Origin: Bezantur, Thay
Age: 28
Race: Human (Mulan)
Sex: Female
Deity: Loviatar
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Class: Cleric/Hierophant/Monk
Monastic Order: Disciples of the White Rod
Known Affiliations: Red Wizards of Thay, The Black Abbey of Bane
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
Weight: 145lbs (67 kg)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Half-shaved short hair
General Health: Good
Profession: Priestess; Torturer
Habits/Hobbies: Reading, Administering disciplined punishment to those who deserve it most, Inflicting pain, Advancing her faith
Languages: Common, Thayan, Infernal, Celestial
Weapons of Choice: Her fists, Flogging weapons: Whips, Flails, Scourges
Theme Tune
Appearance
Naoli Ansalab is tall, muscular, has brown eyes and a slightly darker skin tone than most locals.
She keeps her hair short, with a half-shaved hairstyle.
She has a black tattoo of a two headed serpent on the shaved half of her head.
On her belt she often keeps a nine tailed scourge, the stock braided with dark leather that splits into nine tongues. Each strip punctured with bits of glass, bone and metal.
Personality Profile
Focused, capable of a balancing act between strict discipline and inviting manner/joviality.
Background
The sound of prayer filled the room.
Naoli knelt, the cold stones of the Manor draining the warmth from her.
She opened her eyes to gaze upon the ongoing prayers to Loviatar.
A sister in faith from the disciples of the White Rod had come to visit and the priests and initiates to the faith were getting ready to perform a pain rite.
In the center of the room various candles were placed several feet apart. A man or a woman fully naked moved onto a position next to a candle and so did Naoli, an initiate still. After a short speech and a prayer the chanting and singing began, although none of them in unison. After some time, each person would pass a body part over the flame of their candle, often holding it for various seconds.
During her young years, she was taught the importance and need for pain and suffering and studied the best ways to inflict it. Pain purified the soul, and shielding others from suffering only made them weak and unprepared for the tortures the world would subject them to.
When she reached her teen years, she was taken to the lower level of the Manor where she was told to exercise what she had learned for the first time. Her victim was another priestess who had volunteered to be on the receiving end of the whip so that the initiates of the faith could practice their craft and some day they too could do the will of the Maiden of Pain.
This visit from her sister from Calimshan who displayed immense wisdom along with her fascinating tales left her lost for words.
Naoli naively asked her to take her with her so she too could become a disciple of the White Rod. The sister gave her a judging look and through her expression Naoli noticed that the sister was going to decline. The young Naoli promised to offer all of her belongings that she had inherited when her parents died to the monastery in exchange for safe passage and being given a chance there. The priestess warned her that this life wasn't for everyone and that if she were to regret it, they were not going to bring her back to Thay, This was a one way trip.
Ten years later at the age of 26, Naoli returns to Thay from her years at the Monastic temple. She wished to bring her new learnt wisdom to her brothers in Thay. She rejoined the Loviatar's Manor in Bezantur and began teaching Loviatar's ways there.
One day a noble woman approached their Manor. The woman had been convinced by a friend to join the faith. By chance, Naoli was the one who spent the most time with her, instructing her in the ways of the Maiden of Pain and soon the two became good friends.
It was when Naoli visited the noble woman's house that she met her husband, an accomplished Red Wizard. The two locked eyes and just a few days later they were having a secret affair.
This opened up new doors for her as she began doing jobs of small importance for the Red Wizard which gradually grew in importance, completing them meticulously and perfectly.
Two years went by and she was recommended to the Guild of Foreign Trade and sent to the Baldur's Gate enclave to aid the Red Wizards in any matters of the divine and to act as an expert in the field of torture and information 'extraction'.
Disciples of the White Rod
The Disciples of the White Rod were a monastic order of the faith of Loviatar. All monks of the faith were members of the order. They were based out of an abbey near Calimport.
They were named after a token bestowed on the order's founder by the goddess herself. It was kept as a holy relic at their abbey
Bezantur
Bezantur, also known as the City of a Thousand Temples, and the Citadel of Thieves, was a foreboding but prosperous port city located at the southern coast of the Thayan tharch of Priador. It was as diverse a place that could be found in the nation, a religious hub for those oppressed by the centuries-long rule of the Red Wizards and their strict adherence to the worship of magic above all else.
Though it lacked the joy and hope offered by the great metropolises of western Faerun, it was the heart and soul of Thay, famous for its great harbor that opened up into the Alamber Sea.
After arriving by ship, from the pier one could see the slave markets just beyond the wharf. Masses of filthy bodies milled about in pens while auctioneers yelled out bids. The markets rivaled the many temples as the dominant feature of Thay's largest city. One could see the spires of various religious structures rising above the tangled skyline. The whole city was a chaotic jigsaw whose pieces didn't quite fit.
A mix of human, gnoll, and goblin guards lounged against the black stone of the Central Citadel which housed the current Tharchion, harassing pedestrians who wandered too close.
(TOT map)
Loviatar's Manor
The manor was just a couple of blocks east of the Central Citadel. It was built into a hillside, with extensive grounds consisting of graveled walkways that wound through well-manicured lawns.
The main building, a sprawling affair of stonework, unadorned except for the low relief of a barbed scourge carved above the lintel of the entrance, its nine tails spread out like a fan. It had an Iron-bound wooden door with a knocker.
Candlelight glowed from small coves carved in the walls in the small entry hall, creating more shadow than illumination. Opposite the front entrance was a great open archway that led into the main sanctum where the rites were performed.
The Manor also had sleeping quarters which housed it's initiates and priests.
There was a flight of steps at the end of the hall. Downstairs, the floor was composed of packed dirt and there were iron-banded doors of thick, rough wood set every ten feet in damp, rock walls that glistened in the torchlight. Each door had a small, barred window which hid the heinous acts that happened inside.
The Manor in 1354 was lead by Headmistress Mylra. The robes of her office were a red so deep it was almost black, highlighted by crimson and gold thread along the cuffs and hem. Her head was covered in a ceremonial hat of similar material that was shaped to resemble two horns protruding from the sides of her head, with a thin, gold charm hanging from each tip that hid the tattoos covering her shaved scalp. She often had thick lines of kohl circling her eyes and her lips painted a dark red.
Goals
- To prove that the worship of Loviatar is beneficial to any society
- To legalize the worship of Loviatar in Baldur's Gate
- To expand the influence of the Red Wizards of Thay
- To aid in the restoration efforts of the temple of Bane below Soubar and the subsequent construction of a shrine to Loviatar in those halls
- To recruit more faithful of Loviatar to the Black Abbey