Ioun, The Knowing Mistress

Deity

Ioun is the deity of knowledge, prophesy and skill. While Mystra, The Arcanum is the patron of arcane magic, Ioun is revered as the patron of its study.

Description

Ioun appears as an aged woman with long, wavy black hair and olive skin. She has almond shaped eyes with yellow-orange irises and she wears white and tan-brown robes that tumble out from her like tendrils of parchment.
Her avatar has a large, darkened gash of black, curling void in her stomach.
She has been known to be kind and respecting to her followers but harsh in the discipline of her teachings. Keeping secrets or hiding knowledge from her has earned followers years of silence from the Knowing Mistress, which in some rigorous monasteries has lead to exile.
She greatly opposes Vecna, The Whispered One and his worshippers, as he glorifies the keeping of secrets and the destruction of ancient lore.

Activities

Ioun brings structure, order and discipline to research of history and the arcane. She aids in granting understanding of ancient historical relics to mortals, as well as keeping her own archive of records in her divine realm, The Endless Athenaeum.
As one of the most knowledgeable deities in the , she has been known to aid in other deities work similarly recording anything learned. She was involved in improving the state of The Weave while it was under the watch of The Weaver of Spells.
She is known to extend her knowledge to mortals deemed worthy by passing her trails. In the Age of Humanity, one such mortal was a nameless wizard who created the Ioun Stones under the tutelage of the Knowing Mistress.

History

Ioun dates back to the Era of Creation, birthed from a spark of Mystra. She was an early ally of Pelor, The Dawnfather as she saw through his eyes for a period of time, recording all that the sun blessed.
Ioun was one of the deities involved in The Dawn War. She sustained a terrible wound in her battle with Tharizdun and her physical form has not recovered. It was her knowledge that devised the ritual to seal Tharizdun in the abyss.
Mystra's desire to expand The Weave towards the end of the Days of the Divines caused a tremendous amount of strain on her. Ioun took it upon herself to bring order to the fabric of The Weave by creating Leylines within it. These allowed mages to utilise specific regions of The Weave near holy sites and civilisations easier and with less strain on Mystra.
As the The Divine War broke out, Ioun's knowledge was sought out to build upon the ritual that sealed The Chained Oblivion. Allied with Mystra and many other deities and mortals, ritual sites were set up on Leylines all around the Everplanes. Ioun and Corellon crafted the Divine Mythal that was cast to seal the gods outside of the Prime Material plane.

Worshippers

Followers of Ioun are disciplined and are devoted to knowledge in some way. Scholars, seers and wizards look to the Knowing Mistress for lore and guidance, and many temples to her take the form of Libraries or Museums.
Monks devoted to the Knowing Mistress seek truth and honesty. The The Seekers are a monastic group in Forthal devoted to preserving knowledge.
Tacticians and leaders may also look for guidance and clarity from Ioun to ensure there is nothing clouding their judgements.

Beliefs

It was believed that Ioun was born blind, and it was Pelor, The Dawnfather who was able to illuminate the world for her. This is shown in the colour of her eyes. Some iconography depicts her irises as suns.
Some say that Ioun was hurt from The Cataclysm in a similar way to her conflict with The Chained Oblivion. Those with this belief may refer to her as The Fractured Sage.

Tenets

• Seek the perfection of your mind by bringing reason, perception, and emotion into balance with one another.
• Condemn those who lie, even among your allies, for evil folk gain power when their followers obscure the truth.
• Unmask those who would destroy the Knowing Mistress. Oppose their schemes, unmask their secrets, and blind them with the light of truth and reason.

Known Followers

Title(s)
The Knowing Mistress
The Fractured Sage
Entity Type
Deity
Pantheon


Perceived Gender
Feminine
Alignment
Lawful Neutral (pre-cataclym)
True Neutral (post-cataclysm)
Domains
Arcana, Knowledge, Mind, Order
Relationships
Pelor, The Dawnfather (ally)
Mystra, The Weaver of Spells (ally, pre-cataclysm)
Vecna, The Whispered One (enemy)
Tharizdun, The Chained Oblivion (enemy)
Home Plane
Unspecified
Divine Realm
The Endless Athenaeum
Holy Day(s)
Scholars Day - Setril 12th