Songbird (3) "Angel")

"Angel"

Mnemonic Dreams
"It's your freedom or mine."
Everything that she does, she does for the good of her people.

Angel ascended Aurem to godhood but did not send a final message. Cowardice warped into an understanding;
'Everything you are, you owe to me.' But the phrase goes both ways. Defiance would only harm those she cared about, as proven by her other iterations. Her loyalty was set in stone from that point forward; has own happiness, her own moral grounds... she would cast it all aside for her people. Even if Aurem were to be slain, her people freed from their slavery... there would be chaos as the patterns that have governed their lives for generations fell apart. Her people would be condemned across the planes, as Savior was, and not all people would be so kind as to give second chances, and not all Aur'Ku so capable of change. 

Reincarnates
"How long will I be able to remain... me?"
You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.

But how long could she keep up her facade? She was a chaotic good bard forced into playing the role of a lawful evil demigod, the echoes of past lives mingled with her own, and the voice of a twisted, ancient god forever lingers in the back of her mind... How long could she remain herself? How long until her very sense of personality shattered? How long...?

"Did I... Do the right thing?"
Loyal to the very end.

With the threat of a rival god looming on Angel's plane, Aurem suggested a dangerous course of action: Attempt to ascend to godhood. Failure would lead to permanent death, and success... well, was she really fit to be a god? Did she really want to be one? Such doubts didn't matter. It was the best course of action. With her expected determination, though not without hesitance, she made the attempt: and succeeded. Her very personality was now at the mercy of her followers, and she was granted influence over four domains; She was now the goddess of community, protection, music, and corruption.

Epilogue
"I'm... just a bard."

200 years come and go.  Shadow takes Angel's place as a deity, giving Angel the chance to to as she pleases, within reason, of course. She may not be able to undo the damage done to her, but she at least try to remember that far off dream of hers that started it all. To just be a bard... a real adventurer... wouldn't that be nice. If, just for a little while.

Appearance 

Aur'Ku; Kind of tall, all things considered, blue eye in her chest, no more gray feathers, pale skinned.

Attire (Mnemonic Dreams)

She retains all of the equipment that Zeta had, with the exception of getting a cloak upgrade due to a promotion.

Phoenix Feather Cloak: Cloak of invisibility adorned with vibrant red pheonix feathers.

Attire (Reincarnates)

Nice embroidered tunic, simple pants, some metal wrist-brace things, a sash thing under her belt, boots of elven kind, cloak of greater invisibility, circlet of protection, ring of three wishes, ring of protection, ring of free movement, a belt adorned with some gray/ white feathers probably, with a potion, a components bag, and place to put her Whatever of spell storing, plus places for knives. A shadowy gazer floats by her side, and an actual familiar gazer is sometimes with her too.

Her phoenix rapier changes element base don her alignment; chaotic good nets her a radiant phoenix, thus, shen she summons her wings with the staff they are made of radiant golden light.

Cloak of Greater(?) Invisibility: A long, vibrantly white cloak adorned with black kenku feathers. The inside part of the cloak reveals the actual color, and a small mantle(?) not covered in feathers drapes over her shoulders. Two decorative strings, weighed down by some beads, hand=g down from the chain that keeps the cloak in place. At the end of these strings are a few gray feathers. Another beaded ribbon/ string wraps around the back, and is decorated with some more gray feathers, and three long ribbons in the back are heavily strung with white Aur'Ku feathers. Maaybe there's some dark blue embroidery on the mantle and inside of the cloak too. There's five feathered- strings total; a minute nod to the five lines of a staff. Or, maybe it's just a coincidence. Oh, it also has a hood, not covered in feathers, but probably with blue embroidery.

Circlet of Protection: (Silver or gold?) Resembles a staff with the lines converging at the side of her head. A stylized treble clef, laid on it's side, is worked into the staff-design and houses two gemstones as part of it's design. At the convergent point a few feathers are atatched; a peacock feather (A reference to Jules) and a vibrant red phoenix feather (Obvious reference.)

Personality

No longer the naive bird she once was, has picked up a tinge of pessimism for her troubles, a resignation towards her fate, more subdued, less sociable, mature, perhaps, but still kind. Not horrible, considering the circumstances. she's just trying not to get anyone else hurt, or herself hurt for that matter. The best way to do that is to cast morality to the side and follow orders... Not that her actions pain her any less. No longer fears heights.

Often lonely and solemn, but her guise of power and alignment reflects none of it. There still exists a silent longing for freedom and a recognition of her own situation, but also understanding that it is unattainable. Her state of being makes for excellent material for music. Not that anyone would really care to listen.

Chaotic Good Feigning Lawful Evil; Facade: She isn't inherently a bad person, just as Song was. She does what she has to, and often, those acts are evil. She ends up abusing her charisma to play the role of a ruthless demigod warlock-rouge despite her alignment, and the fact that she's like 80% bard. Naturally, pretending to be something that she isn't can be strenuous. but a stubborn resolve, a staple of iterations of Song across the board, ensured that she wont simply give in to the pressure.

Ideal; People: Everything that she does, she does for the good of her people. Her loyalty to people persists, and this loyalty can be used against her by Aurem as an easy threat. Zeta's answer to what best motivates her still persists, thus, to keep those she cares about safe... she couldn't disobey an order even if she wanted to.

Corruption: The voice of an evil and alien god pollutes her thoughts... Her ring of three wishes is cursed, linked directly to Aurem, and as such, the beholder god's thoughts seep into Angel's, attempting to warp the Aur'Ku's beliefs to more closely resemble Aurem's alignment. But, this connection goes both ways, and although Angel by no means holds the same force of personality and presence as a god, what she does manage is impressive enough to perhaps impose some change upon her god.

How long...?: 10 years... for 10 years Angel managed to hold on to some semblense of self. But after a point... she forgot who SHE was. was she a bard? Did she play music because she enjoyed it? or.. because she simply, did. Was she a warlock? She follows orders to keep people safe. Or, because... that's what she simply.. does, like all Aur'Ku.

Is she pretending to be a lawful evil demigod; a powerful warlock who will do anything yo uphold Aurem's will, a perfectly loyal leader?
Is she pretending to be a chaotic good bard; a musician with a quiet longing for freedom, a leader doing what is best for her people?

Voice and Dialogue

She speaks in her own voice but often mimics others to pass along messages or for tonal emphasis. She probably has some fairly streamlined changeling 'voice banks' too, if she needs it. Plus, minor illusion could come into play as well.

Her dialogue and tone shifts drastically depending on if she has to put on her lawful evil guise or not; she isn't as harsh in reality, as her duties force her to take on a stern, commanding presence. When she's able to put all that aside, she's much more soft spoken, reflecting her true state of mind.

And you betcha she uses her voice to actually sing. Her tone ins't anything special, but she really puts her all into what she does. Her voice tends to be light and soft, without too much depth, but full of genuine emotion.

Dislikes:

• The Dream spell. Despite her occasional use of it. It's a good spell. Too good.

Goals

• Keep her people safe, even if that means sacrificing her own morality and happiness.
• Follow orders. Or else.
• Improve her musical skills; write songs, get better at reading music, learn other instruments. The closest she can get to being a good bard.
• Be a... decent, mother.

Stats (Reincarnates)

Strength: 11 [+0]
Dexterity: 20 [+5]
Constitution: 20 [__]
Intelligence: 11[+0]
Wisdom: 14?
Charisma: 22 [+6]

HP: a bunch
Initiative:
AC (Base): 
AC (Mage armor, Equipment):
AC (With wings):
AC (Flourish bonuses; min-max):
Passive Perception: Fucking absurd.
Saving throws: Proficient with: Wisdom,

Proficient:  proficient in everything. (Yes. Like I said, my DM is nuts.) Expertise in: Performance, stealth, slight of hand,

Other: 

• Can't be charmed
• Can't be restrained (Ring of free movement)

Spells
__ 1st, __ 2nd, etc.

Bard

Warlock

Magic Initiate (Sorcerer)

Miscellaneous

Modify memory, extra spell slot..... ritual spells.....?

Equipment

Phoenix Rapier: Due to her chaotic good alignment, it is a radiant phoenix. When she summons her wings, they are made of light.

• Has 9(?) Charges that refresh at dawn. Expending all of them frees the 'phoenix' which will proceed to go on a rampage, before eventually dissipating.
• +2 to hit and damage, add an extra 1D6(?) radiant damage.
• As a BA, with a melee attack the user can do a burst attack. Dex saving throw, 5D8 radiant damage; save halves. DC is the users dex mod + proficnecy + somethng else I think.... expends 2 charges.
• As a BA the user can change the weapon into a staff. The staff can:
  • Expend __ charges for cure wounds
  • exoend __ charges for mas cure wounds
  • exoend __ charges for greater restoration.
  • The user can summon wings based on elemtn; limited time, +2 AC while airborn.
• By stating an incantation the useer can explode themselves and the weapon in a very drmatic fashion; damage is based on character level, spell slots, and current charges I think. 

Cloak of Greater Invisibility: Flip up the hood, gain greater invisibility.

Boots of elven kind: Silent footsteps, advatage on stealth if it applies.

Proficiency Ioun Stone: Oops almost forgot this one.

Ring of protection; Circlet of protection: Ring gives +1 to AC, circlet gives + 1 to AC and +1 to saving throws (I think.)

Ring of Free Movment: Or whatever it's called. She can't be restrained, paralyzed, or affected by difficult terrain. neat.

Ring of three wishes: THree wishes. It's cursed, and linked to Aurem, so it does some weird stuff too.

D12 of Spell storing: A very scary thing. THanks Jules.

Miscellaneous equipment:

• Healing potion
• Sending stones
• Spell component bag
• Some daggers
• Sometimes a lute, lyre, or mandolin
• sometimes some paper, writing supplies, and sheet music; both fiishes and unfinished.
• Sometimes some feathers shes picked up.

Stats (Godhood)

Functionally she's a lv. 20 bard, lv 10 assassin, lv 15 warlock I think.
Strength: 
Dexterity: 
Constitution: 
Intelligence: 
Wisdom: 
Charisma: 

HP: a bunch more
Initiative:
AC (Base): 
AC (Mage armor, Equipment):
AC (With wings):
AC (Flourish bonuses; min-max):
Passive Perception: Fucking absurd. 42 I think??
Saving throws: Proficient with: Wisdom, charisma, dex, int.

Divine Portfolio Abilities

Community: Disperse damage evenly among willing allies.

Protection: Take damage for a nearby ally.

Music: Mass bardic inspiration (D20)

Corruption: Spending time with her can gradually instill certain aspects of her into you. e.g. loyalty, liking music, etc.

Ode of the Champion: Suggestion with a geas attached. Plus, gain adv. when acting on anything relating to the suggested goal/ course of action, and disadvantage when acting against it.

Story

Uuh, spoilers for Song

Mnemonic Dreams

Loyalty just doesn't send the message, that's the split. Genuine sorrow for the other bird, but she did everything that she could to try and give her a chance. Her ring of three wishes is 'refreshed' allowing her three more. 

Loyalty ascended Aurem to godhood, but didn't have the courage to send a message and betray the beholde.r No, it would be better for evtyin if she played along. Everything you are, you owe to me." And She has come to terms with that but also understands that Everything that Aurem is, she owed to her. To keep herself and her flock safe, she would be loyal, cast morality aside and align more with Hoot's chaotic neutral.

She is given a pheonix feather cloak and a hwolelotta authority, essentially becomng Aurem's right-hand bird.

And, when it came time to lay seige upon Pheonix Feather, it was her that lead the attack. She offered Songbird one final chance to save her friends... but that bird was too defiant. Pheonix Feather fell by her hands, and her mentor Hoot died in the process. The othe rbird and her party succomed to Aurem, s all who o[ppose her do.

She wanst guilty. But she was sorrowful. She wished things could have been different... but, sme wishes were out of the relam of possibility. She continues to serve Aurem dutifully, becoming her 'agent' and perhaos even something of a demigod. To quote the DM, 'She could punch gods and actually deal damage.'

You either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain. And, as Hoot put it, it'd better to be alive and a slave then free and dead. In order to spare herself and those she cares about from greif, she plays the role of the villain, knowing well the price of failure. More people will get hurt from her defiance anyway; it's a required sacrifice, a nessessary defeat.

Reincarnates: Devotion

10 years... savior...
She makes a couple of cameos. usually leading characters place to place or bailing Crescendo out of a tough spot.
SHe played some music with Crescendo. It ade cresenco feel emotions (ew) so she stromed off.
She gets to run the new airy on the new plane with the scary mystery god. yaay. now, if soemthing goes wrong, it's her responsibility, her fault, and her job to fix it!

Ten Years

A Distant Mother

Reincarnates: Symphony, Rubato

Ascension

Someone's Savior

An Ally in Need

Epilogue: Rubato

Relationships

The Other Birds

Savior: On occasion, she's been tempted to contact Savior via sending, but she always backs out of it. No, savior should just be left alone. She's earned it.

Zeta: How brave Zeta was... how dumb, and how eerie it is to think of how close Angel came to being her...

Song: If only the defiant adventurer gave up, then and there. Her friends, Phoenix Feather... they could have been spared... Or, so she likes to hope.

Coo

"I just don't want you to hate me!"
This is a.... complicated, relationship. Honestly, Coo could be his own character at this point. He's a level 21 (yes.) Rouge-Mastermind Warlock badass with an insane deception skill and downright unmatched leadership skills.

Angel loved him, truly, but had to abandon the people she once knew due to... Zeta-related reasons.
But he hated her, hated her more than anything due to Aurem punishing him for her disobedience. He was obsessed, even, with this hatred, willing to pretend to be her ally, pretend to love her, bear her children, only to plan to kill them before her eyes... only, Song betrayed Aurem before he could do it. And once he learned that Angel is Song... It all boiled over. He tried to kill her, and she was left just.. confused, faced with a long hidden truth. Who really was Coo, if not the bird she once knew and loved? And likewise for him... Just who was Song, thought a traitor by everyone? Erasing his memory worked for a little while, but eventually, it was impossible to keep it up, and it became clear that he would absolutely murder their children if he knew who they were. As proved by the time that he actually did exactly that.

Left as nothing but a copy, trapped, too valuable to simply kill... a person Angel no longer knows, yet still, cares for, despite it all... "Just kill me." He requested. And Angel, for a moment, considered it. Her quiet values of freedom, her loyalty to her people... maybe it would be best if she put him out of his memory, spared him of Aurem's torment. Maybe just...

Her Children

Despite having kept her distance from them for... Zeta-related reasons, she does love them, perhaps unusually so. She's kept a subtle eye on them, perhaps displaying some favoritism every now and then, but for the most part she knows better than to get involved too much. Most often she ends up babysitting a mission for them to bail them out of trouble if needed (Though now with truths revealed its really only Crescendo and Wolf's Howl that seem to get this treatment... probably.) She wished that she could spend more time with them, maybe actually get to know them, but, again... some things simply aren't meant to be. 

Crescendo: In her interactions with Crescendo, it's become onbvious that the two of them have very different world views and personalities. Even if she gave it her best shot, the pair wouldn't get along well. Usually, their interactions are awkward, with Crescendo having trouble differentiating Angel as simply her mother in those situations (and not the very in charge demigod that she usually pretends to be) and coping with the distinct change in behavior and personality that Angel displays. Angel meanwhile has trouble finding common ground and getting past Crescendo's reserved personality. It's a sad reality that she doesn't, and may never, really know these people as they are to others... but she's grown accustomed to the small tragedies of her position.

Wolf's Howl: He's clever, creative, and brave; given a worthwhile goal aligned with his personal drives and he becomes a force to be reckoned with. He undertook a project, on his own, without permission, involving lycanthropy with himself being part of the experiment. On one hand, as per Aurem's tendencies, he's earned her support on the matter, and truly, it is an impressive feat. But as his mother... it worries her. His obsession is the sort that could drive one to do... questionable, things. Aurem ordered her- albeit in an unusually polite way- to support and encourage this project and behavior. Thus, she now has to help him. He has potential to be a leader and an incredible caster, but this obsession, this reckless curiosity... she fears where it may lead him.

As for the others.. personally, the DM and I are fond of the idea that all of them have some quirk or another, whether benign, positive, negative, or a mixed bag. "Why can't any of my children simply be normal...?" But, seeing as their parents are in fact Angel and Coo, it would come as no surprise if they were a little... odd.

Her grandchildren

general

Gale: info

Trivia

• Despite her distance from them, she cares for her kids. It is perhaps why she does keep her distance.
• Aurem fixed her 'afraid of heights' problem at some point. Probably just wasted a wish on the matter. Or, magic-assisted exposure therapy. 
• People just aren't allowed to say her old name, *Songbird* anymore.
• Angel wished for extra attunement slots, hence the absurd amount of magic items that she uses. Being attuned to that much is still.... er, ill advised, however.
• Angel was given her new name by Aurem, as if to mark her newfound position. Savior on the other hand cast aside her old name and took up the name Snow, as its what the people of Phoenix Feather called her. Both would agree that neither are truly 'Songbird' anymore. Song, both as Zeta and the adventurer, died a long time ago.
• She was tasked with using the dream spell to deliver some quest information to Crescendo, he brother, and the twins joining them on Amphlesia. Well, she messed up and forgot to not have the spell do the psychic damage on Crescendo. Oops. It does make sense, considering she likely avoids using the spell since.. well, it has been used to torment iterations of her across the board.

Quotes and Excerpts

Wolf's Howl just waltzes on into Angel's office, and is met with both her, and the changeling copycat. "You really shouldn't show up unannounced." one says, then the other, "You had better have a good reason for being here." Leaving poor Wolf's Howl to make a wild guess as to which one he should be addressing. Lucky for him, he was correct.

Author's notes

• Had she had solo sessions, they would have been named "Coda"
• To quote the DM, "She could probably punch gods and actually deal damage."
• Sometimes the DM lets me play her. She doesn't do much exciting. Just babysit missions and run errands And maybe Aurem lets her run an entire Airy, too.
• I was gonna make her warlock pact the pact of the tome, but my DM convinced me to go with pact of the blade instead, and for good reason. Just think; her super powerful phoenix sword? Yeah, she can just summon it back to her if she gets disarmed, or if someone steals it she can get it back. And, as a college of swords bard, she can use it as her spell casting focus.just try to slap a warlock focus onto it, and bam! She can just.. cast shit all day.
• Poor, poor Angel... We didn't know, as she was being played between both myself and the DM, whether she was still herself or not. Only at the end of Duet did we roll and determined that after 10 years, her force of will shattered. Had she been able to hold out longer, at least for the 15 years, maybe for 20, then Aurem would have abandoned her project of seeing if Aur'Ku could run an airy. She couldn't trust a bird that wasn't perfectly loyal, and seeing as she'd need an exceptional bird to run an airy, she had to ensure that she could make them loyal. Angel tried, but in the end, even her staggering force of personality crumbled under the pressure that Aurem applied.
• She doesn't want to be a god. But she has a responsibility to her people. If she doesn't protect them... then who will?

Music

• Nightmare King (A Shell in the Pit, from Wandersong): Perfect for a fight with Angel. A soft introduction to fit an attempt at persuading/ intimidating her attacker to simply surrender and the sort of sad yet dire sound... I dunno. I like it. Or, the dream king melody remains as an echo of who she once was, warped by the pressures of her role. 
• Deathly Loneliness Attacks (English Cover): This is just stunningly perfect.
  • It relates to Angel's social isolation, and the cause being her falsified role. Having lost those she cared about and distanced herself from everyone else, she struggles with the stresses as a result. Afraid of succumbing to her lawful evil facade... but just as scared of shattering under the pressure of maintaining it...
  • Nods to her once naive line of thinking... of wanting to be close to people... of her resignation of her fate and past actions... 
• Out of Order (A Shell in the Pit, from Wandersong): A warped version of the dream king's theme... fitting.
• Starstorm (A Shell in the Pit, from Wandersong): The relation to nightmare king/ dream king, the buildup, rising emotion... attributed to her speech that ascended Aurem and marks the split between her and Zeta. A sort of rising calm before the storm, realization, and the building choice to either act, or conform.
• Those Were the Days (Mary Hopkin): The bittersweet reminiscence of the past. Befitting of both Angel and Savior.
• Traveler's Song (Aviators): Imagine it as a song she's written, post-godhood, referencing and alluding to the various adventures that have taken place, though notably, nothing of herself.
• Cotard's Solution (Anatta, Dukkha, Anicca) (Will Wood and the Tapeworms): It's a tad more chaotic than Angel's style, but the lyrics fit. More so assigned to her after Reincarnates. She can't deny her shattered personality forever.