Petryk

Petryk was a Stygira, an earthen kind of Fey. He used to be Velapuri's understudy at the Pearlescent Court of Lady Sjel, in Cynosure.

Wanting to conceal his hideous, stone-blind visage, and to avoid prejudice against his kind, Petryk wore heavy veils over his face and horns. These covers also helped him shield his vestigial eyes from the light of the Tower of Glass, which sickened him with its brilliance, even more so than the rest of Cynosure. His horns grew hollow, and carried echoes of his voice, making him sound as if multiple people were talking in unison.

Petryk had an Aeon Wyrd as his Familiar, which he also used as his main crystal for Gemsight.

Petryk, uncovered as a thief and traitor, was slain during the quest. His lair, connected to the Tower of Glass via a Gwyddfa, was located on an island within the Garland, which recently emerged from the depths. It features a herd of Vegetable Lambs; ancient ruins, older than most other seen in the New World, and clearly built for a Large ancestry; and prodigious amounts of crystals.

Analysing your surroundings – which includes closer study of Petryk's corpse, and rummaging through his makeshift laboratory and library – you slowly start piecing together what transpired.

Petryk was a Stygira, an earthen type of Fey who suffer from light sickness and obsess over crystals. In one of his earlier journals, you discover the first reason for his presence in Cynosure. He travelled there to study the alien gemstones, which placed him into Velapuri's service as a promising understudy. Lady Sjel was the one who "embraced" him, persuading her Archivist to take this new stranger under their wing, which they begrudgingly accepted, though it seems that Petryk was proving himself to be quite capable.

The second, more personal reason was his search for a cure for his blindness and aversion to light. However, the overwhelming brilliance of the portal only brought him further, immeasurable suffering, which he attempted to circumvent by wrapping himself in thick layers of fabric. This also helped him protect himself from the stigma and suspicion associated with his kind, most of whom are far from benevolent. Where his residual eyes were, and where he hoped new and proper ones would open under the influence of the Forge, he instead developed misshapen horns, as the stony, scarred flesh of his face simply grew thicker, and piled up on top of itself. Petryk was becoming desperate and hopeless, until...

In one of the later journals, Petryk mentions the acquisition of a new patron from beyond Cynosure – from beyond this world.

- Viktor

Light Sickness

- Stygiras are sickened by bright light. While residing in the Tower of Glass, right beneath the blinding brilliance of the portal to Creation's Forge, Petryk wore his veils to avoid the most adverse effects (and to hide his hideous visage from others).

- One of his main reasons for coming to Cynosure was his desire for his vestigial eyes to grow back; instead, misshapen horns grew from his rocky face-plate due to the influence of the raw vitality pouring out of the portal.

Crystal Research

- Another reason for coming to Cynosure was the study of gemstones, placing Petryk into Velapuri's service as an understudy. Lady Sjel was the one who "embraced" Petryk, sensing his troubles, and persuading Velapuri to accept his apprenticeship. He did not get along with their Familiar, a Calligraphy Wyrm, who could subconsciously sense his connection to the Vitruvian.

- Petryk had a flock of Vegetable Lambs on his isle in the Garland, which he used to study the effects of crystals – particularly the ones he pillaged from the Tower of Glass – on living matter. He was hoping to find a way to modify these gems, and channel their Vitality into his eyes at last, instead of having it cause his horn growth.

Dead God

- An outward display of this connection to the Vitruvian were the corals growing from Petryk's shoulders – implying Undine heritage – and eventual favouring of precious stones related to the sea. The other, more subtle sign was the hollow state of his horns, which like seashells carried echoes of his voice, and whispers of the Vitruvian, making him sound as if multiple people were speaking in unison.

- After communing with the Vitruvian, Petryk started searching for a way to resurrect the Ancient One. This offered him resolve to continue suffering under the light of Creation's Forge, while researching how its vitality could be used to bring his dead god back to life. One by one, he secretly pillaged the vaults of the Tower of Glass, gathering its crystals for study, and storing them on an isle of the Garland.

- What attracted Petryk to the Vitruvian was the latter's promise to heal his eyes at last.

- He is named after petrichor, the earthy smell after rain, because it combines appropriate themes – soil and rock, rain and water, divine blood and a god's deadly wounds.

GM Notes

Light Sickness

Crystal Research

Dead God