Cirriblis

Did that cloud just wink at me?

— fascinated skywatcher

Cirriblis are rare and wholly sentient cloud-shaped beings that typically adopt vapor structures resembling cirrus clouds. At a glance, many cirriblis are indistinguishable from normal clouds. They enjoy this masquerade, as it allows them to remain untouched by those below. Only when a cirriblis chooses to act - instead of remaining content to watch - does it become noticeable for what it actually is.

Divine Halo by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Cirriblis are effectively hybrid species crafted intentionally by servitors of the upper Outer Sphere: those dwelling on Elysium, Nirvana, and Heaven, with occasional assistance from the neutral-aligned planes where needed. They are crafted from a mortal soul and a water spirit (not an elemental, for those have their own intelligence) as another choice in what a mortal may choose for their afterlife.
The mortals most likely to become cirriblis were good-aligned in life with strong ties to their world and a reluctance to transition to the usual afterlives. Druids are extremely common choices for potential cirriblis, given their role, but are by no means the only ones -- common farmers, gardeners, and soldiers also number highly in the ranks of those who were offered this rare gift.
An afterlife as a cirriblis is not necessarily permanent. If the mortal soul begins to tire of their journey, they may return to the plane their soul was delivered to and rejoin the usual afterlife for their people, to eventually return to the cycle of souls.

Abilities

Demons are not the only ones who may wreak destruction. Do not assume angels and their allies will always act to protect.

— wiseman

Cirriblis are not just watchers. As servants of the divine, they are given the responsibility of aiding mortals in manners aligning with their outer plane. As they are, essentially, magical clouds, there are a number of ways they may bring aid or judgment as necessary - key among these possibilities being the use of water.
Areas experiencing great drought may be granted rain by a cirriblis, but by the same measure, the drought may be caused by a cirriblis intentionally keeping rain away from an area.
Thunderous storms causing great floods sweep across blaspheming lands in a show of divine fury, gleaming cloud haloes rise in the sky as signs of protection and hope, and white feathers rain upon heroes as they set foot on the road to greatness. The presence of a water spirit is key to a cirriblis's formation, and the power it grants them is well-used.
Cirriblis do have some influence over the winds as well, but must usually appeal to greater authorities to impact winds with any major severity.

Feather Rain by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

They are better served in disrupting other cloud patterns to divert other clouds as they wish. If a cirriblis has sought assistance in bending the world's winds to great degree, then the cause must be extremely important.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Can clouds have anatomy? Is that... normal?

— someone who's never looked at a book on clouds

Warning of the Skies by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Cirriblis may take many forms, but generally take the shape of wispy clouds formed of feathered ice - known usually as cirrus clouds in scientific circles. They may take on any formations known to cirrus clouds, from the strong bands of fall streaks where the ice is most dense to the sky-bands of radiatus clouds that cover the sky in a swirl of faint ice crysals.
Other forms are usually worn to adapt to the cirriblis's needs or to display their mood, and there is no effective limit to the cloud formations a cirriblis may take. Enraged cirriblis may form grandiose cumulonimbus clouds, resplendent with raging storms and occasionally spawning violent tornados if the offense to which they are raging is serious enough.
They may ripple across the sky as golden mammatus clouds to paint the heavens' displeasure for all to see, as a fell omen of what shall come should mortals not reconsider their paths. Or, should they prefer, they may dart downwards as fractus clouds, seeming to be fragmented from the clouds above.

Like normal clouds, cirriblis do produce rain and snow. They are not bound by natural weather patterns, but are aware of them; many times, they will follow the dominant weather. When acting on their own and outside normal patterns, the rain they produce is often unusual in nature: feather rain or rainbow snow are examples of this behaviour.

Cirriblis by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Outsider
• Soul

Scientific Name

Cirrus spiritus

Conservation Status

Unknown / Not Applicable

Winds at Play

One notable use of the cirriblis's ability to call upon higher winds was during a particularly active period of demonic activity near the Heartforge of Iskaldhal.
The worrying activities the demons were doing, and the manner in which they sought to lay corruptive traps for future adventurers, lead to a cirriblis intervening by drawing great winds into the area after summoning a heavy blizzard.
The blizzard had caused great amounts of snow to build up on the Hands of the First encircling the Heartforge in unstable layers, with underlying layers of snow being soft and faceted, and the top being iced over and very solid (or hard-packed).
By summoning great winds to the area, the cirriblis was able to trigger a series of incredibly large avalanches that collected massive amounts of rock and ice as they careened down the mountainfaces.
The demons were summarily crushed, and their entrance temporarily sealed. Eventually, the Heartforge melted away the snow - but the act had already granted those travelling to the Heartforge time and awareness of what had happened.

We spurned the idea of helping those refugees. They'd nothing to help us, so why should we have helped them? They'd be naught but wastes of space; they'd steal food from them who needs it...
Turns out, the clouds didn't like that idea. The skies dyed themselves red, and stormclouds swirled above our town alone. The rain fell as feathers on the refugees - and on us? Hail.
Point taken. We let the folk in.

— townsperson