Cendrillion

### Background

As a child, Cendrillion stared at the night sky, marveling at its symmetry of motion. The movements of celestial bodies follow certain patterns. Those beautiful patterns help calm his mind and the constant flow of frenetic thoughts which plague it. The interplay of the cosmos has a balance that belies the chaos of the world.

When he expressed these thoughts to his parents and then the elders of his home village Mylasa, deep in the forested heart of Kal-Uys, he was sent to a monastic commune in the Sky Mountains to learn the ways of the Observers of the Fallen Star. Through deep meditation and training, his perception evolved. He saw balance in all things and maintaining this balance, holding the scales, he saw the wisdom of the Primes. The more he matured, the more he became convinced of the innate responsibility of his people to each other and to the whole of Gregoor-Sheav.

This realization troubled him, for just as he saw the potential of the Primes, he saw their complacency and devolution. He thought of the wild Primes who had given up, gone back to nature and changed, their bodies reflecting the land and the beasts that walked and crawled upon it. The Primes had lost touch with their responsibilities, had ceased being the balance in Gregoor-Sheav, had ceased being the stewards of this world, and thus the world suffered.

When he voiced his concerns, the ancient monks of the Sky Mountains smiled kindly and attributed his anxiety to youth and burgeoning knowledge. “You will see as you grow that balance is organic and we Primes achieve it by not trying to achieve it.” For Cendrillion, this was not a satisfactory answer.

But he studied, and meditated, and played the part, yet always nurtured his growing anxiety. Then it happened. On one of his many nights gazing at the stars, marveling at the grace of the night sky, he noticed the star, Tamarryoon, the Torch of the Eastern sky, had winked out.

His order, and all the Primes for that matter, took these things seriously and within days the houses of learning across Kal-Uys and beyond became hotbeds of debate. *What has happened? What is the significance? Is it an omen? Is it a natural occurrence? What does this mean?*

In the weeks that followed, calls went out and special councils were formed. Cendrillion’s affinity and interest in astronomy made him a perfect candidate, so he was sent to the Tower of Mirrors, an observatory just outside the capital city Uys, a focal point of ancient knowledge, a place spoken of with reverence and awe. There he joined the brightest minds among the Primes to determine the cause and consequence of this unprecedented event.

Cendrillion’s normally stoic calm was difficult to maintain as he dreamed of personal glory, of ascending into the ranks of Kal-Uys most respected scholars. But with each surge of pride, he forced himself to remember, *‘Knowledge is all that matters, the knowledge to bring balance back to this world.’*

In the Tower of Mirrors, he came to know the paralysis of academic debate. Various factions bickered over irrelevant points of interpretation and other minutia. Cendrillion quickly learned that many scholars were more interested in having their opinions validated than discerning truth. He watched as scholars he had studied and believed he could respect, demean, undercut, and dismiss each other in petty squabbles that had more to do with reputation than true inquiry. Cendrillion retreated to his chambers and his books and loathed collaborative sessions altogether. He wondered if the Primes, once the epitome of knowledge, had lost their way.

In these moments, alone and in despair, he began to hear it. A simple note at first, like a ringing in the ears, but with each day, it grew stronger. At first, he questioned his own mind and his faith, believing his doubts may have poisoned his thoughts, but the melody grew sharper and more insistent and eventually he recognized it as a call.

Late one night, he left the Tower of Mirrors not realizing in that moment that he would not return. He made his way into Uys, a beautiful city that combined the wonders of Prime architecture with the curves and symmetry of the natural world. He entered the central palace of the royal family, a pyramidal structure nestled in a bed of the interwoven, exposed roots of two towering world trees that were ancient before the breaking. No guards barred his way, for this deep in Kar-Uys where only Primes dwelled, the need to protect possession seemed counterintuitive if not blatantly insulting.

Cendrillion followed the call which grew stronger with each step. It felt like a symphony vibrating in his core. Through great halls with vaulted ceilings that mimicked the night sky he loved so dearly, he found his way into a vast museum, a storehouse for hundreds of relics of bygone ages. Wondrous devices and artworks surrounded him, but he barely noticed as the call dominated his senses completely. All other perception seemed to fade, mute voices in the fringes of his mind. Then he saw it, on a small, plain pedestal, and it was looking at him.

A fist sized eye, unblinking and cold, yet Cendrillion could feel its scrutiny. Without thinking, he took the eye into his hand. It was wet and warm, and he thought he felt it pulse at his touch. Instinctively, he lifted it to his forehead. He felt small tendrils reach out and caress his skin and then blinding pain as they pierced his skull and then…nothing.

He no longer stood in the museum. He floated and his vision expanded to encompass all the lands of Gregoor-Sheav. He felt the Minors, Majors, and Primes moving and dreaming and desiring, and he felt as if he could flow into any mind, any thought and open it like an encrypted tome.

He resisted the urge, for the larger picture was far more fascinating. It was as if a checkered blanket had been laid upon the world, a game board, and the souls shuffling through each space were pieces sliding about in a vastly complex contest of wills. Seven figures hunched about it, shadowy and dark, their features blurred. Cendrillion believed they spoke, but their voices were the wind, the crackle of fire, the shifting of the earth, and the rhythm of ocean waves.

One of them looked to the heavens and Cendrillion’s gaze followed. Tamarryoon, the missing star, blazed brighter than he had ever seen. The figure plucked it from the sky and held between two flowing, insubstantial digits, scrutinizing the star as a jeweler would a rare diamond. The being reached down and placed it on a square, on the coast of Jvar VunGul, across the sea and Cendrillion knew a significant move had been made.

And then all seven figures, as one, turned and regarded him. Cendrillion felt a pull, like his essence were being drawn toward them. The sounds of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water became storms, earthquakes, infernos, and howls of pain. He felt as if he were being torn apart. Cendrillion screamed and ripped the eye from his skull.

The Window of the Gods. That is what it is called. He did not know how he knew its name, but he did.

He pocketed the eye and stumbled from the museum, from the palace, from the city itself, and ventured into the wild. He would not return to the Tower of Mirrors and its pointless, impotent debates. His vision lingered and he knew the disappearance of Tamarryoon meant so much more than any of these scholars realized. He needed more answers, but he would not find them in books and study. He thought of once more gazing into the eye, but the memory made him sick.

He would go to Jvar VunGul. He would follow the vision. The Primes, in their arrogance, abandoned the world. He would not compound his people’s mistake. He would find the answers he craved.

### Affiliations and Knowledge

Cendrillion is well known among the Observers of the Fallen Star, but the religion is all but invisible outside of Nue-Planoak. Also, he is unaware of how his ‘theft’ of the Window of the Gods will be perceived and any contact with his order might be contentious.

Cendrillion has a vast store of knowledge about history and Edwen nature that no other party members are privy too. All Primes do, but as a scholar, there is an extra level of depth to Cendrillion’s understanding of many academic subjects. However, he knows little of customs and cultures beyond the lands of the Primes. Moreover, he is somewhat ignorant of the antipathy Majors and Minors bear the Primes and believes they should be grateful. He thinks they should see the Primes (and himself in particular) as saviors.

This juxtaposition of esoteric learning and social ignorance make him both an asset and liability to the party.

### NPCs of Note

There are no particular NPC’s of note connected to Cendrillion. This may change if the party ventures into Nue-Planoak and Kal-Uys in particular

### Psychology

Cendrillion values knowledge and balance above all else. He sees the Primes as the solution to current imbalances in the world, but also sees their complacency as a cause. In his mind, he is the one who can save the world from another breaking and restore the Primes to their rightful (in his mind) position as benevolent rulers of Gregoor-Sheav.

This messianic complex is tied to his deepest fear: to discover his life has no real significance and he and his people are just antiquated bystanders in this new drama and new world.