The Abbot

The Abbot of Krezk

Almost three decades ago a deva came to Barovia with an aasimar herd intent on destroying the vampire Strahd von Zarovich. As the aasimar settled Krezk, the deva claimed the Abbey of St. Markovia as his home and became known as the Abbot.
Neither Strahd nor the Abbot could afford a head-on assault on the other, but the dark lord had time, the angel did not. As he bided his time, the complete lack of all things cosmically "good" slowly tore away at the Abbot's sanity and he eventually turned on his people, manipulating those around him to do his bidding. It was not long after that the Abbot set his new plan into motion - rather than defeat the vampire lord in combat, he would create a bride for him so perfect that his suffering would be ended, allowing him and all others trapped in his domain to leave freely.
The Abbot was ultimately killed by the ranger Aki during a battle with the Barovian Adventurers.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

In his disguised form, the Abbot looked like a tall, pale human man dressed in white priest's robes. His face showed little expression, making it extremely hard to discern his current mood or whether he was being truthful.
His true form, though vaguely humanoid in shape, was shrouded in darkness and hidden beneath flowing gray robes. He was far larger than he appeared when disguised and was held aloft by six feathered wings.

Powers and Abilities

The Abbot resisted magical effects and could enhance his physical attacks with radiant energy. He also had access to powerful divine magic, for example, he could call down a column of fire from the heavens.
As a powerful celestial, he could summon a heavy tome made of pure light which contained the true names of all creatures called the book of life. By speaking a creature's name aloud while they were nearby, the Abbot could attempt to expel their soul from their body, killing them immediately.

Specialized Equipment

The abbot's sword, made from sunlight, could fly and acted independently from him. He also had a magical chalice, which could be used as a spellcasting focus for clerics and allowed a celestial to magically create a magnificent feast, using no components.

Mental Characteristics

The Abbot viewed mortals as entirely beneath him, yet he doesn't perceive them with malice, much in the same way a human would view an animal. He didn't think it was worth his time to explain his reasoning to "lesser beings." That being said, his mind had begun to unravel, thus his logic was often incredibly flawed. Beyond the loss of his rationality, his ability to empathize deteriorated to the point where he viewed others as just a means to an end, willing to exploit those loyal to him or mercilessly slaughter those who became problematic. His refusal to acknowledge that mortals could intellectually best him was ultimately his undoing, as his hubris prevented him from preparing for such an eventuality.

Personal History

Arrival in Barovia

The Abbot came to Barovia with an aasimar herd descended from Zariel, with plans to lead them into battle against the domain's dark lord, Strahd von Zarovich. Upon arrival, it became clear that victory would not come so easily. A direct assault on Castle Ravenloft would have been disastrous for the aasimar, yet fighting the Abbot in his territory was far too risky for Strahd. Unlike the vampire, the Abbot could not afford to wait forever, as the lack of cosmic good within the domain slowly chipped away at the angel's sanity, causing him to become more disconnected from his followers each day.
During this time, before he had fully lost himself, his behavior became strange - often giving orders that were not supposed to be followed or that were impossible. When subordinates fell short of his expectations the punishments were harsh and unusual, sentencing his followers to death or exile for crimes that didn't warrant such punishments.

Prophecy and Aasimar Massacre

On one occasion, the Abbot's advisor, an aasimar named Alvea, informed him of a prophecy. Her own daughter, Phosa Nadrez, would savagely kill the other aasimar and a champion would kill the Abbot. Immediately the angel ordered for the child's death at Alvea's hands, which she agreed to with little protest, believing fully in the Abbot's judgment. Praying for forgiveness from the Morning Lord, the advisor began to strangle her child in front of the Abbot who, in what may have been his final virtuous act, summoned forth his book of life and read Alvea's true name aloud, killing her instantly and saving Phosa's life.
Ultimately, it is impossible to know the abbot's true motivations for this act, but in the following years he manipulated Phosa, encouraging her anger toward her people. At this time he also gained a new advisor, a Krezkite alchemist named Lazlo. Under the Abbot's watch, Lazlo created the mongrelfolk, chimeric servants created from humans, mostly those whom the Abbot found problematic.
As his sanity frayed, the Abbot's subjects became discontented and the creation of the mongrelfolk was the final straw. Before they could rebel, the Abbot cast a powerful ward on Phosa Nadrez, making her immune to the aasimars' divine magic. In the dead of night, Phosa led the mongrelfolk into battle against her people, seemingly leaving no aasimar alive. With no clear purpose, Phosa left Krezk, and the Abbot was free to focus on other plans.

Building the Bride

Years later, the Abbot had uncovered the source of Strahd's torment and decided that rather than defeat him in combat, he should appease his desires instead. With Professor Lazlo's aid, he began crafting a flesh golem in the image of Tatyana, while some of the parts used were taken from graves, most of the components were taken from citizens of Krezk as payment for the Abbot's services. For example, Anna Krezkov offered her skin as payment for her son's ressurection, however, she did request that she be allowed to spend time with him before her payment was collected.
The Abbot spent many years tinkering with his bride, whom he named Vasilka, but one aspect was never quite right - her face. The angel saw an opportunity to fix this when a group of adventurers came to his abbey with the hope that he would revive their fallen ally, a kenku named Aki. Travelling with the party was none other than Ireena Kolyana, the current incarnation of Tatyana, and her exact mirror.
As payment for resurrecting Aki, the Abbot requested to study Ireena's features for roughly an hour. During this time, he drew diagrams and wrote notes in celestial that roughly amounted to the measurements of her face. The Abbot was satisfied with this interaction but expressed interest in the much easier option of simply removing Ireena's face and using that for his bride. The party declined his offer and moved on.
After Ilya Krezkov's monstrous nature was revealed, the Barovian Adventurers decided to visit the Abbot again to confront him. Joining the party this time was Zaxis Ilerez, a Krezkite aasimar who had survived the massacre by making a dark pact. Zaxis had waited outside of the abbey on the party's last visit in order to hide himself from the Abbot. Luckily for Zaxis, the Abbot saw him as no real threat.
The angel explained that Anna was warned of unforeseen consequences when she asked him for help, as her son had been dead for over a week, but chose to accept the risk. While some in the party were not happy with this explanation, ultimately nothing came of this confrontation as attacking the Abbot was considered too much of a risk at that time.

Fate

Eventually, the Abbot realized his plan to recreate Ireena's face was infeasible and decided that he must take the noble's face by force. He sent the vistani assassin Arrigal to capture the adventurers and in return the Abbot would hand over Ezmerelda d'Avenir, a person of interest to the assassin who had recently sought refuge at the abbey.
After surviving Arrigal's ambush, the party, now joined by Phosa Nadrez after she slayed Zaxis in a duel, traveled back to Krezk to confront the Abbot. While not immediately aggressive, the Abbot requested the party surrender Ireena to him, making it clear that they would not be allowed to leave otherwise.
The party refused and a battle ensued. The Abbot utilized his book of life against the adventurers, although they were able to resist its effects, whilst attacking from range with his animated sword of light. Simultaneously, Vasilka lashed out at Ireena, attempting to tear her face from her skull. Eventually, he was restrained by Clodric Deepeyes's black tentacles and worn down by Phosa, who had transformed into an immense ape, leaving an opening for Aki to land the killing blow whilst Avant-Courier dealt with the golem.
Typically, a celestial killed outside of the upper planes would instead be returned to their plane of origin but, due to Barovia's nature, the Abbot was unable to leave the plane and his body burned up, leaving behind nothing more than a pile of ash and a few diamonds.

Current Status

Deceased

Species

Angel

Age

Ancient

Circumstances of Death

Killed by Aki

Gender

Male

Eyes

Brown (Disguised)

Hair

Blonde (Disguised)

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale White (Disguised)

Height

6'5" (Disguised)