Nightspeaker Cora Alvernon

## Official Story of Origin

According to legend, those who look into the eyes of the Nightspeaker are said to see the entirety of the night sky held within, and in doing so, bare their soul to the divine judgement of Sehanine herself. Until thirty years ago, most outside the priesthood considered such tales to be fanciful dramatizations of the common Divination magic practiced by the leader of the Starsinger's church.

Following an unpredicted and unnatural lunar eclipse on the Winter Solstice, the omens of the Diviners in the temple spelled a single message, unchanging for weeks: "speak, and I shall hear." Thrown into disarray, uncertain whether the omen spelled good or ill fortune, the temple sought their goddess' counsel, but she provided only the same cryptic message.

Then, the night of Imbolc, a rider, hooded and cloaked, galloped into Courlemar. A wandering paladin, some say--a deva of Sehanine herself, others claim. She carried a woeful tale of an attack, a home destroyed, though she offered no hint as to her place of origin. Cradled against her chest in a sling made of her ragged cloak, she carried an infant girl with the stars trapped in her eyes, calmly awake, despite the late hour. Leaving the child in the care of the clerics, she claimed their promise to protect and guide the child, then galloped off into the arms of the night.

Cora Alvernon, as the rider called her, was the best kept secret in Courlemar, and perhaps the Concordat itself, until the occasion of her coming of age, when the clerics anointed the young aasimar as the Nightspeaker--the voice of Sehanine--and presented her to the city.

Young for the position, which she likely holds due to her celestial heritage and oracular abilities, Lady Alvernon lives in the shadows of her older advisors, most notably Brother Tybrek Baltris, the head cleric of the temple. Few have ever had the honor of speaking directly with her, and fewer still free of the watchful eyes of her guardians, so she remains an enigmatic figure to the public. In recent years, her influence has grown, as the Citizen's Council relies ever more heavily on her divine-gifted insight and prophetic visions for guidance.

## True Origin Story

Few know the truth of Cora's life before Courlemar, but she is actually a true Celestial, not merely an Aasimar. She does not remember any details of her life before being brought to the material plane, and few know the truth of her nature. She keeps her wings hidden at all times. The only member of the party who knows her true nature is Pan, and they are sworn to secrecy on the matter.

A secret along the same lines is that her starry eyes are an illusion- in truth her eye sockets are empty, a gruesome sight should the illusion ever fall.

## Since meeting the party

The party first encountered Nightspeaker Cora Alvernon in their hearing with the Lord Admiral about their experience in the Mistmaw and meeting the Wraith. It was clear that she could not express herself openly in the presence of her keepers, especially Brother Baltris. However she was able to communicate telepathically with Val, revealing that she "couldn't see" Val.

The party decided to speak to Cora in a more private venue, and some of the party successfully distracted her guardians while the others had a private audience with her. She revealed that she knew the truth about Hecate's imprisonment, and that she had dreams about that event, specifically of an argument among the gods and regret.

During the Beltane festivities, the party found her in the VIP tent, seeking assistance in dispelling the curse on the peony bone charm before destroying it. They also convinced her to stand up for herself against Brother Baltris- it worked so well that she fired him virtually on the spot. After the party discovered that she had a history of assassination attempts against her, they connected her with Thalia Frostfire, who at the party's behest offered to be her bodyguard.

She has been invaluable to the Party since then, looking after Miracle Morley after the Party broke the hags' hold over her, and restoring Val to her full intelligence after she was the victim of a feeblemind spell.

## Key

Though the party would care greatly about Cora's welfare and safety anyway, they have a reason to do so that is of more cosmic importance- she appears to be one of a very few people in the world who are Keys. Specifically, Cora is the Key of Sehanine Moonbow. There have been multiple attempts by what the party believes are servants of the Dark Six, to take her hostage for use in their dark plans- thus far all have been thwarted, likely in part thanks to the efforts of the Wraith. This makes her security detail from Thalia essential not only to Cora's own safety, but perhaps that of the world.

Cora revealed to the party that just as she is able to commune with Sehanine, her darker counterpart, The Mockery, is constantly whispering temptations to her to cede control of herself to him. She has always resisted these lies.