Zirabelle
Zirabelle is a tabaxi fighter living on Udarich. Her horns and other tiefling features suggest she has some tiefling heritage.
History
Youth
For most of her life, Zirabelle lived in the Arctic Gnashers territory as savage fighter. Zirabelle was always eager to prove herself useful to the people, doubting her worth in secret. When one of the Gnashers' arcane engineers visited her home looking for test subjects for a device recently discovered, Zirabelle signed up despite hearing horrid stories of what happened to the previous subjects. She learned that the arcane device had recently washed up and the engineer believed it should imbue the person who entered it with some undetermined power. Zirabelle entered with some trepidation. Luckily, she was unharmed though there were no obvious effects at the time.
Zirabelle was later given command of a fort in the northeastern tip of Udarich (the area around Arazid's Altar).
When the Cult of Arazid mustered forces, she noticed new cryonic abilities that seemed to directly counter the cult's power. Zirabelle reported this back. The arcane engineer returned her message, suggesting the arcane device was some kind of weapon that could cancel out the power the cultists had gained. Zirabelle was commanded to hold the fort until the engineer could arrive with the device. Wanting to prove herself, Zirabelle launched an offensive instead. The Cult overwhelmed her and forced her to flee. She later learned that the arcane engineer was attacked and the weapon lost in the snow. For her failure, Zirabelle was beaten and banished. She made her way south with a broken arm and bruised legs. Monks from the Six Tenet Monastery found her at the edge of death and brought her for healing. In the time since, she begrudgingly took up painting and fishing, choosing to live in the Hall of Oceans while recouperating. During this time, she decided to hide her ice magic.
Traveling with The Big HELP
One day, she met a group of adventurers calling themselves The Big HELP. One of the healers had told them about her, explaining that she had healed physically but seemed to have some form of emotional trauma she wasn't willign to talk about. They tried to get Zirabelle to talk about her past and hoped to get her to open up. Zirabelle rebuked them and stayed quiet until they left. Several nights later, Zirabelle was visited by a woman who did not identify herself. She told Zirabelle to embrace her power and use it to prove her worth to the Arctic Gnashers. Zirabelle took this to heart. She planned to use her ice magic to subdue the monastery and claim it in the name of the Arctic Gnashers. The night of The Festival of Saint Kynthas, she unleashed her attack. Those with an affinity for fire and Arazid's power were rendered unconscious and many others were immobilized. During this time, Hest and Marinia were able to shrug off the effect and investigated. Zirabelle was loosing control of her power and could feel it tearing her apart. She begged Hest for help, apologizing for what she had done. With Marinia's suggestion, Hest realized that Wild Magic was needed to break through Zirabelle's magic. One of the monks saw this and prepared to report Hest.
Hest and Zirabelle were forced to flee once they met up with the rest of the Big HELP. The five of them ran for several hours before resting. Furious with herself for another self-perceived failure, Zirabelle revealed her entire past to them before retiring for the night. Zirabelle savagely chastised herself for failing again and again. The Big HELP feared for her mental health and asked her to join them for a bit on their travels. When they decided to travel north around Lake Verdauga to get to Moonvale Grove, Zirabelle warned this would take them through the lands of her former tribe. Petrichor asked Zirabelle if she had any advice. Zirabelle perked up and began to outline two possible paths, either traversing the icy mountaintops or navigating an underground path. Zirabelle noted that they would be less likely to run into her former tribespeople underground. The HELP could see her tremoring at the prospect of seeing them so they decided to take the underground path.
Zirabelle began to relax and become more comfortable around the HELP as they traveled. After several days of travel, Larka picked up on something following them. These lands had only recently been taken by the Arctic Gnashers and Zirabelle only knew a few details by hearsay. She told the help ghost stories about watchers in the woods haunting this land that could be scared off by the winter wolves of the north. All five began howling and Zirabelle couldn't help feeling a warmth in her chest when looking at her traveling companions.
The next day, Larka asked Zirabelle about her former tribe. Zirabelle recounted with glee the savage tactics of her and her tribe before she thought about how they might use those tactics on her if they knew she broke her exile. She told the others they would have to kill any Arctic Gnashers on sight to avoid any risks. Larka, knowing that many thought of her tribe as barbaric raiders, tried to convince Zirabelle that there were always other options than killing. Larka then offered to let Zirabelle borrow her own cape to hide her face. Zirabelle tore the cape from Larka and eagerly wore it. Hest asked if Zirabelle and her people understood the concept of sharing. This led to a long conversation about the concept of sharing that Zirabelle slowly absorbed. Several days later, the HELP stumbled upon a corpse in the snow. Zirabelle walked right up to it and, along with Bigwig, snatched up its belongings. When Hest and Petrichor asked how she knew it wasn't an Arctic Gnashers trap, she said that the Arctic Gnashers had much more fun ways of slaughtering enemies than using traps.
After a few more days of travel, the Big HELP arrived at the pass Zirabelle had told them about. With a quick scouting, they learned that several Arctic Gnashers were standing guard alongside some mind-controlled ice trolls. Zirabelle was relieved that they at least didn't have an arcane engine, until Larka pointed one out to her. Zirabelle had to explain that arcane engines were ancient bits of magical tech that the Arctic Gnashers had fashioned into vehicles with gruesome weapons used to ride around the snowy terrain. Larka tried to sneak past the Gnashers but was spotted and a fight ensued. In the fight, Zirabelle managed to disarm the person holding the ice troll mind-controlling rune. She knew that she could use it to kill the trolls in one swoop and protect her new friends. Their words about finding other ways than killing rang in her ears and she shattered the runic device instead. The trolls targeted their former masters, giving the HELP a chance to escape. As the Arctic Gnashers ran for their arcane engine, they fired off a bolt of energy at the mountain above, hoping to bury the HELP in an avalanche. Zirabelle shouted at them to run for the cave and flee down the ice tubes rather than the well-worn path.
Zirabelle roared with excitement as she slid down the ice tubes. As the HELP wandered through the caves to find their bearings, they came across an enormous frozen pillar. Zirabelle was particularly enamored with this pillar that threatened anyone else that came near with frostbite. The others had to pull her away to continue their travels. Further in the caves, they came across two Arazid cultists. Larka told her that she could let out her frustrations on these two while Bigwig tried to convince them that they were probably just lost. Zirabelle had a moment of unsureness and Larka had to explain it was okay to kill these two because they were too dangerous to live. Zirabelle beheaded one of the cultists and moved for the second. She grabbed Larka's knife and held it to his throat while they debated the cleanest way to kill a target.
When the HELP rested for the night, Larka heard chanting on their final watch. The HELP followed the chanting and learned that Arazid had manifested a new body and was gathering his shattered cult. He dragon called out to Bigwig before leaving. Bigwig began to suffer a panic attack as she felt Arazid's influence in her mind. Zirabelle was able to snap her out of it and dispelled Arazid's influence with a touch. As she did this, Petrichor noticed a glow on the back of Zirabelle's neck and realized she also had the mark of Arazid, though hers looked less like the red mark others bore and more like frostbite. Zirabelle had no idea she bore this mark and began to panic at the thought she may be influenced by Arazid as well. The HELP tidied up and left their camp. At one point, Bigwig put on a ring they knew was likely cursed, and became cursed. Without any ability to readily dispel the curse, Zirabelle suggested cutting off Bigwig's finger. Bigwig decided to hold off on doing so. The two wandered off while Petrichor and Larka worked on clearing a path. They found a horrid room where hand-like protrusions of ice reached up from the floor and an enormous fanged mouth made of ice took up most of one wall. Zirabelle was drawn to the mouth and mused on how something like this could be. She tried to figure out if there was magic at work, but only learned that something had been cast into eternal sleep a very long time ago. She and Bigwig wondered how deep they might be before returning to the others.
After fighting winter wolves, ice giants, and a frost salamander, Zirabelle and the HELP made it back to the surface. With Petrichor's guidance, they finally made their arrival in Moonvale Grove. After her travels with the HELP and seeing the grove, Zirabelle began to feel some level of peace. She liked the look of a quiet life in Moonvale Grove. When Bigwig upset some children that had been teasing her, Zirabelle consoled them and got them to stop crying. Despite having developed an interest in the quiet life, Zirabelle's idiosyncrasies still shone through. Petrichor had to remind her that they pay for food when Zirabelle tried to snatch a slice of pie. Petrichor had a little bit of the wind taken out of her message when the shopkeep explained the food was freely given so long as only a fair share was taken. Zirabelle gobbled up the pie and cried with excitement having never eaten berries like this before. When the party decided to go crafting, Zirabelle had little interest in using brushes and painted with her fingers, covering herself in paint in the process.
Petrichor had located the missing fragment of her staff and led the others on a search starting with a secret passage underneath a hot spring. Zirabelle eagerly agreed to follow, helping to fend off fey monsters all the while. They were joined by the orc wizard Vandwyn and Zirabelle, filled with an impish glee, took every opportunity to tease him and Larka over the fact he had a crush on her. The HELP encountered terrifying creatures called alps. Despite her dreadful fear of the creatures, Zirabelle pumped herself up after the battle and declared that she had seen worse. Zirabelle fought bravely when the HELP were confronted by the archfey Versin and watched as Petrichor completed her Staff of the Woodlands.
Personality
- When living with the Arctic Gnashers, she was hot headed and fierce. She hasn't told anyone at the monastery about her life before.
- Since coming to the monastery, she has become quiet and thoughtful. She takes her time before saying anything.
- She can be a little selfish, not being used to a life where people are willing to share.
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