Numeda Tri'Se, crouching adult in middle
Numeda Tri'Se (Negeémiliel 2357 a.a.H. - ? a.a.H.)
Numeda Tri'Se is a part of three drow captives that are collectively referred to as the Jabharil Trio as all three were members of the Cult of the Flower. She is from a working class family, a drow native to the city of Negeémiliel of average height and build, but she does have a strikingly attractive body and a fierce demeanor. Largely her anger and practiced sarcasm is a mask as her fear tends to be expressed as anger. she would prefer to follow than lead, but can be a good motivator for others, and she isn't averse to doing the hard and dirty work if need be.
She once led a group of fellow Fanatics of Jabharil as she is smart and decisive enough to have done a reasonably good job at it. As the Cult of the Flower hardly has good military discipline, are certainly not acknowledged, and are masked fanatics, she had to motivate through harsh talk, cajoling, and example. She worked hard to become a Jabharil Sentry and carries herself with a sense of hard earned pride.
Personal attributes[]
Numeda Tri'Se attempting to sell dyed floral silk clothes related to the Jabharil Cult of the Flower to Naeshi and Gaveo as the Drow Trio in the background look on
- Very knowlegeable of textiles
- Can work hard and fast
- Willing to self sacrifice and make tough choices
- Not afraid to get her hands dirty
- Believes in Jabharil and concept of universal love
- Covers her fear with anger or action
- She often goads others to action
- Can be confrontational
- Typical drow red eyes and white hair
Biography[]
Background[]
Numeda grew up amongst a household of workers specializing in the manufacturing of dyes for small weaving shops. It wasn't a bad life for a working family, just one that resulted in stained fingers. Unfortunately, it was business that became harder to make a good living at despite the growing business of textiles that Negeemiliel produced. Textiles had long been big business, but there had always been plenty of 'cottage' industries. But the growing trade encouraged the large industries to expand, and other elite houses to enter into the industry and steal market share from those unable to easily compete.
Life grew hard, as supplies of raw silk became more expensive for the small houses without the giant spiders, and dye components even more so. The industry expanded enough to keep small houses hanging on despite the heavy competition, but just barely. Numeda left the small shop for larger ones, but found herself often redundant when the growing slave market would take jobs. She came to be reduced to hawking finished textile products in the many bazaars of the city where her often aggressive personality at least gave her some advantage.
The Arrival of the Cult of the Flower[]
Nonetheless, when the foreign religion of the Goddess of Love and Fertility, Jabharil came to Negeemiliel, she came to welcome it. Not immediately, first her interest was the intricately styled and colored abbreviated uniforms that they wore. They were willing to pay more for the best work of the cottage industries rather than the big houses. This endeared them to Numeda even though she didn't benefit much directly, but her family got some benefit from the business of the new and growing religion.
Jabharil appreciated weavers and dyers just as much as soldiers it seemed. Numeda found herself taken with the new religion that was more concerned with the working drow. But as it supported the working people, work was needed to support Jabharil. The goddess of love needed her adherents to have love for each other--and especially love for her!
Being a Fanatic of Jabharil[]
Numeda became one of the Fanatics of Jabharil and came to lead a small group of three other fanatics. While she'd rather be a follower, her faith in her new religion and assertiveness made her a good 'whip' for pushing more reluctant fanatics along on missions. She found herself the most qualified leader of four fanatics. They stole from the rich by breaking into warehouses, they demanded that those who received help from the church should give help in return. They disgraced services to the wretched goddess of war, Negeé, they attacked her worshippers, beat up those who needed encouragement "to do the right thing". They killed a man who infiltrated the cult...
That was how Numeda came to be promoted to being a "sentry" in the open church at long last.
Benefits of Being a Jabharil Sentry[]
It is known that Numeda has known many fellow fanatics who were killed in street battles with acolytes, or sold in slave markets for their crimes. This is something that weighs on her mind sometimes. Becoming a Jabharil Sentry is a good thing for her, as it is generally safer, and she got open respect in the 'visible' church, rather than committing crimes secretly, or by 'aggressive protests', such as she did as a fanatic for the cult. The pay as a sentry is also twice as good as it is for a fanatic, Numeda's efforts and experience probably giving her more than the base pay as well. Pay is often received in the form of goods such as grain; although, as an open member of the church, Numeda might have received money?
Brief Time Partnered With Musshil Kesalf[]
Numeda was assigned a new partner to mentor who had just risen to the rank of "Sentry". This new cultist was named Musshil Kesalf, and despite her favorable showing on an important assignment--she needed a lot of work as she was a small woman and not forceful. Numeda would help to start training her with weapons, the spear used by the Jabharil sentries, and also a knife, poor little Musshy would not soon threaten anyone with her hand to hand prowess!
Debacle in the Spring Festival[]
During a Jabharil spring festival, all the children initiated to the city's matron goddess Negeé, were found to have escaped! No clear information was forthcoming from most of the guards, and in the midst of all this, the sentry Chadie Maltree had came to Musshy and wanted her help as Chadie's earlier conversation with her own partner made it sound like her partner, Neroe, was planning on deserting the cult. Numeda was highly reluctant to leave her sentry duty, but Musshy would not remain where she was, and Numeda didn't want to explain why she was alone. Also, the chaos of the temple with the disappearances of the hostage initiates, and the ongoing festival made leaving easy. Numeda was also eager to add her voice to sway a weak believer; so the three left the temple in their plain clothes and located and followed Neroe. ("Neroe" who was actually Maylara Maltree an agent working for the acolytes of the goddess Negeé).
The three were curious as to why Neroe was traveling with the children, but as the children were wearing clothes with flower patterns in the Jabharil style, it seemed that they were children of worshippers at the Temple of the Flower that were going home, escorted by "Neroe" who had gone off duty. Numeda had wanted to get this over with fast, so she could return to duty, but the three were increasingly curious, especially when "Neroe" and the children entered into the Hanging Spires neighborhood. A wealthy neighborhood with many families of citizens (acolytes) living there, which made Numeda especially and increasingly ill at ease. Seeing some young, apparently Jabharil fanatics also sneak into the neighborhood, and enter the same house that Neroe and the children had entered reassured them--to a point.
Captured by Priestess Dahl'Arak[]
Chadie wanted to change clothes towards their own fanatic uniforms and enter the house as well to see what went on there and question Neroe. So they broke into a house nearby to do this, but were caught by priestess Laeh'le Dahl'Arak who put them under arrest. All three cultists froze in horror, then Numeda found the courage to fight, hoping that they would win, or that her two companions would get away if they chose to retreat. Laeh'le fought and defeated all three of them though, despite her reputation of being both rather inept at physical combat and at using her magic offensively.
The three cultist were imprisoned in the dungeon of the house that they ironically sought to enter, where the acolyte soldiers there came to derisively refer to them as the Jabharil Trio. It was the home of an acolyte captain named Xuunera Lo'Kee, and she was worried that they were Jabharil spies and that the cult had already unraveled what had happened. She tortured and drugged the three to learn their secrets to see how compromised that she was, despite her resolve, Numeda was broken to talk along with the two newer cultists. Numeda herself had learned during their imprisonment that the "friend" that Chadie and Musshy were so concerned about was really an acolyte spy!
Numeda had often wondered what might have happened to her friends and comrades who were captured, executed or enslaved. She was very frightened, which in her case, meant that she was very aggressive with her acolyte captors. As a result, many times she was sure that they (or she) would be executed or beaten to death. Death did not come as Captain Lo'Kee had decided to enslave the "Jabharil Trio". Indeed, a slave trainer named Bruh'la Sard was present to aid in their interrogation, and then begin their slave training as they were already 'broken in'.
The Dahl'Arak House[]
Leaving the Lo'Kee House[]
The Jabharil Trio, considered Dahl'Arak slaves, had been moved to the mansion of House Dahl'Arak, after training and serving for several months under the head slave of the Lo'Kee house. They often served under Initiate Carlae Lo'Kee as their acting mistress. Ironically, Carlae is the girl that Musshy and Chadie had kidnapped.
Sometime before the enactment of the Senatorial Populist coup d'état, (see Dahl'Arak Coup), Chadie and her friends were moved to the Dahl'Arak home in Negeémiliel. Possibly to help keep them from causing any potential trouble, or most likely to reduce the strain on the household from maintaining too many persons inside.
Civil War[]
During the chaos of the events of the Dahl'Arak Coup, the barracks used for new slaves was locked, but was left unlocked accidently. Numeda pushed her two fellows, Chadie and Musshy to escape with her, but they either refused, or else the three were recaptured.
It is known that the three were left unchained while in barracks, but chained to impede movement of their arms when last seen. This might have been punishment for an attempted escape? It might also simply be the usual state of affairs for enslaved criminals in the Dahl'Arak household.
Current Status[]
Formal Enslavement[]
The results of a ruling from a tribunal apparently resulted in the formal enslavement of the three.
Maylara Maltree Returns for Her Friends[]
The adventurer Maylara Maltree early in 2429 a.a.H. came to the owner of the three drow, Laeh'le Dahl'Arak and traded her trained and obedient slave Larylene, and perhaps some money in addition for the three former fanatics made slaves. The three were now owned by the Acolyte House Char'Isstra, but are expected to be able to live with their families.
It is believed that Numeda would become an escaped slave upon a visit to Animadelia.