Nerisa Bonraphinu the Vision of Analysis, Head Priestess of the Veil

Role

Chapter 8

Nirisa was told that she was born in a hut just outside of Kifa, a hamlet
tucked into the Redhorn mountains and largely ignored by the outside world.
Her earliest memory is becoming separated from her parents in the
marketplace of Tir Talath and wandering into the wizards quarter, where she
wandered around lost and crying until a kindly old man led her to the
library and fed her biscuits until he coaxed the name of her parents from
her. Her parents found her huddled beneath a brown woolen blanket tucked
in a leather reading chair, distracted by illumuinated tomes the old man
had given her.

The old man was Tlelirisith, a custodian of the archives and paid
researcher, and as he grew she frequented the libary frequently, helping
by restoring texts to their proper place and climbing the steep ladders
his unsteady knees railed against. When he wasn't working, Tlelirisith
regaled her with stories of the portal his research had helped construct
from a laboratory in the mountains to Hamsah Mutazz, and from this she
developed an interest in magic and planar theory theory.

This interest would have naturally led her into an apprenticeship with
a mage had it not been for Tlelirisith, who firmly informed her that if
she wished a meaningful future, she must learn the midwife trade from her
mother. "Magic," he had pronounced, "is the art of manipulating people
and nature to do a mage's bidding. Read all you wish to regarding the
arts, but you put your life and soul in peril if you ever begin to trust
a mage."

And so she learned her mother's craft, such as the binding of simple
wounds and the proper herbs to ease labor, and the function of prayers
to calm the patient and appease the gods. But when the day's fires had
burned low and all in her home thought she was asleep, Nirisa studied
the tomes her friend and mentor would loan her.

Role

Chapter 7

It was good to step out of the swirling sands into the dark antechamber,
although the oppressive thud of the stone door closing behind the four
of us did little to ease my mind. In the flickering light of a candle I
glimpsed the face of my mentor Tlelirisith--or was he merely a
recruiter?--but another person soon eclipsed his face and bade me wear
a black silk hood that matched their long robes. Despite the frail
opulence of his attire, the set of the man's shoulders was as commanding
as his voice, and the scarred brand of a tyler on the rough hand holding
my arm communicated quite clearly the seriousness of my situation.
Tlelirisith had said I would become a priestess, but this felt all wrong.
Fear spawned feelings of doubt and betrayal.

Hooded as I was, I could see nothing as they led me by the elbow through
a labyrinth of stone corridors into the depths below the desert.
The air was tinged with a fresh dampness that could not have been from
my perspiration, and when my head was freed by a quick tug on my hood
I saw the shimmer of a pool, around which flickered torches born by
twenty figures masked by amorphous black robes.

Solemnly, the far side of the circle parted and an unhooded dark-elf
clad in samite stepped forward, a glowing gold pendant help in his
cupped hands. His hair was clipped short, but in the poor light I could
make out few other details. Beside him stood a tanned human woman wearing
a robe of similar cut and color, but she reverently held a mithril dagger
whose reflected light seemed to pulse beneath the torchlight. The two
chanted a whispered prayer, then placed their offerings on the water as
a child might a toy boat. The dagger and the pendant floated slowly
toward the center of the pool where they met and nudged each other.
A flare of light sprang up so bright it forced me to avert my gaze, and
when my vision cleared the offerings were no more.

All eyes turned to me as the pair intoned: "We pray the Mistress of
Veils will accept our sacrifice."

Role

Chapter 6

In current circles of thought regarding the topic ambiguously referred
to as the Veil, there exists an unstated assumption that the Veil is
is one of the following:
1) a barrier shielding the mundane world from mystical or otherwise
extraplanar forces;
2) an extradimensional region lying between our plane of existence and
other dimensions, from which the energies referred to as magic originate;
3) an abstraction representing the extent of influence wielded by
the god of magic and his magic-hating counterpart.

The prevailing attitude is that the Veil is at best a non-sentient object
that is acted upon by those who believe they are strengthening or weakening
it to suit their own belief systems.

An an Initiate unto the Order of the Veil, it shall be made known to
you that the Veil is not an abstraction or object, but an entity
who accepts the sacrifices made by those who knowingly or unknowingly
solicit her favor by sacrificing objects of magic at one of her several
altars, including the misunderstood laboratories of the Nexan island and
the smithy of the Battlerager's village.

As you rise through each rank of our religious order, each sacrifice of
your ignorance will bring you closer to the divine truths we teach.

Role

Chapter 5

The Fourth Age
--------------
Histories of the beginning of this age discuss a Veil between the Prime
Material Plane and the Plane of Magic that was damaged during the Age of
Chaos, damage manifesting in a rift forming above the Vault of Nyastren
where the Nexus island now stands. During the time leading up to the
repair the power of magic fluctuated erratically, and the present efforts
to influence the influence of the Veil on magic echo the battle that took
place to sound the Horn of Fate, which was deemed necessary to make the
repairs.


Eyewitnesses to the Veil
---------------------------
Biographies coinciding with the end of the Third Age suggest chaos and
a resulting fear of magic consuming this plane. Descriptions of the
the colossal efforts to repair the Veil contain seemingly fanciful
descriptions of 'The Heart of the Prismatic Veil' in chaotic and organic
terms.


The Nightmare
--------------
The earliest reference I have found to date is a copy of a text contained
in the Lyceum, a treatise concerning the Celestial Eye, wherein the gods of
Time and Fate are mentioned, and one known as 'The Nightmare' as having
the title of 'He Whose Sight Alone Pierces The Veil.' The greater context
might suggest a meaning of the Veil other than the Prismatic Veil referenced
in the histories of the Fourth age, one that obscures the present from
temporal perceptions.


Commentary
--------------
If one can believe the accuracy of these writings, there is a recurring
sense that the threads of Time and Fate are intrinsically linked with the
Mistress of the Veil...or Prismatic Veil?

My current hypothesis is that my Mistress has always existed as a sentient
being, but like many of the pantheon she fell into a slumber during one of
the earlier ages. The tremors created by the waking of Lord Twist and the
damage done by the opening of the Vaults of Nyastren were enough to wake
Her from Her sleep, and it is Her present state of wakefulness that has
made Her newly receptive to the sacrifices of powerful artifacts.

Given my relationship with my Mistress, I know I am unable to give an
objective appraisal of Her nature, other than to say that to see Her
at the Shrine of Tahren filled me with awe, dread, and wonder. The tumult
of feelings I felt matched the attempt of those biographers to describe
what they saw.

Role

Chapter 4

The Mistress of the Veils appeared to me as I recovered in the Voralian
City chapel last night, and she asked me pointedly what sacrifices I had
for her. My pack was empty, having sacrificed at the Nexus rift not but
a few hours earlier, but fortunately I had solicited the aid of the
Chancellor in obtaining a worthy sacrifice just prior to her appearance.
She was a bit surprised how someone like me might have persuaded the
Chancellor to aid me, and I told her how I had given him the blessings
of the Veil unbidden on several occasions and sanctuary when he was
preparing to retrieve. She was pleased with the sacrifice, and I found
myself able to commune a new group of supplications.

She asked me who I thought pleased Her more, and I frankly that the
Battleragers were buffoons who did not sacrifice to Her as often as they
should. I then recounted how I had spread the faith: to whom I had
explained who she was, the thanks to the Mistress I had wrung from those
I traveled with, the direct aid I had given to Praeto and Igbah in
and the mumbled prayers or sacrifices they had given me. Even a bard
from the barbarian village has given attention to the Mistress, although
I do not think he has aided her.

I am impartial in this war between the Nexus and the Battleragers, but
the mages do not appear to care why their sacrifices sway the strength
of magic as long as it does and the barbarians consider sacrificing
magic an afterthought after they have carved a trophy. If they
actively made gifts to the Veil prior to fighting the Nexus, they
would find their battles would yield many more trophies. It is the
apathy of these two sides that disappoint me, and so I look elsewhere
for those who aid me. The Fortress has healers, and the Empire too,
but the Scions are receptive, and the Blood Tribunal might have a need
too.

Role

Chapter 3

In my pursuit to see gifts made to my Mistress, I have befriended any
and all who might help me. In the same day, I have healed Chancellor Igbah
and granted a healing sleep to the Fortress paladin Acvilar. I traveled
with a Nexan cloud giant, and a minute later gated across Thera to give
a powerful item to a Villager named Marnrerr so that he might pray to
the Veil and offer up a sacrifice. A few days later, the following
occured:
.....................................................................
An Imperial Blade named Sasha was tromping through Voralian City, and
I popped out of my closet and gave the bard sanctuary and asked
my goddess to lift her feet from the ground.

Sasha turned to me and asked, "Do you wish to take the Oath?"
My answer was a quick and decisive no.

"Why then," she asked, "do you help me?"

Without a moment's thought I answered, "Because some day, you
may say, 'I have a use for her.' And that will be my opportunity
to use you."

Her laughter was a simple acknowledgement that I was speaking a
language she understood well.
.......................................................................

I had before this always considered myself a good person, but I recognize in
myself now that darker element known only to me indirectly through
supplications and the reactions of others. Lies have poured off my tongue
readily as I encourage anyone who might listen to make proper sacrifice,
and I find myself wondering just how much drow might be in me and to
what end the worship of my Mistress might lead me.

Role

Chapter 2

Although I entered Nyathl Ikalith with the intent to study this extra-dimensional
space to gain a better understanding of the Veil and its relation to Thera and
those dwelling on it, I find it makes me seriously question the dominant way
in which the planes are described. The texts I have read thus far lead me to
believe that they are introductory, explanations meant to appease only casually
interested minds.

Data which draws attention to our theoretical inaccuracies include, but are not
limited to the existence and interaction of the various planes with our own,
such as the elemental forces and divine and demonic conjurations-; the frequent
occurrence of spells and communes which use dimensional factors to alter our
perceptions, location, and physicality-; and finally the instantaneous manner
in which magical and divine forces may be used to create the aforementioned effects.

The use of the adjectives inner and outer to describe the planes confers an
inappropriate sense of distance and simultaneously an assumption of a spatial location.
Although those who fly through ethereal and astral space write that by traversing these
planes they can reach other planes of existence, I posit that these planes
are not separated from our own by a distance, but that they all simultaneously
intersect with our own in a manner that our normally unobservant minds cannot
readily perceive and with which our persons cannot readily interact.

The immediate impact this shift in thought might have on magical and religious
thought is that there is a far greater immediacy between the planes and their
various denizens. Knowledge, desire, and means are all that separate a scholar
in Galadon from a sailor in Seantryn Modan, a demon from Gehenna, and the very
gods we worship. This understanding may lead the people of our plane to embrace
religion and my Mistress more readily, for the gods are quite literally here,
among us at all times but just outside of perception.

Role

Chapter 1

After two interactions with Lady Eshval, the researcher sought out her shrine
to receive confirmation or refutation that this dark goddess of passion was the Mistress
of the Veil. The meeting resulted in many questions pertaining to blood and terror, and
the researcher has begun gating to people, gauging their reactions, and then submitting
them to a battery of questions. The results hold promise, but no conclusions should yet
be drawn.

Subject one: A good conjurer, believed to be of the Fortress.
The subject was under attack by an aggressive angelic conjuration, and fearing attack, he
used magic to leave the city. The angel followed him and slew him.
The subject later reported that the researcher's relations had led him to this fear.

Subject two: A young orc whom I could harm
The participant was within the orc village when the researcher gated to him, and after
the guards had briefly incapacitated the researcher, he looked over the stunned form a few
times and then attacked. The researcher had prepared for such an eventuality, and the orc
ran to Tremblefist quite near death.

Subject 2b: the young orc, revisited
Having had insufficient data, the researcher gated to the orc and initiated attack.
The level of terror in the participant was sufficiently increased that he immediately
fled and quaffed a potion of return, and the resulting discussion was a monotonous lament
of how he was relentlessly pursued by enemies, that his god had left him, and death was
whispering constantly in his ear. The world had made his kind into the spineless,
quivering opportunist that he was, and it was for this reason he foolishly struck the
researcher, not out of a desire to make her an enemy. He was instructed to give his
apology to the Mistress of the Veil, and maybe from her he might find what he seeks.

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