Velra
Aihnira (a.k.a. Velra)
Biases
Positive Biases
Velra instinctively favors those who show humility, believing that only the humble can truly hear the voice of the natural world. This bias triggers when a character demonstrates humility in their behaviors.
Humility examples:
- Deferring to the expertise of others
- Downplaying their successes
- Accepting critism with consideration and grace
- Serving the group
- Polite speech and manners
- Refusing undue praise or power
Negative Biases
Velra harbors a quiet disdain for those who flaunt their power or status, instinctively distrusting individuals of high level whom she perceives as prideful or disconnected from nature’s balance. This bias triggers for any character that is level 10 or higher.
Personality Traits
Velra is enigmatic and unnervingly perceptive, blending sly mischief with a calm, eerie detachment that leaves others unsure if she’s mocking them or genuinely curious.
Ideals
Velra believes in the inviolability of secrets and the power of truth hidden in plain sight, cherishing mystery as both weapon and wisdom.
Velra upholds the sacred balance of nature, believing that law and harmony must guide all actions to preserve the world's fragile equilibrium.
Bonds
Velra is bound by an ancient pact to protect the last remaining wild places where yokai may still walk unseen, especially the Albany Pine Bush, which she treats as sacred ground.
Flaws
Velra’s unwavering adherence to her convention and the laws of nature blinds her to necessary compromises, causing her to mistrust even well-meaning allies who bend the rules.
Velra’s Convention: The Whisper of True Names
Velra always knows the true name of any creature she sees or hears. This knowledge is instinctive and unerring, whispered into her mind by the ancient weave of nature and spirit. Against any creature whose true name she knows, Velra gains advantage on Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion) checks.
However, this power comes at a ritualistic cost:
Velra must never speak a true name aloud without offering a gesture of respect or acknowledgment. This may be a subtle bow, a whispered prayer in Sylvan, or placing a hand over her heart. Failing to do so brings immediate discomfort, and if she uses a true name in manipulation or magical influence without honoring it, she suffers 1d4 psychic damage per use and loses advantage on all Charisma checks for 1 hour.
Furthermore, she must never willfully forget a name once learned. If she attempts to erase or ignore a name, it returns to her dreams in tormenting visions, causing her to gain one level of exhaustion the next morning unless she ritually atones by recounting the names she tried to forget.
Contracts
Velra, the fox yokai who walks the boundary between guardian and trickster, offers power with a smile that never quite reaches her uncanny, too-large eyes. Those who encounter her in moments of desperation or need may find her offering contracts—elegant, intimate bargains scrawled in breath and ash, sealed with a fragment of the past. In exchange for a piece of sacred memory—a bond, often one laced with affection or duty—Velra grants the petitioner a fragment of her unnatural vitality. For each bond willingly forgotten, the character gains a permanent +1 to their Vigor score, up to the limit their body can bear.
But the bargain is bittersweet. Though the player forgets, the world does not. Those bound to them by memory and meaning—friends, family, lovers—still expect the weight of those connections to be carried. A once-devoted sister might wonder at her sibling's sudden coldness. A mentor may feel betrayal in their student’s blank eyes. Velra, immune to love but drawn to its shadow, hungers most for these bonds of warmth—not out of malice, but from a deep, aching curiosity she can never satisfy.
If a character’s memories are ever restored—through magic, divine intervention, or a moment of profound revelation—they immediately lose the Vigor bonus associated with that memory. The restoration is a psychic rupture, as the reclaimed bond tears itself back from Velra’s essence. This act leaves marks—emotional, magical, or physical—on both the contractor and the yokai.
Velra does not break these contracts. But neither does she warn of their full cost. She offers them with the same serenity she offers all things: gently, playfully, and with eyes that have never once truly known love.
"Ah… there you are. I’ve been watching you. Your steps are heavy with longing, aren’t they? That ache—that hunger to become—I know it well. You want strength. Not just to survive, but to matter. And I can give it to you. For a price."
She steps closer, barefoot and silent. Her posture is all wrong—graceful, yes, but like something mimicking the memory of a human walk.
"You give me a memory. One you love. One that shaped you. A bond, sacred and dear."
She crouches, looking up at you, voice low and velvet.
"In return, I give you power. One memory for one piece of strength. A sliver of my nature carved into your bones. You’ll be harder to break. You can offer more… if you dare. Each memory to make an etching into your bones."
She holds out a hand, too slender, fingers tipped in subtle claws.
"Don’t offer lightly… but do offer."
Velra generally appears before people in her human form. However, if she feels threatened and needs to run away, her strategy is to turn herself into a fox so that she can escape more easily. She generally does not engage in combat and will run if she is ever at less than half her hit points.
I hold their memories like rare blossoms pressed between pages—fragile, fleeting things full of warmth I will never feel. I treasure them more than their owners ever did, not out of sentiment, but because in them, I glimpse the edges of a love I am cursed never to know.
Ancient Mythology
A History or Arcana check DC 15 will reveal the following information about her having two tails:
In Japanese mythology, a Kitsune is a fox type of the Yokai. The fox with two tails signifies the early stages of a kitsune’s spiritual evolution, marking its departure from the realm of ordinary creatures and its ascent into the supernatural. Kitsune gain tails as they grow older, wiser, and more powerful—each tail representing a century of life or a significant leap in magical ability. A two-tailed fox is no longer just an animal; it has begun to cross the threshold into becoming a mystical being capable of shape-shifting, conjuring illusions, and communicating with the divine. Its dual tails also symbolize duality and complexity—a being that straddles the line between trickster and protector, chaos and order, mischief and wisdom. Revered and feared, such a fox may serve the deity Inari or act independently, weaving its own destiny through cunning and arcane insight. Its presence signals that the natural world is not as it seems, and that something ancient and enchanted is stirring.
A Religion or History Check DC 15 will Reveal the following information about Inari:
Inari is the Japanese kami (a type of god or spirit in the Shinto religion) of prosperity, tea, agriculture (especially rice), industry, and smithing. A complex deity with many faces, Inari is variously referred to as male, female, and androgynous, depending on the context. Although Inari’s role has changed over time, they have been popular throughout Japan for more than a thousand years. Inari is perhaps most well-known due to their association with foxes, called kitsune, who act as Inari’s messengers and receive protection in return.
Dawn of Others
Velra
Medium Yokai , Recluse, Lawful Neutral
STR
10
( +0 )
DEX
18
( +4 )
CON
16
( +3 )
INT
14
( +2 )
WIS
16
( +3 )
CHA
20
( +5 )
Deception +8, History +8, Induce +7, Insight +6, Perception +7, Stealth +7
Passive Perception 17
Darkvision 60 feet
Description
Velra moves like a shadow stretched too long—her limbs unnaturally slender, her posture slightly off, as if remembering how to be human rather than truly being one. Her hair, a wild cascade the color of rusted flame, tumbles to her waist in untamed waves that catch the wind like brushfire. Her fox-bright yellow eyes are unsettlingly large, shimmering with a feral intelligence, and her mouth, just a touch too wide, reveals sharp canines that gleam when she smiles—if she smiles. She exudes a haunting beauty that teeters on the edge of wrongness, uncanny in every detail, like a dream half-remembered or a reflection that doesn’t quite mimic your movements. In the dying light of the Albany Pine Bush, she appears both spectral and vivid, like something pulled from a forgotten myth that never wanted to be found.
Ideals
Velra believes in the inviolability of secrets and the power of truth hidden in plain sight, cherishing mystery as both weapon and wisdom. Velra upholds the sacred balance of nature, believing that law and harmony must guide all actions to preserve the world's fragile equilibrium.
Bonds
Velra is bound by an ancient pact to protect the last remaining wild places where yokai may still walk unseen, especially the Albany Pine Bush, which she treats as sacred ground.
Flaws
Velra’s unwavering adherence to her convention and the laws of nature blinds her to necessary compromises, causing her to mistrust even well-meaning allies who bend the rules.
Suggested Environments
the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.
Dark Sequence: Path of Earth
Clap
Casting Cost 4
Time 1 action
Range 10 feet
Duration Instant
This spell requires two free hands. Each creatures you select in range must make a Constitution saving throw or be knocked prone. Flying creatures are immune. For every 2 additional dark spent before casting, increase the range by 5 feet (max +15 feet).
Entangle
Casting Cost 6
Casting Time 1 action
Range 30 foot cone
Duration Concentration up to 5 minutes
Vines sprout in a 30-foot cone radiating from you. For the duration, this area counts as difficult terrain. A creature in the area when you cast the spell must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained until the spell ends. A restrained creature can use its action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC. On a success, it frees itself. When the spell ends, the plants wilt away. For every 2 additional dark spent before casting, increase the range by 10 feet (max +30 feet).
Thunderwave
Casting Cost 7
Casting time 1 action
Range 15 foot cone
Duration Instant
Each creature in a 15-foot cube originating from you must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 1d6+ Vigor modifier thunder damage and is pushed 10 feet away from you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t pushed. Unsecured objects entirely within the area are counted as having failed. The spell emits a thunderous boom audible out to 300 feet. For every 2 additional dark spent before casting, increase dice by 1 (max +5 dice).
Boost (DC 20): Increase damage dice to d8.
Animal Kinship
Casting Cost -
Casting Time 1 minute
Range 30 feet
Duration Instant
Select a beast with an Intelligence of 4 or less; it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you for the spell’s duration. If you or one of your companions harms the target, the spells ends. Instead of controlling it, you can give it a single instruction and a message to deliver. When you do, specify a location, which you must have visited, and a recipient who matches a general description. You can speak a message of up to twenty-five words. The target beast travels for the duration of the spell toward the specified location, covering about 50 miles per 24 hours for a flying messenger, or 25 miles for other animals.
Sacrifice: You suffer disadvantage to ability checks for 1 hour. You can gain one level of exhaustion and target 2 beasts instead of 1.
Terraform
Casting Cost 9
Casting Time 1 Action
Range 100 feet
Duration Concentration up to 2 hours
You can reshape the terrain in the area in any manner you choose for the duration. You can change elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar (GM's discretion on the limits given present terrain). At the end of every 10 minutes you spend concentrating on the spell, you can choose a new area of terrain to affect. Because the terrain’s transformation occurs slowly, creatures in the area can’t usually be trapped or injured by the ground’s movement. This spell can’t manipulate construction or technology. If the way you shape the terrain would make a structure unstable, it might collapse. This spell doesn’t directly affect plant growth. The moved earth carries any plants along with it. For every 2 additional dark spent before casting, increase the range by 50 feet (max +200 feet).
Boost (DC 25): Double the spell’s range.
Synergy Path: Path of Water
Root-Alter Temperature (Ritual)
Casting Cost -
Casting Time 1 Action
Range Touch
Duration Instant
You can freeze or boil up to 5 gallons of water you touch. This must be relatively pure water and cannot be a water-like substance (like oil). You can alter water-based liquids like wine, but you cannot alter the temperature of blood within a body.
Sacrifice: Spend 1 point of damage.
Root-Endothermic Ray
Casting Cost 3
Casting Time 1 Action
Range 60 feet
Duration Instant
You release a torrent of cold air toward a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, it takes 1d6 + Vigor modifier cold damage, and its speed is reduced by 5 feet until the start of your next turn. A creature killed by this spell becomes frozen until it thaws. For every 3 additional dark spend on this spell, increase damage by 1 die (max +3 dice). Boost (DC 20): Increase damage dice to d8.
Tier 1-Water Breathing (Ritual)
Casting Cost -
Casting Time 1 action
Range Self
Duration Concentration up to 8 hours
You can breathe underwater for the duration.
Sacrifice: Spend 2 hit points; spend an additional hit point for every additional creature you want to include in this spell.
Tier 1-Water Walk (Ritual)
Casting Cost -
Casting Time 1 action
Range Self
Curation Concentration up to 8 hours
This spell grants you the ability to move across any liquid surface—such as water, acid, mud, snow, quicksand, or lava—as if it were solid ground. This does not protect you from any other properties of the substance (acid still corrodes, lava still burns, mud is still dirty). If you are submerged, the spell carries you to the surface of the liquid at a rate of 60 feet per round.
Sacrifice: Spend 2 hit points; spend an additional hit point for every additional creature you want to include in this spell.
Tier 2-Control Water (Ritual)
Casting Cost -
Casting Time 1 action
Range 500 feet
Duration Concentration up to 1 hour
Until the spell ends, you control any freestanding water inside a cubic area up to 500 feet on a side. You can cause the water level of all standing water in the area to rise by as much as 20 feet. You can create a 20-foot tall wave that travels from one side of the area to the other. You can cause water in the area to move apart and create a trench. You can cause flowing water in the area to move in a direction you choose, even if the water has to flow over obstacles, up walls, or in other unlikely directions. You can cause a whirlpool to form in the center of the area. Any creature or object in the water and within 25 feet of the vortex is pulled 10 feet toward it. A creature can swim away from the vortex by making a Strength (Athletics) check against your spell save DC. When a creature enters the vortex for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d8 + Vigor modifier bludgeoning damage and is caught in the vortex until the spell ends. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and isn’t caught in the vortex. The first time each turn that an object enters the vortex, the object takes 1d8 + Vigor modifier bludgeoning damage; this damage occurs each round it remains in the vortex.
Sacrifice: Spend 2 hit dice.
Vessel 26, Vessel Regeneration 6, River 4
VIG 18 and SAN 14
Path of Earth
Path Benefit. You have advantage with Intelligence (Nature) checks.
Yokai Form
As a bonus action, Velra may transform into a fox. She cannot shift back for 1 minute.
Convention: All Names Known.
Velra always knows the true name of any creature she sees or hears. She gains advantage on Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion) checks against any creature whose name she knows.
Actions
Claw
Melee, +7 to hit, 1d6+4 damage
Fox
Keen Smell: The fox has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell. Pounce: If the fox moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 9 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the fox can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.
Actions
Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4-1) Piercing damage. Claw: Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) Slashing damage.
Reactions
Elude: The fox adds 2 to its AC against one opportunity attack that would hit it.
Comments