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  1. Characters

Oressa Halight

The Left Hand, the Ossuate
NPC

Oressa Halight the Ossuate, also known as the Left Hand and the Ashen Witch, is a towering, powerful figure in the Grey Wings, a retainer of Lady Anise Taranil, the headmaster of the College of Buckhold in Bucktuck City, and a manipulative witch that was once a member of the Coven of Enama. She is a seasoned mage, though her prowess in magic is often overshadowed by rumors of her grim disposition and uncaring nature. Oressa used her powerful magic to twist the mind of Lady Anise, with her eventual end goal being the release of the scourge of Atavar, the Thousand King.

Description

Appearance

The Left Hand has large, feminine frame and stands around 8 feet tall, generally dwarfing other creatures in her vicinity. Her body is broad and full, hinting at the nature of her musculature. She is only seen in the dark steel plate armor that covers her from head to toe, composed of numerous individual segments that allow for ease of movement. The interior of the armor is filled with long spikes that tear into Oressa's flesh when she moves. Her helmet is tall and cylindrical, terminating in a number of spikes that rise vertically. Oressa carries a large metal staff that is topped by a six-sided, mace-like structure.

The Ossuate's true form is that of a deteriorating, rotting skeleton with long, grimy jet black hair. She hides this by wearing a suit of flesh, which also allows her to feel pain, fueling her magic.

Personality

The Ossuate is a cruel, cold individual that holds no loyalties to others than herself. She is intensely curious in phenomena and arcane secrets, and delights in finding methods of twisting magic to suit her demented goals. The enjoys inflicting pain and suffering upon others, and loves to utilize dramatic irony in her various tortures. She is known to say little, only speaking when absolutely necessary.

As the Ossuate receives power from the suffering of others, she wishes to create a world of pain and chaos.

Skills and Abilities

The Ossuate is a practiced user of magic. While she is experienced in more basic, practical applications of magic, she prefers to utilize slightly more dark and occult arcana, such as curses. She is extremely well-studied and is a skilled wizard, though her magical experiments are generally cruel in nature.

The Ossuate is capable of absorbing power from the pain of those around her, including herself. She can use this ability to augment her magical abilities.

History

In 984, the Ossuate arrived in Atherdale after her research clued her in to the existence of the Great Colossus, a massive construct of war left over from the battles waged by the gods upon the primeval dragons many ages ago. She began to warp the mind of Anise Taranil, the lord of the province, using her potent magic, inscribing upon her back the sigil of the Thousand King and turning her into a puppet. The Ossuate, assuming the position of the Left Hand, took over the College of Buckhold and converted it into a college of magic, a front for the terrible prison of twisted experiments she established beneath it. The Left Hand began experimenting on her own students, turning them into devoted servants with strange necrotic magic, forming the Dark Embers.

While evaluating the threat posed by Cloverhall to her plans, the Ossuate discovered that the guild member Eliza Millheart was subject to a curse that intermittently allowed the Green Hand to take control of her body, which he used to wreak havoc in the Scratchwood. Oressa reached out to the Green Hand and manipulated him into working with her to close the borders of Atherdale to travelers, goading him to attack any who would attempt to pass through. This also allowed her to keep a close eye on the guild and its movements.

In 989 IaC, the Left Hand was present in a meeting between Anise Taranil and the Cursebusters, though she remained completely silent throughout its entirety. She was later seen commanding a group of mages from the College of Buckhold, asking about the corpse of Brulach and if certain loose ends had been taken care of yet. She vanished shortly thereafter in a flash of eerie green light.

The actions of the Cursebusters had been frustrating the Ossuate, though mostly by pure chance. Their interference in the Muckmeer Swamp resulted in her loss of the Thin Man, and the group managed to steal the Unknown away from the Lonely Fingers, though Oressa managed to retrieve this due to her relationship with the Green Hand. Fearing their contact with Great Old Tallon, the Ossuate plotted an ambush against the adventuring party, subduing them as well as the Iron and Unknown. She transported the group to the Splintering Halls, where she would torture and experiment upon them for nearly a month before they managed to break out. The Ossuate was particularly spiteful of Merja Acrido, as the sorcerer's teacher was Pelema, a former member of the Coven of Enama that had killed Oressa's mentor, Dreadwitch Enama. She was also highly wary and fearful of the wizard Steve Moran, as she discovered that one day, he would become the dark wizard Unknown. During the escape of the Cursebusters, the Ossuate was occupied with battling Unknown, who the group released, allowing a number of her prisoners to run.

Following her battle with Pazdarax and resulting carnage in Bucktuck City, the Oressa resolved to