-Dr. Babukar Sisi. Psychologist. Neurosurgeon. Smuggler. Drug Kingpin. Advisor to the Walinzi (AFRICAN CIA EQUIVALENT) and Ras Hassan (TOP MILITARY COMMANDER). Secretly a Mad Scientist

Eyrn, The Lady of the Tower

"Appearance" [+]

To say Eyrn is a tower is a gross simplification, but it is one that is often made. After her death in life, and her burial by her followers in the Spire, her spirit took residence in the structure, making it sometimes hard to distinguish the two. She has no physical form beyond the Spire, though a special few have claimed to have seen apparitions of her within her sanctuary, usually with her giving prophetic warnings.

"History" [+]

Ten thousand years ago, there was a war, one which shook the skies and smashed the earth. The Empire of Merciful Dark, led by the horrific demon Mother Night, conquered civilization after civilization, subjugating them for its dark god. The mage-lords of the Diadochi were united against this threat, unleashing their awe-inspiring powers to their foes. It was at this time that Eyrn was conceived, the child of one of the warring Diadochi Lords. She was left to be raised by the Galans, a confederation of barbarian tribes aligned with the Diadochi against the common foe. The war had by then been dragging on for millennia, and was a life-or-death struggle for its participants. The eye of the Empire turned against the Galan Confederation when Eyrn was twenty-four. The Diadochi offered no assistance, accepting the loss of the Confederation as a calculated sacrifice in their grand plans. Without aid, the confederation stood no chance, and despite valiant resistance they were gradually being wiped out.

In their most desperate hour, Eyrn emerged among them to lead their armies. At first many derided her growing position and influence, declaring that a woman had no place leading the brave Galan warriors. Yet Eyrn was no mere commoner, with the blood of the ancient magi flowing in her veins, and her power was in many ways greater to her forebears, though how this was is unkown. Wielding holy fire, she led an army of her countrymen against the Enemy. Great though her might was, it was insufficient against the hordes arrayed against her. In the Battle of Isha, after being seperated by her devoted entourage in the heat of combat, she was finally overwhelmed and slain by Mother Night's unholy Champion after a brutal duel. The battle was lost, though her enraged and grief-stricken kinsmen were able to cut their way through the enemy ranks and carry her lifeless body away from the battlefield. All seemed lost for their people, who would be doomed to fade from history.

They interned her in the Spire, a tower of mythical proportions built by one of the Diadochi magisters who had been slain in the early days of the Great War. Though their lands burned around them, they carried her to the apex chamber, where they sealed her within a great golden coffin. Many commited suicide out of despair and grief. Some say that it was this fanatical devotion that caused what would come next, though others insist it was the combination of her magical blood and the inherit arcane powers running through the Spire. Regardless of the cause, she was reborn at that moment. Not physically, of course, but spiritually. In a sense, she became the Spire, and all within could feel her embrace, and rejoiced. By their worship, she became more powerful than she had been in life, and banished the forces of darkness from the surrounding lands.

It took over a hundred years to retake the traditional lands of her people. This was followed by centuries of peace. However, around 9450 years ago, discontent at her rule grew as overpopulation created poverty and plague struck the land. The nobility took advantage of this and led the people in rebellion against her, leading to the Wars of Apostasy. Mendeyrn was sieged and sacked, and though they could not breach the Spire, a period of anarchy followed in which Eyrn could only watch as her people decended into the abyss. She founded the Order of the Tower 9320 years ago, comprising of four thousand of the greatest, most pious knights available to her. They left the Spire and, led by the Oracle, restored order to the Galan lands. Once her tumultuous kindred were once again under her dominion, she re-organized her old empire into a new system. Having learned that direct intervention only made her an unpopular and an enemy of the nobility and the commoners alike, she withdrew from the mundane responsibilities of ruling, leaving the local nobility to rule themselves.

Instead, she imposed only her Three Tenets: Firstly, that any contortion of demons is forbidden and that it is the duty of every Galan to oppose those who do. Secondly, the Oracle, as representative of Eyrn, must be obeyed in all things. And finally, the spilling of blood in the hollowed Spire is strictly forbidden. She formed the Galan League, a loose alliance of all the Galan princes, dukes and kings, with herself as the titular head, though in practice they ruled independently of the Spire. As long as these lords follow her tenets, she allows them to do as they will, but should a nobleman stray from the righteous path, he would soon find himself targeted by the Knights of the Tower.

"Personality" [+]

Eyrn is the Mother, and mankind are her children. Having died as a mortal, she now sees it as her role to guide and protect her people, particularly against the depredations of the Outer Planes. This should not be taken as to mean that she is soft or weak, however, as even before dying she had been first and foremost a war leader. Those who, through malice of foolishness, threaten the world find no mercy within her heart. As a ruler, she relies on the adoration of her subjects, rather than the whip that the Diadochi favor.

"Abilities" [+]

Eyrn's most powerful abilities are indirect. Lesser demons and creatures of evil cannot approach the lands around her without suffering great pain, and only the mightiest of them could reach the Spire itself. Her influence also affects the country she resides in, which is pleasant and fertile, contrasting with the arid badlands around it. Harvests are more bountiful and the people more prosperous, making the region seem somewhat heavenly to stunned outsiders. Furthermore, though due to her lack of a physical form she cannot smite her enemies directly, she can imbue those who serve her with great power to wield in her name, and in times of great need, she can psychically speak to her enemies, the contact shattering their very souls. It is for this reason that she communicates directly only with a select few who can resist the ravages of her touch. It should be noted that these powers are proportional to the distance from the Spire; far-away lands are beyond her reach, while in the lands surrounding the Spire her powers are magnified exponentially.

In addition to these, she can see the entire world, though this is very taxing, only used when necessary. Her vision is not limited to the things that are, either. Prophecies and visions of the future sometimes come to her, though it is difficult for her to decipher whether these are things that might happen... or things that will happen. Finally, sher power is amplified through Harrowings, the ritual of human sacrifice completed by the ceremonial suicide of the old, the sick, and the desperate. This act is seen as the height of piety, and those who choose to take their own lives in this manner are revered as martyrs and heroes.

Though I tend to grow characters over time rather than have them all figured out in bios, my favorite description on my PoW character sheet looks like this.

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