Hlal (/həˈlɑːl/)
The Jester; The Pursued; Quicksilver
Hlal was the chaotic good dragon goddess of humor, inventiveness, and pleasure. Of all the dragon gods, she was the most friendly to non-dragons, and her symbol, a single white flame, represented the light of wit. The Jester also had a male aspect known as Avachel or Quicksilver, who featured prominently in elven legends.
Divine Domains
Portfolio
Humor, story-telling, inspiration
Domains
Chaos, Good, Scalykind, Trickery, Rune
Subdomains
Dragon, Innuendo, Friendship, Whimsy
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Temples
Hlal is usually worshiped at simple shrines. Established temples to the Keeper of Tales are only found in large cities; there, they serve as much as performance spaces and concert halls as places of worship. Even in the smallest villages and thorps, however, a performance space may contain a small holy symbol of Hlal.
Tenets of Faith
Worshipers
Hlal was revered by some brass, copper and faerie dragons who appreciated and identified with her sense of humor. These species didn't worship Hlal alone, however, unless they devoted their entire lives to jokes. Spellscales found Hlal the most compatible deity for them.
Hlal's clerics were also often bards who used music, poetry, and tall tales to spread her faith. They wandered the lands and usually traveled in disguise or secrecy. Most of her clerics were draconic or half-dragon humanoids.
Temples
Temples to Hlal were rare in the extreme. It was more common to find one of her shrines, that dotted the landscape. Those simple, hidden places served as temporary shelters for her wandering worshipers, and were movable to the next town or dragon's lair at a moment's notice. Those shrines typically had a library or shelf holding a few books, with a sign indicating that travelers were welcomed to take a book if they replaced it with another one.
The few temples dedicated to Hlal were only found in the largest of cities. They served as much as performance or concert halls as they do places of veneration, because entertainment and worship were inextricably linked for the devout of Hlal. In smaller settlements, taverns or other places of performance often included the holy symbol of Hlal, reminding the performers that their actions honored her.
Dogma
Hlal encouraged her followers to think for themselves, rather than relying on the word of others. The worst crime in her eyes was not trusting in oneself. She had little patient for tyrants --even well-intentioned ones-- and even less patience for cruelty or bullying. She taught that one must be freed of restraint, whether real or imaginary, in order to freely express one's opinions.
Rites
Hlal worshipers believed every time they learned or created something new, they were honoring her. They believed she presided over the first performance of a new entertainment piece, and performers, conductors, or playwrights often dedicated their initial presentation to Hlal's glory (if serious) or amusement (if comic).
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