Madame la Marquise
Traveller, a whispered warning: Whoever you are, whatever creature of
whichever sex ~ be you of the light or live you in darkness~ Beware. Take
heed, and beware of Madame la Marquise. Treat her every word with caution.
Accept no gift, touch her not, and make no promises- For hers is the long road
away from yourself, and thousand upon thousand have never returned.
The Vazdru: The Marquise was created darkest of that dark race Vazdru. No
mortal can touch her without pain. The sorceries of evil come effortlessly to
Madame - Yet she rarely fights with magic, and she never fights with steel.
Deceit is her favourite and most deadly weapon. She will let others die battling
for her, set friends against friends, and smile with charm at the screams in the
night~
The TearJewel of Yabael: The jewel the Marquise wears on her forehead is
the second source of her power. It is the tear wept by the young god Yabael
(which some call Paladine and some call the Lady of Light) when she touched
his face near the Well of Despair. It is both her greatest defense and her
greatest weakness. For while it offers her protection from the light and a link to
light's power, her life force resides there. Hold the jewel, and you hold the
Marquise.
Careful, o be careful- You smile too quickly traveller. Only the Marquise or
those she blesses with a Tear Jewel from her own eyes may touch Yabael's
legacy. Herein is the paradox: You must be hers to defeat her~
Serafelle: The Marquise is forever allied with the dark lord Serafelle, a demon
as glorious in her rage as she is terrifying in her beauty. They are a single power
and a single, constant resolution. Between them they command the souls of
many... minions that will fight fiercely for them...~
Favorite Ally: The Dark Elf, Valyn de Balois ~ because he believes that
somehow - he will dispell her power~
If you dare, the workings of the Jewel revealed:
Obedience to a Jewel is absolute.
The Jewel is, before anything, access to magical energy. It does not tire.
Magical spells created and fuelled by Jewels are, in this respect, impossible to
OVER power. For example, raining blows ~no matter what their strength ~ on
a shield created by a Jewel will not be enough to force a way in. However, a
Jewel bearer using a large amount of Power for a substantial length of time will
suffer physical side effects IF they are using energy they could not command
without a Jewel's help.
The Jewel also endows the bearer with the magical abilities of the others in the
mesh. At present this includes skill in drawing Power from dark emotions,
mindspeech, empathy, telekinesis, channeling, the summoning of Eshva ~ as
well as Dark and Light magics and the aid of the Lord of Light, Yabael
Demonsbane. All Jewel bearers can enter the realm of Druhim Vanashta at will
and without fear.
Jewels cannot grant access to Healing power, physical abilities (such as
shapechanging) ~ or learned skills like swordsmanship.
To clear up a misunderstanding: The Jewels DO NOT Heal. They will intervene
and even resurrect bearers that have suffered death-blows, but they will not
heal injuries ~ even SERIOUS injuries.
The Marquise does not appreciate foolish actions. If her servants are injured
despite the Power she gives them they must suffer the consequences on their
own.
Any Jewel bearer can create and offer a Tear Jewel. It requires jewel power, a
tear and their own blood. The recipient must accept the jewel. They cannot be
forced into service, though they can ~ and have ~ been tricked into accepting a
Jewel.
Jewels have difficulty countering neutral magic. The great amount of energy
needed to counter neutral attacks will exhaust the bearer more quickly than
any other force.
A soul/spirit based attack that focuses on the Jewel will, depending on the
strength of the attack, cause it to become unstable, unusable and eventually
harmful to the bearer.
Jewel shields are vulnerable to the bearer's blood which can pass through their
shields and will leave an opening when it does so. This is why blood must
always be included in the creation of a Tear Jewel. It ensures that the giver of a
Jewel will never be able to shield against his/her servants.
Jewels can resurrect bearers after 'death', however, some forms of damage are
beyond a Jewel's capabilities. Included are: Any actions that totally destroys
the body ~ like incineration ~ TOTAL removal of the bearer's heart, damage to
the brain, separation of head from body.
The final price of the Jewel is this: The death of one in the mesh results in the
death of all ~ unless that one is willing to shield us. Our fate is dependant on
that of every Jewel bearer. Fear us. We protect our own.