Silent is a divine Arbiter of Death rising to prominence in the continent of Isonhound. They possess great power over souls and assist souls moving on after death.
"Good. Not because I had to be, but because it helped the people. I ensured a good dragon lived, I ensured a body was brought properly to their final resting place, not because I had to, but because it was mercy to their souls."
| Domain | Death | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliases | Minor God of Death, | Silent, | Nin, |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil | ||
| Epithets | The Twilight Angel, The Hand of Mercy, Fate Reader, The Quiet One |
Background
There are many gods in this realm, however, death is far too vast to be overseen by only one. Silent has hundreds of kin, each with their own followers and personal beliefs of how death should be used. Once powerful, Silent has lost many of her personal believers after being bound to Yggwilvs' Hut for years as nothing more than a pet and trophy. Yggwilv had been cruel, keeping Silent on the brink of starvation for centuries before deciding it best to keep the god alive with as little to feast upon as possible. Many of the souls she had reaped of men whom died on the battlefield that Isonhound had been built upon have been forgotten because of this starvation, and she holds almost no memory of the days before her capture.
After years of this, finally a group- some of whom had defeated The Green Stag in exchange for three wishes- had wandered into the dancing hut, and had been able to hear Silents voice. Once they had invoked their name, Silent was once again able to materialize into this realm. As they spoke over the course of three days, Delphi had eventually decided to use their final wish to free Silent from the witches control, and now sees Silent as their Patron, setting a very hungry God into the realm of Quelmar.
Physical Appearance
Silent is a tall, hooved being with a near white streak in their bangs. They have sparse, feathered wings and a skeletal ribcage, and two sets of horns that form a crown and halo-like appearance. They wear a covering over their lower face, and are often seen shuffling a deck of 22 tarot cards, the rest of which have been misplaced and re-found multiple times, as well as inviting unassuming mortals into a dice rolling game of sorts. They have been seen to conjure an ornate, carved scythe out of seemingly thin air in order to attack as needed. They seem to travel in between the planes of existence, and when they choose to manifest, they will tear a skeletal hand into the realm, with black shadows typically bleeding into the normal realm. They have been seen leaving their black to white ombred feathers behind as they slip back into the fold, and often this is the only thing left to prove that they had made an appearance.
Worshipers
As Silent has returned to Quelmar, so has their worship. After recovering from their time in Yggwilv's Hut they were once again able to bestow blessings and divine power unto their most dedicated of worshipers. Around Isonhound small alters have begun to spring up, carved by those whom she has reached out to across the land. Two of the most prominent alters can be located in Seglock as well as Musso where the residents converted to the worship of Silent after surviving an attack by the Crimson Terror, Flame. Even with contention rising regarding their return, Silent has still been successful in beginning to once again establish their faith. There has been other groups alluded to have been devoted followers of Silent, such as The Whispered Reapers, however these cults had dispersed and shifted their views greatly after Silent's sudden disappearance from the realm.
Notable followers of Silent include: Delphi, Hugo Clarion, and D'Kacilius Venrai.
Tenets of Worship
I believe in freedom. Shackles should not be forced upon others.
I believe that death is what allows others to grow.
I believe in not wasting those desecrated. I will take care of what others cannot.
I believe death is natural, and constant.
Personality
Silent is an almost playful being, although often will show annoyance with having to take care of things their self. They are incredibly sarcastic, though enjoy giving card readings to those who will listen to them. They lived quite some time being cared for by the witch in the dancing hut, scolded for talking and often left to sing for larvae that Yggwilv had kept.
To those who follow, worship, and/or are recipients of Silents power often see a particular facade of Silent. Though they are not necessarily a deceitful god, nor puts on a particularly strong mask, they do present themselves in a particular way to their followers. They seems to a bit more sarcastic and teasing, often goading adventurers with their lack of knowledge about various situations. They seem to try and separate the group out, to instead talk to each person individually. By doing this, they can get a read on everyone and determine how to speak to them and convince them in a more tailored and individualized way. They are fairly manipulative, but never in a distinctly evil or malicious way. They know how to read people and use that to their advantage in conversations. They also often use allegories, allusions, and veiled references to help people see hidden truths within themselves. Silent also enjoys playing games, especially tarot, to help reveal these truths within people.
Silent has spoken of many ways in which they've kept the souls reaped, often likening the process to consuming the essence of a person. After much pushback of the people, the god finally elaborated on the process in which they consume and store souls within their bones, and in turn, within their realm. Few beings have witnessed the majesty of her realm, however an assumed alter of the Whispered Reapers has been depicted within D'Kascilius' Soul-Scape. Adorned with both food and bone, four podiums had stood around the carved depiction of a skeletal hand gripping their scythe. The Whispered Reapers have branched out into many groups over the course of the thousand years she had been missing, although the stories that have survived often depict a shadowed realm, where the only light emanates into a cemetery, where collected memories and trinkets may be displayed.
Silent has gone out of their way to make promises to certain followers to imbue their souls into objects of importance to the individual, and even has promised those who do not worship them, that Silent will be the one to guide them to their rightful god. They do show favoritism to those who maintain banter with them, often enjoying the back and forth, however will become annoyed with those who act as though they are higher than death itself. Because of this, they are quite fond of the Fae, even showing that they enjoy the company of other god's presence. Silent has made it clear that they would happily work in conjunction to other gods, although will back down quickly if a divine custody battle were to take place. Currently, they seem to be in good standing with the God of Curiosity, Dysian as per Linden's good word, however they have been tied to other Gods of Quelmar, Including Nerull, The Raven Queen, Ellistree, and Lolth, with varying reputation between them. Currently, Silent seems to do their best to simply keep their head down and name unknown amongst larger gods.
Abilities
Silent, as a god of death, has a wide variety of divine (and anti-divine) abilities. However, being Tasha's pet for such a prolonged period of time along with losing most of their followers, has severely weakened their powers. However, they are slowly working on regaining followers and having more people in Quelmar invoke their name. Since the five who traveled to Yggwilv's Hut came and invoked Silent, they have regained the ability to physically manifest in the material plane, along with simply willing creatures to just die. They also possess the ability to aid or prevent adventurers from making and/or failing their death saves, and continue to mention the heed of the Dragon Flame that they've claimed. Silent has been shown inflicting and making others weak to necrotic damage on numerous occasion, as well as shown the ability to phase through physical objects with ease. When prayed to for a minute, a follower will often feel closer to their god, allowing Silent themself to become more attuned to the waking world and able to better interact with it.
Those who've Invoked Silent
Silent currently has fifteen beings that have directly invoked their name, and one who had been reaped by Silent.
The first of eight, being Delphi, Durian, Ensign, Herneldo, and Cynthia- These five traveled to Yggwilv's Hut to receive the reward from slaying the Green Stag. When they first arrived, said witch was no where around. Silent took this as an opportunity to talk to these five unfortunate souls first, and convince them to invoke their name. During their stay in the Hut, a few of them took the opportunity to play a tarot game with Silent. During these games, they were given chances to speak with Silent in a more free manner. Because of this, they grew closer to the god, especially Delphi. At the end of the three night stay, Delphi decided to use her third wish opportunity to request Silents' freedom, which was granted by the witch.
After the main headquarters of the Greedy Green had been built in Seglock, Delphi was quick to build an altar to their new patron. Five others, including Cynthia, had decided to interact with this before their quest to the fiery gates, allowing for Silent to aide in the unfortunate path they had taken. Karl Anders had unknowingly offered a sacrifice of wine, pouring one out to Silent while Aesir had played a song for them. Joshua, after refusing to take sides until the very end, had finally asked for mercy and invoked their name. Cyan had been offered a deal multiple times, yet refused to invoke Silent, insisting that "A god who needs a contract to save someone is not a god worth worshipping." Instead, they had learned that whether you worship them or not, Silent will only profit from ones death.
[EDIT: @blaise and @cheezydank's characters]
Delphi's Insights
Delphi was one of the first five adventurers to invoke Silent's name after staying in Yggwilv's Hut and delivering the Green Stag head. During these events, Delphi and Silent often played the god's 22 Tarot Card game. Because of this, Delphi grew closer to Silent, and Silent in turn pointed out some things in Delphi that the dragonborn didn't want to admit within herself. Mainly, it was pointed out that Delphi had more power in herself than she cared to admit, and that she was allowed to make selfish decisions to benefit herself rather than always thinking about others. During the three night stay, Delphi found herself reflecting on their conversations. When the time came to make the final wish, she caved, and wished for Silent's freedom. In return for this wish, Silent agreed to be bound to Delphi in a patron relationship, and help Delphi hone her arcane abilities.
Karl Anders has heard of the this Silent. After using a fancy looking table to hold his drink he started hearing a voice in his head calling herself Silent. She seems to think he signed a contract but Karl doesn't even know how to spell his own name. She seems well enough as a person. Although she did encourage him to break a big alter and it exploded on him so he's not so sure.
Hugo Clarions's Insights
Silent came to Hugo Clarion on the field of battle against the great Red Dragon Flame. What Silent made to him was a promise, that all are equal in death. It was much the same belief that Hugo found in the flame. Withy the signing of a name the deal was struck. He saw that the death arbiter could be aloof sometimes and permitted the actions of others that some may consider unsavory, but still beyond it all he could see what Silent represented. All death is inevitable. No man, dragon or titan is beyond such universal truths. From this death is what can be made new life. This is what Hugo stands for in Silent's name. An ideal a value, a promise, in their name.
