Vildeis
Sacrifice
Scars
Vildeis, the Cardinal Martyr is an angel empyreal lord fanatically dedicated to the eradication of all evil everywhere. Other goodly divine beings may rail against the sins of the wicked, but none has devoted themselves as wholeheartedly to its destruction than Vildeis. Driven by her abhorrence of evil, Vildeis relentlessly pursues a crusade across the planes, unable to find rest or enjoy any comforts until all evil is utterly destroyed, seeking no material rewards for so doing.123
History
It is said that when Vildeis first emerged from Heaven and learned of the existence of evil in the Great Beyond, she tore out her eyes so that she would no longer see its foul touch throughout existence.1
Home
Mercilessly driven by her cause, Vildeis forgoes a permanent home and endlessly travels the Great Beyond, searching for evildoers to kill. Legends across the planes speak of her sudden appearance single-handedly turning fights in favour of the good. Those who seek to encounter Vildeis must follow rumours of her passing.12
Appearance
Vildeis appears as a brutally scarred human woman, each scar shaped like a symbol representing one of her sacrifices, clad in miles of bloodstained bandages. Her empty eyes are covered in crimson ribbons, and she flies with a pair of large red wings. Vildeis possesses a magical curved dagger called Cicatrix that is never far from her, and which she uses to carve scars on others, infusing them with her zeal. Those that stand near her hear a cacophony of screams, originally uttered by martyrs across the Great Beyond.14
Cults
Vildeis is worshipped by the most zealous and incorruptible crusaders, priests, and judges, who view her as an unattainable exemplar. A harsh mistress, Vildeis demands her followers to strictly follow her tenets and utterly commit themselves to the fight against evil, giving up families and material wealth, and expecting only one reward: sacrifice in the service of good. Those who give their lives might rest in this reward, but the most faithful and talented can serve once again as Vildeis' servants. If they fall out of favour (which happens often), they are expelled from Vildeis' cult but encouraged to do good under less strict masters.14
Vildeis' warpriests outnumber both clerics and inquisitors. They dutifully follow her dogma to eradicate evil and heal those who have suffered at its hands, as each good person she saves is another committed to the fight against evil.5
Self-mortification, though not mandatory, is commonly practiced by Vildeis' most devout followers. Those who wholly embrace scarification are known as scar seekers. 46
Minions
Vildeis counts coatls,7 angels of law, peris, and shedus among her minions.1
References
For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 “Lords of the Empyrean” in Chronicle of the Righteous, 27. Paizo Inc., 2013 .
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary 4, 92. Paizo Inc., 2013 .
- ↑ “Demigods and Other Divinities” in Gods & Magic, 84. Paizo Inc., 2020 .
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary 4, 93. Paizo Inc., 2013 .
- ↑ “Battlefield Medicine” in Healer's Handbook, 12. Paizo Inc., 2017 .
- ↑ “Scar Seeker” in Paths of the Righteous, 26. Paizo Inc., 2016 .
- ↑ Paizo referred to coatls as couatls until the publication of Monster Core.
- Vildeis
- Empyreal lords
- Demigods
- Angel/Inhabitants
- Lawful good deities
- Lawful good creatures
- Heaven/Inhabitants
- Destruction domain deities
- Good domain deities
- Healing domain deities
- Law domain deities
- Archon subdomain deities
- Martyr subdomain deities
- Rage subdomain deities
- Resurrection subdomain deities
- CR 28 creatures
- Outsiders
- Angel subtype creatures
- Extraplanar subtype creatures
- Good subtype creatures
- Lawful subtype creatures
- Any environment creatures
- Duty domain deities (2E)
- Pain domain deities (2E)
- Sorrow domain deities (2E)
- Zeal domain deities (2E)