Amariza
The
Cathedral of Clouds in Pretomournon is the largest cathedral in the world. It’s
home to nearly a hundred small orders, all of which are members of The Temple,
the global organization for waning religions. The cathedral is a wonder to
behold: a huge structure of more than 500 feet high, made of large grey stones,
with gates big as titans, sixteen bell towers touching the sky, and guarded by terrible
gargoyles patrolling the walls.
Inside
there is plenty to see, hear and experience as well. The floor is inlaid with
the sacred symbols of a thousand gods. High stained-glass windows display
scenes out of the stories of Deucalion, who saved mankind and wildlife by
building the ark Utnapishtim, of
Rystespyt, who teached humanity to speak and write, and of Crow, who slayed The
Chimera Out Of Nowhere.
Each god
has its own shrine – the greater gods a chapel - and each shrine shows the
power and greatness of its god. The water in the font of Elgar, god of
Patrionism, heals all who drink from it, as long as he or she demonstrates to
know the full text of the national anthem, including the lesser known fourth
stanza. The dead husk of the Lord of Apathy, hanging on iron chains suspended
from the ceiling, promises to prophesize
for those who sacrifice a finger. The statue of the Invisible Queen will make everyone
with pure hatred and darkness in his or her heart beautiful in appearance.
Despite all
these wonders, the Cathedral is rarely visited, and there are hardly any people
other than priests and tourists. One of those priests is Amariza, priestess of Muizi,
goddess of memory.
At first sight,
her shuffling gait and stooped posture remind one of an older person, but once she
starts talking and laughing, it becomes clear immediately that she is younger.
Amariza is in her early ‘30s and small of stature. She wears her dark blond
hair pinned up in a bun and she always wears the light blue robe of office. A cloud of about 10 dragonflies – insects
sacred to the goddess Muizi – circles her constantly. When starting a
conversation, she always asks people the same question: "Do you remember
Muizi?"
Amariza
grew up in Heugenis, a small village in the northeastern part of the Mournful
Kingdom. All residents of Heugenis worship the goddess Muizi, and from an early
age Amariza knew that she wanted to dedicate her life to serving her goddess.
The priest Pascer took her on as an acolyte at the age of twenty, and inaugurated
her into the mysteries of the faith. She learned to talk to dragonflies, to read
and interpret signs in the collective memory of humanity, and how to cast some
spells. Once her training was complete, the disadvantage of living and working
in a small town like Heugenis became clear: the shrine to Muizi was small, and
could be managed easily by one person. Amariza stayed on as Pascer’s assistant much
longer than normal for an acolyte, but eventually it became clear she had to
find her own path to walk. Therefore, Amariza decided to leave her home village
to travel to the capital, where the largest and most important shrine to Muizi
was located in the Cathedral of the Clouds.
Amariza’s idea
was to join the priestly order of Muizi. However, as she arrived in
Pretomournon, to her dismay she discovered that no such order existed in the
city. The shrine in the cathedral was abandoned and no one – not even the leadership
of The Temple – knew about the shrine’s goddess. Amariza was shocked to learn
that no one knew about Muizi.
When
Amariza learned more about the religious and philosophical schools in the city,
she came to the conclusion that the majority of the population had forgotten the
gods. And, as the new high priestess of memory, she felt it was here duty to do
something about it.
With the
help of a young nun named Trudi, she obtained from the library of The Temple an
obscure ritual that calls a god into the material world. Amariza wants to use
this ritual to summon Muizi. She believes when the goddess of memory walks in
the world, people will remember again.
The ritual
requires an enormous magical symbol drawn on the ground, covering an area of
half a city quarter. Although there’s enough space in the ruined part of
Pretomournon to make this half-mile-wide sign, the ruins in the outer circle of
the city are not quite uninhabited. Therefore, Amariza hired the “fixer” Carter Don to ensure that the necessary area is clear, and the people who live there
are paid to move.
Although
Amariza is a sweet woman, she is very naive and gullible. She truly believes Carter
Don uses the money she pays – almost her entire salary as a High Priestess of
The Temple – to compensate people for leaving their homes, and she has no idea
of his true methods. She has no suspicion of her confidant Trudi's true identity either, and has no clue about the real objective of the summoning
ritual: to bring about the Apocalypse.
Amariza: AL N; MV 12; AC 9 (unarmored); Human Female Mage
1; hp 4; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (dagger) or by weapon; S 11, D 10, C 13, I 14, W 9, Ch
14; M 6; Items: medallion of thoughts;
XP 13.
Spells: Amariza can memorize two 1st level
spells, or one of 2nd level. Favorite spells are amnesia, augury, and know alignment.
Faultless Memory: As a priestess of Muiri, goddess of memory,
Amariza never forgets anything. She can recall anything she has heard.
Sacred Dragonflies: Amariza always has 1d6+6 dragonflies flying
around her. If Amariza is attacked, the dragonflies will fight as an 2 HD
insect swarm with a number of hit points equal to the number of dragonflies.
Dragonflies (1d6+6): AL N; MV 3, fly 6; AC 7; HD 2; hp 1
per dragonfly; #AT 1; Dmg 2 hp (bite); Save as human0; M 11; XP 29.
Location: In the Cathedral of Clouds during work hours,
or in her small home in the Priests’ Quarter.
Note: Because the cleric class doesn’t exist in the
Weird Opera world, Amariza is a mage. If you want to use her in a more
traditional game, make her a cleric of intermediate level. Give her faultless memory as a granted power
instead of turning undead, or give her both.