Ziel Avono

Character Art by Kiyoshuki

## Character Biography

### High Garden

Ziel was found on the coast approximately two days ago before the start of the campaign and was brought to the High Garden Center for Wellness by some knights who were passing by. The medical staff assumed he was a survivor of the Battle of Arc Gate as he kept saying 'Arc Gate' in his sleep. According to their initial assessment, Ziel suffers from amnesia, head trauma and seizures. He also received several wounds, some of which were sealed by magic.

He met several people, including Aodhan, Shaeri Fernbridge, Therena Somni and Mewse. He also met a young halfling named Flynn, who suffered from a brain tumour before the doctors removed it. Flynn was the subject of much interest, as it was suspected something in his cerebrospinal fluid or antibodies had kept him alive. In fact, word had spread so far that Contessa Yslana Istrati herself wanted to meet him in Espoir. It was hoped that Flynn would be able to improve the panacea, known as the elixir, that Exelar was known for.

Mewse and Shaeri recognized at least one wound as the result of an Eldritch Blast, or possibly a Firebolt. Therena detected an aura of necromantic magic about him.

Shortly after waking up, several patients, staff, animals and plants underwent a series of horrific transformations, often into bloodthirsty, violent parodies of their former selves. At the same time, a bloody orb appeared in the sky and blinked down at him. While he found the sight rather disturbing, Ziel manages to hold onto his faculties.

Ziel and his newfound companions fought their way through the Wellness Center, and retrieved their equipment along with additional supplies. They also discovered Flynn's head, which had been crudely removed from his body and preserved by means of some alchemical device. The party successfully escaped by horse-drawn cart with the aim of delivering Flynn's head to the Contessa, only to have their cart overturned shortly after entering the nearby forest due to a surprise attack from an animated limb (episode 2).

### Cervin's Hollow

When Ziel came to, he found himself being cared for by a gnome. Ziel offered to chop and gather firewood while he waited for his companions to wake up. Once everyone was awake, a male human gathered them together. He introduced himself as Arvello, chief healer and Prophet of a being called Tleranya, The One Who Walks at Night. The Prophet explained that they were in the village of Cervin's Hollow and that they were brought there three days ago after their cart was discovered in the woods. He also expressed some concern about their intentions, given the grisly discovery of Flynn's head.

The Prophet was reluctant to let the party see Flynn, citing his poor condition and all the efforts needed to keep him alive, a reluctance that turned to hostility due to religious differences between himself and Therena, who he recognized as a disciple of Zonos. After some hurried diplomacy by Aodhan and Shaeri, though, he agreed to let them see Flynn in the evening. In the meantime, he arranged for a guide to escort them to the village mayor and their belongings--a young girl who admitted the village was a secluded community that regarded cities as 'bad places'.

The mayor turned out to be a distant cousin of Arvello. He had deep misgivings about the Wellness Center and their elixirs, claiming the latter were bad for body and soul alike. Nevertheless, he asked the party to clear out an infestation of rats in the village grain silo, located near the local temple of Omesh, as payment for the care they had received.

It didn't take long for the party to reach the temple, only to find it abandoned. Ziel found a nearby rat and reached out to it telepathically. The rat knew nothing but, after being fed, was persuaded to take them to their mother. Along the way, they passed a well. Peering down, Aodhan spotted a submerged body. Shifting into a hunter spider, he went down to investigate and discovered the body belonged to the acolyte of the temple. He gathered the acolyte's belongings, only to be attacked by arachnoid abominations. Meanwhile, the rest of the party followed the rat to the grain silo. As they arrived, the doors exploded, revealing the 'mother' was a giant rat creature with a swollen membranous sac that spawned swarms of slimy, hostile rats.

The battle was fierce, but the party emerged victorious. Aodhan began sifting through the acolyte's belongings and found some log notes. One message stood out: "He is no prophet." (episode 3)

After some discussion, and some Goodberries created by Aodhan, the wounded members of the party elected to have a short rest while the others searched the temple. Having completed those tasks, they elected to investigate the well where Aodhan had found the acolyte. Climbing down, they discovered that the well actually extended into an underground cavern. Unfortunately, they had just enough time to belatedly divide up the acolyte's belongings and examine the body before a deluge of water came pouring in. Aodhan hastily took the acolyte's body and some nearby items he spotted before following the party back up the well, though he had to assist Mewse whose failing strength caused her to repeatedly fall down.

Once the party emerged, they decided to wrap the acolyte's body and store it in a nearby work shed. Aodhan offered to watch the body while the others tracked down the mayor (who had said they'd be at the local pub, the Prancing Hart Tavern and Public House) and brought them back to the temple.

The mayor was shocked, but not entirely surprised. They confided that the acolyte had apparently become depressed, as the villagers gradually abandoned Omesh in favour of the Prophet, and there were concerns he would take his own life.

Once their meeting with the mayor had concluded, the party returned to the Prancing Hart.  Ziel tried to enjoy a drink, only to suffer such a vivid hallucination of being poisoned that he found himself exhausted. As he tried to recover, Aodhan and Therena approached, informing him that someone was interested in talking to them.

Ziel tried to enjoy a drink, only to cough blood, have a hallucination of being poisoned and ultimately become exhausted. As he tried to recover himself, Aodhan and Therena found him and said that someone was interested in talking to them.

The party gathered in the alley, where they were greeted by a man who warned them against openly criticizing the Prophet. He introduced himself as a travelling trader who'd noticed the villagers mutating and the animals changing over the last few months. The trader vowed that this would be his last time traveling to this community, as things had become too dangerous and 'weird'.

With that in mind, the party prepared themselves for the evening ceremony, noting that most of the town had come out. The Prophet greeted everyone and, after healing a child, led the village in prayers to summon Tleranya. A one-eyed avatar, resembling a tiefling from the waist up and a satyr from the waist down, emerged from the woods. At that point, the Prophet tore off one of his fingers and tossed it into one of several stone bowls lying on the nearby altar. Several villagers followed suit, revealing even more mutations and deformities in the process. As another villager pulled Flynn's head out of a sack and held it high, the avatar of Tleranya and their followers began chanting. In response, the mounds of flesh and blood began to writhe and merge together to form a new body.

Outraged, Therena donned a plague mask and challenged the Prophet. Before anyone could respond, several buildings exploded. A platoon of soldiers appeared from the south and opened fire on the villagers.

The party jumped into combat, concentrating their attacks on the Prophet while the unknown soldiers killed several more villagers before focusing their gunfire on the avatar. An angry Prophet responded with all the eldritch magics at his command, but to no avail. In the end, it was a satisfied Therena who struck the final blow with her spiritual weapon. The avatar, meanwhile, briefly engulfed Shaeri in a bloody cocoon before a mortar round blew them to smithereens (episode 4).

### To Berle and Fort Fearlight

As the soldiers continued to slaughter the villagers, their captain approached the party, informing them that the Contessa wanted to speak with them (episode 4). He introduced them to the head of the regiment, High Inquisitor Marionus Calvo, who said his troop would transport them to the Contessa. Calvo then led them to a prison wagon lined with rivets of greenish metal. Some of the party recognized it as chor, a metal known for its inherent anti-magical properties, particularly when refined.

The party were confined there for a few days, stripped of everything except Therena's holy symbol, their rations and some basic medical supplies. Shaeri choked in her sleep, due to a nightmare combining her experiences at the Clockwork Cloister with the Avatar of Tleranya sticking their fingers down her throat, but Therena was able to wake her.

Shortly after, the party's maladies flared up. Ziel began speaking in a different voice, much to his (and everyone else's) surprise. Alarmed, Therena persuaded one of the inquisitors to hand over their elixirs. She and Mewse took a dose and felt their symptoms subside. Ziel picked up a cracked vial and crushed it in frustration. Once he came to his senses, he sheepishly took another.

Suddenly, the cart came to a halt. The party heard some commotion outside before being told they would have to take a detour. Despite their pleas, the inquisitors refused to let them out, citing the need to be out of the woods before dark and their need to get to the Contessa. Peering through the wagon slots, they saw the road had been blocked by several large trees that had been felled, and determined they were heading towards Berle and Fort Fearlight. Some of them began feeling uneasy, sending they were being watched.

An hour later, the party sensed growing unease in their escorts. Moments later, the rest of their equipment was returned and they were allowed to leave the wagon. They found themselves entering Berle, an abandoned town with collapsed walls, broken buildings and vines wrapping around rotting bodies. An inquisitor told them the town had been abandoned ten years ago and was generally avoided. Someone, however, had known they were coming and had forced them this way.

They had just enough time to exchange names before they were attacked by rabid, mutated dogs who charged in from the left and right. The battle had just begun when Calvo saw a group of flying monsters (later identified as strigoi, humanoid-shaped amalgamations of stirges) diving towards them. During the chaotic battle, many people were wounded. Shaeri was knocked down and attacked, which caused her malady to flare up again. The horses driving the prison wagon panicked and raced away after their driver was killed. Despite Aodhan's best attempts, the wagon was overturned.

Eventually, the battle was won but the damage was done: night was falling and the group no longer had enough horses and transports. After a hurried discussion, the surviving inquisitors (Calvo, Ignatius Dargov and Alcina Actarii) and the party decided Shaeri should cast Leomund's Tiny Hut within a nearby bakery and they would take refuge there overnight. Reluctantly, they killed two of the surviving horses in an act of mercy, though Aodhan freed the last and urged it to flee.

As Shaeri cast her hut, the group heard lycanthropes in the distance. Ziel somehow knew they were loup-garous, a significantly more dangerous threat. Within moments, five of them entered the town. One was actually drawn to the bakery, but not before Shaeri finished her spell. Fortunately, it was drawn away to hunt other prey or join its brethren in feasting on the dead.

Inquisitor Calvo declares that they would make for Fort Fearlight in the morning. If they could make it there, they should be able to procure fresh riding horses and complete their journey to the Contessa. He asked them about the events that occurred on the night of their departure. While he did his best to hide it, Therena sensed he was deeply unnerved, even scared, of the institution. Calvo explained that an evil had entered Exelar and that he'd been dispatched a week ago to investigate various disappearances, including a transport from High Garden. Fortunately, he was able to pick up the party's trail and follow them to Cervin's Hollow. He and the Contessa knew of Tleranya, and they feared the 'false god' had more followers out there.

Furthermore, he gave an overview of the elixir or, as he called it, the white. According to him, it was a chaotic substance that could react to different metabolisms, depending on the patient's physiology. As a medicine, it could suppress maladies and act like a Lesser Restoration. Cordials offered healing, but could dull the senses and impose some disadvantages. Tinctures provided the equivalent of a Short or Long Rest, though they could muddle the mind and cause physiological changes. Decoctions and Catholicons would trigger minor and major mutations, respectively. According to the inquisitor, the Contessa believed Flynn had a rare mutation in his brain fluid that could stabilize and enhance the elixir.

Therena gave what healing she could and the group tried to sleep. However, several party members were so rattled by the loup-garous, they were unable to gain any benefit from the rest (episode 5). Ziel would later gain a vulnerability to certain critical hits when his malady progressed.

Calvo promised once they reached Fort Fearlight, they would be safe as they would be within the Contessa's domain. The group emerged from the bakery and began sneaking through the town... when Flynn's head began calling out. Realizing what had happened to him, he began freaking out until Aodhan clapped a hand over his mouth. Unfortunately, the commotion attracted the attention of an unidentified horror dwelling inside a partially collapsed temple. After calling out in numerous voices, it snatched Flynn's head out of Aodhan's hands. A brief battle commenced as the group tried and ultimately succeeded in retrieving the head, though not before Shaeri briefly went down. In the end, they were able to retreat after Ziel used his telekinesis to dislodge a beam and pin the monster.

More horrors, drawn by the sounds of combat, crawled out of the shadows. The group quickly ran for their lives, with the monsters in hot pursuit. As they left Berle, they glimpsed their destination--a twisted tower rising to the sky. All they had to do was traverse a blasted landscape and cross a rickety drawbridge spanning a 100 foot chasm.

Theren, Aodhan and Mewse cast spells to damage and slow their pursuers. Alas, Actarii was overtaken and dragged to her demise. Calvo was amongst the first to make it across the drawbridge and began hacking at the supports. Several members lost their footing, only to be rescued by their companions. Ultimately, the surviving members of the group made it to safety and the bridge was destroyed by a well-placed Fireball.

Wary soldiers emerged from Fort Fearlight, but quickly stood down when Calvo identified himself and agreed to his demands for lodging and horses.

As they entered, the party noted the green flame sweeping by overhead, learning it was used to keep the evils of the land at bay. They also noted most, if not all of the inquisitors had pock marks and wore masks. Ziel had some tea, wary of alcohol after the hallucinations that seemed to follow, and tried to explain to Flynn's head what had happened. When Dargov raised a toast to Actarii in the Contessa's name, it triggered a change in his personality.

In the morning, his malady flared up. If left untreated, it would make it harder for Ziel to avoid being charmed.

The group set off on their newly acquired horses. On the second day, they reached a crossroads that connected to the road they would have originally took before detouring through Berle. Dargov was surprised that the soldiers who originally accompanied them from Cervin's Hollow were not waiting at the crossroads. Calvo seemed unconcerned. Theren, Shaeri and Mewse realized that Calvo used the fallen trees as an excuse to leave the soldiers, sacrificing them in an effort to buy time to escape (episode 6).

Eventually, they arrived at another inn, The Old Familiar. The party couldn't help but notice that the windows and doors were either barred or could be barred with little difficulty. As he slept, Ziel dreamed of drinking with his officers at Arc Gate, firm in the belief that it was safe and impenetrable... until the Battle of Arc Gate began. Despite being stabbed by a drow elf, he made it to his commander's side. Though the commander was mortally wounded, he was able to focus on Ziel and mysteriously pronounce that he would do (episode 7).

### Espoir

As they enjoyed a hearty breakfast, Calvo told them they would reach Espoir by noon. He suggeted they spend the time relaxing in the main city and find new attire before meeting the Contessa at fourth bell, promising to provide a writ to help them buy suitable clothing. Calvo also warned them against visiting the lower areas, as they were shantytowns filled with riff-raff and undesirables. The High Inquisitor proposed to deliver Flynn's head to the Contessa himself, citing the party's predilection for getting into trouble, but the adventurers insisted on seeing this quest through to the end.

They made it to Espoir without incident. After Calvo showed his credentials at the gates, they were allowed entrance into the city. The party noticed that Espoir was a fairly populated city whose denizens all wore face masks. Shaeri, Theren and Flynn's head recognized that the masks were a sign of status, much like the clothing one might wear: the more ornate the mask, the higher your station. Theren put his plague doctor mask on, noting the crowd offered them more deference.

Before long, they arrived at the Contessa's castle. Mewse handed Flynn's head over to the butler, who agreed to deliver him to the Contessa. When asked, the butler explained the masks originated from the plague era of Exelar's past, but had since become a status symbol, a way to display a more palatable appearance and a means of obscuring unwanted features. When prompted, the butler wrote them the writ promised by Calvo. She also gave them ten platinum coins as a discretionary fund for elixirs or any other items they deemed necessary. Finally, she arranged for a carriage and chauffeur (a gnome named Marco) to take them into town.

The carriage brought them to a mask shop. Ziel was fitted with a mask of wrought iron and silver reminiscent of a knight's helmet.

On the way to procure clothing, the party was approached by a woman who'd journeyed from the poorer districts to sell medicines. After some bargaining, the party bought her entire inventory and retreated to a nearby alley. Ziel took a Catholicon and gained a permanent boost to his Constitution, but became more prone to hallucinations in dim light.

The party then moved on to acquire new clothing. Ziel chose a military dress uniform befitting of his previous career (episode 7).

### The Contessa

Their shopping complete, the chauffeur took them back to the castle and escorted them inside. The butler, having managed to keep her composure after seeing them, led them through the corridors and into an immense room, where they finally met Contessa Yslana Istrati (episode 7). She led them up a long flight of stairs to an immense dining hall, where Calvo, another butler, and a lavish banquet awaited them. Aodhan voiced some disapproval at the ostentatious nature of the room, to which the Contessa explained the castle itself was gifted to her by the king of Exelar for her services. The party also noted a marble archway covered by a velvet curtain on the far side of the hall, behind which Aodhan could hear some bubbling. When asked, the Contessa admitted she had some experiments underway to formulate a better cure. As they began their first course of menudo coup, the Contessa thanked them for traveling to Espoir and bringing Flynn's head under such difficult circumstances and asked about the various monsters they'd encountered during their travels. She told them the moon that blinked at them from High Garden was the same creature they'd encountered at Cervin's Hollow: a being from the Astral Realm akin to an astral dreadnought that was likely drawn to Exelar by the nightmares and psychic resonance of its people, who never had enough medicine for their ailments. While she assured them it could not survive in the Material Plane in its true form, she revealed that it could borrow the forms of others or build its own out of existing sources of flesh. She also explained that she had been developing and improving her elixir for centuries. Her interest in Flynn lay in the chemical makeup of his blood and how it seemed to repel parasites, a fact the doctors at High Garden discovered when the standard practice of leeching failed to work on him.

Before the next course of salad, berries and sliced meats, Calvo added that the soldiers that had originally accompanied them from Cervin's Hollow had returned to Espoir. He claimed they had merely been delayed by bandits.

Theren asked why the people of Exelar did not try to leave if they were in such desperate straits. The Contessa replied that Zonos would simply follow them. The two had a philosophical and theological discussion, as her goal to cure all diseases and potentially offer immortality seemed to clash with the will of the gods. She then went on to explain that she was originally trained by a skilled alchemist of Exelar named Vokon and used his research (after 'acquiring' it from a lesser marquis who was the intended inheritor) to cure one of the first plagues. Shortly after, the gods--Zonos in particular--sealed off Exelar and began sending more powerful maladies. Shaeri recognized Vokon as a man who had died four hundred years ago and was notorious for hating liches. Theren and Mews recalled that he worked with the elven nations and firmly believed one could change and improve the physical body by borrowing traits from other species. He was notorious for his experimental test subjects, many of whom escaped and spread their progeny throughout Ylos, and his research, which inspired scientists as far south as Emrys.

The Contessa was quite interested in Ziel's condition, recalling that psychic abilities were not uncommon in elven and githyanki societies, and that Vokon had developed techniques to give people similar abilities. She seemed amused when Ziel admitted he came from Arc Gate, a fact that Theren did not appreciate. Ystrati passed it off as a bit of sibling rivalry, as the commander of Arc Gate was her brother and a fellow student of Vokon. She believed that her brother's spirit had entered Ziel's body after he died and was presently animating it, which explained the necromantic aura Theren had sensed when they were in High Garden, though she did not know if Ziel's soul was also inhabiting his body or had departed. She also offered him a place in her Inquisition, promising a fulfilling life and additional power. He pondered the offer over a third course of braised crow with cocoa powder and white pepper (episode 8).

### The Final Conflict

Having concluded their dinner, the Contessa invited the party to her lab. They followed her into an immense structure that seemed too big to fit inside the castle spire, with walls that seemed to flow like quicksilver. The party saw an orb in the centre of the room along with Flynn's head, which was attached to an apparatus. The Contessa made a cryptic response about waiting for the sixth guest, which abruptly became clear as Shaeri's skull split in half and the eye in her forehead forced its way out. As Shaeri's body collapsed, the creature (a combination of the avatar of Tleranya and a slaad) shakily rose to its feet. The Contessa ominously noted that the Moonchild, as the creature would later be called, had arrived right on time.

Combat began immediately as Theren used his Scroll of Revivify to bring Shaeri back and Ziel established a telepathic connection so the now-blind halfling could see (albeit, through his eyes). Shortly after, the Moonchild released a psychic blast. Shaeri went down again, forcing Theren to administer a healing potion.

During the fight, the Contessa signalled Calvo to pull the drapes and seal the room.

After several more strikes, Mewse smashed the Moonchild into the floor and seemingly killed the horror, only to see it rise in a new form that resembled a writhing pile of rotting meat. As the party continued attacking the monster with their spells, Aodhan's Fireball inadvertently hit the orb, causing it to crack. The room began shaking with enough force to knock Aodhan, Theren and Ziel prone.

The Contessa began talking about the need to fulfill destiny as she walked over to Flynn's head and leaned over. Her jaw unclenched, revealing two large tentacles and a gaping maw. Too late, some of the party remembered Vokon's research also included illithids. Before anyone could stop her, the Contessa bit into Flynn's head and began consuming his brain.

As the battle continued, Calvo warned the party not to strike the orb, as it was the only thing anchoring them here. He then joined them in attacking the Moonchild. Meanwhile, the Contessa finished the last of Flynn's brain. After taking several more hits, the Moonchild released another psychic blast that downed Ziel. The creature began absorbing him.

Theren sternly told the Moonchild to release his friend before striking a seemingly lethal blow with his Spiritual Weapon. The Moonchild shrank down to a tiny, shivering tiefling/satyr girl, releasing Mewse and a still dying Ziel. Grimly, Theren told the Contessa that Flynn was his friend too before attacking her with a Guiding Bolt. In response, the Contessa released her own psychic blast that stunned Aodhan and Mewse before moving towards the Moonchild.

While Ziel lay on the floor, his life flashed before his eyes. He remembered being off-duty with his wife. He also remembered being in a laboratory as a child as he and other children were implanted with partially amputated illithid tendrils, which finally revealed how he had gained his mysterious psychic abilities.

As Shaeri had a flash of insight that the lab was impossibly large because it was an anchored demiplane generated by the orb, the Contessa stunned the Moonchild and began to wrap her tentacles around its skull.

As Shaeri had a flash of insight that the lab was impossibly large because it was an anchored demiplane generated by the orb, the Contessa stunned the Moonchild and began to wrap her tentacles around its skull. Calvo took off his mask, revealing he had a slit-scar running down his face like the Contessa, before putting himself in Theren's way. Undeterred, Theren drank a Tincture and shattered the orb with a Guiding Bolt, causing the room to collapse as the lab fell into the Astral Plane.

Shaeri, Theren and Ziel felt psychic winds buffet around them as the Contessa crunched through the Moonchild's skull, killing it once and for all. Ziel found himself blown off course by the winds. In his mind, he heard the Contessa eating the Moonchild's brain and laughing in victory before abruptly stopping. The Contessa began contorting and changing as the psychic corruption swept through her and transformed her.

When Ziel came to, he found the Contessa looming over him in her new form of an elder brain dragon. She greeted him telepathically as 'Brother' before scratching her arm and bleeding a familiar white fluid into his mouth. He would heal, but he would never be the same again (episode 8).

## Appearance

Ziel is a 6'3" man with dark black, unkempt hair, dark grey eyes and pale skin. He has the look of someone who has seen combat. For all intents and purposes, he appears human.

He wears dark chain mail with armour plates on top and a symbol of a heart with waves of swords. He carries a shield bearing the emblem of a five-starred cross.

## Character Build

Known ASIs/Feats: Telekinetic (+1 to INT)

Known Abilities:

* Second Wind
* Action Surge
* Protective Field
* Psionic Strike
* Telekentic Movement
* Extra Attack
* Interception
* Mind Link

## Trivia

* Has recurring nightmares of a battlefield filled with combat and bodies everywhere
* Has hallucinated being poisoned by an attractive elven woman on at least two occasions
* In Episode 4, discovered that he was proficient in Draconic