Istheri

Of all rises to godhood, Istheri’s is among the most mundane -- never a legendary hero or a knowledge-hungry mage, not one for daring feats and heroism, Istheri was an inn-keeper in life. Hailing from a small farming village as a child, she rarely traveled beyond the outskirts of the mundane town. Settling down within the village was a simple choice for her -- but her aspirations were unusual.

Being a mundane town with no tourism and little trade, there was little reason for foreigners to pass through. Thus, her decision to start an inn in town made little sense -- for some time, she was only able to provide shelter to locals who needed temporary room and board -- their roof had collapsed, perhaps, or they had an argument with their family that left them out in the cold. However, with time, she saw other visitors: those who had nowhere else to go.

Exiled from a major city in the area for his crimes -- whether he was truly guilty or not, it was hard to know -- he had nowhere else to go. Turning to the nearest towns, he found none that would harbor someone of his legal status, and word traveled fast of his crimes. Eventually, he found the only place that would give him a roof over his head: a town so small that word simply didn’t travel there.

The man didn’t stay for more than a few weeks, but when he left, he left a tidy sum for the innkeeper, and thanked her profusely for her unconditional hospitality. As he made his way around the world as a newly-minted nomad, he would tell the tale of that town, and that inn -- the place he could go when nowhere else wanted him.

With his tale, that quaint inn saw more visitors, and that small town saw those visitors turn into permanent residents -- the small town, its name lost to time, became a place of redemption, and its population grew as it came to be known as the place where nobody would be turned away.

Istheri wasn’t always called ‘Istheri.’ Whatever her name in her past life, she wasn’t regarded as a god, or even as a martyr or a scholar. She was something else entirely -- an innkeeper. A motherly figure to all who passed through her care. And when she finally passed, the respect that others paid to her made her into something else entirely -- a Shepherd to Those Who Wander.