Another entry in
Beth'l is, primarily, meant for scenes including Raphael or relating to him, as he is an integral part of her character.
On the rare occasion that she is seen without it, it is likely she is on a mission of some particular importance, which caused her to manifest physically, assuming corporeal form independent of him.
As a full, free-thinking Namtari spirit of no small power, second only to the Patrons in strength, she is a deadly opponent, and a voracious adversary, should she choose to be. Nevertheless, although death is a bosom friend to her, her outlook tends to be kind and generally compasionate, if occasionally inscrutable.
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Beth'l, Pure Spirit (Bound with
Raphael)
Title(s): The Secret Marquessa Who Seeks Winter's Void, Winter Adjutant
Seasonal Alignment: Winter
Concepts: Duty, Compassion
Obsessions: Love, Honor, Knowledge, Loyalty
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"I am The Secret Marquessa Who Seeks Winter's Void. Most call me Winter Adjutant Beth'l. I have the privelege and honor of serving as the liason, assistant and trusted advisor of the Prince of Winter. My own tale is one least worth telling. I am a the shadow. His voice, when he requires it, and little else."
Beth'l is what some might consider a parasite. In truth, her relationship is more symbiotic than parasitical, melded as she is with Raphael's soul. The binding was a work of Fate, of the goddess-creature Zansuru, the Broken-Winged Crane, and chief architect of destiny within Namtar.
The exact method of their bonding and melding is unknown to Raphael, though he suspects it has something to do with the corpse that Beth'l once inhabited, when she began to meld with him. For all her knowledge, skill and responsibilities now, she was once nothing more than the meanest of spirits, a feral thing of hunger and need, with no higher reason or thought.
Prolonged contact with Raphael's spirit drew her upward, literally allowing her to transcend her lower state and become a spirit known, in Namtari parlance, as a 'Pure', the second-highest level of spiritual existance known. In the process of binding to Raphael's spirit, the kernel of void-essence that Cocytos had infused him with allowed her to take root. The physical vessel, a simple corpse, became less and less important as days turned to weeks, and her bonding solidified, allowing Raphael to see her in the guise she'd chosen, the very image of a childhood friend he'd held, aging her to match his own maturity. Soon, she was solely visible within his mind, a hallucination, it seemed to others, but, in fact, a sentient being of her own right, simply one only Raphael could percieve.
Initially, she was used to observe and judge Raphael's worthiness for the position of Prince of Winter which he'd been chosen for, though he was unaware of it. But, as an added effect of the closeness if their bond, she found herself enamored of him, his personality and view of her shaping her, much as one might a figment of the imagination. Though she could not defend his actions in laying with and consorting with Sadira, a goddess and enemy of Namtar, she could hope to protect him from harsher punishments in the future.
She shares a deep, abiding love of Raphael, a relationship not unlike that of wife and husband, although perhaps nearer to dear siblings, she the older, Raphael the younger. She doesn't begrudge sharing his affections and Raphael himself with Stigmata, as the other woman plainly makes him happy, and she can't bring herself to deny him happiness.
Her uses to Raphael extend beyond a confidant and companion. She is possessed of a vast repository of knowledge, a near-perfect photographic memory and similarly excellent powers of recall. Her talent in the geomantic magics of Namtari origin make her useful to Raphael who has a tenunous grasp on them at best. She is also capable of translating foreign tongues, and doing complex calculations quickly, to allow Raphael an enhanced reaction time and accuracy with weapons and tasks requiring motor-dexterity.
I was once gifted with a sword, it was crafted from age.
They said I could cut through anything with it.
I think they lied, for the sword leaves no mark no matter how hard it is swung.
Perhaps I lack the patience to see what wounds it leaves...