Name: Atalee Vayshalum
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Nickname: None, or at least none that she knows about.
Race: Human
Appearance: Click Me! – “Atalee is a female human with a pale complexion, brown eyes, and blonde hair with a long braid in the back. We estimate that she is approximately 170 centimeters tall and weighs about 65 kg. Atalee typically wears a full set of plate armor bar the helmet, which probably weighs between fifteen to twenty-five kilograms. Beneath her armor, she wears a cloth shirt and some shorts, though, she is rarely seen without her armor. The young woman keeps her sword, Oathkeeper, within a sheath at her left side. She has a number of small bags and pouches such as her coin purse but mostly keeps extra tools and equipment in a potato sack strung on her back.”
Skills: “Atalee is an excellent swordsman. She specializes in longswords, usually between 100 cm and 120 cm in length, though she is adept with blades of almost any size. She is also proficient with a handful of pole arms, especially quarterstaffs but also pikes and spears, though she is admittedly inexperienced with axes, hammers, and other non-traditional pole weapons. Her other skills include a mastery of language, mostly derived from an extensive study of the Book of Vexa and related works produced by the Church of Vexa, though, her understanding of vernacular appears limited. Atalee also knows basis survival skills, which include hunting, gathering, and basic first aid techniques, though her capacity to do so may be hampered by her lack of knowledge on more exotic environments. Some more random skills include the ability to weave, as well as some other basic handcrafts, though, she isn’t particularly
good at any one craft.”
Profession: Templar – “A Templar to the Church of Vexa, what exactly this young woman does is unknown. They say she appeared one day on the surface world with only a vague idea where she was and absolutely no idea how to get where she wanted to be. She started by selling wares, mostly small trinkets and other handcrafted ornaments, and eventually, she began taking on quests in exchange for goods and services, usually from innkeepers, merchants, and other people she could purchase supplies from. For the most part, she spends her time travelling the world, driving away bandits, running errands, and, again, performing miscellaneous services to keep her stomach full. Recently, however, she has taken to the direction of the Underdeep. Most likely, she is answering Dane Lionbeard’s distress call, but we do not know know if she has ulterior motives.”
Religion: The Church of Vexa – “A mystery religion which worships a single, creator deity known as Vexa, referred to as the Goddess Vexa by her followers, this religion seems to be a cross between a cult and a monastic order. The adherents to this religion, only numbering in the hundreds, live within a self-sustaining monastery within Mount Solitude, a far-flung mountain in an otherwise uninhabited part of the world. They adhere to the word of the Goddess Vexa, written in a book appropriately called the Book of Vexa. This book outlines proper moral conduct, including bravery, courage, honor, loyalty, and other attributes typically found in a warrior’s code of honor. It also gives a number of prophecies, including one in which the adherents to the church claim to be in reference to the Worldbane, though, no outside sources have been able to confirm or deny such a connection as only members of the church are permitted to read from the Book of Vexa. What is most strange about the Church of Vexa is that it is comprised solely of women. According to the Book of Vexa, humanity (as well as the other humanoid races) was created in the Mother Goddess’s image. As the Goddess Vexa is also the Mother Goddess, is it is women, specifically mothers, who most closely resemble the Goddess and are, therefore, better attuned to the spiritual teachings of the Book of Vexa. Even stranger is that it is unknown how they maintain their population or what happens to male offspring. It is speculated that fertile young woman travel outside of the monastery to mate as some kind of rite of passage that is most likely associated with this unusual emphasis on motherhood. Then, once she births, she the fate of the child will rest upon its gender. Females return with the mother to the monastery, and males remain with the father. However, it is unknown whether or not this is true. The Church of Vexa is secretive about many of its rituals, and we have yet to find a father to one of the Church’s sisters.”
The Goddess Vexa – “The Goddess Vexa, also known as the Mother Goddess or the Benevolent Mother, is the creator and preserver of the world, according to the followers of the Church of Vexa. They believe the Goddess Vexa to be transcendent, that she is wholly independent of and removed from the physical universe but also immanent, or that she involves herself with the world that she created. The Book of Vexa describes the Goddess Vexa as omnipotent, or having unlimited power, as well as being omniscient and omnipresent. It also states that the Goddess Vexa is omnibenevolent or having achieved a state of “perfect goodness or moral perfection” and is, thus, the ultimate moral authority in the universe. Her status as a supreme being defines traditional conventions of a pantheon of gods. While most religions worship many gods, the Church of Vexa believes in a sole creator deity who silently observes, rarely interacting, with the world she created.”
History of the Church – “Nobody knows when the Church of Vexa was founded, but many sources date it back at least a hundred years, some even stating that it predates the Worldbane. According to the latter, the Church of Vexa fought against the Worldbane, and fearing total extinction, fled to Mount Solitude, where it remained in total isolation for the next century and a half. Only recently, did the Church of Vexa surface. Some accounts say that they first appeared twenty or thirty years ago, but others say that members of the Church of Vexa have been wandering the surface world for much longer than that, possibly since the Worldbane, further supporting the theory that the organization is a remnant of a much larger one that existed in the World Before. Within recent years, sightings of members of the Church of Vexa have increased, leading us to believe that they are becoming more active. Many accounts describe members of the church journeying far beyond known settlements, usually to dense forests, scolding deserts, and even deep underground, seemingly searching for something. What that something is, however, is unknown. with as little as we know about the order and what goes on within the caverns of Mount Solitude, we have difficulty even speculating what they could possibly want…”
Equipment: Oathkeeper – “A sword that is ninety-five centimeters in length, this blade is longer than your average sword but not quite long enough to qualify as a longsword. The blade is approximately seventy centimeters in length while the hilt is another ten centimeters, allowing for the sword to be wielded as either a one-handed or two-handed weapon. This unique combination of traits allows for the user to switch between swift, successive strikes and harder, more concentrated ones. The history of this blade is unknown, but we believe that it was forged from metals mined in Mount Solitude, home to the Order of Vexa. We also think that Atalee received it during some kind of initiation ceremony, though, we can neither confirm nor deny this.”
Atalee also keeps some basic survival gear in something that resembles a potato sack, including some food, water, and some blankets.
Personality: “Atalee is a devout follower of the Church of Vexa and adherent to the teachings of the Book of Vexa. Although we don’t have any firsthand experiences with her, most accounts describe her as friendly and warm-hearted. In addition, they tell of her compassion and eagerness to help those in need and speak out against injustice. However, these accounts also describe her as displaying a crippling lack of social skills. In particular, they say that she is completely unable to pick up on both verbal and non-verbal cues. This includes subtle hints and similar gestures, no matter how blatant they may be. On top of this, our sources claim that Atalee is unable (or at least unwilling) to lie. Often times, they say, she will reveal secrets or share detrimental information, not quite realizing her mistake until it is too late, something that they say makes her incredibly difficult to work with. They also say that this results in Atalee being a little
too honest, having no discretion or boundaries. Though she doesn’t seem to mean it, this has apparently resulted in her offending others or even endangering them in some capacity. We speculate that these qualities are all derived from her upbringing. From the way that she is described, she seems sheltered, inexperienced with the world, and, thus, responds in the way that a child might.”
Backstory: “What we know about Atalee Vayshalum comes from firsthand and secondhand accounts gathered over the past six months. She is apparently a member of the Church of Vexa, born and raised in a monastery on Mount Solitude. At some point in the recent past, she has taken to the surface world, stopping at various hamlets and villages, and gathering as much food, resources, and information as she could. A breakfast conversation with a local blade revealed to us that Atalee claims to be on some kind of mission, though she never elaborated on what that mission was. We suspect that it may be gathering intelligence, but for what purpose, we can only speculate. Maybe her order is planning to leave its home and expand its clout on the surface world. Perhaps it’s searching for something specific, something it needs to continue its otherwise isolated way of life. In any case, it’s unusual for a member of the Church of Vexa, an organization that has remained in total isolation since the Worldbane, to be seen so far away from Mount Solitude. Further observation is necessary.”
Additional Info: “Atalee and the rest of the Church of Vexa speak with a thick accent that is reminiscent of one that existed prior to the Worldbane. Colloquially referred to as Cosmopolitan, this accent is commonly associated with the urban middle-class of many human cities, though, it was also spoken by farmers, fishermen, and others belonging to traditionally lesser strata. We theorize that if the Church of Vexa really predates the Worldbane, then the inhabitants of Mount Solitude are all descended from Cosmopolitan-speaking individuals, hence the prevalence of the accent amongst its members. It’s possible that the religion was popular within areas where Cosmopolitan was spoken, though we have no evidence to suggest that
if the Church of Vexa predated the Worldbane that it was anything more than some fringe religion.”
This accent, Cosmopolitan, is similar to Parisian French.
