Aeolius
Adventurer
I posted this on my blog, yesterday. It was a cathartic experience, to dig through the backgrounds of five campaigns, to compile the information below:
In life, she had been known as the wife of Caliph Talna-bin-Namesh and mother to she who had sequestered the Binder of Geniekind – now known as the wyrding witch. Although drowned as a heretic, Xaetra's heart remained true Bakluni.
In her second life, the midnight hag begot many children. During the years imprisoned within the grasp of the cold lord Kostchtchie, she would be known as mother to the succubus Arissadeane, who in turn would beget the alu-demon Anasta.
Ice, the annis grandchild of Xaetra, and her daughters, the ogresses Kora and Ryth, were the willing minions of Ariss in her search for the Eyes of Celene within the frozen Land of Black Ice. Anasta sought news of her father Zander, whom Ariss had tricked the night hag into transforming into a sickly larva. Although her father had risen to the ranks of shadow demons, Anasta had learned the secret ritual that would purge him of demonic energies. Only Zander knew the legends of the Eyes of Celene and of their connection with the five wandering stars.
For a time, Anasta found solace in the company of a band of adventurers. Expecting twin daughters, she planned for their future. Yet her happiness was not to last. Catching the party unaware, Zephra, the twin sister of Anasta, infiltrated the group and murdered three; Xaetra, the cambion son of Ariss, and Anasta, while using dark magics to make Anasta's daughters her own.
Xaetra found herself reborn. When the midnight hag died, her body liquefied, returning to the waters that drowned her human form. As those waters were absorbed into the shawl of a slain neried, a hag-cast dusk nymph known as a jiran was born. In time, a ring of mystical powers restored the jiran to her former form.
Years later, Xaetra mastered the rites of Choleria and sought sanctuary within the forbidden tombs of the First Dynasty of the Bakluni, for she knew that which others did not. In time she would count the salt hag Salkt and greenhag Meir amongst her daughters.
Beneath the surface of the Dramidj Ocean, another progeny of the midnight hag had plans for the future. Tempest, sea hag daughter of the greenhag Meir and her merrow mate, had learned of the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar and of their whereabouts within the sunken stories of the Pinnacles of Azor'Alq. Legend tells of the cup and talisman and of their link to the holy site of the Tovag Baragu.
As progenitor to the Sisterhood of Blood, a covey comprised of Tempest, Salkt, and the elemental hag Muckmyre, the midnight hag had foreseen the time of her third death by their hands. Within a sunken tower known as the Nighthouse, Xaetra kept company with Zander, now a sorcerous shade, and gathered weapons worthy of her intentions. Biding her time, she prepared the sanctum for her ultimate goal, the destruction of the fourfold coveys of Syliah, the Abyssal Hag.
United in purpose, the coveys of Blood, Phlegm, Choler, and Black Bile combined their malevolent powers, to defeat the midnight hag. Though slain, Xaetra returned as a spectral hag, to haunt the waters of her death. Confined to the depths, within the metal walls of her itinerant stronghold, the spectral hag holds council with her collaborators within the region of dreams. Though Tempest had been slain by Meir the sea hag returned to life, through the rites of the Blood Magus.
Having gathered allies of her own, Xaetra alone knows the secrets that bind the stone circles to the artifacts of Al'Akbar. Though aware that the combined powers of the artifacts may yet grant her new life, it is a secret she vowed to take with her to the grave and beyond.
While confined to her spectral form, Xaetra was able to return to her sanctuary nestled within the gray wastes of Hades. There she sought council with Iryaek, a portly night hag of dire reputation and epic renown. A member of Xaetra’s original covey, Iryaek had given birth to Xaetra’s son, a feral beast known as the krampus, when the midnight hag had last used her shapeshifting magics to assume a male form.
The refuge had been constructed by the hags long ago, for it served to secret a magical portal that led to Pluton, the Third Gloom of Hades. While the night hag Xaetra dallied in the affairs of humans, her sister in sorcery Iryaek was less inclined to leave her home.
Iryaek unveiled a potent most puzzling. In the years to come, Xaetra would return to human form, take upon her the mantle of Chronomancy, and travel in time to the distant past. In this new life she would be robbed of her memories, become known as Chrysa, give birth to a daughter, and name the newborn Syliah.
In her time beneath the surface of the Dramidj Ocean, Xaetra bonded with the cold machinations of a metal construct devised by her paramour Zander, now a powerful lich. The iron hag, amalgamation of spirit and steel, became known as grandmother clock. Together the two conceived a child, Jaenan, daughter of skin, steel, and sorcery.
Though aided by the mystic homunculus she had fashioned in life, Xaetra found herself the victim of Syliah’s treachery. Thirteen hags descended upon Xaetra and her circle. At one fell swoop thirteen hags weakened the spectral hag, desecrated her corpse, destroyed her construct, and slew her blood-spawned homunculus. The ocean was theirs for the taking.
Her ghostly form transformed once more, Xaetra emerged as a creature of dreamstuff. Doomed to haunt the dreams of those she knew in life, the spirit hag took sanctuary within the ethereal Region of Dreams.
As Salkt had been born of her union with a sea elf, Xaetra was also known to dark elves and wood elves. Midnight hags often found suitable suitors amongst humans, elves, and fiendish outsiders from the lower planes.
Deep within the sylvan shadows of the Suss Forest, a secret remains untold. In times long past, the woods were known to Xaetra, who sought the secret. In her journeys, she crossed paths with an eccentric forest elf known simply as Sumac. In time, she would bear him a daughter, Caseia. The woodhag Caseia would produce a daughter of her own, the harridan Aerianna.
(originally posted here: Wednesday )
In life, she had been known as the wife of Caliph Talna-bin-Namesh and mother to she who had sequestered the Binder of Geniekind – now known as the wyrding witch. Although drowned as a heretic, Xaetra's heart remained true Bakluni.
In her second life, the midnight hag begot many children. During the years imprisoned within the grasp of the cold lord Kostchtchie, she would be known as mother to the succubus Arissadeane, who in turn would beget the alu-demon Anasta.
Ice, the annis grandchild of Xaetra, and her daughters, the ogresses Kora and Ryth, were the willing minions of Ariss in her search for the Eyes of Celene within the frozen Land of Black Ice. Anasta sought news of her father Zander, whom Ariss had tricked the night hag into transforming into a sickly larva. Although her father had risen to the ranks of shadow demons, Anasta had learned the secret ritual that would purge him of demonic energies. Only Zander knew the legends of the Eyes of Celene and of their connection with the five wandering stars.
For a time, Anasta found solace in the company of a band of adventurers. Expecting twin daughters, she planned for their future. Yet her happiness was not to last. Catching the party unaware, Zephra, the twin sister of Anasta, infiltrated the group and murdered three; Xaetra, the cambion son of Ariss, and Anasta, while using dark magics to make Anasta's daughters her own.
Xaetra found herself reborn. When the midnight hag died, her body liquefied, returning to the waters that drowned her human form. As those waters were absorbed into the shawl of a slain neried, a hag-cast dusk nymph known as a jiran was born. In time, a ring of mystical powers restored the jiran to her former form.
Years later, Xaetra mastered the rites of Choleria and sought sanctuary within the forbidden tombs of the First Dynasty of the Bakluni, for she knew that which others did not. In time she would count the salt hag Salkt and greenhag Meir amongst her daughters.
Beneath the surface of the Dramidj Ocean, another progeny of the midnight hag had plans for the future. Tempest, sea hag daughter of the greenhag Meir and her merrow mate, had learned of the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar and of their whereabouts within the sunken stories of the Pinnacles of Azor'Alq. Legend tells of the cup and talisman and of their link to the holy site of the Tovag Baragu.
As progenitor to the Sisterhood of Blood, a covey comprised of Tempest, Salkt, and the elemental hag Muckmyre, the midnight hag had foreseen the time of her third death by their hands. Within a sunken tower known as the Nighthouse, Xaetra kept company with Zander, now a sorcerous shade, and gathered weapons worthy of her intentions. Biding her time, she prepared the sanctum for her ultimate goal, the destruction of the fourfold coveys of Syliah, the Abyssal Hag.
United in purpose, the coveys of Blood, Phlegm, Choler, and Black Bile combined their malevolent powers, to defeat the midnight hag. Though slain, Xaetra returned as a spectral hag, to haunt the waters of her death. Confined to the depths, within the metal walls of her itinerant stronghold, the spectral hag holds council with her collaborators within the region of dreams. Though Tempest had been slain by Meir the sea hag returned to life, through the rites of the Blood Magus.
Having gathered allies of her own, Xaetra alone knows the secrets that bind the stone circles to the artifacts of Al'Akbar. Though aware that the combined powers of the artifacts may yet grant her new life, it is a secret she vowed to take with her to the grave and beyond.
While confined to her spectral form, Xaetra was able to return to her sanctuary nestled within the gray wastes of Hades. There she sought council with Iryaek, a portly night hag of dire reputation and epic renown. A member of Xaetra’s original covey, Iryaek had given birth to Xaetra’s son, a feral beast known as the krampus, when the midnight hag had last used her shapeshifting magics to assume a male form.
The refuge had been constructed by the hags long ago, for it served to secret a magical portal that led to Pluton, the Third Gloom of Hades. While the night hag Xaetra dallied in the affairs of humans, her sister in sorcery Iryaek was less inclined to leave her home.
Iryaek unveiled a potent most puzzling. In the years to come, Xaetra would return to human form, take upon her the mantle of Chronomancy, and travel in time to the distant past. In this new life she would be robbed of her memories, become known as Chrysa, give birth to a daughter, and name the newborn Syliah.
In her time beneath the surface of the Dramidj Ocean, Xaetra bonded with the cold machinations of a metal construct devised by her paramour Zander, now a powerful lich. The iron hag, amalgamation of spirit and steel, became known as grandmother clock. Together the two conceived a child, Jaenan, daughter of skin, steel, and sorcery.
Though aided by the mystic homunculus she had fashioned in life, Xaetra found herself the victim of Syliah’s treachery. Thirteen hags descended upon Xaetra and her circle. At one fell swoop thirteen hags weakened the spectral hag, desecrated her corpse, destroyed her construct, and slew her blood-spawned homunculus. The ocean was theirs for the taking.
Her ghostly form transformed once more, Xaetra emerged as a creature of dreamstuff. Doomed to haunt the dreams of those she knew in life, the spirit hag took sanctuary within the ethereal Region of Dreams.
As Salkt had been born of her union with a sea elf, Xaetra was also known to dark elves and wood elves. Midnight hags often found suitable suitors amongst humans, elves, and fiendish outsiders from the lower planes.
Deep within the sylvan shadows of the Suss Forest, a secret remains untold. In times long past, the woods were known to Xaetra, who sought the secret. In her journeys, she crossed paths with an eccentric forest elf known simply as Sumac. In time, she would bear him a daughter, Caseia. The woodhag Caseia would produce a daughter of her own, the harridan Aerianna.
(originally posted here: Wednesday )
