The Harpy's Choir — Encyclopaedia

LaurentSt. Orient

“The Silver-Visaged Pilgrim of Acastelada”

Human Status: At-large Affiliation: Witch-City of Acastelada Era: High Bronze to Ashfall

Overview

Laurent St. Orient is remembered as a saintly vagabond and reluctant duelist, whose path through the Witch-City of Acastelada left a trail of quiet miracles, vanished ledgers, and red butterflies caught in candle soot. Scholars dispute whether his argent masque hid a noble infirmity or a votive vow.

Timeline

  • Late Dawn: Birth in the ash-quarter of Acastelada.
  • High Bronze: The Pilgrimage of Thirteen Altars; first sightings of the silver mask.
  • High Bronze + 12: Duel at the Mirror-Bridge; abdication of a baron’s claim.
  • Ashfall: Disappearance during the Red Procession; butterfly omens recorded city-wide.

Selected Accounts

“He spoke like a penknife—quiet until it opens.” — Scribe E. Mallory
“The mask was not to hide a face, but to spare us a revelation.” — Sister Anabel
“Butterflies first, then the candles guttered. He was already gone.” — Dock-warden C. Verral

Gallery

Known Aptitudes

  • Silver-Masque Vow: Resists compulsions and gaze-charms; mask as focus.
  • Butterfly Omen: Minor psychic disturbance preceding departures.
  • Quiet Duellist: Measured ripostes; favors disabling strikes over lethality.

Implements & Relics

  • Argent Facade: ritual mask, argent-leaf, inner script invisible to the uninitiated.
  • Pilgrim’s Scrip: letters of passage recognized by three Academies.

Associations

  • Witch-City of Acastelada: Protected vagrant; rumored confidant of Lady Lucretia.
  • Mizrham Academies: Cited in two censored theses.
  • Red Procession: Last witnessed among their banners.

Rivalries

  • Baron of the Mirror-Bridge: Claim voided following formal abdication.

Notes & Curios

  • Butterflies in Acastelada are colloquially called “Laurent’s Lanterns.”
  • Three extant copies of the argent masque exist; authenticity disputed.
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