Aideara, the Sky-Sewn Brides
Demon of the First Circle
Progeny of the Meteoric Twins
The aideara are inhumanly beautiful women, idealised copies of the form Kinmaya's lover wore in life. To look at them is almost to fall in love, and it takes a cruel heart or an iron will to raise a hand against one. If one looks closely, the delicate tracery of stitches running across their bodies is visible, like an intricate web of tattoos which accentuate and emphasise their beauty rather than detract from it. Few find themselves in the position to make this discovery, however, for the sky-sewn brides love only Kinmaya, and to love or have sex with another is an Unacceptable Order to them. For all their beauty, they are chaste, and will not consensually accept intimacy with another.
Aideara share one mind in many parts, the transferred consciousness of the woman who Kinmaya fell for in times long past. The love between the Brides and their creator burns strong to this day, and every aideara has a Motivation simply of "Love Kinmaya". She gave her lover more than immortality when she made a race of First Circles from her, though. The aideara are accomplished medics, gifted with the same skill and patient knowledge that allowed Kinmaya to create them in turn. Sewing severed limbs back on, transplanting failing organs or treating trauma wounds from battle comes as naturally to the Sky-Sewn Brides as breathing, and no mortal can match their talent.
Although they may be First Circle demons, they have the heart of one of the Second Circle, and they are, one and all, citizens, for Kinmaya spends much political capital, and gives greatly to the Priests of Cecelyne for such respect to be afforded. Even if that were not true, though, the aideara share a mind, and they do act to revenge themselves should any inhabitant of Malfeas offer discourtesy to any one of them. In this, they show a remnant of the woman they were crafted from, an edge of her sharpness and wit, which they do not show around their lover and creator.
Summoning: (Obscurity 2/3) These demons are often summoned as medics, for transplants or battlefield treatments. In the last five years, they have also been summoned to serve as necrosurgeons, and that they perform with the same calm contentment as they do the repair of an arm. In addition, their collective mind has seen many things, although compared to the teodozija, they are much younger, and have their origin in the Age of Sorrows. Sometimes, when a woman has lived a chaste life of unrequited love, one will be called to her when she dies. Then they will take her apart, and sew their own flesh into her, making a new sister-self from her remains, the old memories added, dimly remembered, to the collective, while they all enjoy the pure love of their beloved. They can also be called out of Malfeas by the tears of such a woman; in those cases, the Bride offers to make her beautiful and give her love unending. If an agreement is made, the woman is smothered by dexterous hands, and remade. Summoners who wish to enjoy their beauty may do so, but from a distance; any attempt to engage in sexual contact with one will cause it to gain one point of Limit an action, and unless ordered to be silent, they will object most strenuously.
Motivation: Love Kinmaya
Virtues: Compassion 5, Conviction 5, Temperance 5, Valour 4
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 7, Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Perception 4
Abilities: Melee 1 (Surgical Tools + 1, In Defence of One's Virtue +2), Integrity 4 (Remaining Faithful +3), Performance 3 (Singing +1, With Kinmaya +2), Presence 2 (Inhuman Beauty +3), Resistance 4 (Resisting Diseases +3), Survival 2, Craft (Air) 3, Craft (Fire) 2, Investigation 1, Lore 2 (Eastern Folk Tales +1, Methods of Life Extension +2), Medicine 6 (Repairing Flesh +1), Occult 5 (Demonology +1, Second Circle Demons +2), Athletics 3, Awareness 2, Dodge 2 (Against Grapples +3), Linguistics 5 (Forest Tongue, Old Realm, plus others), Socialise 3 (Polite Distance +1)
Backgrounds: Backing 3 (Kinmaya)
Thaumaturgy: The Aideara have a Master-level degree in the Art of Demon Summoning, and will instruct others in it; notably, they know "Beckon Kinmaya", and will preferentially teach that to anyone who asks. They are also versed in the Art of Elemental Summoning, the Art of Geomancy, and although they do not make this knowledge available, the Art of the Dead.
Charms:
Divine (Medicine) Subordination– Only on acts of surgery and other kinds of flesh crafting and sewing; it can be used to graft a hand from a fresh corpse onto a person and make it work, but it cannot be used to diagnose or treat disease.
Materialise
Benefaction – Blesses rolls to recover from injury or fight off infection
Touch of Grace – Only to heal, leaves thin scars which do not heal as a Crippling effect. Healing Crippling Effects requires access to spare body parts, which are used in the repair.
Shapechange – May convert her hands into any tools needed for surgery or medical operations.
Portal – To the side of the most injured, still-living person within 10 miles, and affects its user with an irresistible Compulsion to do everything in their power to save the patient.
Divine Perogative – To remain faithful to Kinmaya
Plague of Menaces – Other aideara, and, via a contract of Kinmaya with Alevua, the insects of Malfeas.
Second (Ability) Excellency – Medicine, Integrity, Performance, Resistance
Third (Ability) Excellency – Medicine, Integrity, Occult
Join Battle: 5
Attacks:
Medical Implements: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 5L, PDV 3, Rate 3
Soak: 1L/6B (Perfect Skin +0L/+3B)
Health Levels: -0/ -0/ -0/ -2 / -4/ -4 /-4/Incap
Dodge DV: 3 (5 against grapples)
Willpower: 8
Essence: 4
Essence Pool: 80
Other notes: Much like the teodozija, the aideara share one mind, though they are bound less tightly. With a successful difficulty 4 (Intelligence + Lore) roll by the demon's player, the sky-sewn bride may briefly access the aideara shared mind to learn any information relevant to a situation at hand that is known by any other aideara, or, at difficulty 5, that was known by any mortal woman who was made into a sky-sewn bride. An aideara will tend to accumulate fresh body parts, which, by an application of her saliva, she stops from rotting, which she will use in her medical repairs, and will collect parts from any patients she cannot save to use on ones that she can. They have a refined sense of aesthetics, and so will attempt to make the best match of a part to their current patient, but it is not uncommon to find that a patient now has one arm a different colour to, and more muscular than, the other one. The aideara may only use fresh body parts; ones where rot has set in are useless to them.
