Known as the Guardian of the Bloom, Nyrissa is a
Dryad over 1000 years old who claims to be the living heart of the Stolen Lands. For a time she lived in the
Verdant Chambers, though she eventually left it. She originated in the
First World and is served by the
Defaced Sisters.
Nyrissa is very beautiful despite her age. Her green skin is soft and shiny, her hair appears as vines tangled together like dreadlocks, and she has pointed ears. She wears a vibrantly green cloak woven from some sort of silk or plant fiber which moves like water. However, she typically appears to people indirectly by shaping mist or fog into her likeness at long distance.
History
Nyrissa was the most powerful and beautiful nymph in the First World, known for being cheerful, wise and gentle. Over 1000 years ago she was cursed and banished for reasons unknown to her fellow Sisters, who followed her into exile to comfort her. Despite this, she became arrogant, wicked and cruel. She used True Polymorph on her Sisters, allowing them to travel the lands freely.
Nyrissa also "shared her curse" with others, enveloping the Stolen Lands with an energy so powerful that the wrong word spoken in anger can even tap into it and manifest as a curse. This manifested in
Red Mist Village when an old man cursed the villagers and the Fey, causing a dangerous tree to appear and kill almost everyone. Troublingly, it is thought by
Disloyal Sister that this cursed energy is independent of Nyrissa and may outlast her if not last forever.
Goals
Nyrissa wishes to destroy all kingdoms on the continent. For centuries she has nurtured communities and kingdoms within her lands, only to turn around and destroy them with lies, magic and violence. She has even done this with more rudimentary civilizations, such as
Trolls and
Kobolds, so it doesn't seem like a vendetta against civilization itself.
Initially, Nyrissa seemed to help The Adventurers, alerting them to the threat of the nature-smothering fog and providing information that lead to the downfall of the
Stag Lord. However, after those threats were gone, she lured
Ragnar Garess to a private meeting at the Verdant Chambers, where she tried to kill him with a
Manticore and some
Redcaps. Calling him her "faithful hound", she said the Silver Star would crumble to dust, as previous nations had before, and the Stolen Lands would remain no one's.
Silver Star leadership has privately labeled Nyrissa a threat to the nation and begun scouting and gathering more information on her, but not taking any aggressive actions. Despite this, she has been forcing and/or empowering others to act against the Silver Star. Nyrissa implied that the
Cult of the Bloom, which tried to dismantle the nation with a campaign of terror and corrupted monster attacks, was "her bloom". That same year, a poacher was given a cursed magical ring which he used to attack Ornisk; it's suspected that Nyrissa provided the ring. Later in the year, a First World portal on the
Bald Hilltop was opened with hostile forces who said Nyrissa was forcing them to attack and would kill them if they didn't.
Nyrissa has lots of enemies and no friends in the
First World or mortal plane, but she's strong enough to stand on her own against everyone. According to
Kiede, she has a higher status than other Fey, but
Ezvanki Keeg finds this odd as Fey don't usually do that. He finds many things about her puzzling and unheard of, including the range she's able to operate in and the amount of influence she has over other Fey.
Nyrissa sensed
Vordakai awaken and sent a Sister to try and convince the
Nomen Centaur to find the tomb. When that was unsuccessful and The Constellation set out to look for it, she sent
Tristian to retrieve the
Oculus of Abaddon after Vordakai's defeat. WHen Tristian destroyed it, he was instantly blinded for his betrayal, and Tristian believes she'll try to kill him as punishment when she finds out. Nyrissa now searches "for what the oculus was meant to show her".
Nyrissa's own "
Sisters" say she is wrath and will crush the lands to dust, and that the Silver Star is nothing to her. They do not seem to know or care what her larger goals are or why.
Location
For a time it was thought that Nyrissa was based out of the Verdant Chambers, but that was merely an outpost for her.
It is now believed that Nyrissa operates out of a large mansion that exists between the Material Plane and the First World. It is an unknown distance west of the Silver Star. It has folliage from neither plane and is like living in a dream.
Ragnar's Dreams
Ragnar has encountered Nyrissa twice during his dreams. The first time, in a large room with 6 pillar-like trees and large windows, he found her on a throne made from branches and vegetation. She sat upon it, musing aloud over how many kingdoms she had seen the demise of over the centuries. She implied that it was all to apologize for something.
During his second dreamwalk, Ragnar found himself in an area with unusual foliage which seemed like the First World. He asked Nyrissa why she calls him her hound, she said he chases down all the leads she provides, such as "her bloom" and
Vordakai. Ragnar asked how they had wronged her, and she said we've done nothing and couldn't understand her reasons. However, she did say things have become personal.
