Thalassa
Even-tempered mother of winds, as I embark on this endeavor I provide you this offering of grain, oil, and salt. May your watchful gaze keep me safe, my goods unspoiled, and profit close at hand.
Like the other Three Holy Wills revered by the Triumthelite faith, Thalassa has long been worshipped by the citizens of the Laparan Empire. who refer to the goddess as "the Even-Tempered One", hoping to avoid the viciouness of her wrath. In ages long past, her cult primarily focused on the protection of seafaring merchants and wayfarers, but her elevation to one of the three dedicated patrons of the Queen of Cities has expanded their affairs over the whole breath of her influence.
Divine Domains
From the earliest days of her worship by the people of Lapara , the goddess Thalassa has been revered as the protector of the city’s commerce. It is from the world of commerce and the seemingly fickle favor that Thalassa earned the flattering, if not entirely accurate, epithet of “The Even-Tempered One”, as those seeking her favor would wish to turn away her potential ire. She has maintained her influence in the field of commerce throughout the lands of the former Laparan Empire to the current day.
As Lapara and the largest cities of its wide-spread empire are situated on the coastline of the Inner and Outer Seas, any major commercial venture would necessarily travel over the dark waters of these twin inland seas. As those engaging in these ventures would ask for the goddess’ favor, they would invariably ask for calm seas and Thalassa’s association with her abilities to command the waters of the seas is as old as the cult of her worship.
Along with her command of the seas, Thalassa is frequently considered to be the bringer of both storms and clear skies. In her capacity to aid the commerce of her faithful and wreck that of her foes, she frequently employs the powers of the winds, both favorable and unfavorable to the given venture. A particularly brazen and impious captain, likewise, might find the masts of their ship aflame after an ill-timed lightning strike.
Tenets of Faith
Although the fickle nature of her favor is emphasized in art and literature, the cult of Thalassa’s priests has found that to consistently enjoy her blessings, they were best to follow the goddess’ example. They have developed a set of guidelines of three simple properties that have kept them in the Will’s favor.
Mutability
The favors of wind, tide, and commerce are, at the best of times, fickle and those who devote themselves to the very protector of these interests have accustomed themselves to the need to be adaptable to the changes of fortune. Her cult prizes the flexibility of mind and lifestyle more than nearly any other traits that could be shown by its adherents.
Itinerancy
Staying in one place for too long a period of time is something to be avoided, and the faithful members of Thalassa’s cult have developed what many outsiders consider to be a case of wanderlust. The Will’s priesthood are an itinerant order, having only established large temples in the empire’s major port cities, as in Metilene. Travel by any means is pleasing to the goddess, but particular favor has traditionally been given to those who travel by sea.
Patronage
Wealth is positive force in the world and its accumulation should be a primary aim for many who wish to gain the Will’s favor. The hoarding of wealth, for the entire sake of gathering more, however, is displeasing to the goddess as it fails to further the cause of trade and commerce. Those seeking to gain the goddess’ favor find themselves funding commercial expeditions, commissioning works of art, building new edifices, and otherwise turning the wheels of commerce.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
The Even-Tempered One, even more so than the other Wills of Triumthelitism, is fiercely antagonistic towards the worship of other deities and devoted to the conquering of other faiths by the spread of the Triumthelite faith. Not one to spill blood in an uncertain conflict, the goddess continually seeks to undermine the works of other divine cults by offering the prosperity associated with the gifts of her favor to spread Laparan culture and faith to the far corners of Eudokonia.
Like Amphitrion and Autourgos, her goals have led her to support the unification of the continent under a Laparan Empire consecrated to the Three Holy Wills. Following the Siege of 602, it appears as though she and the other Wills are waiting to appoint a successor that will pick up where the great empire left off.
Three Holy Wills
Along with her counterparts Autourgos and Amphitrion, Thalassa makes up the Three Holy Wills revered in Triumthelitism, the dominant faith throughout the Laparan Empire. Officially sanctioned during the reign of Nikolaos Zenōn, the Triumthelite faith dedicated Lapara and her colonies to the Three Holy Wills exclusively in return for their continued favor.
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