BUILD YOUR OWN WORLD Like what you see? Become the Master of your own Universe!

Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild

Miss Willa Zill'xar Web Weaver, singer of epic ballads and poems,

Lime Light:

    A famous bard from the Drow Kingdom of Zarlan residing in the capital city of Websroost, who is kind, well respected, and well traveled. Trained since childhood in the bardic arts, Miss Willa Zill'xar Web Weaver's main source of self expression is singing, with a focus on gothic horrors which incorporate spider décor, along with instruments strung from High grade spider webs which gives the music a dark tone to it. Her singing alone isn't what makes her stand out however, with her naturally light blue hair, teal eyes, obsidian skin, and sharp ears, Miss Willa captures the room's attention as soon as she walks in. Miss Willa and her entourage play all venues across Boscage 4 with various productions based on desire, but their favorite venues are theaters, since they offer the largest concentrated crowds, unlike festival grounds.   She fights for Aso, Patron Saint of Story Tellers and Emerald Eyed Thinker and Anansi, Patron Saint of Story Tellers and Blue Eyed Trickster, for her people of Zarlan, for the Drows' dream to repopulate the stars so they can weave their great web kingdoms again, and embrace their old cousins the Eladrin, because their time on Boscage 4 has been a time of mourning. Miss Willa is the main act, but loves to surrounded by fellow musicians that fit the current theme, and since Zarlan is a flourishing democratic nation with cultural protection and freedom of expression laws enforced, she's been able to carry on Boscage 4's oral history over the last 300 years or so. Other kingdoms have seen their oral history and traditions come and go with various dictators, lords, and monarchs, so many researchers on Boscage 4 are glad Zarlan perseveres, just so they can visit the great libraries of Zarlan to re learn their past.   Their number one production this year has been, "Tales of blood rage", an epic saga about Radioactive blood vampirism and the effects it has on loved ones in your community. The show incorporates blood fountains and various other vampire themed elements, but as usual there are elements of web work throughout the set. As an act of kindness, anyone infected with Radioactive blood vampirism is given an opportunity to help on set and paid in gold and radioactive blood, their only source of nutrition. This was an original production, but miss Willa mostly focuses her attention on learning and spreading all songs that she comes across, of course to make them her own, giving credit to the original creator. Because of this, for the last 300+ years miss Willa and her entourage have preserved a lot of culture and spread happiness to Boscage 4 as much as possible. These deeds have gotten her many thanks from local historians and musicians, and her name is credited in many history texts that discuss art and culture.    

Shadow Life:

    In those 300+ years miss Willa has gone through many trials and tribulations to get to where she's at, and I don't mean the 12 - 20 hour days six days a week. No the random assassination attempts, air pirate attacks, rumor mongering, and occasional war have hardened miss Willa into a operator of the highest degree, and she has stab wound scars and acid burns to prove it. Backed by the Kingdom of Zarlan as a shadow agent, miss Willa has been keeping tabs on all enemies of the empire since day 1. The bardic stuff was just an act, an act she grew to appreciate, but an act none the less, which was easy since she trained with theater troupes in her youth. Her prime directive is to collect information and not get caught, which has been pretty easy with her fame as a cover. She's exposed to so many people everyday, and alcohol has been known to loosen lips, and when that doesn't work a nice mind probe does the trick.   However, in those 300 years miss Willa has seen a lot of pain and suffering and does like to make people happy with her music, and is pleased her people wanted to move on from their old goddess Lolth to another that approached her when she touched the World Tree. As she touched the World Tree she started to weep blood and her body glowed with vibrant green energy, and from that day on she was no longer an agent of Zarlan, but an agent for Boscage 4, and soon to be the intergalactic star web, for it's weave has been corrupted by the Demon Web Pits. She defected from her empire for a while and went rogue, being sent dreams directly from the World Tree, which lead to some gruesome conflicts, but all in the name of scrubbing the contamination from Boscage 4.   This disappearance baffled most of Boscage 4 as Miss Willa wasn't seen or heard from for about 3 years, but shadow rumors bubbled to the surface that many of Lolth's remaining temples were either abandoned or filled with dead servants. When Miss Willa eventually showed back up in Zarlan, she said she was in hiding due to stress and needed to detox from fame and fortune, which most people believed and were all too happy to have their favorite bard back to care otherwise. A few conspiracy theories about changelings and the fairy community did come to light, but most were banished as the fey courts vehemently refused they kidnapped the original meat body, willing to go under oath and use lie detection.    

Star light:

    In her old age miss Willa really did stop caring about other peoples opinions', being mission focused, but to be fair miss Willa is a bit edgy even for her own people of Zarlan. She's one of the best diplomats their empire has and they love her for her efforts, and her public relations have helped the Drow people of Boscage 4 gain a permanent foot hold on the surface and give up their old goddess Lolth, for their new goddess Twi Ananse the great song spider who weaves great webs across all worlds. This has embittered Lolth towards Boscage 4 who has gone to great lengths to try and get it back from her old servants, actively wanting to stop them from returning to the stars, preferring to bind them to the Demon Web Pits.   Miss Willa isn't phased, she's on her final journey to attain demi god hood for her people, and she quests in the name of light and travel. Her people still have not produced a demi god in the last 4,000 years and she's about half way there, so it's on her shoulders to finish the last half, and why not? With that power to support their new goddess Twi Ananse, the Drow of Boscage 4 will overcome all of their enemies and weave the star ways like the old days, able to help Drow of other planets tear down Lolth's temples. This isn't a physical battle, but a spiritual one.   But even as her new goddess Twi Ananse beacons her toward the stars, an elder being of immense power calls at her in her dreams, wanting her to come explore it's oceans. It's dreams are made of non sense and hog wash, but as she swims deeper into them they've turned from a collective nightmare to a cohesive vision of the future. Perhaps Twi Ananse isn't powerful enough to thwart Lolth's temple across the galaxy, and perhaps they could use help?    

Story Time With Miss Willa Web Weaver:

   
[Miss Willa speaking to children at story time]: This is a story I heard whilst on an archeological dig in the Devil's Teeth Mountain Range with professor Nimfoodler, which he believes has it's roots as far back as 4,000 years ago, when my people made planet fall on Boscage 4. I'm blessed to have met him as he was a very kind hearted Gnome and had a razor sharp mind, but never doubted his intuition even though he kept telling me, "Intuition isn't a proofing mechanism, but my guts have something to say to me." Here goes children, [Miss Willa clears her throat and then in a gruff Professor Nimfoodler voice]: "Drow Story: The eagle, the raven, and the spider: There once was a great Eagle that lorded it's might over the land, but was very greedy with it's knowledge, so the Raven stole it to spread it to the community. Eagle was very angry so he had his flock find Raven and they imprisoned him before he could spread the word. Thankfully spider was there to keep Raven company and started to weave the sounds into the web to pass on to her young. When her young hatched they learned to read the web and slowly started to spread it over Boscage 4, and that's how we have our stories today."
   

Attack on Lolth's Temple:

   
[Drow priestess speaking to her Matron mother about last night's attack at them temple during the Lolth's day celebration]"Matron mother, we don't know exactly what happened, but it seems that whoever did this had a keen understanding of our movements and timing. They waited until we were in mid chant at our crescendo, and then we hear the most blasphemous word I won't even repeat. About a third of the priestesses died of shock right then and there, while third or so suffered from a combination of blindness, deafness, and catatonic staring. All of the fiends we had summoned from the Abyss vanished in a puff of smoke and say their services are spent, since you would need to re summon them and agree on new terms for another contract."   [Matron Mother clenches her fist as she sits there staring at the messenger]: "WHAT!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE SUMMONING DEMONS IS!?! Did you get any information on who did this deed?"   [Drow priestess looks hesitant]: "No, but we..."   [Matron Mother stern but calm]: "But we what?"   [Drow priestess looks down and mumbles]: "No, we don't have any substantial information on who did this."   [Matron Mother stern but calm, with red glowing eyes]: "Find more information, then tell me who did this. You may use whatever means necessary, tell my master of artifice to let you have his best scrying equipment, and be patient. Revenge is a dish best served frozen, then covered in hot oil and flash fried. Now leave me!"   [Drow priestess clicks her boots and leaves before she is killed]: "Yes matron mother!"   [Matron Mother calms down and rubs her forehead as she prays to Lolth]: "The things I endure to become a Yolchol. Thank you Lolth for these trials and tribulations, since it's only power earned that should rule, not entitled weakness."
   

Local News around Boscage 4:

   
[Gnomish father reading "The Sky Garden Informant" newspaper to his family at the dinner table, originally published 173 BCE]:
Famous bard attacked at show last night, article by Kenny Cat Scheppen
"Famous bard Willa Web Weaver was on stage last night when an acid trap exploded improperly and burned her legs, whilst members of the audience suffered damages as well. Miss Willa and the crowd are recovering from their wounds just fine, as on set clerics and medical assistants rushed to aid the injured before the acid hit their critical organs. According to Professor Grim Stone the trap was designed to kill, not maim, but one of the components was faulty and the device exploded out of it's sides not out the top towards the band like intended. No evidence has cropped up to point to one assailant, but detectives and sniffers are on the hunt to find out who would do such a dastardly deed to our beloved bard."
     
Thank you for the contest World Anvil, good luck to all the participants,
necroticnarrator
   

Quotes from the Citizens of Boscage 4:

   
"Miss Willa's music is really haunting and scary, but it's really exciting too. Look at my autograph!"
— Quotes from fans
 
"Yeah Willa's hot stuff for sure, she's the best stage performer we've seen, even though she usually re makes other artists' work. At least she always makes it her own thing, turns it into that gothic stuff the kids love these days."
— Quotes from peers
 
"Would it kill you to try and create something for Boscage 4? Probably too busy re making old history into recycled junk."
— Quotes from rivals
 
"Miss Zilla has helped guide our people out of the darkness into the starlight, Lolth was a burden on our progress."
— Quotes from Drow Kingdom of Zarlan
 
""Tales of Blood Rage" is amazing and an original production too! The blood effects were awesome and she even served blood punch, which was the best cherry cider I've ever had in my life. Maybe she used illusions or something, but I swear I saw fingers floating in the punch bowls."
— Quotes from young adults
 
"Holy Twi Ananse miss Willa Zill'xar Web Weaver's in town for a book reading! Mom, dad, can we go please!"
— Quotes from children
 
"Gasp, ahhhgg ...", last sounds as they're garroted.
— Quotes from enemies
 
"I'm telling you it's like she didn't exist before she came onto the music scene. No back history, no photos, no nothing, like she just appeared from thin air. There's a steady stream of information that goes back 300 years, then the trail just goes cold."
— Gnomish conspiracy theorists and investigators chat as they look up Miss Willa's history in the Sky Garden record vaults.
 
"Miss Web Weaver is one of our best customers, and because of her matronage we have invented many new musical items that create sound effects for her intricate performances. These techniques of course were imitated which made us huge profits."
— Artisan's Guild
 
"Lolth and her allies remember miss Willa, her name is written into the webs of the demonic pits, we know no bounds, our resources are endless."
— Quotes from Lolth's temple
 
"Thank you star child for your help, I know you serve the World Tree for yourself, but you serve me for your people. Fear not, we will prevail, Lolth's story is old and boring and about to be re written."
— Quotes from Twi Ananse
 
"Fear not, your deeds will be remembered on my bark, the odds are in your favor, spider will probably get to re populate the stars."
— Quotes from the World Tree
 
"Lolth needs to keep her claws to herself, my tentacles desire miss Web Weaver and I have a fey contract with her name written all over it."
— Quotes from Cthulhu
Children

Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild

Comments

Please Login in order to comment!
Feb 9, 2022 09:03

Intersting character. Especially like how she aims to become a demi god not only for herself but also to free her people. Bloodfountain performances really do seem fitting for the gothic theme :p I am still wondering though what the great web is. Were there multiple planes connected or something and now not anymore due to being in the Demon Pits?   Btw you can put the quotes in quote blocks to make the different from the other text :) It would also be nice to add some headers in the large text section to divide it a bit.

Feel free to check my new world Terra Occidentalis if you want to see what I am up to!
Feb 9, 2022 17:25

Thanks for the input, I'll give your suggestions a try.

Feb 9, 2022 18:18

A well written character, although potentially take the mention of level 20 out of the text body and only have it in the stat block.   Following up on what Kefke said putting the quotes in a quote block and some heading would go a long way towards cleaning up the article. As would a picture and using the side bar for description (or just deleting the sidebar all together.) as a grand master you should also be able to put the character stats into an actual stat block (taking it out of the article body and possibly not counting towards word count) although I am less familiar with that.

Check out some of my summer camp articles, like the dangerous flying jackalope or dragon wasps. Or, for something more light-hearted, there is the whimsical language Gobbledygook and Jaden's interesting job as a guano polisher.
Feb 9, 2022 18:20

i see now you were making updates while i was reading it, some of my feedback is now redundant, :) the quote boxes already are helping

Check out some of my summer camp articles, like the dangerous flying jackalope or dragon wasps. Or, for something more light-hearted, there is the whimsical language Gobbledygook and Jaden's interesting job as a guano polisher.
Feb 9, 2022 21:41

Thank you for the extra input and I'm glad you liked it. I'll put the game mechanics stuff in the stat blocks, or just make a net stat black as you say, I'm pretty new and becoming familiar with the system. I'll be sure to read that today at some point.

Feb 10, 2022 09:05 by Amélie I. S. Debruyne

Nice article :D Seems like a fascinating character, with all those gods fighting for her :p   You mention that she defected from the empire for a while and went rogue. The "for a while" imply she came back but you didn't mention that. Was there any consequences for her defecting? Were people angry?   I see you already did some updates since I started reading it yesterday. It reads better now :D One thing you can still do is move the quotes to the side bar to have something there (unless you want to delete it), since the quotes are all opinions of other people about here, I think it would do well in the side bar.

To see what I am up to: my Summer Camp 2024.
Feb 10, 2022 17:31

Thanks for that, I'll of course take up your technical suggestions they seem good. I'll fill that part of the story in as well, I was wanting to put more details into the story. If you entered a story into the bard's challenge I'll give it a read.