sunfire was lost when its wearer fell into the sea after his ship was caught in a great storm, while the Moon Staff of Lileath is currently in the possession of High Loremaster Teclis.[1]
The Shadow Warriors claim that she gave the Moonbow to Alith Anar, a silver bow that glitters in the moonlight and which has been the bane of many Dark Elves. [7a]
Symbols
In Saphery, symbols of the goddess often include her twin swords, Alinor - Bringer of Knowledge and Valenor - Bringer of Power. [6a]
Gallery
Moon Staff of Lileath
Banner of Saphery showing the goddess with her twin swords
Dark Elf Rune of Lileath
High Elf Rune of Lileath
Sources
- 1: Knight Errant (Novel), Chapter 14
- 2: Knight of the Realm (Novel), Chapter 8
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (8th Edition), pg. 23
- 4: Hammer and Bolter: The Court Beneath Issue 25. By Phil Kelly
- 5: Warhammer: The End Times Collection
- 6: Uniforms & Heraldry of the High Elves
- 6a: Saphery, pg. 61
- 7: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (5th Edition)
- 7a: High Elf Special Characters, pg. 82
- 8: Tome of Salvation
- 8a: Chapter 5: Other Gods, pg. 122
- 9: The Sundering (anthology) (Time of Legends edition): Shadow King (Novel) by Gav Thorpe: Nineteen: Child of the Wolf and the Moon, pg. 607
- 10: Warhammer: Khaine:
- 10a: pg. 4
