Avu

**Avu** was a twisted sky serpent that stalks clouds above the Ezrai region in the Shadow Veil. Claiming the Floating Ruins of Zakaar as their domain, Avu and their partner Uva jealously guarded it from any outsiders by means of insidious enchantments. Avu, in particular, resorted to compelling intruders into flinging themselves off the airborne islands. When such an attempt failed on Kyuubi Wano, Avu revealed themselves to her party with the intent of overpowering them.

## Description

### Appearance

Avu was a large serpent-like creature with the face of a humanoid. They had faded purple scales that covered the length of their body and larger brass-colored scales on their underside. They also possessed a hood around their head similar to that of a cobra.

### Personality

Avu was a cunning and sadistic creature who was very protective of their domain. They preferred to manipulate others to do their bidding, especially commanding them to do harm to themselves to protect their realm. Their attempts to compel Kyuubi to leap off the side of the island are indicative of this. They also hid their presence from the party by using cloud cover and speaking only to Kyuubi to get the drop on them, despite their claims that they "warned" the party beforehand.

Avu was also rather deceitful by nature, trying to deceive Kyuubi into believing they were a friend, and that they would catch her should she fall. However, despite their cunning, Avu was easily frustrated, immediately announcing their presence upon Kyuubi's disobedience and declaring she and her friends would be made to follow their orders.

## History

### Background

Avu's history is unknown. It is possibly that they were once an Astari, one of the original denizens of Io, that was banished to the Shadow as a result of the Jupiter Incident 2,500 years ago. Howsoever they came to be in this shadowy prison, Avu was nonetheless warped by its influences over the following centuries, transforming into an enormous sky serpent.

With their newfound form, Avu eventually came to settle in the Ezrai region, along with another serpent called Uva. The exact relationship between the two is unclear, but both serpents laid a joint claim to the Floating Ruins of Zakaar. For an undetermined period of time, Avu and Uva guarded the ruins with a jealous passion. While Uva remained in the temple, Avu would patrol the skies around the floating isles. Whenever the opportunity arose, they would use their power over Enchantment magics to command trespassers to do harm to themselves. A personal favorite appears to be forcing intruders to throw themselves off the islands to their death.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Flight:** Avu is capable of flight.
* **Telepathy:** Avu can project their voice telepathically, either to a group or to a single person. They demonstrated this during their initial conversation with Kyuubi, which only she was able to hear and respond to.
* **Enchantment Magic:** Avu is capable of casting powerful enchantments on unsuspecting prey. They cast a spell on Kyuubi Wano commanding her to jump of the side of the floating island, presumably so they could eat her. Disobeying such commands dealt 5d10 Psychic damage to the targeted creature and causes them to fall unconscious.
* **Shadow Strike:** Avu is able to cast Shadow Strike, a unique version of the Flame Strike spell that deals Shadow Damage.

## Etymology

Avu is likely an original name created for the Ioverse setting.

## Trivia

* Avu's in-game art is an altered version of the official Guardian Naga art from Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
* Avu's name is the reverse of their counterpart's name Uva.