The Faerie Ring He lives in the spacious dwelling alone, allowing no one else entry but for a single patient at a time, once each month Candidates are those deemed at highest risk yet potentially curable using his secret, inscrutable techniques Those chosen are led to the front door where they await Attila and his ministrations After some time, as little as days, patients either leave the monastery cured or they are never seen again Characteristics: Attila is one of the skycursed He has long since committed to cannibalism and suffers its constant needs but has staved off further ongoing transformations by way of his devotion and selective feeding He eats his patients’ disease, scouring them clean of taint while nourishing his own He has become quite the skilled surgeon over the years, saving many who were otherwise inoperable and would surely have perished: he has removed gangrenous limbs, excised infections and tumors, even performed lobotomies and hemispherectomies All removed parts go toward the abatement of his own ineffable hunger Relationships: He hates what he has become but subverts his darkest impulses to the benefit of others Most patients that see him fall unconscious from shock or pain, due to meager anesthetics available, but a few witness Attila’s hunger None have yet to speak out against him, however, for he is their saviour Strategy & Tactics: Attila is a devout man of the cloth and seeks no conflict That’s a bit trickier when he’s gone without eating for too long, and then, it’s a struggle between him and his inner demons—a constant struggle between wanting to die and wanting to devour LADY JAYE Most people are other people Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their live a mimicry, their passions a quotation —Oscar Wilde, De Profundis Every moment of the Painted Lady’s existence has been dedicated to one goal: destroying Mab and replacing her Perhaps, even surpassing her Little does Jasmine know one of her own underlings actively plots and schemes to replace her For the black hat known as Lady Jaye has gained power by drinking from her bath and quietly moves through the realm of Aralu, building an empire to throw against her mistress As above, so below Lady Jaye was once a far darrig but willingly descended into the darkest depravities to become one of the black hats Now, having stolen power, she has transformed into something beautiful but disturbing Like Jasmine, Lady Jaye’s heart has but one goal, and like Jasmine, her goal is power In this case, Lady Jaye wishes to destroy and become Jasmine and, from there, conquer the fullness of the courts Long ago, she was born simply Jaye in an isolated far darrig village, she lived quite the normal life for one of her kind She aided her fellows, explored the world, and played clever tricks on the clueless It was during a rather daring trick, to be played upon the attendees of a Seelie ball, that Jaye first saw Jasmine She was overcome—not with love or even lust but with instant obsession In Jasmine, she saw everything she wanted to be, even if she had not known it until that exact moment Jaye spent the next many years studying and planning When she learned all she could in the lands of the light, she journeyed below to the realm of Aralu and underwent the terrible transformation to become a black hat Even this wasn’t enough, however While she could be a part of Jasmine’s plans and even see the great lady occasionally, Jaye knew next to nothing about her Thus, she stole away into the Painted Lady’s homes, worked her way past traps and guards and gaunts, and entered the Red Bath What Jaye saw should have driven her mad Instead, it showed her truth such as she had never known Jasmine was the ultimate illusion, as the far darrig preached, and if Jasmine could become a fine fey lady so could Jaye Jaye remained hidden until Jasmine left her bath, and then, she crept forward to drink from the filthy liquid bubbling inside The potent, disgusting brew transformed her, elongating and reshaping her body until she resembled a beautiful lady of the court No longer far darrig or even quite black hat, she re-dubbed herself as Lady Jaye and stole away from — 65 —