Ziel Avono

Character Biography
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 the Contessa herself wanted to meet him. 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).

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.

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 one of the inquisitors who had accompanied the troops, who said the journey would take about three days, before leading them to a prison wagon lined with a 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 one of the inquisitors 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 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. In desperation, Aodhan and Shaeri drank a Catholicon, gaining a boost to Constitution and Intelligence, respective. Mewse took a Decoction that increased her awareness (episode 5).

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 Spells:

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