Tuirill
Deep in the Feywild, in the Kempsie Fells, lives an extended family of gnomes of the Biccrea clan. The Biccrea gnomes have a long-standing pact with the faerie king Delbáeth Mac Ogma, that whenever the eldest son reaches his fiftieth birthday and stands upon the Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny), he will be imbued with the essence of the King’s power, to be used however he sees fit. Tuirill, unfortunately, has an older brother...
Tuirill always lived in the shadow of his older brother Taranis. Every time he accomplished a new feat, he heard “That’s nice! Just like your brother Taranis did a few years ago!” As a result, he decided at an early age that since he’d never amount to the “splendor” of Taranis, he would be the exact opposite. Since Taranis was trustworthy, honest, and ascetic, Tuirill would lie, cheat, and steal. And he became good at it. In the beginning, he had few friends, since the other gnomes his age always basked in the glory of Taranis instead of mucking about with the younger Biccrea. He eventually befriended a few redcaps and kabouters, and they spent much of their time scheming and performing various acts of mischief and mayhem.
While skulking about, he eventually began talking to himself, so it was only a matter of time before he started responding to his own questions as if there were someone else there. Around Tuirill’s forty-fifth birthday, when Taranis was only one year away from gaining untold power by standing upon the Lia Fáil, he began to hear someone respond to his statements, a second party inside his head. By this time his mind had degenerated enough so that he actually took no heed of it. The voice referred to itself as Pale Night, and it spoke of birthrights and of fairness. It referred to Tuirill in a very flattering manner, and in this manner Pale Night, also known as the quasi-god Niavh Woemaker, hoped to mastermind her escape from her prison in the Astral Sea.
One day, Tuirill and his friends left a note for Taranis, requesting he meet them at the River Endrick to speak about something extremely important. Unfortunately, Taranis brought a few of his friends, which would have ended Tuirill’s quest for redemption then and there if one of the redcaps (also being subtly manipulated by Pale Night) hadn’t gone ahead and started attacking the good guys. A fierce battle ensued, but Tuirill and his company were bound and determined to use every dirty trick in the book (and write a few of their own!) to slay each and every one of Taranis’ friends. Eventually all of Taranis’ friends were killed, and the two brothers squared off. Taranis refused to raise his hand against his own brother, but Tuirill had no such compunction, and in one fell swoop beheaded Taranis.
The news of the Kinslaying spread like wildfire through the Kempsie Fells, so Tuirill was forced to spend the next few years living in the Traquair Forest nearby. During this time, he learned to exert his influence over others, to intimidate and beguile them into aiding him. Having disposed of the one thing standing between him and ultimate power, he became extremely egotistic and vain. He spent some time with satyrs, learning the way they would flatter strangers, and then turned his new skills against them and caused them to turn on one another. He is single-handedly responsible for the extinction of the Rinnal fauns. Due to his machinations, the Boonoak and Scrubscar centaurs are now mortal enemies.
His fiftieth birthday approaching, he sent word to his redcap and kabouter friends that he had plans. The Biccrea gnomes hadn’t forgotten the atrocities he’d commited, and would kill him on sight; this he knew. He disguised himself as an elder redcap, and on the night of his birthday a few dozen of the small beasts entered the Kempsie Fells en-masse. The guards had a hunch that Tuirill would attempt to reach the Lia Fáil, but were completely unprepared for a mass breaching of redcaps. Many gnomes and redcaps perished, but in the end, Tuirill Biccrea managed to reach the Lia Fáil.
As he set foot on it, a great horn resounded and all were immobilized. The spirit of Delbáeth Mac Ogma appeared over Tuirill’s head, at once looking both furious and snarky. When the elder fey king appeared, another entity also emerged. Standing slightly behind Tuirill was the image of a withered hag, straw-haired and blind-eyed. Tuirill shouted out “I, Tuirill, being the eldest of the line of the Biccrea, do command you give me my birthright.” Delbáeth responded “My power I bequeath, but the One who hides beneath, shall from this day forth reside, trapped in Tuirill’s mortal hide.” The image of Pale Night screamed so wretchedly it would have made banshees cringe, as it merged with the form of Tuirill. A lightning strike and boom of thunder later, and the gnome was gone.
Since then, Tuirill Biccrea has wandered the Material Plane, learning how to put his new-found powers to best use. Pale Night is his constant companion, and he’s always asking her input on the situation. One side effect that none of them could have imagined, though, is Tuirill’s haunting by his deceased brother. Each night Tuirill is forced to place five objects in a circle around himself, or he is unable to sleep peacefully, wracked with guilt that he would never admit to in the light of day.
