PCs:The Prophetess
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Age: 31
Deity: Aarilax
Birthplace: Verloghokbol
Residence: Lumiere Castle
Affiliations:
- Psion, Luminous Order of the Mind
- Spouse of Owen Thayt'or
- Spouse of Emma de Baskervyle
- Spouse of Auryna Ak'hanrye
- Partner, Trinity Outfitters
- Lady of the Rune, Knights of the Serpent
- Order of Aarilax
Languages: Undercommon, Nanshilae
Name
Like many Adomkuro, Lily did not use her given name when introducing herself. She instead offered several flower-based names, until she settled on calling herself "The Prophetess."
Prophet has two meanings. First, a prophet is an individual who claims to have been directly contacted by a deity, who speaks for that deity and serves as an intermediary to mortal races. This role is often served by an Avatar, but this carries with it its own risks, as the Avatar must bear a portion of the deity's power, and risks diminishing or weakening the deity should the Avatar be harmed or killed. With that risk is certainty, because the deity's followers can have no doubt that what the Avatar proclaims, is the unequivocal will and teaching of the deity. A prophet is a mortal agent, with mortal weakness and mortal fallibility, prone to misinterpreting the messages they receive from their god or goddess, or twisting that message for their own personal gain.
Second, is someone that foretells the future. Because of the religious connotation, it is often thought that a prophet foretells future events as a result of the divine revelation they receive, in contrast to other methods of foretelling such as Fatespinning or traditional Romini folk practices.
After forming the Sinity, Lily abandoned her alias and began using her given name, Lily of the Valley. When she later married, she took Owen's surname for her own.
Appearance
Like others of her kin, her hair and eyes are raven black, with the signature alabaster pale skin of her people. Of note are the silver white ring around the irises and the tips of her voluminous and curly hair. She has a curvy, classic hourglass figure. By no means waifish, she might instead be described as, in the parlance of the modern day, "thicc."
Lily Thayt'or has her hair parted to one side with an enamel hairpin keeping it in place. This one-of-a-kind pin is expertly crafted, with the white petals of the lily specially designed to look as realistic as possible against her dark hair. Her other notable jewelry include her amulet and the ring on her left hand. The amulet depicts the holy symbol of Aarilax: a kris-like dagger whose blade transitions into a venomous viper. The ring rests on the third finger of her left hand, the traditional place for an engagement or wedding ring. Though Lily will gladly and proudly admit to being married--to three people at once, no less--this ring does not represent her marriage to any one of them individually, but rather their Union. The ring was first forged by her husband Owen, then imbued with the magic of all three spouses: Owen, Emma, and Auryna. The Goretharium band is set with four semi-precious stones: an onyx, a malachite, an aquamarine, and a lapis lazuli. The combination of such a rare and powerful alloy framing such humble stones creates the sense that the people the stones represent are strengthened by being set in this band of Unity.
More recently, Lily has taken to wearing two rings of significance each of her pinky fingers. On the left is a ring of dark metal set with a malachite stone flecked with gold. It signifies her membership in the Order of Aarilax. The right has a simple band, with the Daybreak sigil etched into the center.
Origins: The Dark City and the Dead Dreamer
Lily is the product of a dock worker and a prostitute. Couplings with prostitutes are fairly common in Verloghokbol indiscriminate of gender. Lily's mother is a malignant narcissist, and initially wanted to sell her unborn child into slavery for drug money. Lily's father, meanwhile, is kind and sentimental, at least in comparison to the mother, and instead offered to 'buy' the child from her to raise himself. Though only a dock worker, Lily's father has a fascination with Surface botany, particularly flowers, and so he named his daughter after his favorite. Lily began experiencing Dreams when she was in her teens, when her psionic talent was first blooming. Most followers of the Dreamer are psions, because their minds are more receptive to the Dreams. Lily's Dreams tended towards imparting subliminal, unconscious knowledge and mastery over her psionic ability, which caused her to associate the Dreams and the Dreamer who sent them with knowledge and power, and so grew to worship and serve the Dreamer as a priestess in this way. By the time she had reached her thirties, the Dreamer commissioned Lily to venture towards the Surface.
Jalustriel
Over the course of several months, Lily became embroiled in a struggle against a cabal known as Valarauko'Noss. During this struggle, she experienced prophetic dreams that she assumed were sent by the Dreamer. Instead, these dreams were sent by Jalustriel.
Jalustriel was once an angel that led Gorethar's armies in the Seven Heavens. He was a veteran of many battles against demonic and devilry forces. He grew tired of service, and sought to dethrone Gorethar. He failed in his mutiny and was cast out of the Heavens. He aligned himself with devils and became known as Jalustriel the Fallen. he then reoriented his goals to overtake the Heavens with an army of devils. He used his angelic knowledge to arrange for his devil minions to construct a blade, Angelkiller. The Order of Gorethar cut off Jalustriel's plans to assault the Heavens, defeated him and ultimately redeemed him. Jalustriel was permitted to re-enter the Heavens upon his death, but before he returned to the Cycle, the darkness of his soul was removed and cast out. The darkness cleaved from Jalustriel found a home in an Angelkiller shard excavated from the Wastelands. This version of Jalustriel was what was sending out dreams to Lily. When this was revealed, Lily began having dreams featuring Jalustriel himself:
Prophetess is sitting in a room, in the Inn of Elania. She’s sitting on the bed.
Standing in front of her is the handsomest man she has ever seen. He wears tight black leather pants, and black boots. He is shirtless. Beautiful, large wings sprout from his back, with feathers as black and as sleek as a raven’s. His hair is just as sleek and black, but his eyes are a crystalline blue, like a tropical ocean. “When I was in the shards,” says the dark angel, “All I had was my mind. Do you know what it’s like, to not be able to see, or taste, or touch? All I could do was think… and dream. “I sent out dreams. To my allies. To my enemies. Until Elysia Jones found me, and put me into that thing. After that, I had a body again, but could no longer send out my mind.” Dark Jalustriel spreads his glossy black wings. “Until now. In this rod, I am bodiless again. But once more I can dream… and you are very receptive to dreams… “I don’t just send dreams, love – I can read them, too. And you have very… interesting dreams. You wish to feed my former master to your current one. But I would like to offer you a counterproposal.” The handsome fallen angel leans forward, until his face is mere inches away from Prophetess’. “Feed him to me.”
Dark Jalustriel leans in even closer. At first it seems as if he will kiss her, but he shifts at the last second and brings his perfectly-formed mouth close to her ear. “I require a body. Give Desteroth’s to me, and I will serve you. Don’t, and I will send out dreams, to my allies, and my enemies. And I will haunts yours… forever.”
This specific dream had a profound effect on Lily, the last straw that shattered her faith in the Dreamer. To learn that not only was the Dreamer not responsible for the prophetic dreams she was experiencing, but that the Dreamer could not protect her from the violation that these dreams had become was too much. It was at this point that Lily had to take stock of herself and her values apart from the Dreamer. but Jalustriel had one last dream to impart:
Lily first notices the feeling of weightlessness.
Next, she feels the wind, cold on her face, whipping her hair about her. Next, a warmth, and a tightness, a feeling of being enclosed. No, not enclosed, embraced. It takes a few more moments before Lily realizes that 1) this is a dream, and 2) in the dream she is flying. No, that is not accurate, someone else is flying, and she happens to be in his arms. Dark Jalustriel’s muscles are not what one would call “rippling.” Nor is he as thin and wiry as most elves. But he is obviously strong, strong enough to carry Lily effortlessly as well as fly with her in midair. His black wings flap rhythmically as he glides through the sky, over a city that looks much like Mikona. “Lily,” he says, his voice somehow audible despite the wind. “You’ve been busy. Forsaking one god, embracing a new one… I hope you haven’t forgotten about me, because I surely haven’t forgotten about you. “We can help each other, Lily. I served Gorethar for ages. Then I served Asmodeus in the Hells. Now, I can serve you, and serve you well. All I seek is a body.” Dark Jalustriel banks before reaching the sea, and loops around, towards what could be the Hills of Tumult. “I have been in sword shards, and golems, and now this rod. I have not felt anything, or anyone… in centuries. Except in these dreams. Lesser minds would go insane, but I hold out hope. Together, we can show your new god how worthy you are of his divine blessing.
“You can be rid of the Dreamer, but you cannot be rid of the dreams…”
Fortunately for Lily, Jalustriel was wrong, and after defeating him, this was the last time he violated the sanctity of her mind with his dreams.