Aila Tightwater

Aila
Aila Tightwater is a Light Domain Cleric who serves the god Quint. Passionately righteous, she seeks to fight the forces of darkness by shedding light on all corruption, hypocrisy, and vileness.
 * Name: Aila Tightwater
 * Race: Human
 * Class: Cleric (Light Domain)
 * Background: Acolyte of Quint
 * Alignment: Lawful Good

She is altruistic, compassionate, and driven by a strong sense of duty to her comrades, particularly the gnome Dino Fierybottom. She usually acts cautiously, but will occasionally go out on a limb if she is strongly compelled. She tends to take things seriously, almost entirely lacking a sense of humor.

Background
Formerly a member of the Quintal Virgins in Buernth, Aila was committed at birth to 10,000 days of chaste servitude to the clergy. Although she had originally planned to extend her service indefinitely, she was ousted at the end of her term following a scandal.

When Aila was 25 years old, she discovered a priest trying to assault another virgin in the Room of Guarded Artifacts. When she threatened to expose his wrongdoing, the man attempted to curse her with a dark artifact: a string of pearls with a large red gem pendant, of unknown origin and power.

The necklace contained a soul trapped inside by powerful arcane magic, and when it was forced over her head, it entered her mind and body, possessing her. Henceforth, this mysterious being (who came to be called Laira), would periodically take control of her body whenever Aila grew weak.

Having been "contaminated" by the curse and declared insane, Aila was banned from active duty. However, Quintal Virgins were forbidden from actually leaving the clergy before their end of term. Thus, Aila was quarantined in one of the towers and kept under lock and key for the remaining two years until her 10,000 days were finished.

Curse
The curse put upon the necklace renders it unable to be removed, and all attempts to sever it, destroy it, or reverse the enchantment have so far been unsuccessful. It is not known what would happen to Laira if Aila were to die or the artifact were to be destroyed."Note: Laira can roll 1d20 to take control when Aila becomes injured, distraught, confused, or incapacitated. She must succeed against a DC calculated based on Aila's current health."Laira has access to everything her vessel experiences, including her thoughts and knowledge. By channeling Aila's faith, she is able to prepare and cast any spells that would be accessible to Aila. She possesses similar levels of intelligence and wisdom.

Although Laira sees everything Aila sees, the reverse is not true. Laira acts as the gatekeeper to the memories from her time in control, and can choose to reveal to Aila only whatever is convenient. While dormant, she exists as a voice inside Aila's mind, offering a continuous stream of unsolicited advice.

Before joining the Caravan, Aila/Laira met Dino when looking for someone with knowledge of arcane and forbidden knowledge, who might be able to reverse her spell. Intrigued, Dino agreed to help them, employing a wide variety of exotic ingredients, before a happy accident revealed a temporary solution. A certain rare mineral--if ignited--released a compound that interacted mysteriously with either the artifact itself or Aila's body. Upon exposure to the fumes, this reaction forces whichever soul currently dormant in the body to seize control. Aila and Laira, both afraid of being locked out of their body permanently, would like to find more of this material before the supply runs out.

Dino was able to process this odd mineral into a portable form of incense, and thus acts as a sort of arbiter between the two very different people within Aila's body.

Laira

 * Name: Laira (Originally from a misreading after she scrawled Aila's name on a gambling IOU.)
 * Race: ???


 * Class: Cleric (Channels Aila's faith)
 * Background: She can't remember, but is pretty sure she was really important.
 * Alignment: Chaotic Good

Laira's origins are unknown, and her memories of her past life are nearly nonexistent. However, she knows that the kind of spell that bound her to the necklace is extremely rare, and was most likely cast by someone very powerful. From this reasoning, and a gut feeling she can't explain, Laira has thus concluded that she herself used to be someone of massive power.

Arrogant, callous, and sardonic, Laira has a penchant for thievery and weakness for jewels, flattery, and food. Although imbued with a strong sense of self-importance, she fears deep down that she actually used to be no one of significance. Laira hates showing weakness, and will usually overcompensate for her insecurities by feigning indifference to others or acting recklessly. However, underneath her prickly exterior, she is actually rather compassionate and secretly enjoys being a healer. Laira vehemently despises those who take advantage of the weak, particularly children, and dreams of one day returning to power as a mighty but benevolent overlord.