Lyscarra

Lyscarra, the Mistress of Despair and Numbness, is the goddess of hopelessness, emotional entropy, and the quiet, creeping comfort of giving up. She is not a storm of wrath or vengeance—but a stillness, a cold lull, a void where once there was striving. She does not scream. She whispers, and the world forgets to care.

She is often depicted as a gaunt, porcelain-skinned woman wrapped in a mourning veil, her eyes dull with absence. At her side coils the Blood Dragon, a sinuous crimson serpent with leaking eyes and torn wings—her symbol and companion, representing the self-destructive comfort of pain over purpose. Worshipers say it is not a creature, but an emotion given shape: grief that survives everything else.

Her realm, The Hollow Cradle, is a dead plain of dust and echoes—where prayers arrive unanswered and memories dissolve before they finish forming. It is said that mortals who enter willingly are not trapped… they simply forget why they ever wanted to leave.

Lyscarra embodies the darkest interpretation of abandonment: the belief that all things end, and that caring is a trap. She does not rage against life—she simply offers an alternative: numbness over suffering, silence over struggle. Her most faithful wear dull iron masks, speak in monotone, and offer counsel to those at their lowest… not to lift them, but to encourage surrender.

She shares dominion over the Abandoned domain with Azeron, though their philosophies are diametrically opposed. Where Azeron sees ruins as fragments of wisdom, Lyscarra sees them as proof of futility. He seeks knowledge among the broken; she reminds mortals that all things break eventually. The two have clashed in subtle ways throughout history, often through influence over the same war-torn lands—one seeking to rebuild, the other to erase.

Lyscarra rarely allies with other deities, though she is occasionally invoked by gods of death or secrets when they require a divine silence so absolute it smothers resistance. She is feared even among evil gods—not because she destroys, but because she can make destruction feel merciful.

Miracles tied to Lyscarra often go unnoticed: memories fading just before trauma strikes, warriors losing the will to raise their blades, whole towns ceasing to sing. In rare moments of twisted mercy, she has been known to personally cradle a dying soul, ensuring their final breath comes without fear or pain.

Some mortal cults take Lyscarra’s teachings to terrifying extremes. These sects, often known as the Gray Embrace, seek to “liberate” others from hope entirely. In their view, it is a mercy to sever people from ambition, memory, or even life. They infiltrate hospitals, battlefields, and mourning houses, offering “peaceful release” to those too weak to resist. Some sow quiet despair in positions of power, draining communities of morale until collapse is seen as grace. Others conduct ritualistic silencing ceremonies, stripping away voice and identity in acts they call The Numbing. Wherever they gather, songs fall quiet, and light fades—not from violence, but from absence.

Famous Magical Item Associations

Chain of Lyscarra

Wondrous Item (Legendary, Chain)

A blackened chain that seems to absorb light, woven from strands of Lyscarra's own despair.

Aura of Numbness: When worn, the chain grants resistance to psychic damage and immunity to the frightened and charmed conditions.

Path of Suffering: Once per long rest, the wearer can cast a spell that subjects an individual to intense agony, after which the target becomes immune to all forms of emotional manipulation for a limited time.

Embrace of Despair: Once per week, the user can summon a field of crushing despair in a 60-foot radius. All within the field must make a Wisdom saving throw or be overwhelmed with crippling sadness, rendering them incapacitated.