Ephraim & Shalisha Shemariah
(a.k.a. Emissaries of Meletiah / The Twins)
Servants of the deity of pleasure and luxury Meletiah, Ephraim & Shalisha Shemariah are well known courtesans who travel the Material Plane of Kelbonnar, gracing the halls, castles and palaces of illustrious men and women and have even graced the halls of the Grand Imperial Palace of the Emperor of Turelion and Kelbonnar itself.
The twins come and go as they please, and wherever they travel, with their elaborate train of servants and retainers, under the protection of their personal guardians, the Crimson Guard, they are welcomed by the local royalty, nobility and social climbers, who are always desperate to ingratiate themselves with the two of them, in the hope of being able to ply Ephraim & Shalisha’s prodigious network of connections and perhaps acquire one of the many secrets the two of them have sourced from all manner of people about an innumerable number of individuals, places and things.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Both Ephraim and Shalisha are said to be outstandingly beautiful and whilst many may try to save face and claim that they weren’t at all beguiled by either of them, there are few for whom this is actually true. Another noticeable feature of their physique is that they both appear to be eternally youthful and furthermore in the peak of fitness, despite their lives of over excess in the service of Meletiah. Some have suggested that their appearance is all down to an arcane illusion, but there are those who claim to have tried to dispel any illusion they thought might be present on the twins, only to find that nothing happened.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Any one who wishes to get anywhere in society, be that within the Empire of Turelion, one of the powers of the Underdark or any other institution or state is always excited when they hear the news that Ephraim and Shalisha Shemariah are in the vicinity. The reason for this is that they are regarded as having the largest known web of contacts of anyone on Kelbonnar’s Material Plane and for the right price, or the right favour can introduce anyone to anybody. It is even rumoured that they not only count several members of the Imperial Court amongst their contacts, but the current Emperor of Turelion and Kelbonnar, His Imperial Majesty Belliotrix IV himself.
Not all of Ephraim and Shalisha’s contacts are politically rooted though. Both of them have countless men and women that they have managed to charm to the point of near madness, so besotted are they with one or the other, or sometimes both of the twins, all of whom would happily do anything for them if they were asked, hoping for just a second of attention to be thrown their way.
Merchants of Secrets
However, one should approach any conversation with the twins with a well-guarded tongue, for they are not the company to bandy loose words with lightly. Part of the reason that they have such a vast network of contacts is that they are known for trading secrets and one has to understand that anything said to them may be whispered into the ears of another later. However, Ephraim and Shalisha are not unscrupulous, they are upfront with the fact that they buy and sell secrets, but they are also quick to point out that their silence can be bought for the right price. If one buys their silence, they are renowned for their utmost discretion. Nevertheless, Ephraim and Shalisha are highly skilled courtesans and have many ways to extract secrets from people, without them realising what is happening, be it through the refilling of a cup at exactly the right moment, or the perfectly phrased, innocuous sounding question in the confines and seclusion of a boudoir.Family Ties
The only family that Ephraim and Shalisha are know to have are themselves. They are incredibly secretive about their origins, with many believing that this secrecy stems from them being the secret children of the deity Meletiah, sent to do their work on the Material Plane of Kelbonnar.
Religious Views
Ephraim and Shalisha are worshippers of the deity Meletiah, whose domain is that of pleasure and luxury. The twins travel the Underdark and occasionally the Empire of Turelion on the surface of the Material Plane, visiting the courts of local rulers and nobles, spreading the joys of pleasure in all its forms and the wonders of luxury to those that host them.
Whilst neither of them are clerics, they are both regarded as being favourites of Meletiah. As male and female twins, they are often said to represent both the male and female guise that Meletiah is known to take and they are said to have been granted powers of persuasion, guile and arcane powers, as well as lives far beyond the normal span of other Tieflings by their deity.
Wealth & Financial state
Ephraim and Shalisha are unfathomably wealthy, which is what drives their lives of itinerant luxury. Part of this wealth is known to come from their buying and selling of secrets, see below, but as the favourites of the deity Meletiah on the Material Plane, it is thought that the deity of pleasure and luxury always ensures that their favourites are well endowed with coin and other indulgences as they require.
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