Name: Israfil
Concept or class: Priest - inquisitor - monster hunter
They said 24 is a righteous number. They wandered the streets and scoured the orphanages of 24 villages and found 24 orphans, each which carried the mark of Pharasma. They said it was a prophetic mark from the prophetic goddess, the mark which said this child would be paramount in fighting the demons. They raised these 24 children behind monastery walls at Our Lady of Death Monastery just north of Caliphus. The children were taught by the priesthood, and only taught what was needed to complete their mission. Reading, writing, history, and math were needed to research and calculate the dangers. Religion was important to hold faith and grant favors. Songs were taught to help remember lessons, praise the gods, and aid in marching toward the evil they fought. Art was needed to describe what was seen. Weapons and armor were required to keep the righteous 24 alive through their battles. Geography was not as important. Nor were poetry or science.
They woke before dawn to praise the gods, they slept after chores were finished far after dusk. They ate grain and vegetables, with occasional fruit for most meals. Meat was shunned to keep the disdain for those who thirst for blood. Between book studies and fighting drills, they maintained the garden and the monastic grounds. Luxury was 1 hour to do as they wished during the afternoon. Once a week, a few of us were sent to town to pick up supplies. Many times, I saw how people lived outside the monastery. When I asked about if we’d ever live that way, playing games and meeting people and having families, the priest told me that we train so that the villagers can do these things. We were chosen to chase back the dark.
My mother was a Drow elf who had encountered a group of travellers out for an adventure. Instead of just slaughtering them, she had decided to have some fun with them first. When she became pregnant, we assumed she had planned to sacrifice me to her goddess. However, since I was female, and the Drow have respect for female children, she instead chose to spare my life. She apparently didn’t want to look at me again, since she returned to where the men had been slaughtered months before and deposited me in the wilderness at the edge of a monastery. That’s when they found me. I had the mark, Pharasma had chosen me to join them. The high priest recognized the mark. I was now one of those 24.
I was one of those 24. We had no families. We were our family, 24 brothers and sisters with our priesthood parents. We proudly exhibited our marks in the monastery, the spiral of Pharasma which rolled out from the center of our foreheads and expanded over our faces, though while in town, we wore hoods to keep the town folk from being nervous. At thirteen, I received my first vision. It blinded me with pain while the images flashed by. I told the priests and they deciphered it. They consulted an expert on lore, a Professor Lorrimorr. We were sent to clean the caves to the north of the monastery for our first mission, at the age of 16. At 17, we were borrowed by a neighboring land to rid a forest of an abomination, it turned out to be a few vampires. We were victorious, though 6 of us were injured. Each month brought a new vision to one of us, a new test, a new mission, a new adversary. With the knowledge from the Professor, we were able to complete our tasks. The priests were beginning to consider sending us to a great evil rift. They began to groom us for the possibility.
When most of us had turned 18, we were sent to a dark land. We fought a horde of vampires. We lost three of our band to death, and one was turned, but the rest of us were able to put down the vampires, as well as our fallen brethren.
Not long afterwards, the now 20 of us were called back again. A new evil had plagued the dark land. Since we had lost some of our own last time, the local militia sent soldiers with us. The night before we entered the dark land, the men were writing letters and drinking. A few of them tried to convince some of us who were women to join them. Though we would not drink or fraternize, a few of us approached to witness their activities. I asked to whom one was writing, he told me of his wife and small child with tears in his eyes. Another hung about my sister, sloppily trying to get her to be with him. His drunken advances were easily thwarted.
The next day we traveled into the dark lands, that night we battled many dark abominations. Many soldiers died. We lost two of our own, including the sister who would not entertain the soldier the night before. We fought the hordes and drove them back over a border into another land. The priest who traveled with us escorted us back to our monastery and announced the horde was defeated. They spoke again of sending the eighteen of us to the rift. A debate began. They decided to send us further out. It was of concern that we have lost six so far and we were supposed to be the sacred 24. It was finally decided that we were the 24 to start the movement, but we were that which you form the mould and not the implement itself. There had been none after the initial 24 who bore the mark, but now that we had lost members, more babies in the region were born with the mark again.
They presented a test to see if they’re assumption was correct. We, the now 18, marched over that border without the armies. It was a bloody battle. We fought day and night. Twelve of us returned, after the enemy fled. The priests commended us. They then announced we were no longer needed. They were to form a new 24 with what they had learned in training us. We were dismissed. Six of us decided we would seek our paths together while the others chose to integrate into the nearby village.
All through our childhood and training, no one ever seemed to question why I looked slightly different. It didn’t matter, and wouldn’t until I left the monastery service. The sun burned my lavender tinted skin slightly, so I had to be cautious. My exotic features were common to elven and half-elven stock, but the combination led some to theorize, my lavender hued skin, platinum blond hair, and deep violet eyes did remind a few of the Drow, enough so that I had spent some time in my youth researching them. The first time I had noticed being uncomfortable in the sun, being only 4, I had told the monks, even some of the monks seemed dubious of my calling, but they said it was that I had sickly skin, so I stopped telling them how it hurt my eyes and skin to be in the high sun. My resolve to stay was tested each time I was reminded of my differences. I should not have stayed with the six. It was probably my fault... no definitely my fault... for what happened next.
We six journeyed to a city not so far from the monastery, Caliphus. We met with Professor Lorrimor there to plan our next moves. It was difficult understanding why people would rather beg on the street than work for their food or why people would hoard resources for extravagant reasons. We scanned work boards and questioned militia and police forces, asking for work. We were finally referred to a magistrate. He told us he was looking for monster hunters to check out the poorer sections of town. He wanted monsters and their sympathizers rounded up. The monsters were to be dispatched with, the sympathizers imprisoned until trial. He said he would send a local priest, Apollyon, with us to help us decipher the situation.
We went door to door. The priest pointed out signs that sympathizers were in a few of the houses. These folks were arrested. We saw ever growing signs that abominations may be harbored in this section of the city. Occasionally, we found our prey and saw its evil blood spilt. The Priest taught us many ways to extract information and gain clues of dissent and subterfuge. The six of us felt alive again, as if we were on a new mission.
One night, the priest let on that he was one of a group of inquisitor priests, specially trained to seek out evil where it hides. He explained how he knew of our monastery and that several of the priests there were really inquisitor trained. We confirmed this with Professor Lorrimor immediately. That’s when we learned we were trained as inquisitors.
After a year or so of hunting the abominations and their sympathizers in the lower city, the magistrate summoned us to handle a similar situation in the merchant sector. We had to investigate a few of the merchants who dealt in tapestries for they had had dealings with suspicious groups. Though the professor was dubious of our new assignment, we chose to take it on. We needed to eat and the city magistrate was desperate. We canvased the area and ended up at the house of a merchant who had been a long-standing citizen of the town. In questioning, we found nothing, but the priest pointed out signs of an abominations presence, so we continued to interrogate. Some of us searched the premises while the priest, one other, and I questioned the merchant, his wife, and his daughter. They seemed to be hiding something. The priest insisted that one of them was in league with evil. The daughter seemed guarded, so I pressed our questions toward her. The merchant confessed to making a dealing with a vampire. The daughter objected. One of the search party turned up a boy in a crawlspace. He had marks on him. The daughter claimed he was her boyfriend and that he had done nothing wrong. The priest described how the marks were actually signs that he was in league with a dark cult who was allowing for the evil to be brought into the city. I began to press the boy about his evil affliction. I was certain I was in my right, I was going to prove that the priest was correct. The boy, maybe out of fear, charged at me. I cut him down. His blood soaked into the floor as the girl wept. The merchant called the guards and we were all brought before the tribunal for trial.
At the trial, it was revealed that the boy had suffered the marks as a child, but had been somehow purified. The judges were harsh and chastised the priest Apollyon for his thoughtless and rash behavior, and he was imprisoned. I was nearly separated from the other five, due to my exotic looks and because I had struck that blow to the boy. They pressed to share in the same fate as I, since we were kin. The judge ordered the magistrate to disband our inquisition party. There was talk of having us burned at the stake. The magistrate confessed he had employed us but claimed he had not asked us to do more than question and observe. The Professor offered testimony that we were misled and that we were a force of good trying to help fight the evils. Ultimately, all six of us from the monastery were banished from the city and forbidden to work together again. Though we knew that the judge’s order was not necessarily valid passed the realm of his domain, we chose to honor the spirit of the ruling and each chose a direction to walk in our shame and guilt. It is hard to get work when they are suspicious of you due to your appearance and when you have no one who will give you work since they’ve heard you are impulsive.
Concept or class: Priest - inquisitor - monster hunter
They said 24 is a righteous number. They wandered the streets and scoured the orphanages of 24 villages and found 24 orphans, each which carried the mark of Pharasma. They said it was a prophetic mark from the prophetic goddess, the mark which said this child would be paramount in fighting the demons. They raised these 24 children behind monastery walls at Our Lady of Death Monastery just north of Caliphus. The children were taught by the priesthood, and only taught what was needed to complete their mission. Reading, writing, history, and math were needed to research and calculate the dangers. Religion was important to hold faith and grant favors. Songs were taught to help remember lessons, praise the gods, and aid in marching toward the evil they fought. Art was needed to describe what was seen. Weapons and armor were required to keep the righteous 24 alive through their battles. Geography was not as important. Nor were poetry or science.
They woke before dawn to praise the gods, they slept after chores were finished far after dusk. They ate grain and vegetables, with occasional fruit for most meals. Meat was shunned to keep the disdain for those who thirst for blood. Between book studies and fighting drills, they maintained the garden and the monastic grounds. Luxury was 1 hour to do as they wished during the afternoon. Once a week, a few of us were sent to town to pick up supplies. Many times, I saw how people lived outside the monastery. When I asked about if we’d ever live that way, playing games and meeting people and having families, the priest told me that we train so that the villagers can do these things. We were chosen to chase back the dark.
My mother was a Drow elf who had encountered a group of travellers out for an adventure. Instead of just slaughtering them, she had decided to have some fun with them first. When she became pregnant, we assumed she had planned to sacrifice me to her goddess. However, since I was female, and the Drow have respect for female children, she instead chose to spare my life. She apparently didn’t want to look at me again, since she returned to where the men had been slaughtered months before and deposited me in the wilderness at the edge of a monastery. That’s when they found me. I had the mark, Pharasma had chosen me to join them. The high priest recognized the mark. I was now one of those 24.
I was one of those 24. We had no families. We were our family, 24 brothers and sisters with our priesthood parents. We proudly exhibited our marks in the monastery, the spiral of Pharasma which rolled out from the center of our foreheads and expanded over our faces, though while in town, we wore hoods to keep the town folk from being nervous. At thirteen, I received my first vision. It blinded me with pain while the images flashed by. I told the priests and they deciphered it. They consulted an expert on lore, a Professor Lorrimorr. We were sent to clean the caves to the north of the monastery for our first mission, at the age of 16. At 17, we were borrowed by a neighboring land to rid a forest of an abomination, it turned out to be a few vampires. We were victorious, though 6 of us were injured. Each month brought a new vision to one of us, a new test, a new mission, a new adversary. With the knowledge from the Professor, we were able to complete our tasks. The priests were beginning to consider sending us to a great evil rift. They began to groom us for the possibility.
When most of us had turned 18, we were sent to a dark land. We fought a horde of vampires. We lost three of our band to death, and one was turned, but the rest of us were able to put down the vampires, as well as our fallen brethren.
Not long afterwards, the now 20 of us were called back again. A new evil had plagued the dark land. Since we had lost some of our own last time, the local militia sent soldiers with us. The night before we entered the dark land, the men were writing letters and drinking. A few of them tried to convince some of us who were women to join them. Though we would not drink or fraternize, a few of us approached to witness their activities. I asked to whom one was writing, he told me of his wife and small child with tears in his eyes. Another hung about my sister, sloppily trying to get her to be with him. His drunken advances were easily thwarted.
The next day we traveled into the dark lands, that night we battled many dark abominations. Many soldiers died. We lost two of our own, including the sister who would not entertain the soldier the night before. We fought the hordes and drove them back over a border into another land. The priest who traveled with us escorted us back to our monastery and announced the horde was defeated. They spoke again of sending the eighteen of us to the rift. A debate began. They decided to send us further out. It was of concern that we have lost six so far and we were supposed to be the sacred 24. It was finally decided that we were the 24 to start the movement, but we were that which you form the mould and not the implement itself. There had been none after the initial 24 who bore the mark, but now that we had lost members, more babies in the region were born with the mark again.
They presented a test to see if they’re assumption was correct. We, the now 18, marched over that border without the armies. It was a bloody battle. We fought day and night. Twelve of us returned, after the enemy fled. The priests commended us. They then announced we were no longer needed. They were to form a new 24 with what they had learned in training us. We were dismissed. Six of us decided we would seek our paths together while the others chose to integrate into the nearby village.
All through our childhood and training, no one ever seemed to question why I looked slightly different. It didn’t matter, and wouldn’t until I left the monastery service. The sun burned my lavender tinted skin slightly, so I had to be cautious. My exotic features were common to elven and half-elven stock, but the combination led some to theorize, my lavender hued skin, platinum blond hair, and deep violet eyes did remind a few of the Drow, enough so that I had spent some time in my youth researching them. The first time I had noticed being uncomfortable in the sun, being only 4, I had told the monks, even some of the monks seemed dubious of my calling, but they said it was that I had sickly skin, so I stopped telling them how it hurt my eyes and skin to be in the high sun. My resolve to stay was tested each time I was reminded of my differences. I should not have stayed with the six. It was probably my fault... no definitely my fault... for what happened next.
We six journeyed to a city not so far from the monastery, Caliphus. We met with Professor Lorrimor there to plan our next moves. It was difficult understanding why people would rather beg on the street than work for their food or why people would hoard resources for extravagant reasons. We scanned work boards and questioned militia and police forces, asking for work. We were finally referred to a magistrate. He told us he was looking for monster hunters to check out the poorer sections of town. He wanted monsters and their sympathizers rounded up. The monsters were to be dispatched with, the sympathizers imprisoned until trial. He said he would send a local priest, Apollyon, with us to help us decipher the situation.
We went door to door. The priest pointed out signs that sympathizers were in a few of the houses. These folks were arrested. We saw ever growing signs that abominations may be harbored in this section of the city. Occasionally, we found our prey and saw its evil blood spilt. The Priest taught us many ways to extract information and gain clues of dissent and subterfuge. The six of us felt alive again, as if we were on a new mission.
One night, the priest let on that he was one of a group of inquisitor priests, specially trained to seek out evil where it hides. He explained how he knew of our monastery and that several of the priests there were really inquisitor trained. We confirmed this with Professor Lorrimor immediately. That’s when we learned we were trained as inquisitors.
After a year or so of hunting the abominations and their sympathizers in the lower city, the magistrate summoned us to handle a similar situation in the merchant sector. We had to investigate a few of the merchants who dealt in tapestries for they had had dealings with suspicious groups. Though the professor was dubious of our new assignment, we chose to take it on. We needed to eat and the city magistrate was desperate. We canvased the area and ended up at the house of a merchant who had been a long-standing citizen of the town. In questioning, we found nothing, but the priest pointed out signs of an abominations presence, so we continued to interrogate. Some of us searched the premises while the priest, one other, and I questioned the merchant, his wife, and his daughter. They seemed to be hiding something. The priest insisted that one of them was in league with evil. The daughter seemed guarded, so I pressed our questions toward her. The merchant confessed to making a dealing with a vampire. The daughter objected. One of the search party turned up a boy in a crawlspace. He had marks on him. The daughter claimed he was her boyfriend and that he had done nothing wrong. The priest described how the marks were actually signs that he was in league with a dark cult who was allowing for the evil to be brought into the city. I began to press the boy about his evil affliction. I was certain I was in my right, I was going to prove that the priest was correct. The boy, maybe out of fear, charged at me. I cut him down. His blood soaked into the floor as the girl wept. The merchant called the guards and we were all brought before the tribunal for trial.
At the trial, it was revealed that the boy had suffered the marks as a child, but had been somehow purified. The judges were harsh and chastised the priest Apollyon for his thoughtless and rash behavior, and he was imprisoned. I was nearly separated from the other five, due to my exotic looks and because I had struck that blow to the boy. They pressed to share in the same fate as I, since we were kin. The judge ordered the magistrate to disband our inquisition party. There was talk of having us burned at the stake. The magistrate confessed he had employed us but claimed he had not asked us to do more than question and observe. The Professor offered testimony that we were misled and that we were a force of good trying to help fight the evils. Ultimately, all six of us from the monastery were banished from the city and forbidden to work together again. Though we knew that the judge’s order was not necessarily valid passed the realm of his domain, we chose to honor the spirit of the ruling and each chose a direction to walk in our shame and guilt. It is hard to get work when they are suspicious of you due to your appearance and when you have no one who will give you work since they’ve heard you are impulsive.