The Sisters of the Black Church
Sisters of the Black Church wearing their pallid masks.
Sisters of the Black Church
The sisters are what remains of an ancient coven of hags that reside within the Forest of Dolls. The forest is filled with purple and pink mists. Giant spiders and ancient creatures otherwise forgotten by time roam the woods. Countless dolls hang from the limbs of virtually every tree. The hags have never let anyone walk out of the forest alive, including the Matriarch's esteemed excavation team. They've also managed to terrorize most of Grahmbraid Island without ever stepping foot outside of their forest.
The sisters dutifully served Arevay, the Goddess of Darkness and Pain, in the Old World. They now protect the forest from what they consider corrupted. Sometimes this protection includes proactive and aggressive actions by the creatures of darkness. Most of the time their actions are targeted and specific. They can, however, act broadly and indiscriminately. Approximately 18 months prior to the campaign starting, the hags corrupted the main crops of the island - potatoes. This caused widespread disease and death. This also left the elves unable to bear children.
The Sisters of the Black Church were here long before the Matriarch or anyone else arrived on the island. The outskirts of the forest and trinkets found from the hags seem to suggest they are from a time that is either from an unknown ancient time or even alien. Some scholars believe that these hags are some of the original members that existed during the Carcosa Catastrophe and still carry on the Cipher Wars. The number of sisters in the Forest of Dolls has changed over the years. There were 11 sisters when the Matriarch first arrived. Their numbers dwindled to 3, before rising back to 7, and falling again to 5. Known members are Sister Piel, Sister Qal, Sister Rabats, Sister Revachah, and Mother Friede.
It is unknown what exactly the hags are capable of or what exactly they look like. Dreams that haunted victims and monsters stalking victims have helped fill in some clues. One person, a member of the Matriarch's excavation team, did make it out of the Forest of Dolls. The survivor was found crawling out of the wood line, babbling nonsense. They died of shock quickly after rescue. It was found that the victim was covered in severe frostbite and burns. They also were missing organs and even complete sections internally. Those areas were filled with a thick, tar. Friends of the victim noted that he was cleanly shaven before leaving for the Forest of Dolls. The great beard on this victim suggests they haven't shaved in much, much longer. than just the few weeks he's been gone.
DESCRIPTION
Appearance
The sisters seem to be humanoid in nature, but some aspect of them makes them difficult to directly observe. People who have seen the hags, physically or in their dreams, report being unable to properly focus on them, as if they are draped in and breathing darkness. Others complained of being overwhelmed with synesthesia. Some people have also reported feeling ill if they made eye contact for too long, with some victims having blood come from their eyes and ears. Their size has been reported to be anywhere from 3' to 8' tall. Their arms and limbs are disproportionately long. The excavation team victim claimed the hag he saw was approximately 7' tall with a 11' wingspan, with long, sharp clawed fingers.
The sisters eyes glow a bright blue. They can also see magic. When they do that, their eyes turn red and a third eye opens on the back of their head. Every bit of movement made by the sisters looks painful and unnatural. They typically either levitate or have to crack and twist on all four limbs. Their bones bend and break as they move. Pieces even jut through their skin. Their skin is leathery and somewhat translucent. It looks like it is barely holding in whatever black, thick tar fills their body. Despite this broken, weak appearance, the witches move unnaturally fast and have inhuman strength.
The Sisters of the Black Church seem to be dirty and poorly clothed. They are often seen in visions wearing robes, skulls, antlers, and other old gnostic imagery. Their hair is pitch black. There is an aura of darkness that follows them everywhere and can even be felt as a "breath stealing coldness." The robes worn by the hags are made of some sort of cloth that is so dark that it seems to eat light. They are covered in black runes and glyphs that light up when a witch channels magic. The complexity and amount of these glyphs are beyond anything that has been seen, even those ancient bearers of blood magic, like Gabryl Dabbert. Dreams show that hags carry magical dolls, some alive, some dead. They also carry a large book, a heart stone, and a tied golden chord that they often wear around their neck, wrists, or waists.
Personality
The Sisters of the Black Church are hard to understand. Their voice is described as being distorted and otherworldly. Others complain of it "being too dark to hear" as if it is tied to the same powers that make them difficult to see. Others think the witches are causing some sort of severe synthesia in their victims. What is easy to understand is that the sisters have unmatched intelligence, meticulous, coldhearted, and thrive off of pain. Though it seems something compels them to their torturous ways, the sisters definitely enjoy themselves. Random sending messages that came from the excavation team suggest that these witches love to pick at emotional and personal wounds. This suggests they have some divine magicks that can detect thoughts, spy, and much more.
The Black Church within the Forest of Dolls
Inside the Black Church
Diety of Worship
The Sisters of the Black Church worship one of the ascended twins - Arevay. Arevay is primarily known as goddess of pain, darkness, death, and magic. Like her sister, Mehkila, Arevay’s full portfolio was broad and eclectic. It also included caverns, dungeons, forgetfulness, loss, night, secrets, and the moon. The sisters were the only gods to share a domain - death and magic. This gave them amplified powers in the domain - each greater than what they could control on their own. Arevay’s portfolio has the most control over the domain of death. Mehkila’s portfolio has the most control over the domain of magic.
Arevay’s array of domains gave her the unique ability to see everything that lay or happened in the dark. Arevay was also one of the gods who helped to create the Eldritch Crown. This moment reshaped the cosmos and amplified Arevay’s and Mehkila’s powers. This moment and the violent ascension of the sisters helped a political schism on the Holy Assembly, seeding the potential for the Carcosa Catastrophe and the Cipher Wars.
Arevay - one of two mortals who ascended to godhood. She was a witch and twin sister of Mehkila. The Sisters wear magical set of armor and hat made from the scales of the ancient black dragon, Dalaghthanach.
Mehkila, like her twin sister has bright eyes and earrings known to drip blood. The cold and snow seems to follow their presence.
Arevay and her sister perished alongside several other Araphelons in a great battle near Carcosa, triggering the Carcosa Catastrophe and the near apocalyptic end of Kol. The Sisters of the Black Church, led by First Sister Auriel, slayed the Primordial Serpent and the Black Goat that day - though at remarkable cost. Arevay and Mekhila are given credit for slaying Udrim and interupting the rituals of DVon and the Traveler. These actions (and the actions of other groups of heroes) are credited with preventing the complete end of Kol.
Auriel - Known as the First Sister and the Charred Witch. Auriel was a legendary witch warrior believed to have pre-existed Kol. She dutifully served Arevay, even before her ascension. The witch perished slaying the Black Goat and Primordial Serpent.
Arevay was the creator of the Black Church’s signature weapon - a nearly invisible, deadly rapier called Arevay’s Woe.
The ultimate goals and purposes of the Sisters of the Black Church and their matron aren’t easy to understand. The hags hardly speak truthfully about their full intentions. They also act viciously to protect relics of old, lost gods, maintain prisons, and seem to also mete out punishment. They carry many artifacts and magic items. All Sisters have a black leather glove on their offhand that glows with a reddish, brown light, a crystal ball, a set of dolls, and their deadly rapier - Arevay’s Woe.
CHARACTER DISCOVERED INFORMATION
Dolls hanging throughout the forest
Salvos making camp in the Forest of Dolls
“T'Dragon (T’Darrel) will be using his natural puppylike charisma and persuasion to get people to give him more information than they might otherwise share. His childlike innocence will inspire an over-divulgence of protective information.” 22 - T'Darrel manages to hear more details about things learned from the "survivor" of the Matriarch's Excavation team. The most useful being that the hags' invisibility goes beyond the simple low level spell and it's "different" than the stronger version of the spell. They aren't just invisible to the eye. That's the most they can figure out though.
Aspen Galaadon noticed her name many of the monuments and buildings within the forest. The witches seemed to leave her alone and one, Sister Piel, even played a game of tarot with her. In exchange for playing, Aspen was given what Sister Piel called “the Pallid Mask” and would even let Aspen’s party walk through unharmed by the hags (but promised nothing about the forest itself). Aspen has been visited by visions of Arevay several times since and even overtaken by the avatar of Arevay several times. The first time was the night that Aspen stole the infant child of the Matriarch. Aspen was also overtaken by the avatar of Arevay when Salvos fought the Dent at the Perch.
There seems to be hints of the Black Church in the Feywild. Salvos noticed some glyphs and treasure related to the Black Church within the Dream Dragon’s lair. There might references of them within the Book of Exalted Deeds and other older texts.
The Sisters of the Black Church seem to have powerful mask artifacts that seem similar in some ways to artifacts that the Matriarch, the Governor, the Librarian, the Loch, and the Rat King. There were many parties that swarmed the Forest of Dolls at the same time. Cooperation between Salvos, Ayo, and the Hornet allowed each of them to escape the forest with one jeweled mask artifact. Ayo currently has her mask. The Hornet still has his mask. Salvos turned their mask artifact over to Salvos when confronted by her and before they became allies. This leaves Ayo with two mask pieces.
Salvos was able to unlock a sealed vault in the Forest of Dolls. They removed a potion called Milk of a Great One.
Another adventuring party was also able to unlock a sealed vault in the Forest of Dolls. They removed a potion call Milk of a Great one, a strange flute, and a magical tome that seems to show a living, moving forest and goblin on the cover.
Ayo and the Hornet were able to remove many other artifacts from the Forest of Dolls. It’s not known exactly what was removed.
There were many unopened vaults in the Black Church, even after Ayo and the Hornet’s looting.
Salvos, Ayo, and another adventuring party found references to the Black Church in poetry regarding the Carcosa Catastrophe. The One Hundred seemed to have been Sisters of the Black Church
Fiends to right of them,
Chaos to left of them,
Murk in front of them.
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with all ichor and shell,
Boldly they marched and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Marched the One Hundred.
Salvos, Ayo, and another adventuring party found a prophecy involving the Black Church. Again this references Carcosa and the One Hundred
Two omens usher in the Age of Ruby.
First, the Tincture blessed blood of Carcosian Royalty must be spilled upon the Fallen Hundred's lot.
Last, They must step within the restored Autoclave bearing the Philospher's Stone and the names of the Nephals.
All adventuring parties discovered several abilities of the Sisters of the Black Church. This included the hags’ ability of true sight, shifting between the material plane and the ethereal plane, reading thoughts, scrying, and controlling the weather. All parties were almost completely annihilated by incredibly freezing and hot weather.
