"You think mercy is for the weak? 'Twas Shallya's mercy healed my broken arm so I could lead the vanguard against the beastmen in our last campaign. You saying that makes me weak? Think carefully before you answer, lad..."
- —Sergeant Marcus Orton to a green recruit.[2a]
The Old World is a hard place in which to live. Disease, injury, or extended bad fortune can drive a man or woman to the brink of despair, bereft of any hope. These people turn to Shallya, the White Dove of Mercy, who cries tears that bring the promise of mercy and comfort. To those confined to prison or a sick bed, to people condemned to death or who are dying in a sickbed or on a battlefield, Shallya and her priestesses and priests—for a few men serve her order, too—bring peace and forgiveness, and a promise of a better life in the next world.[1a]
The Cult has a presence throughout the Old World, and her temples double as hospitals for those too poor to afford a physician’s house calls. In the Empire, each of the cities and major towns has a whitewashed temple to Shallya and, even in small towns and villages, the temples and shrines to the other gods will often contain a small chapel dedicated to the Lady in White.[1a]
Sub-cults
Several sub-cults and sects of Shallya are found in the Empire and beyond. In the Wasteland and the western Empire, the sect of Shallya the Purifier teaches that even mutants can be reformed and, perhaps, healed. Whispers along the Reik hint at a secret village of mutants who worship Shallya, somewhere in Marienburg’s hinterland. The Witch Hunters would dearly love to discover the truth.[1a]
In the slums of Talabheim, poor Kislevites call her Salyak, the Giver of Charity. Soup kitchens run by this sect provide food to those who would otherwise starve, even to the point of denying themselves food. Talabheim’s upper classes look down on the cult of Salyak, when they think of it at all, wondering how perfectly good money and time could be wasted on lazy, drunken peasants.[1a]
Omens of Shallya
Shallya is unrelentingly merciful and sympathetic. As her priests and priestesses are devoted to easing the pain and suffering of others, her omens and portents usually serve to highlight that suffering.[2b]
Sometimes the suffering Shallya's omens concern is not obvious. There's no need to bring a priest's attention to a man with a broken leg, after all -- both the injury and the treatment are clear. However, a woman whose broken heart may soon drive her to murder might be a more subtle injury, more difficult to treat, but in Shallya's eyes her suffering is no less worthy of care.[2b]
Radiant doves, tears, and blood drops are some of the symbols that Shallya favours.[2b]