#gischel

The Maid

She shares an intricate and tangled bond with the paladin, Michel.

She first appears as a woman with a beautiful yet ominous smile, entering Michel’s dreams as his dream guradien, and addresses him reverently as “Master.”

When Michel asks her name, she says:

“If I may… I wish to be your Dream Duardien”

To Michel, who has lost all his memories and is now host to an illithid tadpole, she swears to protect him always, to stand by his side, and fight against the Absolute. Behind the mask of her smile, her devotion seems utterly sincere.

And yet, for reasons unknown, she has stayed by Michel’s side ever since their journey began.

When they are ambushed by Githzerai, her true form as an illithid can no longer be hidden.

The llithid call herself as “The Maid.” According to the story she tells, long ago, when she became a renegade illithid, she was saved by her Master. She swore her loyalty to him then, but a terrible tragedy tore them apart. Afraid that her Master, his memory gone, would reject an illithid, she chose to appear in disguise. She begs for his forgiveness and for the chance to continue serving him.

It is true that she has protected Michel and his party all along. But the strange “encouragement” she offered him from their very first meeting returns once more.

“Master, please imagine yourself with strength, wisdom, and beauty that surpass even mine… I see… you are not ready yet. Please hold fast to that vision. I am your endlessly patient maid, and I shall rejoice to see you embrace your true potential whenever you are ready, Master.”

To her, the gift of the illithid is nothing less than a divine blessing.

“You need not fear that we shall return to the enslavement of the Elder Brain. I will never allow it. The only Master I recognize… is you.”

Beneath her devout exterior lies a conspiracy far too dangerous to ignore.

(tip: Tucked at her waist, on her skirt, is a rose that never wilts—though she cannot remember why she, an illithid, would do such a thing.)

Michel the Paladin

He is a drow paladin named Michel.

When he awoke aboard the Nautiloid, that was all he knew. Despite his pale skin, at first glance he looked more like a high elf. Of his past, he remembered nothing at all.

He was certain he had forgotten something vital, and swore to recover his memories and uncover the truth.

After the Nautiloid crashed, he formed a party with others who had also been implanted with tadpoles, and set out on their journey. The moment his relic met him, it refused to leave his side. Confused as he was, he also felt an indescribable… sorrow.

It was in that dream he first met the Guardian.

Her voice was gentle, yet her smile carried an ominous air — and against his usual nature, he found himself willing to follow her hints, driven only by a feeling he could not ignore.

When the illithid known as The Maid offered him the astral tadpole, he gently declined.

“But I don’t want to hold onto it… still, it seems important to her.”

Michel could sense, faintly, that whether it was the past Maid spoke of… or the Absolute…

None of the truth was merely what it appeared to be.