Rhelora

*"It seems you have landed yourselves in quite a bit of trouble… The day after tomorrow you will be hanged and there is nothing you can do to stop that… But it does not have to be the end for you..."*

Rhelora to the Avalanche the night before their scheduled execution

 **Rhelora of Celestia** (her True Namewas *Sareash the Skylark,* as uncovered by the Avalanche) was an exceptionally powerful erinyes of the Nine Hells that the Avalanche met in Stoneharbor. She was usually wearing the disguise of a stunningly beautiful she-elf, but the Avalanche could easily see through her even during their first encounter. She approached the party again when they were on death row for blowing up the Stoneharbor Arsenal and offered them a contract: they got to live, in exchange they owed her 3 favors. The party had no choice but to accept it (see details later).

She was ultimately defeated by the Avalanche who bound her using her true name and forced her to demand to trivial favors from them, thus ending the contract between the group and the deviless. But they could see the seething anger in her eyes and decided that letting her go would be a mistake, so they used an unbinding ritual to obliterate Rhelora, making sure that she will never return.

## Past and Personality

The party had extensive dealings with Rhelora, and although she always takes the shape of a she-elf with perfect sculpture-like features, the party has learned to read her (to some extent). Like most devils Rhelora is cold and calculating and seems to be playing intricate long games, however she has some surprisingly mortal qualities.

* Despite her constantly annoyed look it is pretty clear that she finds the party somewhat amusing.
* She also seems to be fairly restrained (compared to other devils) and often prefers solutions that are the lesser of two evils (e.g. lying to the Knights of the Holy Flame to prevent the massacre of the paradisers). It is unclear whether it is a moral stance or just part of some long term game she is playing.
* During their time together the party learned that Rhelora is really a fallen angel, not just a lowly devil promoted to this rank (like Maliel). She still remembers her old life and sometimes she even seems sentimental about it. Nevertheless, she is a devil now, whoever she once was is long gone, and the party should not make the mistake of thinking she does anything out of the goodness of her heart.
* The party has seen her genuinely afraid when faced with the threat of demotion, which could potentially cause her to lose her memories and identity.

## Servants

So far the Avalanche has encountered several servants of Rhelora (e.g. Grep, Negmal) and all of them appeared to be exceptional in at least one field. Rhelora herself commented on several times how she thinks the Avalanche has "*potential*" and that it was the main reason she offered them a deal when she first met them (which they refused, but they could not refuse the second offer two weeks later). This was later confirmed by Maliel.

When "*cleaning*" Rhelora's office party found her collection of hundreds of soul crystals. That is where she keeps the souls of those who breached their contract with her. It was clearly not a coincidence that the party was allowed to see it.

Based on this the party theorizes that **Rhelora prefers to sign contracts with talented mortals before they reach their potential and then keep them in her service indefinitely**. Those whose contract runs out end up as infernal servants (e.g. Negmal) while those who try to rebel are trapped in soul crystals and added to her collection. **It is unlikely Rhelora would ever willingly let the Avalanche get out of their contract**. The party either needs to find a way to make it worth for Rhelora to let them go or acquire a patron powerful enough (e.g. a god) to intercede on their behalf.

### Contract with the Avalanche

Vistra, Pongo, Estel, Reed and Rydia made a deal with the Rhelora of Celestia (from now on referred to as R) in A.I. 486 to avoid the death sentence that awaited them for blowing up half of the Stoneharbor Arsenal during their attempt to recover the cannons of the Orchaven envoy. In this contract the party promised to fulfill favors for R in exchange for their life. Later the party managed to "*re-negotiate*" and add some new terms.

The contract is quite long and written in infernal and has dozens of obscure references to different precedents, but as far as the party knows it has the following terms:

1. The party owes 3 favors to R (2 fulfilled as of spring A.I. 487). Upon completing the last favor the contract is void.
2. If the party dies from natural causes without R ever requesting the last favor, then the contract is void.
3. If the party dies from non-natural causes before fulfilling the 3 favors, then **R may choose to resurrect them in order to fulfill the remaining favors or claim their souls**. (Note that when the party perished in the Illithid ruins under Stoneharbor, R chose to have them resurrected)
4. If the party breaks the contract R has the right to their souls. Refusing to carry out a favor is a breach of the contract.

But not all is bad in the contract, the party managed to add a few rather beneficial terms:

1. R must give the party 24 hour notice before calling in a favor
2. R must pay each party member 1000 gp for completing a favor
3. R promised to help the party members with their individual problems:

* R will help Rydia find the Baroness who is hunting her (fulfilled)
* R will help Vistra free her comrades' souls that are trapped by the devils under the Minthras Hellscape. (fulfilled)
* R will help Estel find the killers of his father (fulfilled)
* R will help Reed get rich (fulfilled, but her help was questionable)
* R will help Pongo create a powerful magical item (fulfilled, but her help was questionable)

**In A.I. 488 the Avalanche found a way to force Rhelora to end the contract and then destroyed her.**