Ioun, The Knowing Mistress

Ioun, known as the Knowing Mistress or the Knowing Mentor, is a Prime Deity of learning, prophecy, knowledge, memory, revelation, and skill. Following the catastrophic war known as the Calamity, she and the other Prime Deities withdrew behind the Divine Gate to protect the Material Plane from the Betrayer Gods, leaving her power to be channeled only by her most devout followers. In divinatory practices, Ioun is represented by The High Priestess tarot card—symbolizing knowledge, truth-seeking, and teaching—and is depicted by the custom card of A Scroll.

Though her presence on the Sword Coast is often marked by quiet ruins, her sacred spaces still hold profound divine power capable of piercing the deepest mysteries of the realm.

The Temple at Conyberry

An abandoned temple dedicated to Ioun is located in the ruined settlement of Conyberry. Within this derelict sanctuary sits the Altar to Ioun, a powerful conduit of her portfolio. Through this altar, seekers can commune directly with her divine presence to obtain lost, hidden, or guarded information.

The temple features an old courtyard and originally housed a humongous golden bell. In a display of her practical and permissive nature, the Knowing Mistress conveyed through her altar that she was comfortable with travelers taking the bell from her abandoned sanctuary.

Divine Interventions and Visions

During a fateful visit by a band of adventurers, the Altar to Ioun was used to grant various visions and uncover several critical truths:

• The Location of Cragmaw Castle: Revealing the hidden fortress of the Cragmaw goblins, historically known as Highthorn, the ancient summer seat of the human King of the Pact of Phandelver.
• The Draconic Threat: Exposing the ultimate desire of the white dragon Cryovain the Everfrost—to create winter everywhere with the aid of his allies.
• Unraveling False Memories: Revealing that Farwald’s mental exhaustion and blank memories when attempting to recall draconic history were the result of a potent Modify Memory spell cast by the legendary wizard Elminster Aumar, the Sage of Waterdeep.
• The Golden Bell: Ioun conveyed her divine permission, confirming she was comfortable with travelers taking the temple’s golden bell.

Recent Events at the Ruins

The abandoned temple recently served as the backdrop for significant encounters and decisions:

• The Sorcerer’s Bargain: At the temple ruins, the adventurers met a strange sorcerer bearing a many-headed dragon tattoo. They bargained with him, trading their knowledge of Virethas, the green dragon of yore (also known as Virethas the Jade Queen), in exchange for 2,500 gold. This transaction was directly tied to the temple’s golden bell. When questioned about the mysterious figure known as “The Spider,” the sorcerer lied, claimed ignorance, and quickly fled using advanced magic.
• Melting and Fencing the Bell: Following the bargain, the magic-users Farwald and Nalini used their magical finesse to melt the massive golden bell down into smaller pieces to fit inside a bag of holding. Although they originally planned to fence the gold with the help of a wayward merchant named Mikael, Gilmore ultimately sold the gold pieces to Deacon in Phandalin for 2,600 gold pieces.
• The Courtyard Ambush: While resting at the temple ruins overnight, the party was ambushed. A green dragon wyrmling, disguised as a harmless chameleon, accompanied three hostile Dragonborn (two green, one white) who attacked. The hostile forces targeted Gilmore, attempting to subdue him and steal his pendant. Farwald used a magical glass staff to animate small objects in the courtyard to hold the attackers at bay, while Nalini used ice spells. Though the party eventually slew the attackers, the battle left them on the brink of death.