Meet the Luminaries: Beatrice
Beatrice, Beastling Sage. Art by Raphael Ferreira Braga.
The Dream is an endlessly growing world of infinite possibilities. Comprised of numerous Aspects whose natures combine to form the foundations of reality, the mysteries of the Dream are almost impossible to truly understand. That does not, however, stop some from trying.
Beatrice was born to an enclave of owl beastlings in the Aspect of existence called the Forest, a realm of endless trees, mossy caverns, and a diverse array of wildlife. Even as a small child, Beatrice had a boundless curiosity that drove her to explore and push beyond the boundaries of her home, high up in the Forest trees with leaf-thatched wooden houses and a few gently swaying rope bridges intended for elderly beastlings who could no longer glide from roost to roost.
Beatrice followed the flame of her curiosity beyond the safe demarcations of the leafy bower in which she was raised. Gliding gently to the Forest floor, her first explorations started with fungi, herbs, and mosses. Beatrice learned to dry, brew, and ferment the bounties of the undergrowth, making poultices, potions, and beverages.
Beatrice’s skill as an apothecary and brewer could have easily provided a comfortable life for her without her needing to take any further risks, but staying put had never even occurred to her as an option. Beatrice traded her goods for supplies, allowing her to delve ever further from home.
One day, deep in the Forest and all by herself, Beatrice saw something truly spectacular. The boundaries of the Forest had come into convergence with the Aspect of Flame, and a great forest fire roared and consumed. The usual creatures of the Forest, moose and bear and squirrel, fled along the ground. Birds retreated high into the canopy, seeking to avoid the smoke and heat. Replacing them were terrifying creatures from the Flame: hounds whose saliva scorched and sizzled, slithering salamanders whose bodies spread fire with every touch, and other more terrifying things Beatrice could only half glimpse through the heated haze.
Beatrice watched the flames too long and likely would have died that day, trapped in that horrific inferno, if not for the group of delvers who rescued her. Far from the City but drawn to the Aspect convergence, the delvers noticed Beatrice perched upon a branch as hungry hellhounds snapped at her feet and sparks rained from burning branches above. Rushing to her aid, the delvers drove the hellhounds off and welcomed Beatrice into their company.
Beatrice and the delvers fled the blazes, but with so many Beings now gathered together, Beatrice’s sense of place became shaken and uncertain. She no longer knew the way home. With no other option available, Beatrice accompanied the delvers back to the City.
Beatrice now runs a small roadside stand where she sells beers and herbal remedies, at least on days when she is not delving out into the Dream. She eagerly takes every opportunity to join outgoing expeditions, especially those intentionally seeking the Forest or the Flame, hoping to find her way back home again some day.
Her ever-growing familiarity with the two Aspects, and her studies into their natures and manifestations, has also enhanced her abilities as a delver. Beatrice calls on the powers of Forest and Flame, regardless of what Aspect she travels in, using their powers to bind and burn enemies. She is counted among the City’s learned sages and wields Aspect magic that goes far beyond the average delver’s boons and tricks. The Dream itself answers her wishes, though it still seems to resist her desire to return home. Perhaps this is because the Dream knows her better than she knows herself, and in her heart of hearts she is far from ready to go back to the tiny settlement of her birth while there is still such an endless expanse of existence to explore.
