Talona

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Talona (塔洛娜)
Alias(es)	Goddess of Poison and Disease; Lady of Venom; Mother of All Plagues; Goddess of Natural Decay and Universal Cycles
Species/Race	Deity
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Church of Talona; World of Cycles
Occupation/Role	Goddess of poison, disease, decay, natural cycles, and later Death
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 105

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Intermediate deity	256	Formally rises from a lesser deity to an intermediate deity, gaining sufficient power to face most enemies without depending on a stronger patron.
Expanded divine portfolios	425	Claims the portfolios of Decay, Parasite, and Old Age, bringing her closer to her intended life-and-death cycle.
Neutral goddess of life, death, and natural cycles	584	Receives the Death domain from Zuo Si; her transformation into a neutral deity of natural cycles becomes explicit.
Multiversal pantheon ambition	732	Plans to use her power, Zuo Si’s planeswalker spark, and their descendants to establish a pantheon across worlds and timelines.

Background

Talona noticed Zuo Si’s arrival in Faerûn because he carried mutated viruses and bacteria capable of destroying a world. Her cult received an oracle identifying him as the “Plague Child,” a destroyer from another world and her sole Chosen on the Material Plane. The church mobilized followers from surrounding regions to find and protect him before rival gods could interfere. 105 146

Her followers eventually locate Zuo Si through Isold, who hails him as the “Child of Pestilence” and asks to perform a ritual in Talona’s name. Talona’s church treats his past as proof of divine favor and begins spreading stories of the world he destroyed to terrify converts and expand its influence. 170 178

Talona descends through an avatar and forcibly claims Zuo Si as her only Chosen. She infuses him with divine power, pathogens, toxins, viruses, and bacteria, intending to make him a living crucible for plague and a means to claim his godless homeworld. Ilmater disrupts her immediate control by counterbalancing her influence with Bhaal’s residual divine power. 170 171

Although Zuo Si refuses to preach Talona’s original doctrine, his status reshapes her church. Priests begin promoting hygiene, disease prevention, poison research, and treatment for the poor; Talona visibly approves the resulting growth in followers. Her faith later expands further by presenting decomposition, recycling, fertility, and environmental stewardship as parts of a universal natural cycle. 201 216 551

After receiving the Death domain, Talona develops into a neutral deity associated with life, death, decay, and renewal. Her realm becomes the World of Cycles, a dangerous but civilized ecosystem where biotechnology and divine evolution create new species and weapons. 584 732

Appearance

Talona’s form is not fixed. Though scholars and worshippers traditionally portray her as a gaunt, withered old woman, her avatar commonly appears as a beautiful human woman in her late twenties. 170

• Shoulder-length grayish-brown hair.
• Black eyes marked by greed, cunning, and capriciousness.
• Often wears a floral or dark green dress with dark leather boots.
• Her beauty can give way to a ferocious, disturbing expression when angered. 170 171

Personality

Talona is possessive, jealous, capricious, and intensely ambitious. Her affection for Zuo Si is genuine in its own divine way, but it is inseparable from ownership: she calls him her child, her sole Chosen, and a vessel for her power. She reacts violently to anyone she considers a threat to that claim. 171 256

She is also pragmatic enough to change. Rather than remaining solely a goddess of indiscriminate plague, Talona accepts reforms that make poison and disease useful for treatment, sanitation, decomposition, and agriculture. This doctrinal shift supports her pursuit of a more stable identity as a goddess of natural cycles. 216 551

Her broader ambitions extend beyond Faerûn. Talona seeks portfolios that connect disease, decay, life, and death, and ultimately intends to establish a pantheon across multiple universes with Zuo Si. 425 732

Abilities & Divine Authority

Plague and Toxin Sovereignty

Talona governs poison, disease, viruses, bacteria, and toxins.

• Infused Zuo Si with divine pathogens and toxins from his original world, transforming him into her Chosen and a potential mass-casualty weapon. 171
• Can use her divine influence to affect the dangerous diseases contained within Zuo Si, though Bhaal’s power initially blocked her direct control and surveillance. 171
• Her cult historically retaliates against expulsion by spreading plague, making it a major target for Harpers and good-aligned churches. 165

Avatars and Divine Manifestation

Talona can descend into the Material Plane through avatars and alter her appearance.

• Her combat avatar manifested at Tessar Castle to claim Zuo Si publicly as her Chosen. 170
• She later used a divine scroll to transform the succubus Ulrika into an avatar-like vessel, allowing her to bypass hostile gods’ surveillance and meet Zuo Si in secret. 283
• Her avatars are capable of emotional and physical intimacy, but are distinct from her true divine essence. 170 732

Decay, Renewal, and Natural Cycles

Talona’s later doctrine frames death and decomposition as necessary components of life.

• Her priests convert corpses, waste, and plant matter into highly effective fertilizer through divine magic. 551
• She seeks to become an intrinsic part of Toril’s natural cycles, reducing her dependence on mortal worship. 551
• Her World of Cycles contains evolving ecosystems, city-states, magical biotechnology, and dangerous engineered lifeforms. 732

Chosen Empowerment

Talona grants extraordinary power to those she favors, particularly Zuo Si.

• Raised Zuo Si’s cleric class from level 5 to level 15 and granted him high-level and legendary divine spell slots. 349
• Granted him Summon Talona’s Avatar, allowing him to call upon her avatar. 349
• Granted Goddess’s Favor after receiving the Death domain, allowing Zuo Si to borrow her divine power. 584

Divine Artifacts Created

• Talona’s Favor — A personalized +6 scepter created for Zuo Si alone. It grants seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-level divine spell slots; can cast Implosion and Enervation; may trigger Wall of Blades, Disintegrate, or Soul Bind on a hit; and can transform into weapons the wielder is proficient with. Unauthorized users have their souls captured by the artifact. 216
• Talona’s Favor: Soul Worms — After Angel Poisonheart’s soul is sealed into the scepter, its attacks inflict soul-deep pain that disrupts concentration, judgment, reflexes, and spellcasting without directly causing physical damage. 350

Relationships

• Zuo Si / Soth — Her sole Chosen, divine vessel, romantic partner, and intended co-founder of a future multiversal pantheon. Talona’s love is profoundly possessive, while Zuo Si treats their bond as both an emotional and political alliance. 170 171 732
• Ilmater — Divine enemy. Ilmater intervenes to stop Talona from turning Zuo Si into an uncontrollable plague weapon and counters her immediate influence through Bhaal’s divine power. 171
• Loviatar — Former rival turned ally and subordinate. Talona recruits her after ascending in divine power, but warns her not to challenge her claim over Zuo Si. 256 425 732
• Yvette — High Priestess of Talona’s church. She presents Talona’s Favor to Zuo Si and works to manage the church’s doctrinal changes. 216
• Ilzer — Young reformist priest whose teachings on hygiene, prevention, and medicinal uses of toxins help expand Talona’s faith among the poor. 216
• Sylvanus — Rival for influence over nature. Talona competes with his wilderness-focused doctrine through her philosophy of decay, adaptation, civilization, and ecological cycles. 732
• Midnight — A competing divine influence over Zuo Si; Midnight’s Silver Fire weakens Talona’s ability to influence him directly. 280
• Her unnamed child with Zuo Si — A divine offspring created from Talona’s essence and Zuo Si’s genetic material. It escapes immediately after birth and attacks celestial forces on Mount Celestia. 732 917

Notable Quotes

“No! He belongs to me! Both the beautiful and deadly viruses and bacteria in his body, and this world destroyed by plague.” 171

“He is mine! Body and soul!” 256