Helga Answith

*“No religion I ever encountered made any sense. None are consistent. Most gods are megalomaniacs and paranoid psychotics by their worshippers' description. I don't see how they could survive their own insanity. But it's not impossible that human beings are incapable of interpreting a power so much greater than themselves. Maybe religions are twisted and perverted shadows of truth. Maybe there are forces which shape the world. I myself have never understood why, in a universe so vast, a god would care about something so trivial as worship or human destiny.”*

 -Helga Answith

## History

A dwarf from Gandoral, who lost most of her people when the mountains around Arendur finally collapsed. Met Flavius Luteus (not yet called Scaevola) not long thereafter. Wanted at first to extract revenge, but hesitated when Flavius told her that his people had been killed as well. They were sellswords for a number of years, until they parted ways.

## Personality

Unlike the churchmen, Helga Answith is not mad, but follows Scaevola and the King in Yellow out of genuine, ethical faith. The churchmen, who are in some way mad and guided by aesthetic sensibilities, are both scornful yet terrified of her. Both camps are wrong, and do not understand the religious way of thinking grasped by those who have seen eldritch truth.

## War of the Philosopher-Kings

They meet again in New Arendur many years later, with Flavius now a soldier and Helga an innkeeper. There is some tension at first - Helga is disgusted as how quickly Flavius is willing to pledge his loyalty to the Arendurians again, but Flavius is quick to point out that Helga is making her living doing much the same thing. They resume their friendship. When Flavius returns from the Northern Expedition, Helga is the first person he talks to about his discoveries. He tells her of his plans to destroy the Illuminated and become the leader New Arendur. Helga is at first skeptical, but over the course of many days, the charismatic Flavius is able to win her over to his side and to the worship of the King in Yellow. She becomes the first and most zealous of the Carcosai, offering her tavern as a base for their operations.

## After the War

Fifty years later, Answith is still a loyal follower of Scaevola, doing his bidding and going places where churchmen cannot go. Scaevola.

She has been gifted with a pair of rings called the Warmaster's Rings. Each was specially made for the two individuals who bore the title Warmaster of Arendur. The first was given back to the city by Curtin when he gave up the title. When Arazon was appointed Warmaster of New Arendur, rather than give her Curtin's, Tan Blackhand commissioned a new one to be made. Though the *damnatio memoriae*means that few remember their historical significance, they are still regarded as a symbol of Answith's power and status. She is considered the *de facto*Warmaster of New Arendur; the Pontiff's favor allows her to more or less give commands to churchmen and soldiers alike.

Within these two rings is a pocket dimension in which Answith stores her weapons, allowing her to wield them interchangeably, and from time to time, all of them at once. He weapons are:

* Oré Drassig: A short sword gifted to her by Flavius Luteus Scaevola after their reconciliation.
* Fang of Eryrute: A scimitar stolen from the horde of a blue dragon when she was a mercenary.
* Kyoketsu Shoge: A whip that she made herself during the War of the Philosopher-Kings.
* Vidrinath: A rapier taken from a slain drow during her youth.

## The Great Awakening

Helga Answith becomes Warmaster of New Arendur in the Pontificate of Leo Calixte Desjardins.

Helga Answith would pass a series of decrees later known as the Answith Reforms, which mainly served to create the framework of an administrative state that had not existed since the fall of the First Republic. The position of Pontifex Maximus was abolished, with the Pontiff of the Church of Transcendental Theosophy remaining as the head of the state religion, as well as a head of state with ceremonial powers. The spheres in which the Pontiff held temporal were in his appointments in the curia. The Secretariat of State would oversee the state's foreign policy, the Magisterium would continue to serve as the nation's highest judicial authority, and the Council of Dogma would retain its authority to enforce religious orthodoxy.

As a final decree, Answith would dispense with the anti-mage laws, and open up an Arcane Magic Division within the Arendurian Army. The Hexenjägers remaining in New Arendur, led by Dietrich Stoppelbein, would split into factions. Many would pledge loyal to Colonel Albrecht Kurz, who would swear fealty to the Warmaster. Many others would join the New Arendurian Colonial Legion, led by Robert Patenaude, while others would desert and try to return to Utgard, commandeering the IMS *Bolgar der Zerstörer*, or to the Reich Nördlich. Those still loyal to Dietrich Stoppelbein would commandeer the IMS *Prinz Baraddin*, and fly to exile in Gandoral.

Killed when the train pitches itself into the sea. Isaac Icarus recovers Twisted Fang and bestows it upon Reese Wilmarth.