Velthira Ashvein, the Scorched Tongue
Voice of Cinders; Flame-Bound Envoy Velthira Ashvein
Velthira Ashvein presents a haunting blend of seductive elegance and seared horror. Once a flame cultist of Emberfall, she now exists in a partially embalmed, fire-mummified form. Her skin is etched with infernal runes and laced with ember-threaded bindings that smolder beneath the surface. Her voice crackles like burning parchment, and when she speaks, smoke curls from her mouth.
She wears diplomat’s robes of molten silk and blackened chain, adorned with scorched dragon-scale accents—gifts from Emberfall’s court. Her eyes are fire opals that flicker with the light of distant pyres, but their gleam is hollow, puppet-like, betraying the strings that Daerion Blackthorn pulls behind the scenes.
Physical Description
Special abilities
- Ashpact Flame: Bound by both necromantic and infernal energies, she may ignite herself without harm, becoming a wraith of smoke and cinders.
- Voice of Pyric Whispers: Can speak with burning objects, seeing brief visions of where fire has been.
- Heatbinding Rites: Used in diplomacy, she may seal deals in flame—forging contracts that sear the soul of any oathbreaker.
- Brand of the Ember Serpent: A sigil scorched into her back allows her to channel the will of Emberfall’s infernal lords—though its power is filtered and distorted by her rebirth under Daerion’s will.
Personality Characteristics
Representation & Legacy
Velthira is smooth, sly, and theatrical, playing the part of ambassador and arsonist in equal measure. She has a flair for words and ceremony but speaks always in veiled meanings and riddles. Many suspect she relishes her double life, enjoying the game of lies and shifting loyalties.
Among the Hollow Council, she is both tolerated and mistrusted—useful as a conduit to Emberfall, but always watched for signs of disobedience. Daerion, however, views her as a successful experiment: a soul burned, bound, and bent to his dominion.
Reign
Though a delegate of Emberfall in name, Velthira’s loyalty is secretly tethered to Daerion, forged in the depths of a necrotic pact made during her resurrection from the pyres. She serves as:
- Diplomatic Liaison: Voicing Emberfall’s formal concerns and interests to the Hollow Council.
- Infernal Informant: Feeding select intelligence back to the Dominion about internal Emberfall politics, factional rivalries, or potential weaknesses.
- Manipulator of Flames: Acts as a conduit for fire-rites, binding the Dominion and Emberfall in ritual alliances and trade exchanges.
Every few years, the delegate is changed, often under mysterious or violent circumstances—many simply ignite from within and vanish in smoke, leaving only ash-bound masks behind. Velthira has held the role longer than most, a sign of both her cunning and how thoroughly Daerion has corrupted her Emberfall allegiances.
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