Eltharin rune representing Isha, the goddess of nature, fertility and the harvest
Isha is the Elven goddess of nature, fertility, the harvest, and the protector of the natural order as well as the divine mother of the Elven race. She is worshipped by the Wood Elves of the Old World as one of their principal deities, although other Elves pray to her for aid in agriculture, including sowing and reaping, for protection during childbirth, or for help when abroad in the wilderness.[1]
Isha is depicted as an Elf woman full of life and beauty, and is considered to be the divine mother of the whole Elven race. Her symbol is the "All Seeing Eye," from which she sheds tears for her mortal children and their sorrows, including death. As the goddess of nature, Isha taught the Elves how to care for the land and gain a plentiful harvest. It is Isha who blesses the Everqueen with wisdom, beauty and power, and she also who preserves the eternal glades of Avelorn from the blemish of winter.[2]
Another variant of the Quel-Isha, the Eltharin rune representing Isha as a tree with tears falling from her branches as she weeps for the mortality of her Elven children.
At the dawn of time, Asuryan, the king of the Elven Pantheon and the creator god, decided that while the Elves he had crafted would be prodigiously long-lived, they would still grow weary of the world and eventually die. Isha, who loved her Elven children above all her other natural creations, despaired and cried in anguish at their eventual loss, her tears falling like rain onto the mortal world below, providing the waters of life that transformed the island-continent of Ulthuan that the Elves first called home into such a rich and bountiful land. Thereafter, Isha has watched her mortal children keenly, ever alert to ways in which she might aid them.[2]
Whilst direct contact between the Elven gods and their mortal children has long been forbidden by Asuryan, Isha sometimes pleads with her daughter Lileath, the goddess of the moon, dreams and fortune, to send divine tidings and portents through dreams and nightmares, so that the Elves might not confront the perils of the world without some measure of divine warning and guidance. Only when the Creator's attention is elsewhere does Isha dare intervene personally, spreading her magics across Ulthuan to shrivel the Daemons and evildoers that threaten her children.[2]
Trivia
A common phrase on Ulthuan used to greet others is, "Blessings of Isha upon you," to which others might respond, "May you live a thousand years."[3a]
The Tileans use a different name for the Old World goddess Rhya than the folk of the Empire. They call her "Ishea," similar to the name of the Elven goddess, probably due to their translations of the ancient scrolls left by the High Elves in their abandoned colonies in the modern land of Tilea.
Isha, like many other Elven gods of the Warhammer universe, is also worshipped by the Aeldari in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Canon Conflict
There are a several canon conflicts concerning Isha's place in the Elven Pantheon. Some sources mentioned Isha and Asuryan as being husband and wife, whilst other older sources states that Lileath, Isha's daughter, is actually Asuryan's consort.
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition -- Tome of Salvation (RPG), pg. 125
- 2: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (8th Edition), pg. 59
- 3: Blood of Aenarion (Novel) by William King
- 3a: Ch. 25
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