A Character In Search of a Story

Description

(The following are selections from the notations, suppositions and accepted rumors from Alluriel’s entry in the Book of the Order ¹ kept in the Grand House and central repository of the Order of the Amethyst, with added annotations.)

Physical Description

Medium height for a woman, stunningly attractive with long, curly red hair and light blue eyes; fair skinned and well built. Quiet, studious, yet also sensual and a sensualist. A believer in the Lady Moon and a faithful follower of the Lady of Veils.

Talents

• Touch Magic – This talent is what makes any spellcaster: the ability to sense and manipulate the magic around them. Which spellcasting profession they choose depends largely on their personal preferences.

Skills

(The following skills are ranked according to the testing each member of the Order must complete before being becoming a full member of the order, and may change after that time.)

• Brew Potion (average) – Through a knowledge of herbs and magic, she can brew a variety of potions. The guidebook she carries lists several basic potion recipes and she always is seeking more recipes.
• Entrancement (average knowledge in theoretical, exceptional skill in practice) – The ability to place another person into a compliant trance. This is usually accomplished by enticing the person to concentrate on something captivating and distracting while at the same time convincing them to coöperate. It is also useful during painful healing procedures.
• Healing (above average) – A combination of first aid, battlefield surgery and general health skills. Antisepsis is known and practiced although the ultimate reasons why are still unknown.
• Perform (Play Flute) (surprisingly good performing skills) – The Order of the Amethyst encourages its members to develop mundane means of surviving, and that includes the means to make money. Performing at taverns and inns is a common means. A flute is a more practical traveling instrument than most stringed instruments, and it rarely causes conflicts with established professional bards.
• Read Magic Flows (average) – It is one thing to touch magic: it is entirely another to understand what is happening. Someone knowledgeable about reading magic flows can sense levels of ambient magical energy, identity lines and pools of magic force and even recognize spells being cast.
• Seduction (exceptional and enthusiastic) – The art of drawing someone of the desired sex into a sexual relationship of a short or long term period.
• Speak/Read/Write (speaks, reads and writes all three major languages) – Almost magical in itself, such arts are rare in this time except for royalty, merchants and spellcasters.
• Survival (average) – With most of the known world still covered in wilderness, training in skills like knowing how to survive in the wilds is vital. This includes knowledge of how to set up a secure camp, locate edible vegetation, set traps and snares, hunt small animals and recognize safe water.

Spells

(Alluriel’s entry lists what spells she manifested at the time of her testing and any others she was reported to have cast since then.)

• Enchantment
  • Charm – This spell causes an individual to become extraordinarily friendly and helpful toward the caster.
  • Command – This spell causes an individual to obey a spoken command to the best of their ability.
  • Compelling Voice – This spell causes all within earshot to listen to the caster and feel compelled to do what the caster says. The caster can use the volume of their voice to control who hears it. Some limitations apply, however, on what the compulsion would be.
  • Enthrall – This spell causes an individual to fixate entirely upon the caster to the exclusion of everything else, to follow them as long as the spell is active and to accept suggestions from the caster as though they were their own thoughts.
  • Entrance – This spell causes an individual to become hazily and lazily obedient to the caster.
  • Fascinate – This spell causes all who observe the caster to become fixated on them to the exclusion of everything else.
  • Slumber – This spell causes an individual to fall into a deep sleep and will only awaken if imperiled though bodily harm or upon the end of their normal sleep cycle. If allowed to fully rest, the individual will awaken refreshed and energized. The individual will have only pleasant dreams throughout their rest.
• General
  • Cleanliness – This one of the most basic spells known. It removes dirt from any cloth or leather.
  • Purify Water – This spell causes all impurities in a container of water to fall to the bottom as a dense sludge.
• Healing
  • Bind Wound – This is the most elementary healing spell known. It binds the wound with magic to keep out infection and to encourage natural healing.
  • Cure Disease – This spell kills the specific infection, which must be identified and specified for the spell to be effective. It does not repair any physical damage caused by the disease.
  • Cure Wound – This spell speeds healing of wounds, drawing upon the resources of the body: as such, it can cause collateral damage and even kill if the wound is too severe.
  • Draw Poison – This spell draws out the specific poison from the body, which must be identified and specified for the spell to be effective.
• Illusion
  • Beguiling Whispers – This spell causes a single specific individual or anyone in the specified area to hear the caster’s voice as a series of almost-inaudible whispers. These whispers have the power to insinuate themselves in the minds of anyone hearing them to the point where they will begin to think and act as directed by the whispers. The caster must concentrate on speaking the words of the whispers throughout the duration of the spell: experience with entrancement is a definite advantage for this spell.
  • Haunting Music – This spell causes music to appear from different locations, which has the power to influence the emotions of the listeners. The caster must supply the music themselves.
  • Splendor – This spell causes all who observe the caster to see them as someone more beautiful, more charming and more persuasive than they truly are.
  • Will o’ the Wisp – A series of luminescent lights dancing in the distance under the direction of the caster.

1. Not actually a formal book per se, members of the Order sign their names and sigils in the Book of the Order but subsequent documentation regarding them is kept in individual journals maintained by the clerks of the Order. Members of the Order are not required to update the Order regarding significant changes in their lives but for some reason their journals are almost always up-to-date and accurate. Alluriel is known as a “three-book” sorceress by the clerks, meaning her deeds and accomplishments encompass more than can be recorded in the usual single volume, even if at present the record of those deeds is only partly through the second book.