Tristessa

Tristessa, by Talon Dunning

Tristessa rules Keening. She is a shadow fey, of the Arak, the first of the widderìbhinn, and a banshee, forever in search of her dead daughter. In life she was a Sith and a noble in the Unseelie Court of the kingdom of Niurin Scaa, hidden far beneath the surface of Arak. When three outlanders were brought to Arak by the Mists, they were initially welcomed by the shadow fey. Their worship of Lolth became a popular cult among the Arak under the name of the Church of the Spider Queen. The followers of this cult began to change in appearance: gaining features similar in appearance to the drow. Alarmed by the cult's rising power, Loht, Prince of the Unseelie shadow fey, quickly began taking steps to snuff out the cult before it reached its zenith of power.

When the drow had all been killed through a series of assassinations, Tristessa became the head priestess of Lolth's cult. A horrible war commenced between Tristessa's cult and Loht's court. Many lives were lost, but not of the Arak, but rather their more mortal pawns and slaves. Thus, the Law of Arak remained in tact.

As the chaos continued, Tristessa became pregnant and then gave birth to a daughter born with spider's legs. Mysteriously, the infant was without father. Although some of her peers call this a sign of disgrace, Tristessa felt true love for her child.

Eventually, Loht held such enmity for Tristessa and her cult that he committed the direst transgression for his people: breaking the Law of Arak. Loht and his minions staked Tristessa and her deformed baby to the ground on the surface of Mount Lament. There they were left to die in the rays of the rising sun. As Tristessa and her child perished, she put down a horrible curse upon the land and her people, thus causing the Scourge of Arak. She now resides on Mount Lament as darklord of Keening.

Vistani [?] and others occasionally leave babies for Tristessa, but because she lacks the physical requirements to care for a baby (such as the ability to nurse a child), all of her surrogate babies die of starvation. Tristessa is served by undead fey from across the demiplane, alternately referred to as "widderìbhinn" or "umbra."

Apocryphal Origins

Early sources described Tristessa as one of the drow. Darklords describes her as becoming disgraced with the Church of Lolth for keeping her deformed baby. This origin seems to have been retconned out of existence, as later sources describe the perception of Tristessa as a drow as an in-world mistake.

Stats

2nd Edition female banshee, Chaotic Evil. Note that Tristessa's unique origins and her darklord status gives her some unique powers beyond an ordinary banshee. These include a crippling touch and spell-like abilities resembling those of a drow.

3rd Edition: 3.5:

• Female sith widderrìbhinn, Cleric 4 (Spider Queen)/Zelldrow 6

Pathfinder:

• Female Sith Zelldrow 6 Fifth Magnitude Ghost, Chaotic Evil, CR 16

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Secrets of the Dread Realms Domains of Dread Darklords
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - p34 Domains of Dread - p38 Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - p90 Darklords - p13
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp33-35 Domains of Dread - p38 Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - p89 Darklords - pp20-21
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp7,33-35 Domains of Dread - p38 Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - pp21,89-91 Tales of Ravenloft:The Wailing - pp114-127 Darklords - pp12-14 Realm of Terror - pp74-75
		The Sad One