Velapuri the Vitreous appears as a humanoid secretary bird, dressed in crimson robes of a scholar. Matching makeup accentuates the natural colouration and markings of their face. Little gems hang loosely from their attire, and a larger, round crystal is usually in their hands. They are a Jyoti from Creation's Forge, serving Lady Sjel at her Pearlescent Court in Cynosure.
Velapuri is a proud, vain, and distrustful creature with an air of assured superiority around them. They are also an exacting mentor, who expects impeccable propriety and competence from those who work for them – and often, from those who don't. She views the Material Plane and its customs as confounding and odd, but still puts in the effort to familiarise herself with them.
Chief Scribe of the Court
Titled both 'Master' and 'Mistress', Velapuri is Sjel's Chief Scribe – an archivist, registrar, secretary, and record-keeper. Due to their unusual way of keeping those records (see below), they are also a skilled crystal-gardener, who has a bit of a friendly rivalry with the Lotus Lord Niloufer, over whose gardens are more impressive.
They have a Calligraphy Wyrm called Chenna as her helpful Familiar, and used to employ ]">Petryk as one of her understudies; the two did not get along at all. Barinka is another bureaucrat working under Velapuri.
Outside of these main duties, she is a diplomatic envoy of Creation's Forge, and the guardian of the planar portal at the top of the Tower of Glass.
Crystal Archives
Hailing from Creation's Forge, Velapuri practices a peculiar way of storing information, which they employ for the Court's needs. Their archives take the shape of gardens of tree-sized flowers made of gemstones, grown upon open-air terraces that overlook Cynosure.
Taking a closer look at the petals, Jirel realises that this is not a mere collection of glass sculptures – it is an alien repository of knowledge. It seems that archival work in the upper reaches of the Tower is almost completely equated with gardening. Every line of every document is carefully grown within and upon the gemstone flora, in ways that might remain forever out of Jirel's reach and understanding... and perhaps, the reach of everyone present, aside from Velapuri themselves. Much of this encrypted information is not perceived by conventional means, really, but rather felt, on some deeper, abstract level, when her attention is focused on any given facet, edge, intentional crack, colour and intrusion, pinpoint of reflected and refracted light, or any combination of such elements.
Jirel's head swims a little, when she catches herself contemplating the hidden meaning of a petal-book for too long. However, all of it somewhat reminds her of the Crystal Keepers, an obscure, almost defunct sect of her Old World Elven kin, who venerated the goddess Yuelral. Perhaps, by spending some time here in meditation and study, their techniques could be revived and revitalised?
Reiko, on the other hand, also remembers sparse accounts about the depths of the crystalline cities that exist within Creation's Forge. Allegedly, they shelter similar gardens, where each towering flower represents the creation of a mortal soul that had ascended to divine power. To her, this terrace is a humble echo of such a garden, though on a much smaller scale, and with a different kind of knowledge represented by the flowers instead of noteworthy souls. - Viktor |
Velapuri jealously guards the techniques needed for growing and reading these crystalline, floral archives. However, she commends those who show great interest in this impressive, esoteric topic, and with enough honeyed persuasion, she might teach outsiders the basics.
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