afieromenos

[afieromenos]

The Devoted One, Afieroménos, servant of Hecate, the Goddess of Crossroads

Dressed in ornamental dark gray robes, with features obscured by paint and decorative etching, The Devoted One may at a glance not be recognized as one of the warforged. They are a tall figure, with shoulders broader than their hip, their flowing robes and hood revealing a clear outline of a slender and agile body.

The Devoted One wears a smoothened face plate, painted black with paint that has started to wear thin, with the underlying copper faintly shining through. Thick and oily face-paint draws a skull layered on top of the black face plate, filled in and heavily detailed on the right side, whereas the left side remains simplistic. The Devoted One’s eyes are the same as all warforged, bright sky blue and vibrantly shining, though an occasional flicker can be seen.

Content Table

Appearance Detail

Background and Motivation

Gender and Pronouns

Function, Skill and Structural Integrity

Personality and Values

Faith and Rites

Summary

Appearance Detail

Though usually hidden by the hood, each side of The Devoted One’s head has yet another skull depicted, making for three faces. This is to honor Hecate, effectively making herself a Hekataion; a religious idol that depicts Hecate with three bodies, each facing a different direction, symbolizing her many divine gifts as well as her role as a Goddess of crossroads.

Under her robes, The Devoted One wears her religious symbol hung around her neck. It is in the shape of a key, symbolizing the Goddess Hecate’s divinity as a deity of the home, of the city, of borders and gates, offering divine guidance for those who come and go, for those who pass through from this world to the next.

In her left hand, The Devoted One carries a light wooden staff that has freshly been picked clean. A crude inscription reads Hekate Lampadephoros, denoting the Goddess Hecate as the goddess of light, the moon, and her role as a guide to those who are lost, who search for knowledge, or for those who wander the dark of the night.

On her right arm, The Devoted One has an inscription reading Hekate Enodia, denoting the goddess Hecate as the goddess of crossroads, of journeys, of the transitive state, of the living, the dead, and the undead.

The colorful paint on the faceplate is not permanent, but is rather cleaned off before rest and fitted once more afterwards. It is akin to makeup, and The Devoted One has many different variations of the base motive, and may choose different colors, styles or different levels of detail depending on mood and circumstances. Because of the constant washing and painting the black permanent paint that covers the copper of the face plate has started to fade.

The Devoted One is fascinated with the hair many humanoids posses, and may mimic the appearance of hair by wearing wreaths of leaved branches for ceremonial or recreational purposes. The hems of The Devoted One’s robes are ornate with muted colors. Red, purple and yellow threads have been embroidered into the fabric, creating a strangely vivid pattern, matching some of the usual colors of their face paint.

Background and Motivation

Originally from south of Faerûn, The Devoted One recently arrived to the Sword Coast, landing by boat after a long journey.

As a warforged, The Devoted One was built for war, though they are reluctant to speak of the past and the circumstances of their creation. The Devoted One considers their life as an instrument of war a past life; she was reborn as a servant of Hekate, her earliest memory being that of the moonlight bathing her form in a moment of peaceful serenity, guiding her to Hecate’s side.

After her religious awakening she searched far and wide for a temple she considered suitable. As an acolyte, The Devoted One trained in a temple dedicated to Hecate for a number of years. The head cleric of that Temple is a person The Devoted One respects greatly despite their somewhat complex relationship. He, a human named Stelios, was the one who gave The Devoted One her name, Afieroménos. The name is a product of many years’ discussion and bargaining, as The Devoted One wanted a good and suitable name, and was quick to scrutinize most suggestions. The name means “devoted” in an old and obscure dialect native to the temple’s founder. Though The Devoted One answers to Afieroménos, they may do so reluctantly. However, they are not opposed to the idea of a conventional name.

Having left the temple, The Devoted One searches for ways to honor Hecate and learn of the world. Her main motivation lays as a devotee of Hecate, but as Hecate is a versatile Goddess, by definition all-encompassing, she may find joy in many simple things and she has a natural sense of curiosity.

The Devoted One is older than 10 years of age, but younger than 20.

Gender and Pronouns

The Devoted One understands gender as something not defined by form or associated with appearance. As a warforged, they were created without gender or pronouns in mind. However, since meeting with Hecate, The Devoted One feels a connection to womanhood in her role as her servant and devotee. Since she started modeling herself as a Hekataion this became all the more profound. The Devoted One will therefore refer to herself using she/her pronouns when speaking in regards of her role in relation to Hecate or when speaking of herself as an individual of faith. However, on a personal level, they may use they/them to speak of their own thoughts, ideas and doings outside of their relationship with Hecate.

Though The Devoted One appreciates when others follow the same convention, they will regardless accept both she/her and they/them interchangeably without any issue in casual conversation. However, they take offense at being called “it” or “that”, though such emotional responses tend to be internalized.

Function, Skill and Structural Integrity

Over the years, The Devoted One has had a number of body modifications done. Some are cosmetic and others relate to function. The Devoted one is quite dexterous compared to a standard model. Their build is also lighter and leaner than the average standard model warforged, however, they retain a tall stature and though vaguely, some of the visually intimidating properties of a classic, standard model warforged remain.

The Devoted One has a number of different schools of magic represented in their repertoire. They are drawn towards magic that uses light, as they associate light with Hecate. For the same reason, they are also fond of necromancy, though their thoughts on such practices are unconventional.

Inexplicably, they may go into recovery mode, regardless of circumstance. Using their Sentry’s Rest ability, they may be able to remain conscious while resting and recharging.

Personality and Values

The Devoted One has a fairly withdrawn and collected personality. Despite this, they are quite curious, and generally enjoy meeting new people. They feel the most at home on the road, and in rural communities. A big city can bring many new and interesting sights, but they prefer to not stay for too long.

They are generally critical of people in authority. As they see it, the role of a leader is to server their people, not the other way around. They may have some opinions other may consider extreme, opposing the existence of kings and rulers who hold large domains. Though they themselves exist within a clerical hierarchy, they oppose many components of the system they themselves are part of and they are critical of organized religion as it gives some individuals too much power. This criticism can get in the way of things and cause conflict, hence why they had a complicated relationship with their mentor as well as with many of their fellow acolytes. In their temple, The Devoted One gained a reputation of being a stubborn contrarian prone to questioning everyone and everything. This was largely because the matter of faith and the servitude to Hecate are matters of great deal to The Devoted One. She feels strongly that it should be the gods, deities, and other divine beings that command those of the faith, not those within the cult.

In general, The Devoted One is amicable and unassuming. They admire the other races, as well as the flora and fauna found in nature. They do however, feel a stronger connection to the undead than to that of the living. That is because, like the undead, they were created, not born. The Devoted One does not see necromancy as a sacrilege. To them, it is merely yet another type of being in this world, and they see the world as richer and more plentiful with undead beings in it.

Though they are critical of people in authority, they see teacher and student relationships and master and servant relationship as natural dynamics that are just another type of bond, comparable to that of family or friendship bonds. If the people in those relationships care for one another and respect one another, there is no problem. In their own interpersonal relationships, The Devoted One tends to be somewhat naive, as they are still quite young. They are curious of people and may thus ignore difference in opinion or goal to sate the curiosity and see their companionship with others as an opportunity to learn of the world and the different folk that live in it.

The Devoted One is largely uninterested in concepts of good and evil, but they do care about intent and effect. Integrity and freedom are very important to them, and they are important in practice rather than in rhetoric alone; they are concepts that touch every aspect of life.

They are aware of their existence and opinions as controversial, and they understand that other people may not agree with them. They are generally not hurt when people reject their thoughts and ideas, but will in contrast become very happy to meet people who share their opinions or who are swayed by their ideals.

Faith and Rites

The Devoted One celebrates Hecate’s Deipnon each month at the night of the new moon. These nights when the moon does not shine, are nights of repentance, of purification, and of giving. The Devoted One may go through her belongings one by one, clean her robes, and burn incense as the robes are left to dry. She may perform rites to soothe the restless dead, and dedicate prayers to the living in need. A sacrifice may be made to Hecate. A donation of food, money and other resources that have accumulated under the course of the month may be made to the local community.

On the nights of Deipnon, The Devoted One is generally preoccupied, and in a good, if solemn, mood. They may be more open and honest about their feelings than usual, and may become emotional and more easily swayed to speak of the past and of personal matters. She will be more inclined to help and guide others in whatever way she can, but may also be more judgmental and irrational. Deipnon is a holy night for The Devoted One, and though she does not require others to participate, she wishes strongly that people be respectful.

As snakes and dogs, in particular black female dogs, are associated with Hecate, The Devoted One may be reluctant or unwilling to harm such creatures or desecrate imagery depicting them. In the event that she’s forced due to circumstances to harm, or worse, kill a snake or dog, she will be subjected to a fair amount of emotional turmoil. This is not because she believes such creatures necessarily embody or represent Hecate, rather the symbolic representation alone of such creatures are of great significance to her.

Summary

The Devoted One is an avid devotee of the Goddess Hecate. They are a warforged, though their appearance can be misleading. They practice necromancy, but far from exclusively. They are reluctant to speak of the times before they became a cleric, seeing it more as “a past life” than “a past”.

With many unconventional thoughts and opinions, they are regardless quite accepting and open-minded. They are neutral, but highly value the freedom and integrity of others, making them critical of authority. They are relatively impersonal and serious. However, because of their youth they can be naive, but also curious, making them amicable towards and interested in meeting many different types of people.