Beatrix

"Soon her pages shall be filled. Soon we shall have all we need." -Aeon She offers rest when you're weary, a soothing touch when you ache, and a warm concoction to help you slumber… of course, once you do fall asleep, she'll steal away your very soul. This is the tale of Beatrix, the Shadow Collector. Renowned as a traveling pellar, Beatrix feigns a healer and spiritual guide who moves quietly from village to village. Her warm smile and gentle hands bring relief to the sick and solace to the troubled, and villagers welcome her with open arms, trusting her wisdom and benevolence. With her deep, twilight eyes, it seems she always manages to draw the trust from even the most wary of souls. Yet, beneath her kind exterior lies a foul agent of the Cursed Cult, a monster disguised as a savior. You see, when night falls in Tya, she begins her sinister work with the Tome of Shadows, an ancient book bound in decrepit leather and inscribed with arcane symbols, gifted to her by Aeon, the Mistress of Oblivion. With it, she invades the dreams of her unsuspecting hosts, trapping their souls within and condemning them to the eternal torment of a shadowy realm until she calls upon them to serve her will. Each night, she selects her victims, delving into their subconscious with predatory grace. In their dreams, she appears as a shadowy apparition, ensnaring their very essence. When the villagers awake, they become husks of their former selves—empty, hollow, unable to think or function. Nothing more than ghostly figures, forever marked by their encounter with the Shadow Collector. By day, Beatrix assumes her role as a compassionate healer, addressing physical ailments and emotional woes. Of course, none suspect that their malaise was caused by the very person they entrusted to cure them in the first place. She moves through Tya like a specter, leaving a trail of broken minds and hollow bodies. Once she has drained a village of its vitality, Beatrix quietly slips away in the night, her book heavier with the souls she has claimed. Over the years, she's left many communities in disarray, their brightest spirits reduced to mere shells. Moving to the next unsuspecting hamlet, she continues her dark pilgrimage, collecting more fodder for the Cursed Cult. And so, in Tya old adages appear to ring true: Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing. And do try and stay awake…