Ilyra Venn, Last Novice of the First Mercy
Temple Novice, Cursed Custodian
Ilyra Venn, Last Novice of the First Mercy
Species
Human, partially spectral
Appearance
Ilyra appears as a thin, ash-pale woman whose edges blur like wet ink whenever she stands beneath moonlight. Her skin feels warm despite its corpse-like color, and faint golden cracks run from her throat to her wrists like old ceramic repairs. She moves with the careful rhythm of someone walking across a sleeping person's floorboards, placing each foot exactly where she expects the ground to be. Her left hand is permanently stained with black incense soot. The unexpected contradiction is her smile: it is broad, genuine, and almost childlike, appearing most often when she discusses funerals, locked doors, or terrible things that must be done.
“Her voice is soft and intimate, with the faint reverberation of someone speaking inside a bell. She pauses before names, especially the names of the dead.”
Ability Scores
Alignment
Distinguishing Features
A cracked brass bell is fused to the bones of her right wrist.
Her shadow sometimes shows her as a young novice holding a child's hand.
The names of twelve dead children appear across her robe and shift position when she forgets one.
She has no reflection in polished metal, but her reflection appears in still water several seconds late.
A faint scent of rain on dust follows her even in dry chambers.
Voice
“A low, gentle contralto threaded with distant chimes, becoming young and breathless whenever she says Oren's name”
Clothing
A smoke-stained gray novice's robe layered beneath a patched burgundy traveling cloak. The robe is secured with knotted red thread instead of a belt, and the hem is embroidered with the names of twelve children in thread that changes from black to gold when exposed to candlelight.
Body Language
Ilyra keeps her shoulders slightly hunched, as if carrying a roof beam. She rarely faces anyone directly while speaking about the dead. When frightened, she becomes perfectly still rather than retreating, and the shadows around her continue moving for a few seconds after she stops.
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