Vedma

## Vedma, The Wolven Witch

"*I was the one that was chosen, child. The Whispers spoke, **and I obeyed**. Thus I laid with the Half-Wolf, and I lay with the brother of a king. And when it came to bringing my children to the world, I did my duty, and returned to my communion with the Whispers. **Now my purpose runs short**. My children must face this darkness...**together**. My son the **Shadow**...my daughter, the **Hero**. [...] The bond between you is more than **destiny**. It is **blood**,*"
—Vedma reveals the truth to MacDuff and Minerva[src]

**Vedma, The Wolven Witch**, also called the **Pale Witch**, is a mysterious and powerful stringmaiden, the avatar of the Faint Whispers and the mother of Hermoor MacDuff and Minerva an Kett, the respective Shadow and Hero purposefully designed by the Wild Lords in preparation for Ragh nar Roog.

## Biography

### Early Life & Background

Vedma's origins are unknown; being a fent, it is likely that she hails from Bohaem, possibly the untamed eastern regions near Mistwood where pagan worship is widespread. When she was born, and thus how old she is, is completely unknown.

As a child, Vedma heard the call of the Faint Whispers, the Wild Lords that carried themselves on the Eastward Wind. The Whispers taught the girl the secrets of dark magic, transforming her into a stringmaiden. From that moment on she dedicated her body and soul to the Whispers, eventually becoming an elder among the stringmaidens and one of the most powerful mages in the world.

The Whispers, as well as the other Wild Lords, had a plan: a series of orchastrated events that meddled with fate to produce two entities: the Hero of Mortals, who would battle *Helregnin* at Ragh nar Roog to preserve the world, and the Shadow, who would guide the Hero to their inevitable fate. But in order for the Hero and the Shadow to have a chance of success, they would first need to be born. The Whispers chose Vedma, their avatar, to complete this task.

As the Wild Lords willed it, the Shadow must be born cursed, an outcast, and trained to defeat any enemy that stood in the Hero's way; it was thus decided that the Shadow be made a warden, one of a once-great order of warriors sworn to defend the innocent from monsters of all kinds. In turn, the Hero must be born pure and graceful, ready to accept their task and develop the strength to battle the forces of evil.

To birth the Shadow, Vedma lay with the half-wolf warrior Blaikoth, avatar of the Whispers' greatest foe, the Lord of Wolves. Unable to birth the child herself, Vedma allowed the ghouls of the Glow to cut her babe from her womb, thus rendering him motherless. Her son was then passed to the wardens, destined to either die by the Order's torturous experiments or become one of the finest warriors in history, all while carrying the curse of the balvorn.

To birth the Hero, Vedma made a deal with the noble Prince Brynjar an Kett and his barren wife Janna Raven's Crest, laying with the prince and birthing a girl, Minerva an Kett. With her tasks complete, Vedma returned to the wilds, watching over her children via the Beach.

Vedma felt nothing for Minerva, for she was raised with kindness by her father and mother; her son, who would eventually claim the name "MacDuff", was tortured, tested and trialled to become a remorseless killer, and thus he earned the faint fire of love that Vedma felt for him. She would appear as a faint spectre on her son's Beach, visible to him only when he slept or when his mind was clouded by rage and his body transformed into its wolven form.

## Overview

### Personality

A faithful servant of the Faint Whispers and a master of dark magic, Vedma is distant, cold and driven by a singular purpose: the fulfilment of her master's plans. She holds no feelings of self-preservation or self-fulfilment, driven solely by the tasks bestowed on her by the higher powers of the world. Despite this, she retains the most basic motherly instincts towards her son, MacDuff, and blames herself for the torturous life he has led as a warden despite knowing it was all necessary for the Whispers' plans. She does not hold the same affection for Minerva, however, for she was raised by a loving family while MacDuff was robbed of all motherhood.

## Powers, Equipment & Abilities

### Powers

* **Dark magic:** A powerful stringmaiden and the avatar of the Faint Whispers, Vedma is one of the most powerful mages in the world. Trained by the Whispers in dark magic, Vedma is a formidable opponent wielding spells unknown to most other mages. Due to the nature of dark magic, Vedma possesses an extremely strong connection to the Beach.
	+ **Necromancy:** Like most elder stringmaidens, Vedma is capable of necromancy, although not to the extent of demonic entities. Her ability goes as far as resurrecting spirits as wraiths, or reanimating the bones of the dead, to defend herself.
	+ **Siphon:** Vedma's long life and prolonged youth is not just a result of her being a mage; like other stringmaidens, she siphons the life force of those that worship her, albeit against her will.
	+ **Oneiromancy:** Vedma's connection to the Beach has allowed her to learn one of the most difficult magical disciplines, oneiromancy, which allows her to enter and interact with the Beaches of others, including non-mages (which is known as "dreamwalking").
	+ **Entrapment:** As an extension of her ability to perceive others' Beaches, Vedma can forcibly trap living creatures in their Beach, even if they are non-human creatures, rendering them defenceless and immobile.
* **Beach Perception:** As a mage, Vedma is able to perceive the Beach when she enters it in her sleep. By dreamwalking, she can also appear in the Beaches of others, such as MacDuff's.

### Equipment

#### Weapons

* **Shortsword:** Despite relying mostly on magic, Vedma carries a shortsword coated with poison, which she can activate remotely.

#### Gear

* **Potions:** Vedma carries a variety of self-brewed potions that can heal, enhance or poison.

## Relationships

### Hermoor MacDuff

Vedma and MacDuff's relationship is one of the most complex. Despite willingly giving him up to the wardens in accordance with her masters' plans, Vedma always felt a faint affection for her son, as well as guilt for the merciless trials that made him a warden. Vedma took to entering her son's Beach when he slept, always appearing at a distance to offer him advice, which he often ignored; MacDuff continues to sleep irregularly so as to avoid her.

### Blaikoth

Little is known about the relationship between Blaikoth and Vedma. As avatars of opposing Wild Lords, Blaikoth and Vedma were natural enemies; however, at the command of their respective masters, the two lay together to produce a child, one that would become the Shadow designed by the Wild Lords in preparation for Ragh nar Roog. According to Vedma, she and Blaikoth fell in love, but only for a moment, and once the child was cut from her womb the half-wolf returned to the wild.