Erathis

Erathis, the Lawbearer, is the goddess of civilization and laws. She is commonly worshiped by leaders and judges.

Appearance and symbols
The Lawbearer is shown as a hooded, armored woman sitting atop a throne or a throne of pillars, her face obscured or expressionless. She is often depicted with light brown skin and a strong but lithe body. She is described as one of the two most dutiful and self-sacrificing of the Prime Deities, alongside Bahamut.

Issylra
The Lawbearer is worshiped by the denizens of the Quadroads District in Vasselheim. Her temple is called the Crown of Erathis; the Holy Paramours of the Crown of Erathis approve magically-binding contracts under which the Slayer's Take hunts monsters and other creatures around Vasselheim.

Tal'Dorei
Erathis is one of the most worshiped gods across Tal'Dorei, from the Lucidian Coast, across the Dividing Plains to the Bladeshimmer Shoreline, and down in the Rifenmist Peninsula (outside the Iron Authority, which is devoted to Bane). The cathedral to Erathis is one of the two biggest in Emon's Temple District, and a dual statue of Erathis and Melora stands in Azalea Street Park in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. A short rest taken here grants inspiration to a character once a week.

In Whitestone is a small temple to Erathis called The Lady's Chamber. By 836 PD, it is known as the House of the Lawbearer and is both a place of worship and a stately courthouse. A permanent Zone of Truth spell is active on the premises, and all who enter are sworn to tell the truth by vigilant clerics. The protection is fallible but sends a clear message to all visitors.

During the occupation of Westruun by the black dragon Umbrasyl and the Herd of Storms, the temple to Erathis in the city was partially ruined, but the temple to Erathis is noted as one of the three largest shrines in the city's Temple Ward a year later, and the High Priest of the Lawbearer blessed the unveiling of the Black King, a construct intended to defend the city in times of crisis and otherwise stand as a statue. A newer temple to Erathis, in the Underwalk Ward, shows up in the adventure hook Down Below in the original Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting sourcebook, set in 812 PD.

By 836 PD, the First Bastion in Westruun, dedicated to the Lawbearer, is the most magnificent temple the Temple Ward. It is an opulent sanctuary of decadent gold-and-marble exterior that can't be imagined by most to be something that sits on the Material Plane, seeming like a building from the realm of the gods themselves, and is a common attraction for folks of all faiths. The First Bastion was a secret refuge while Kevdak occupied the city, and many Westruun survivors turned to worship Erathis afterwards because of her protective grace.

Yearly, Clergy of Erathis send champions to the Godsbrawl Ring in Emon for the annual Godsbrawl celebrating Kord but rarely take it seriously because they scorn the Storm Lord's notion of "might makes right".

Wildemount
The Lawbearer is one of the deities that is approved for worship in the Dwendalian Empire, and her holy day is celebrated with feasts in honor of the laws of the Dwendal bloodline, with one seat at each table left open for the king to dine with them in spirit. The Prime Arbiter of the Dwendalian Empire delivers judgements in the Temple of Writ, the central temple to Erathis in Rexxentrum. Next to the temple is the Claykeep Prison, providing a reminder to anyone doing business in the surrounding Vigil Circle of the swift consequences for theft.

The aarakocra city of Vol'antim prominently features dual temples to Erathis and Melora, and the laws are built around Melora and her respect for Erathis. Rural folk persist in believing that aarakocra are angels of Erathis despite the aarakocras' attempts to explain they are not.

The Mother's Lighthouse by Nicodranas was built from stone produced by the union of Erathis and Melora.

Known worshipers

 * Keeper Yennen of the Lady's Chamber in Whitestone
 * Head Cleric Umentu of the temple to Erathis in Westruun
 * Aldor, a member of the Slayer's Take
 * Holy Curator Curtis Uleas, one of the Dawn Marshalls of Vasselheim
 * Theona Balmhand, wandering cleric and member of the Golden Grin
 * Herald Voloshin, Lawmaster of Zadash
 * High cleric Yuana Bretei, former holder of the Spear of Judgement

Background
Erathis has a tempestuous and furious romantic relationship with Melora, the goddess of nature, that "tempered only when civilization and nature are in balance." When this balance is disrupted, "civil unrests and riots bloom in her beloved cities". Zehir detests both Erathis and Melora, and sends his followers to destroy civilization and deplete nature. Erathis also despises Bane, seeing his reign as a perversion of law into authoritarianism; Bane is also an enemy of Melora.

Erathis and Melora created humans through their passionate love as the third race on Exandria. They granted humans passionate hearts as well but also a chaos that blessed them with the ambitions, mirth, and curiosity of their two creators but also cursed them to be too short-lived to fully fulfill these impulses.

Erathis was among the Prime Deities who fought against the Betrayer Gods in defense of Vasselheim shortly before the Calamity, and again fought against the Betrayers in the Calamity. Certain artifacts for Erathis were crafted and repaired at the Underforge within Kravaraad. The records of the Scalebearers state that, at the end of the Calamity, it was she and Bahamut who came to Vasselheim and declared that the Prime Deities would also leave Exandria. Though this was initially met with protest from both the divine and mortal, the other gods ultimately agreed, finding this "unimpeachable and just". Thus, the Divergence occurred and the Divine Gate was created.

As of 812 PD, clerics of Erathis and druids of Melora work together to keep civilization and nature in balance.

Appearances and mentions

 * Campaign 1
 * Specials
 * Specials
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Trivia

 * The Lawbearer's holy day is Civilization's Dawn, celebrated on the autumnal equinox (22 Quen'pillar).
 * Ironically, on Civilization's Dawn in 810 PD, while traveling to the cradle of civilization in Vasselheim, Vox Machina was attacked by lawless pirates at dawn.
 * In 842 PD, a party called the Everdawn began on Civilization's Dawn and promised to continue all the way into the new year more than two months later. The symbol of the Everdawn is the double-bladed axe of the Lawbearer turned into a chalice. The adventuring party of Exandria Unlimited attended this party the night before the events of the first episode.
 * Ogden Trickfoot claimed the curse afflicting their family had been placed upon an ancestor of theirs by Erathis as punishment for fratricide. However, this curse did not actually exist.
 * In, Jayne Merriweather pretends to be a disciple of Erathis, but is actually a follower of Tharizdun.