Talm

Origin

Talm was born into a long line of slavery, in an unspecified nation. Serving as a housemaid to an esteemed but cruel family of scholars, professors, inventors, and venture capitalists, she was forced to work around the clock, often sleeping for less than 5 hours each night. In secret, Talm would raid the estate's library and with the youngest son of the estate's help, would learn to read and treasure everything from myth to fact. Each night, she pushed herself further and further, getting less and less sleep in an endless thirst for knowledge, until one night she was caught "stealing" from the lords of the manor. Despite her having never left the grounds and meeting few outside of it, they thought she was going to sell the book or thieve it away for herself, and sought to punish her with lashings. As the youngest man of the estate pleaded to have her sentence reduced, he too would receive punishment though not nearly as severe. The night before her punishment, locked away with the guard dogs of the estate, the young man broke her out of her prison, and the two fled the grounds. She picked the door to the main entrance, used herbs from the garden to drug the guards, and taught the young man how to quickly make a rope to scale the walls. Together, and with her fountain of seemingly inane knowledge, the two fled the grounds to live a full life together, in poverty and exile, but happy.   After the two left the grounds, little is known of them or the love they shared. Some stories go on to say that Talm was once a priestess to a folk god that would later reward her, others say that she found forgotten knowledge on becoming a deity. However, she arrived at her position which is mostly irrelevant to many of her followers, and all that matters is that she acts with compassion for those trapped by circumstance and ignorance and allows them the same chances she gave herself.  

Places of Worship

Talm's temples are typically only found in the largest of cities unless a nation greatly treasures knowledge and it's collection. As such, Talm's followers are few in comparison to the other primary deities but offer something only they seem to offer, the knowledge to overcome any adversity. As such, the stone chapels are often decorated with wood, with low ceilings and many rows of bookshelves similar to the many libraries Talm's followers organize and endorse. Any temple of Talm can feel like a home to anybody with a passion for stories and are often safe havens for those trying to flee their pursuers.

Followers

Talm's power is rarely gifted directly. Rarely does she give clerics or priests powers beyond the most basic of utilities. Instead, her hand can be felt as her follower suddenly gets a clue for a mission, or when she guides a hand a few books over to find exactly what one is looking for. As her gifted powers are not of spectacle and there is a dispute among non-followers that they even exist, she generally attracts scholars or those that are later in life and incapable of the harder tasks society might require of them. Age provides wisdom and experience, and there are few things better than those traits to help guide others to the answers they seek. Her title of liberator however does grant her some followers in hushed circles, typically among those enslaved, trapped in accidents, or otherwise unable to escape whatever fate has befallen them. More than one group of prisoners has also cited her as their ability to escape prison, but her more law-abiding followers have little to say on the matter, or the morals of it, stating that "Talm Liberates."