The Water Lord, King of the Water Elementals
Greater Deity
Symbol: Cresting wave
Home Plane: Elemental Plane of Water
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Elemental water, purification
Worshippers: Bards, elemental archons (water), sailors, travellers
Cleric Alignments: CN, N, NE, NG, LN
Domains: Destruction, Ocean, Storm, Travel, Water
Favoured Weapon: A wave (Warhammer)
Istishia (is-tish-ee-ah) is the elemental embodiment of water. He is one of the four elemental deities worshipped in Faerûn but, like all but Kossuth, has a very small following. He cares only slightly for his followers and is almost predictable in his incomprehensible and alien unpredictability. He represents the essence of water itself, the nature of slow change over time, and the ability of water to enact change. Most mortals consider his actions incomprehensible and like the other elemental lords he is almost indifferent to his own worshippers.
Istishia’s church is organized into several sects that work together in order to accomplish goals for the different aspects of Istishia’s worship. New sects are constantly being created and later reabsorbed into other sects. The church uses a unified ranking system so even members of different sects know their relative positions. Most clerics remain attached to a particular temple or region, but since they believe that doing so for too long results in stagnation they change temples about every five years. The clergy work to keep sources of water from becoming polluted and intercede between land and sea races. Their temples are well-known for crafting excellent pottery.
Clerics of Istishia pray for their spells at dawn while giving thanks for a drink of water. Spring tide and neap tide are celebrated with festivals that involve the boisterous tossing of new converts into water and a great deal of diving. Visitations between surface-dwelling churches and aquatic branches of the faith are common at such festivals. Istishia’s clerics often multi-class as bards or elemental archons.
Istishia is one of the four elemental lords who seem to stand apart from history, unchanged by the passage of time. He has ties to other gods concerned with the element of water, including Deep Sashelas, Eldath, Valkur and Umberlee, but no strong relationships. He opposes destructive Kossuth at every opportunity.
Everything is interconnected and cyclical. Water always triumphs, for earth dissolves through water, fire is extinguished even by steam and air becomes clouds and then rain, completing the eternal cycle. The Water Lord is the great equalizer and leveller of the elements, acknowledging change but holding to his essential nature. Do not try to be what you are not; rather, excel at what you are and carry this message of personal excellence to the world. Be flexible but not unreasonable. As the rains flow down to the ocean in the folds of earth and not up mountains, so do the truths of Istishia spread throughout the land through their natural routes, not through rank force. The mysteries of life are to be enjoyed and puzzled over, but realize that some answers do not come in this world, but rather in the next. Realize that the cycles of life are mirrored by the cycles of fate; be prepared to pay the price or reap the reward for the actions of your past or your future.
Source: Faiths and Pantheons (Page 98)