Chapter Text
Before the first chapter of “Dark Omens”, we take a brief look at three characters who have already appeared in the previous parts (Amariel, Garush and Yelmalis) and one character who is new in this part (Archbishop Juliana Spesinfracta).
Amariel is a decuria and grew up in the city of Melodia on Arcadia, the planar headquarters of the Harmonium. She was stationed there until two years ago, but then went to Sigil, where she became the new adjutant of Factol Sarin. She seems to have a friendly relationship with his family and sometimes looks after the younger children of Sarin and Faith, although this is not part of her duties as adjutant. As an anointed knight, Amariel has knowledge of the art of alchemy, especially with regard to the sacred ingredients of the Upper Planes. She is the younger sister of legate Killeen Caine and the decuria-in-charge for Kiyoshi on all matters concerning his faction.
The half-elf is slightly above medium height, slim and has long blonde hair. Her eyes are an intense green, which, like her pointed ears and clear-cut, attractive facial features, clearly show her elven heritage. As an anointed knight, she wears a light suit of armor on duty that is a remarkable example of elven blacksmithing. In her private life, she can usually be seen in elegant yet practical elven clothes.
As long as one doesn’t give her any reason to behave otherwise Amariel is friendly and helpful - the latter often nonetheless because it corresponds to her outlook on life, which is shaped by the Upper Planes. As a fighter and on duty she is brave, determined and courageous, but in private, in contrast to her lively brother, she is rather quiet. Although she is neither shy nor withdrawn, she does not seem to care too much about being the center of attention. Those with a good knowledge of human nature may notice that she sometimes seems a little nervous in the presence of her factol, although she has been in her position as adjutant for quite some time and therefore probably performs her duties to his satisfaction.
Amariel's mount is a white pegasus that she raised after having rescued it as a foal.
Garush is a Tonoe, who are an amazon tribe of Avalas, the first layer of Acheron. She is a member of the Mercykillers and apparently in the favor of Factol Mallin. However, she seems to have a rather ambivalent relationship with Alisohn Nilesia. She is one of the Chosen of the Ring Prophecy, namely the Huntress. Her group of Chosen includes the air genasi wizard Yelmalis, the dark elven Eilistraee cleric Dilae, the tiefling psion Tarik and the yuan-ti Sekhemkare. In dangerous, combat-heavy situations, Garush seems to take the lead in her group.
The amazon is about six feet tall and, as is common for half-orcs, muscular and sturdily built. She has green skin, amber eyes and short, black-violet hair. More than her physique and skin color her facial features show her human heritage: Apart from the strong cheekbones, pointed ears and pronounced tusks in the lower jaw, there is little to indicate her orcish heritage. When she is on duty, she wears light leather armor with a few metal parts in the typical colors of the Mercykillers: black and red. In her free time, she is rather scantily clad in furs and leather, in the manner of her people on Acheron. In both cases, however, her clothing and armor bear signs of her origin from a wild, rather barbaric tribe: small pendants and talismans made of carved bones, feathers or painted wood.
Garush shows some traits that are commonly ascribed to half-orcs as well as to amazons. She is wild, always ready for a fight, rather impatient and quick-tempered. She can react very angry or aggressive if she feels that her origins or her people are being insulted or belittled. Having fought alongside someone or having shed blood together apparently means a lot to her.
Yelmalis hails from the city of Skyhome on the Elemental Plane of Air. His father is an aasimar, his mother an air genasi. Yelmalis only inherited the elemental traits of his mother, not the celestial traits of his father. He is a member of the Fraternity of Order and a successful, up-and-coming young lawyer in Sigil. The air genasi appears to be a direct protégé of Factol Hashkar and is one of the Chosen of the Ring Prophecy, namely the Thinker. He has chronomantic abilities, which means he can travel through time. His group of Chosen includes the half-orcish amazon Garush, the dark elven Eilistraee cleric Dilae, the tiefling psion Tarik and the yuan-ti Sekhemkare. In situations that require tact, sensitivity and diplomatic skill, Yelmalis seems to take the lead in the group, sometimes together with Dilae.
Yelmalis has very fair skin, shoulder-length white hair and bright blue-violet eyes. It is noticeable that he is always surrounded by two to five butterflies, which vary in number and appearance. The colors and flight patterns of these butterflies seem to depend on Yelmalis' emotional state. The butterflies are part of his aerial heritage and not real animals, but rather elemental phenomena. In addition, the genasi is sometimes surrounded by a light breeze. Yelmalis is quite attractive and always elegantly dressed, usually in a shirt and vest with a frock coat and knee-high boots in the colors blue, white and silver. However, when he appears in court as a lawyer, he wears purple.
Yelmalis is modest and polite, and overall clearly of calm and level-headed nature. He does not give the impression of making rash or hasty decisions. Like all wizards, he is very intelligent and has an inexhaustible thirst for knowledge. He does not show the kind of lofty behavior that air genasi sometimes display.
Yelmalis’ familiar is a monodrone named F-45.
Juliana Spesinfracta is a celestial mystic, a cleric with arcane knowledge who focuses on the Upper Plane of Celestia, from which she also originates. Under her pre-predecessor Arella Silvergaze, the decurions Sarin, Killeen Caine and Tonat Shar, among others, were placed under her command, and she greatly promoted their training and careers. Under Factol Ulan Delazar, Juliana became Legate of Arcadia. Due to profound political and philosophical differences, Juliana eventually brought about Delazar's dismissal and became factol herself. However, she resigned from her post less than two years later, making her Legate Sarin factol. She then devoted herself entirely to her work in the sect of the Archonites, of which she had been a member for some time. Currently, Juliana is archbishop of the gate town Excelsior.
Juliana Spesinfracta is slim and of medium height. She almost always wears her gray hair pinned-up and adorned with a tiara that indicates her rank as archbishop of the Archonites. She has sharp gray eyes and usually wears elegant, floor-length dresses in the colors white and gold, more rarely red, white and gold. Juliana is always very correct and neat in her clothing and demeanor.
The archbishop is considered vigorous, politically very astute and unwavering in her goals. She values propriety in manners, behavior and speech and has little tolerance for lapses in etiquette. She is not afraid to show her disapproval when she feels it is deserved, and she does not hesitate to reprimand even the current legates and factol Sarin himself. At the same time, she can be very cordial when she likes someone, but she mostly reserves such behavior for private moments. In Sigil, Juliana has a reputation for being honorable and absolutely incorruptible. She is very close to Factol Sarin and his family, and seems to play something of a grandmotherly role for Sarin and Faith's children. She also still has a close and good relationship with her former decurions Tonat Shar and Killeen Caine. It is clear that Sarin as well as his legates still have a great deal of respect for their former factol and that they hold the archbishop in high esteem. Juliana has an obviously tense relationship with Lord Valiant, with whom she had many philosophical differences during Ulan Delazar's factolship.