Whisk

A Warlord in the Making

Whisk

"Oh, so you guys are a cult."

-Whisk on the Lost Star Detectives

Whisk is an earth genasi monk, long-time Avernian exile, and a member of the Lost Star Detectives, the adventuring group that ended the Damnation of Elturel.

History

Early Life

Whisk was born on the 6th of Kythorn, 1447 in the Elemental Plane of Earth. As a young woman, Whisk ended up in a fight again a wild magic sorcerer, and the unpredictable nature of their magic sent Whisk hurtling through the cosmos, leaving her standed in Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells.
Alone and presumably stuck in Avernus for the rest of her life, Whisk made the best of things and joined up with an Avernian warlord. As the years wore on, Whisk ended up jumping from warlord band to warlord band, sometimes leaving because her former leader was killed, other times being expelled. Despite these numerous setbacks, none of them seemed to affect Whisk, who remained oddly composed and cheerful about each new situation she found herself in.
In 1447, Whisk's then current leader noticed the arrival of Elturel over the River Styx. Believing it to be ripe for raiding, the raiding party climbed up to the city. However, they were fairly quickly beset by the Hell Knights that prowled the streets and were all killed, with only Whisk suriving. Used to this sort of thing by now, Whisk searched for the next warband she could join, quickly earning an in with members of the Cult of Zariel who were burning books from the Elturel Library.

The Lost Star Detectives

(See the Lost Star Detectives)
However, Whisk's tenure as a Zarielite was short-lived, as the cultists she was with were attacked by the Lost Star Detectives, adventurers engaged in trying to free Elturel from Avernus. Interrogating the cultists they captured, Whisk managed to convince the group that she had no allegiance to Zariel, she was just looking for safety in the city. The Detectives freed Whisk, but seeing an opportunity, Whisk decided to start following them, and seeing as Whisk wasn't an active threat, and in fact aided the Detectives in their fight against the succubus bounty hunter Delle Bellfiend, Whisk slowly started being accepted into the group.
Whisk and the other Detectives traveled to Fort Knucklebones, following a lead from the god Torm, to discover how to save Elturel. There, the Detectives learned that if they repaired the fort's Dream Machine, they could help the hollyphant Lulu rediscover her lost memories, including the location of the Sword of Zariel. To fix the Dream Machine, however, required four hard to find objects that could be located across Avernus, so to help with their travel the Detectives bought a warmachine they called the Doom Buggy from the fort's owner Mad Maggie. Because of her experience with warmachines, Whisk was chosen to drive it, but these privileges were quickly revoked when the Detectives learned that Whisk drove with no regard for personal safety.

by Ashley

The Detectives first stop was Bel's Forge, where the group recovered Phlegethosian sand. While there, the Detectives also wanted to destroy the Shield of the Hidden Lord they were carrying with them, which required tossing the shield in to lava right under Bel's nose. Being the fastest, Whisk was chosen to run close and toss the shield, which she did, unwittingly releasing the archdevil Gargauth who was trapped inside. Scared, Whisk bolted out of the forge, leaving the Detectives behind, catching back up with them at the Doom Buggy as they drove away.
Whisk remained with the Detectives as they were able to secure the three remaining items needed for the Dream Machine to work, while also making a stop to attempt to rescue Katya Sinaran's wife Emmeryn from Tiamat and retrieving the keys to the Companion. During this journey, Whisk continued to baffle the other Detectives with her laid back, "anything goes" attitude towards being in Hell and the danger they were all in. During one escapade in Algoran's Arena, Whisk helped the Detectives free the ki-rin Enki. During their escape, Enki briefly teleported himself and Whisk to Mount Celestia before depositing the two back in Avernus. Despire briefly escaping the plane she had been trapped in for years, Whisk felt no worse for the wear upon her return.
After retrieving all of the Dream Machine parts, most of the Lost Star Detectives were inadvertently teleported back to the Material Plane by the hag Zilly Redwood, who had cursed Arcus Miursa two decades prior. Whisk and Lulu, however, remained on Avernus, having been protected by Lulu's anti-magic barrier. Unsure of what to do, the two of them guarded the Doom Buggy before making their way to Olanthius, an ally the group had made earlier, for help. Olanthius was able to use his own life force to summon a portal to return the Detectives to Hell, where the group that had left was quite fractured from intraparty conflict that had emerged while on the surface.
Whisk and the Detectives then arrived at Zariel's Avernian Flying Fortress to sabotage the controls to the chains binding Elturel before returning to the Dream Machine and recovering Lulul's memories. Upon doing so, Lulu guided the adventurers to the location of Zariel's Sword, which was ultimately claimed by Alesine Zadava.
Despite the danger, Whisk stayed with the Detectives during the Battle of Elturel, figuring that if the city was sent back to the Material Plane, Whisk could hitch a ride out of Hell. The Detectives fought the first half of the battle defending the Companion from Zariel's forces before confronting Zariel herself. With the Sword of Zariel, which contained a spark of Zariel's previously celestial nature, the Detectives convinced Zariel to redeem herself. Whisk then joined half of the Detectives in defending High Hall until the Companion powered up enough to send the entire city back to where it belonged.

Later Life

Following Elturel's salvation, Whisk hung around the city for a while. Long enough to attend a party thrown by Kinsey Eridanus' parents, along with Zariel and other allies of the Detectives. Whisk then attempted to start her own money making scheme which she called "Whisky Business," selling whisky and roadkill (the dead animals reminded her fondly of the spoiled food of Avernus). However, that plan failed miserably.
Feeling the draw of adventure still, Whisk decided to leave Elturel and return to being a planar traveler, this time willingly.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Molded by time training on the Elemental Plane of Earth and tested in Avernus, Whisk is in near peak physical condition as a monk, deadly with or without a designated weapon.

Physical quirks

After spending years in Avernus, Whisk has either adapted to or convinced herself to start liking, and in some cases even preferring, the taste of rotten and spoiled meat that is endemic to that plane. While undoubtedly a useful survival mechanism, it does result in very few ever allowing Whisk anywhere near an oven.

Special abilities

Whisk specializes as a shadow monk, and thus has access to a suite of abilities many monks do not, namely teleportation through shadows and access to a few darkness-based spells. Whisk's genasi heritage also helps her navigate the battlefield, bypassing difficult earthen terrain as if it were flat.

Specialized Equipment

Though generally favoring unarmed combat, Whisk acquired a Sunblade as a result of her travels with the Lost Star Detectives that she makes judicious use of, often swinging it while making swooshing noises.

Mental characteristics

Morality & Philosophy

Whisk has a very "go with the flow" personality that can be extremely off putting to those that meet her. She also has a very relative sense of morality, where friendship and convenience determines her sense of right and wrong more than any grander concepts or alignment to any diety.

Social

Contacts & Relations

While Whisk greatly enjoyed traveling with the various members of the Lost Star Detectives, it cannot be said that any other member of the group ever felt that they truly understood the earth genasi. For her part, Whisk also seemed to not understand for quite some time the group's dynamic, believing for a while that the Detectives were a cult that worshipped Lulu. It's unclear if she ever became diffused of this notion.
However, Whisk did strike up an usual friendship with Arcus Miursa. Despite Arcus' dislike for extraplanar creatures, which Whisk most definitely was, Whisk's desire to become an Avernian warlord matched well with Arcus' stated desire to become a hunter of devils, and the formed a strange yet enduring bond because of this.

Species

Earth Genasi

Date of Birth

6th of Kythorn

Year of Birth

1447 CR 51 Years old

Birthplace

Elemental Plane of Earth

Sex

Female

Eyes

Dark purple

Hair

Light gray braids

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Dark stone gray

Height

5'5"

Aligned Organization

Lost Star Detectives