Yelusa

Yeluda is a minor character from the Ravneloft product line novel, Dance of the Dead (Novel). An example of a rare sort of bird woman called owl maiden, she was captured and a prisoner and slave of Captain Raoul Dumont. Yeluda was later turned into a zombie by Lond and then destroyed by Willen.

Biography

Originally from Falkovnia, Yeluda was an owl maiden, a race of shapechanging women that can turn into owls much like the swanmays of other realms can transform into swans. Prior to the events of DotD, Dumont's crew captured and enslaved her. With Dumont in possession of her token, she had little use but to be his spy. (If an owl maiden's token is destroyed, she must always return to the spot of its destruction.) Dumont kept her locked up in his livestock pens aboard La Demoiselle du Musarde, feeding her only every three days.

When Willen enlisted in the crew, he shared his plans with Dumont's slaves to free them. After Willen left ostensibly on another search mission for Larissa Snowmane, Dumont sent Yeluda to spy on him at Lond's request. Yeluda agreed to be betray Willen on the provision that she was freed and given her token. After Willen was captured and Yeluda's betrayal revealed, she demanded her token back from Dumont, whom informed her he burned it long ago. Overcome by rage, she lunged at Dumont only to be stopped by Lond's zombies. Dumont called for the owl maiden to be taken back to her prison, but Lond ordered his zombies to snap her neck so he could renaimate his first nonhuman zombie.

Yeluda was later decapitated in combat with Willen but was prevented from a counterattack by Larissa's Dance of the Dead (Ritual).