Laneth (5e Deity)
From D&D Wiki
Laneth[edit]
Alignment. Lawful Evil
Domains. Cold, Undeath
Divine Rank. Lesser Deity
Grave Mistress, Frigid Matron, Lady of Undeath. The Ulnur people know Laneth by many names. She is the Ulnur goddess of undeath, a strict and domineering queen of the undead, and pinnacle member of the Triad of Tribulations that the Ulnur people fear. Laneth's corner of the triad represents preservation and stasis associated with the cold, a direct contradiction to the values of the Ulnur who value change and progress that they associate with fire and heat. This was not always so however, for in Ulnur myth Laneth was once a flame deity that resided with Scalan in his realm. She oversaw the small, fleeting flames that Scalan would give to the mortal world to propagate life. Laneth enjoyed her work, but was always saddened when a mortal flame flickered away. When an old Ulnur felt himself slipping into the hands of death, he prayed to Laneth to to send him another flame to prolong his life. Moved by his plea, Laneth granted him another flame. Again, he began to die, again he prayed, and again Laneth gave him fire to keep him alive. But each time she gave him fire and extended his life, he saw his body would deteriorate faster and faster with each flame she gave. He was in pain and she wished to find a way to help him. She found her answer in a taboo for a flame deity. Fire consumes, but cold preserves. In secret, she traveled to the icy realm of death, the home of the dark god Valdur, and took a shard of unmelting ice. She infused the ice with the her power over life and presented it to the Ulnur. The ice extinguished his flame of life, but strangely, he was kept alive and his body no longer felt the pains of death. Soon, many others that feared death heard about Laneth's act and prayed to her for safety from death, and Laneth could not help but answer their prayers and grant them icy reprieves from the realms of Scalan and Valdur. When Scalan discovered the existence of the undying mortals touched by cold and learned that it was one of his own flame gods that dared to wield the cold to break the cycle of life and death, he was furious. Scalan confronted Laneth, he demanded to know the truth. Laneth told him that what he had heard was true and defended her actions. Scalan would hear none of it. In a blinding, chaotic rage, he took up his flame-wreathed hammer and and struck her down. However, she did not stay dead. He time spent dabbling with mixing cold death and warm life had tainted her. Like those she had "helped", she would know no death. He flame was gone, but life returned to her limp form and she stood and faced Scalan once more. Scalan struck her down once again and once again she rose. She rose up each time he struck her down. Eventually, he opted to cast he down into Valdur's cold realm where now she remains, plotting her revenge against Scalan.
Laneth has made her home within Valdur's realm. She rules the upper most layer of his realm, which she has christened as the Frigid Necropolis. It is a land of undead and strict, unbending laws that serve to put her above all others in the dead land.
The Grave Mistress is shown as a beautiful Ulnur woman with ashen gray skin. Her lithe form, freezing to the touch, is wrapped in embalming gauze and clothed with pale blue finery and silver jewelry. Her eyes glow with brilliant blue light that mimics the glow of flame she once had.
Laneth bares an unending hatred for Scalan and in order to get revenge on him, has aliged herself with Valdur and Scamir.
Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Deities
