Description: The Lady is a goddess particular to the lands of Bretonnia. What she represents is unclear -her realm of influence seems to overlap with that of the other gods. To the knights and soldiers who follow her as their patron, she is emblematic of national pride and honour, embodying the chivalric code. To the simple peasants who worship her, she represents the land and protection from external threats. In modern times, the Lady has been portrayed as a young and beautiful maiden with flowing tresses and a white robe, often emerging from a lake. On occasion her representation has been strongly influenced by other goddesses such as Rhya, Shallya and Myrmidia. The Bretonnians who revere the Lady have imposed a personality onto her - she is seen as a benevolent and virginal figure, who cares for her people as her children. However, in ancient legends she has a capricious and demanding character, expecting absolute devotion from the people of Bretonnia.

Alignment: Neutral

Symbol: The Lady is normally symbolised by the Grail that she is said to carry, along with the fleur-de-lis. The Grail is said to represent the abundance of life provided by the Bretonnian land and the lake from which the Lady emerges. The fleur-de-lis is symbolic of light and life, along with the martial defence of the realm. Her priests, who are few and far between and tend to be hermits, wear simple white robes bound at the waist.

Area of worship: The Lady is worshipped in Bretonnia only. There are no longer many Bretonnians who venerate her as their primary goddess - most will only pay lip service to her alongside the other, more important gods. In rural areas she is worshipped by superstitious peasants as in the verdant depths of the Bretonnian countryside her presence feels more 'real'. The knights of Bretonnia treat the Lady as their patron goddess, and as such they will revere her alongside the more modern gods. She is taken more seriously by those rural knights who stay away from the towns and cities of Bretonnia.

Temples: There is no head temple to the Lady, as she has no formal religious hierarchy as such. Those temples which do exist are known as Grail Chapels, and are typically found in secluded rural areas near to a body of water. Some villages may have a crude stone building with an altar to the Lady where offerings can be left.

Almost all Grail Chapels are ancient buildings, dating back to a time when worship of the Lady was more prevalent. All take a similar form - a simple stone hall with an altar at one end, surmounted by a statue of the Lady herself. The hall is entered at one end, while the altar stands at the other. Sunk into the floor of many chapels is a long rectangular depression filled with water. In the better-tended chapels the water acts a reflecting pool for the statue of the Lady. Occasionally, a local knight may ask to be buried beneath a Grail Chapel, and some will display the arms of the deceased on the walls.

Shrines of the Lady are far more common than chapels, and can be found situated at the roadside in many rural areas of Bretonnia. Each will be little more than a stone shelter with a small altar, on which travellers and peasants can leave offerings. They may feature a carved grail in the wall behind the altar.

Friends and Enemies: Those who venerate the Lady will mostly worship her alongside the other non-Chaos human gods, and as such there is little conflict between her followers and those of other cults. The lack of a cult hierarchy compounds this. However, followers abhor those who worship the gods of Chaos and any faith which is opposed to the well-being of the people of Bretonnia. In centuries past, there have been occasional conflicts of interest with the other faiths, with outspoken Shallyan, Myrmidian and Taalite priests voicing concerns that the Lady was little more than an aspect of their own faith. In recent times her importance has waned sufficiently for the other cults to effectively forget about her encroaching on their own sphere of influence.

Holy Days: There are two holy days devoted to the Lady, 20 Vorhexen (by Imperial reckoning) which is known as 'The Feast of Gilles' and the spring equinox, when she is revered alongside Taal. The former is traditionally taken to commemorate the day on which the Lady appeared to Gilles Le Breton, and in rural villages may be the occasion of a modest feast, while the few knights who are devout will spend the day in silent contemplation and prayer. The spring equinox is the beginning of the spring and the start of the campaign season, and offerings are made to the Lady to ensure a bounteous year and success in battle.

Cult Requirements: Initiates and clerics of the Lady must have been born on Bretonnian soil. They must also find a priest of the goddess - this is a difficult task, and those who become initiates often claim that the Lady appeared to them in a dream to direct them to a chapel where one may be found. Followers will usually come from a rural or knightly background.

Strictures: Initiates and clerics must obey the following strictures:

-Fight the enemies of virtue and order

-Protect and defend the domain of the Lady from all transgression

-Ensure that the Lady receives a portion of all crops grown in her soil and meat from the animals raised on her lands.

-Spend no more than 30 days of the year away from Bretonnia

-Never break faith with a friend or an ally

These strictures are similar to the chivalric code of the knights, but are more orientated towards non-warriors. The strictures of the chivalric code will also be required of knightly followers of the Lady.

Spell Use: Priests of the Lady can use all Aura Spells (Aura of Resistance, etc.), and the Battle Magic Spells Enthuse, Cure Light wounds, Mystic Mist, Zone of Sanctuary, Zone of Steadfastness, Rally, Arrow Invulnerability, Cure severe wounds, Enchant Weapon and Zone of Missile Protection.

Skills: Initiates gain Heraldry and Etiquette.

Trials: Trials set to a follower of the Lady will vary according to background. Non-warrior clerics may be sent to recover a lost Grail Chapel deep in the forests of Bretonnia, or to protect a village of peasants from some external threat. Knightly clerics of the Lady may be sent to clear an abandoned chapel of goblinoid or some other creature's habitation. The trial to reach 4th Level will always consist of a quest to find the Grail. A Grail quest is an extended journey, on which the candidate for advancement must give up all worldy possessions and undergo many trials and hardships before being granted a vision of the Grail and possibly even the Lady herself.

Blessings: The Lady favours any skill used in defence or aid of the people of Bretonnia against an external threat. Knights blessed by the Lady will be favoured in battle. She does not favour any specific tests.

History

The origins of the Lady are shrouded in mystery and lost to the past. Some (non-Bretonnian) scholars have proposed that she was a nature spirit who took advantage of the superstitious Bretonni tribes to grow in power and influence. Bretonnians would have that she is the soul of the land itself, and as such has been in existence for as long as the planet existed.

The growth in worship of the Lady before the coming of Gilles Le Breton is outlined elsewhere (see History pre-Gilles document). In short, by the coming of that great war leader she was an influential goddess within the land - adopted by rural peasants, the early 'knights' and 'kings' alike. She was held in awed reverence, and was afforded respect and devotion. Then came Gilles - a 'ducal knight' of great prowess in combat, and with skills of leadership that some said were the blessings of the Lady herself. He was certainly pious in his words, and would pray fervently before every battle. Tales of his valour and religious feeling were widespread. Early in his campaign against the perils that beset the country at the time, it is said that the Lady appeared to him and his retinue of knights and blessed their banner and weapons. His subsequent success in the battles to unite the nation were attributed to his being chosen by the Lady to drive the scourge of the goblinoids from her realm. 'Le chanson de Gilles' recounts his encounter with the Fay Enchantress - a mythical character who is a prophetess of the Lady, who appears in Bretonnian legends dating back to the times when the druids were all-powerful. As the Lady's champion, Gilles became the knightly principle embodied and ever since his passing the tradition has strived to maintain his values and emulate his prowess in battle.. Some blame this adherence to an ideal for the perceived 'backwardness' of the Bretonnian knight, although it also makes them a fearsome opponent in battle.

For centuries after the passing of Gilles Le Breton, the Lady continued to be revered. However, never did she appear again in so spectacular a way, and the Fay Enchantress was never sighted. Some began to whisper that the Lady had turned her back on Bretonnia with the passing of her champion, but most stayed faithful, fearful that to turn thier back on the Lady was to invite the dissolution of the realm. In 1178, an old woman stormed into the court of the king and announced herself as Morghaste, prophetess of the Lady and Fay Enchantress. As the court stared in disbelief at her impertinence, she was unfazed and repeated a lengthy prophecy, which she claimed was given to her by the Lady. Although much of it is now lost, the details that remain narrate a tale of doom and demise. Morghaste claimed that the Lady was no longer interested in the affairs of men, but that she would return some day with a new champion, a man chosen by her to restore her faith to the nation that forgot her so quickly after freeing them from the brink of destruction. She then departed, and was not heard of again. The 'Augury of Morghaste' is still known to scholars of Bretonnian history, but is assumed to be the ramblings of a mad woman - the immediate effect on the court was dramatic, but with the passing of kings and increased contact with other nations, worship of the Lady began to atrophy. Morghaste was dismissed as a mad woman deluded into believed that she was the Fay Enchantress. Nevertheless, of all the people of Bretonnia many knights stayed true to her and treated her as a patron goddess, even when others began to worship the newer martial gods - particularly Myrmidia. The nobility gradually turned away from the Lady, as dependence on the land became a more distant concern over the centuries, while many of the peasantry clung to the old ways.

The Lady Today

In the 26th century, over 1500 years since she appeared to Gilles Le Breton, the Lady has been all but forgotten by the majority of Bretonnians. All pay respects to her in little more than name, invoking her blessing along with other gods and goddesses. The ceremonies surrounding the coronation of a new king or queen contains words spoken in respect to the Lady, but they have become just that - hollow words. The only remaining true worshippers fall into two classes: knights and peasants.

Other than that, there is a small order of nuns devoted to the Lady, known as Demoiselles du Grail. These sisters consist of a handful of maidens, frequently drawn from the poor who feel the calling to the Lady. They are very few in number - in fact there are only four or five small convents in the country, each consisting of no more than 10 sisters. Each is located alongside a Grail Chapel, far from the cities and towns of nation and few urban Bretonnians are even aware of their existence. The Demoiselles du Grail spend their time in contemplation, and in occasionally assisting the local peasantry through good works.

The Lady does not have any templars in the same sense as Ulric, Sigmar and Myrmidia do. There is no formal order of templars, but those knights who are especially devoted to her are effectively her holy warriors. During the crusades in Araby, units of knights devoted to the Lady banded together under her banner, and the deeds of the 'Knights of the Lily' and the 'Knights of the Grove' are recorded for all posterity. Official histories record that these groups were either killed or disbanded soon after the crusades, although some believe that they returned and continue to this day.

In the Empire, there are two or three eminent scholars who have studied the Lady in conjunction with the practices of the Old Faith. Galirus of Nuln has hypothesised that she is a water spirit, whereas his colleague Wolfgang Kreutz at the Collegium Theologica in Middenheim contests that the Grail represents the feminine principle, while the fleur-de-lis is the masculine - indicating that the Lady is a fertility goddess of the primitive Bretonni. Needless to say, this dry academic speculation is restricted to lands beyond Bretonnia's borders - the Lady may have been ignored for centuries in her homeland, but few are foolish enough to tempt fate.

Recent events at the Royal tournaments of Couronne have some bearing on the standing of the Lady in modern Bretonnia. A knight who worships the Lady devoutly has won the last two years running. His name is Leoncoeur, and his deeds have earned him the position of the King's personal champion and he can now be seen at the royal court. His religious views are seen as slightly strange by the nobles at court, and behind his back many snigger at the unsophisticated belief he has in an outmoded religion. That said, he has a small faction of knights who pride themselves in their piety and upholding of chivalric values, along with a patriotism that borders on the fanatical. Leoncoeur's rise to prominence has been the cause of some wild rumours in the land - superstitious peasants claim that he has received the blessing of the Lady, and that his martial prowess and pious behaviour are the consequences of that. Henri Sonnebleu, a hermit who dwells near to the village of Lipres in the Duchy of Parravon, has spoken for the first time in 30 years to tell the villagers of a stanza in the 'Augury of Morghaste' that states that 'the lion shall serve the swine, but nature will run it's course and Gilles Le Breton shall be amongst us once again, to herald the return of the Lady'. Sonnebleu claims to have seen the Fay Enchantress abroad in the forests, and says that she spoke with him awhile before leaving him alone.

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