The Winged Crone
The Crone (a.k.a. The Wanderer, The Ancient Hag, Lady Dargon, The Desert Sage)
Very little is known about the Crone, who is known by many names throughout the world and history. Sometimes, an elderly woman approaches a community in a time of trouble and offers her aid. She always leaves before anyone can find out any information on who she is or where she came from.
Stories like this appear all over the world, though it took an anthropologist working at the end of the second age to find this pattern and theorize that the stories were linked. The most striking detail that appears in many of the stories is that the Crone is winged. This unusual detail links the diverse stories together, but is also the most impossible and confuses many anthropologists.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Her skin is a light reddish-brown and her face lined in wrinkles. She is tall and muscled, with a round face and flat nose. Her most striking feature is a pair of light grey wings on her back, giving her a wingspan of about ten feet.
Apparel & Accessories
She is most often seen wearing a grey cloak that conceals her wings. If she stays in a place long enough, she dons the clothing of whatever culture she's in - whatever clothing would be considered modest and sensible for an elderly woman. She usually carries a wooden walking staff.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Benbin, Taalora, 412 AR: An Indarig, injured after a raid and carrying its dead captain still dangling from his harness, rampaged into the town of Benbin. Townsfolk scattered as the large animal crushed market stalls below its feet and bellowed in pain and confusion. The men of the town were gathering weapons and preparing to bring down the beast before it hurt anyone when an elderly woman, draped in a grey cloak, stepped into its path. The official report states that the beast stopped when it saw the woman, and she climbed up its leg to sit on its head and soothe it.
Townsfolk insist, however, that the beast did not stop. Seeing a small child standing in its path, dumbstruck, the woman allowed her cloak to fall away and reveal a set of white-grey feathered wings. They claim the woman flew to the indarig's head in order to calm it. The woman left town before anyone could ask any questions.
Jausai, 261 AR: The Speaker of Jausai is called before the Oväs. He has been seen frequently consulting an elderly woman who is unknown to the rest of the Oväs and they worry about the power this stranger holds over the government. The Speaker claims she is a wise traveller whose counsel has been valuable to him, but the Oväs is suspicious and feels he is not showing strong leadership by relying so much on an unknown outsider. The Speaker is impeached, and the Oväs seeks this woman to question her as well. One resident mentions they saw an old woman in a grey cloak walking away from the city and into the woods that night. The Oväs is unable to find the woman they sought.
Bael, Duchy Cilcaren, 253 BR: The wealthy Lord Dargon shocks his grown children by marrying an elderly woman in his twilight years. The sons, estranged from him for many years, are furious when he passes away and all his wealth is left to his new wife. The woman in question appearedin Bael only a few years earlier, with no known history. Dargon's sons accuse her of being a scammer after their father's wealth and send the law after her. Local law enforcement, paid off by the brothers, raid the late Dargon's mansion to take the woman into custody and get to the bottom of her identity. They break into the house and search for her, but find the house deserted and a third-floor window at the back of the house open. Though this is met with confusion, her disappearance means Dargon's estate will pass to his sons, so they do not pursue the issue further.
Kimri, Janay, 1,046 BR: Prince Daifalla takes the throne at the age of 17 amid a period of chaos and civil war in Janay. Most suspect he will be assassinated before he turns 18. An elderly woman, arrives at his court and offers her assistance. The woman stays by the prince's side for the next several years, offering advice and guidance. When he turns 25, the woman abruptly stops being seen around the court. Daifalla claims he has become a man now and no longer needed her assistance, and they parted on good terms.
Balyae, Shilo Peninsula, Circa 2800 BR: A wise woman known as the Great Sage resides in a mountain-top shrine overlooking the village of Balyae. She has been there for as long as anyone can remember, offering wisdom to any who seek her out. At the enthronement of Queen Kaoreng, she appears at the palace to deliver a prophecy foretelling her downfall, and then flies away.
Northeastern Cuyania, Circa 6000 BR: Agriculture is developed on the fringes of the desert for the first time during a several-year drought. The local legend is that an old crone in a grey cloak walked out of the desert and showed them to to irrigate crops during dry spells.
Jausai, 261 AR: The Speaker of Jausai is called before the Oväs. He has been seen frequently consulting an elderly woman who is unknown to the rest of the Oväs and they worry about the power this stranger holds over the government. The Speaker claims she is a wise traveller whose counsel has been valuable to him, but the Oväs is suspicious and feels he is not showing strong leadership by relying so much on an unknown outsider. The Speaker is impeached, and the Oväs seeks this woman to question her as well. One resident mentions they saw an old woman in a grey cloak walking away from the city and into the woods that night. The Oväs is unable to find the woman they sought.
Bael, Duchy Cilcaren, 253 BR: The wealthy Lord Dargon shocks his grown children by marrying an elderly woman in his twilight years. The sons, estranged from him for many years, are furious when he passes away and all his wealth is left to his new wife. The woman in question appearedin Bael only a few years earlier, with no known history. Dargon's sons accuse her of being a scammer after their father's wealth and send the law after her. Local law enforcement, paid off by the brothers, raid the late Dargon's mansion to take the woman into custody and get to the bottom of her identity. They break into the house and search for her, but find the house deserted and a third-floor window at the back of the house open. Though this is met with confusion, her disappearance means Dargon's estate will pass to his sons, so they do not pursue the issue further.
Kimri, Janay, 1,046 BR: Prince Daifalla takes the throne at the age of 17 amid a period of chaos and civil war in Janay. Most suspect he will be assassinated before he turns 18. An elderly woman, arrives at his court and offers her assistance. The woman stays by the prince's side for the next several years, offering advice and guidance. When he turns 25, the woman abruptly stops being seen around the court. Daifalla claims he has become a man now and no longer needed her assistance, and they parted on good terms.
Balyae, Shilo Peninsula, Circa 2800 BR: A wise woman known as the Great Sage resides in a mountain-top shrine overlooking the village of Balyae. She has been there for as long as anyone can remember, offering wisdom to any who seek her out. At the enthronement of Queen Kaoreng, she appears at the palace to deliver a prophecy foretelling her downfall, and then flies away.
Northeastern Cuyania, Circa 6000 BR: Agriculture is developed on the fringes of the desert for the first time during a several-year drought. The local legend is that an old crone in a grey cloak walked out of the desert and showed them to to irrigate crops during dry spells.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
It appears her desire is to help people. No one knows why she does it, but she shows up to give assistence to locals and then moves on again. Some think she is a deity whose duty is to aid humanity, some think she is working off penance for an ancient curse, and other think she is merely a kind person helping people because it's something to do to break up the monotony of her long life.
Relationships
History
During their time together, the Crone cared about Sen more than she would like to admit. They had a very familial relationship by the end of Sen's life, although he never realized the extant of her affection for him. In the grand scheme of things, the relationship was still trivial to the Crone in her millennia of existence, but it mattered very much at the time.
Species
Birthplace
Unknown, but her appearance suggests she is from the tribes that inhabit Cuyania's frozen southern coast
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Dark brown, monolids
Hair
Straight, grey, usually tied in a bun
Height
5'8"
Weight
140 lbs
Aligned Organization
