:: Esha and Aasha, Serpentfolk Mage and Companion ::

As a follow-up to my tale Medusa and the Serpentine Gallery, I give you the matriarch of the Serpentine family, and oldest living daughter of Medusa of Wellstan, Esha Serpentine. Included are the stats for Esha's serpent companion, Aasha.

Esha and Aasha

:: Medusa and the Serpentine Gallery ::

I consider traditional fantasy an apt love letter to the fertile legends and folklore of our ancestors, but with the unfortunate side effect that they rarely explain the origins of the strange inherent forms and magical origins found in the source material. Is every minotaur in a role-playing game the love child of a lusty queen and a bull as the traditional myths recount? Why do werewolves transform into wolves at the full moon? Why do sirens sing so beautifully that ships wreck themselves upon the rocks?

In the spirit of explaining where medusas come from in my world, I present to you Medusa and the Serpentine Gallery.

Medusa and the Serpentine Gallery
by Wm Jay Carter III

Once there was a family of artisans who came to the city of Wellstan. They were all exceptional painters, potters, and carvers, but one daughter, Medusa, was a sculptor of surpassing skill. It was said that her work was so life-like that—once it was painted—it could hardly be distinguished from the subject.

Medusa was as beautiful as she was talented, and when the family came to the city, she was sought after by many suitors, who continuously crowded her with their pleas of devotion. “Come to the gallery,” she would tell them. “If you truly wish to know me, come and see my work, for there is my true soul for all to see.”

:: Mollymauk Tealeaf (ToA) ::

Mollymauk Tealeaf is one of my favorite characters from the latest season of Critical Role. Avoiding spoilers and long-windedness, I felt it was a fitting tribute to Taliesin Jaffe and his creation to include Molly in my own campaign as an NPC. In the Tales of Athanasia universe, Molly is a tiefling wunderkind who throws tarot cards with fey flair and telekinetically assaults his foes with a silver scimitar.


I give you Mollymauk Tealeaf (Tales of Athanasia).

Art credit: Fiona Staples

:: Sparrowville (Wellstan), Tundra City ::

Emerging from the tree line, you see the City of Wellstan come out of hiding. High on the cliff to your left is the mage's academy, large and imposing, creeping as it were over the edge as if ready to jump from the top of the icy waterfall to come crashing down on the common buildings below. The blanket of night offers camouflage for the numerous winged forms flying up and down from the city to the academy and back, the sequins of stars being blackened only momentarily as seraphs pass before them.

A century ago, Wellstan was a miserable, blustery place, plagued with bitter winds and constant snowstorms. Then a young córvean woman—the archmage of the local Weather Guild—discovered that the storms were caused by the presence of a particularly strong ley node atop the cliff that overshadowed the town. To manage the location, the Wizard's Tribunal built a tower over the ley node and announced that they would appoint a wizard to reside there.

The people of Wellstan welcomed the security and resources a wizard would bring to their humble community. That is, until they discovered who had been given stewardship over the tower—the archmage of the Weather Guild herself. Though a talented magical practitioner, she was criticized by the townspeople for having the absent-mindedness of a sparrow. All watched with a mix of anxiety and trepidation as she was granted a staff, the coveted title of wizard, and residence at the newly-built tower as a reward for her discovery.

:: Themadale, Savanna Settlement ::

As you approach the settlement ahead on the sweltering, parched savanna, you are met with the sight of a hauntingly roomy collection of buildings. As you get closer you realize that the largest is a clinic, with several duckfolk coming and going, all with head trauma. Near the cairn at the edge of the settlement's boundaries, you overhear a young bórean chastising a leonian cub:

"No more going to the shallow cave, Gwandoya. From here on out, you can go no further than the glen. Just because you run a bookshop doesn't mean you're immortal. Look at the other folk who went looking for the buckler. I know they say it's gold, but who's seen it? And the pendants of protection the clinic keeps passing out clearly don't work."

:: Loot Batch #2 ::

:: Lalawethika, Siren Aristocrat ::

The male merfolk before you wears rustic clothing and a gloomy expression. As he pulls himself out of the water you see a long tail follow after, swathed with swooping tropical patterns. After he finds a suitable place to coil this tail and sit upright, you notice that one of his fingers has been replaced with a prosthetic one made from fishbone. Scaly leather stretches where the webbing would be, held in place by rings at the base and tip of the neighboring fingers. "Allow me. To introduce. Myself." says the siren noble in his low, helpful voice, being careful and deliberate with his words. "I am. Lalawethika. Let us discuss. The matter at hand."