Hennie Schaak
"...Although I am grateful to Mistress Schaak for the invitation to one of her coveted private séances, I am afraid the spectacle left me feeling rather cold. I cannot decide what was more farcical: the spectacle or the premise of her claims? That a mortal woman can profess to detaching her Soul from her body and infiltrating Perdition, sits ill with my Conscience. That the Raven and His minions turn a blind eye to her escapades, or the countless Souls she smuggles back - be it temporarily - to perform parlour tricks for desperate loved ones, should sit ill with yours."Hennie Schaak (née Mahlau) is a denizen of the Kredasene capital of Rykfontein. Having spent the majority of her life working as a bespoke taylor to the social elite, the mother and grandmother has become famous in recent years for her work as a spiritual medium. Due to an unfortunate incident that killed her husband, Hennie claims that her Soul is able to leave her body whilst retaining partial control over her limbs. Her séances include performances of spirit writing, live drawing of views from her Soul's travels, and the opportunity for members of the audience to communicate with the Souls of their loved ones.
A Gift from Tragedy
On 25th Fourthmonth 238 SGC, Hennie and her husband were travelling to the city of Eschenkastle, in the Third Judge's territory of die Heiligeval, for the wedding of Schaak's nephew. Their carriage was set upon by highwaymen, who killed Schaak and left Hennie for dead. After chasing off the outlaws, the couple's retainers hurriedly took Hennie to the nearest inn; by the time they arrived, Hennie had slipped into a coma. She remained unconscious for three hours, defying the low expectations of the local surgeon when she finally woke. During her period of unconsciousness, Hennie experienced her first instance of Soul Walking, as she has termed her gift. Put simply, Hennie claims that the injury she sustained at the hands of the highwaymen, inflicted a severe injury upon her Soul. As a consequence, her Soul can leave her body at will, allowing Hennie to traverse what she describes as the 'Realm of Souls'.Intrepid Exlorer to the Raven's Realm
I expected to be greeted by burning skies and rivers of blood. That is what the Mother Temple teaches; it is what my husband most feverently believed. That is not the Perdition that awaits us. It is a cold place, a forgotten place. The Souls I have encountered are desperate, pitiful creatures, plagued by torment, though not by demons. Each is trapped in a single moment of their life, like a crystalised memory. I have seen them play out their deaths, their heartbreaks, their failures, as if they were actors upon a stage. I have learned that they will not see me unless I break their focus with a gentle caress. No matter how hard I try, they always slip back into their never-ending cycle of self-inflicted anguish.The most controversial of Hennie Shaak's claims that is that she has discovered an enterance to Perdition. The most controversial parts of her séances are the performances by Hennie's daughter, Verena, who reads accounts of her mother's perilous journies into Perdition. These generally take place while her mother is unconscious - allegedly Soul Walking. Her description of the experience of Souls trapped in Perdition has met with criticism from the Raskvaerii Mother Temple in Latharin, but Hennie has managed to weather its many threats of excommunication because of her popularist standing amongst the Kredasene social elite.
Children
Personal Life
Hennie Mahlau met her husband, Ansgar Schaak, when was just seventeen years old, apprenticed to her aunt. Schaak was a cloth merchant who adhered strictly to the tenets of the Rasvkaerii religion, worshipping the Holy Chorus of Saints. After a brief courtship, the pair decided they wanted to marry; Schaak, however, was insistant that Hennie would need to accept a Conscience into her shadow. Despite her family's misgivings, Hennie acquiesced to his demands. Their union appears to have been a genuinely loving one, and produced three daughters: Luzia, Cäcilia, and Verena.Publications
Hennie has written extensively on her travels in the Soul Realm. These books include:- In the Shadow of the Handmaidens: A True Account of Souls who Have Escaped the Raven's Servants, And How YOUR SOUL Can Evade Perdition
- Silent Whispers: An Account of Hennie Schaak's Conversations With Departed Souls, And What They Wish We Would Learn in Life
- Letters from Lost Loved Ones: A Series of Letters Dictated to Hennie Schaak by Reliquaried Souls
- Perdition Unveiled: An Account of Hennie Shaak's Expiditions Into The Raven's Realm
I'm really curious as to whether she's genuine or if she is a charlatan. The titles of her books kind of lead me to believe the latter, though maybe I am being untrusting. She sounds like a fascinating lady either way.