Odayla is the Storm Bear, god of hunters and the wilderness. He was the child of Unknown and Verala, the Lady of the Wild. Though he lived as a god with his father, he had the wilderness inside of him and never stayed at home for long. He ranged far out into the wild, living with the beasts there and learrning their magic. He became a great hunter, able to walk through the world unseen and unheard. There was always a new animal to hunt, a new secret to learn.
Finally, there was only one animal that he had yet to master, a great bear that walked in both the waking world and the Otherside as if there was no difference. It hunted as Odayla did, could be invisible as Odayla was. Odayla hunted the creature relentlessly, and was sometimes hunted in turn. He learned to read every sign, even the ones that had yet to be laid. He learned doubt, and then he learned fear, and then he surrrendered.
The Orlanthi will tell you that in that moment, Odayla slew the bear. The Sylilans will tell you the opposite, that the Storm Bear mauled the godling. But the cultists of Odayla will tell you that there was never a bear and a god, never two different beings. Odayla is the Storm Bear, the hunter is the wilderness. They are one and the same.
To become an initiate of the cult of Odayla, the prospective must go into the wilderness and awaken their Bear Soul by finding and killing a bear; Odaylans wear their bearskins at all times. They can take on the shape of a bear, or project their bear soul out into the world while they meditate. After hunting an animal, they can breathe in its last breath and use this to create unique spirit charms. These give them the powers of the animal, but can affect the Odaylan’s personality.
Odaylans live solitary lives. The cult is loosely structured, and their holy places are far away from civilisation. Just as the Storm Bear was god and spirit, Odaylans walk a path between worlds. They are both human and animal, civilised and savage, material and spirit. As they grow in devotion to their god, they must choose which path they will follow. Some Odaylans forsake civilisation entirely and become Bearwalkers, becoming possessed by their Bear Soul each night and prowling the wilderness as a living incarnation of Odayla. Others become Champions, serving as bodyguards and warriors to ranking Orlanthi, living fully as a creature of civilisation.
The greatest center of worship for Odayla is the Lunar Satrapy of Sylila, in the Heartlands. An Orlanthi culture has lived in the hills of Sylila for ages, and have stubbornly retained their traditions. They worship the Storm Bear as their ancestral god, who they know as the son of Orlanth and Unknown (who they call Karborn the Bear Father and Sesaradeva the Scarlet Serpent). Worship of Orlanth is banned throughout the empire, but the Sylilans are tolerated. They are loyal to the satrap, and provide it with powerful warriors for their private armies.