Aurelian Confessor (s18)

Aurelian Confessor (s18)

the priestly person · the confessor · the s18 confessor

Character

Status Alive First seen s18 Last seen s18 Faction Aurelian forces

The unnamed Aurelian Confessor of session 18 was the priestess attached to Glenn’s on-road patrol that intercepted the party on the morning of 843-03-31 just outside the Bright Gate. Stood behind the three armoured knights ^[1]; wielded a mace ^[5]. Her two on-screen functions were arcane detection and field arbitration: she detected Mike’s Message cantrip the instant it was cast through the Mizzium Apparatus ^[3] and rolled Insight against Steven’s disadvantaged Deception ^[4], the Insight winning. Her in-fiction order to Glenn flipped mid-line - first “kill the heretic and bring him in”, then walked back to “he seems to be telling the truth” - which spared Steven and the rest of the party but committed Mike to execution ^[6]. After Glenn decapitated Mike on the next round, she sheathed her mace ^[5] and the patrol moved on. Status: alive, on patrol.

Overview

The unnamed Aurelian Confessor of session 18 is the priestly figure who attached to Glenn’s on-road patrol the morning of 843-03-31 outside the Bright Gate. The DM consistently calls her “the priestly person” ^[1], L2026, L2044) and then “the confessor” ^[6]. Female (“her”, “she” - Nick, ^[6]. She is the operational arcane-detection authority of the patrol; the patrol acts on her say-so.

She is not named in the transcript. “Confessor” is the DM’s working role-name, not a personal name.

Appearance and combat profile

Stands behind the three armoured knights ^[1]. Wields a mace ^[5], “you see this person sheave his mace”). No on-screen direct combat - her contributions to the patrol fight were entirely magical-detection and a single Insight roll, not weapon attacks. Her in-fiction reach into the encounter was decisive: the patrol’s first attack target (Mike) and the patrol’s decision to spare Steven both came from her, not from the lead knight.

Capabilities observed in play

• Arcane detection - flagged Mike’s Mizzium Apparatus-channelled Message cantrip the instant it was cast ^[2], L2044). The detection appears to work on the type of power being used rather than the spell-list classification: the DM’s ruling at ^[7] was that the off-list cantrip cast via the apparatus counts as a magic-item cast, which counts as arcane spellcasting, which the confessor detects. The wider Aurelian doctrine codified later in the same session - “in Aurelia, the question is not did you cast a spell. It is, are you using unsanctioned arcane power” (Nick, ^[8] - is the operational basis the confessor was working from.
• Insight - rolled against Steven’s disadvantaged Deception at ^[4]. Insight won. The DM narrated her decision aloud as a flip from “kill the heretic and bring him in” to “he seems to be telling the truth”, which functionally translated to: confirm Mike as the heretic, spare the rest, proceed with the execution.
• Mace - sheathed at ^[5] once the execution was committed; never drawn in anger.

Session 18 - the execution

The patrol intercepted the party on the inland road, ten or fifteen minutes from the Bright Gate. Glenn ran the documentation conversation; the confessor stood behind. When Mike tried to discreetly cast Message via the Mizzium Apparatus to coordinate the documents bluff with the party ^[9], the confessor’s finger came up and the cast was flagged (L2044). Initiative was called (L2058). Glenn dropped Mike to 0 HP in one round (L2094). Steven tried to talk the patrol down; the confessor’s Insight beat his disadvantaged Deception (L2115). Her first order to Glenn was “kill the heretic and bring him in” then walked back mid-line to “he seems to be telling the truth” - sparing Steven and the rest of the party but committing Mike to execution. She sheathed her mace (L2127). On Round 2, Glenn decapitated Mike (L2272-2274). The patrol confiscated the Mizzium Apparatus and Mike’s spellbook (L2287, L2437), parted with “good day” (L2296), and continued on.

Status

Alive, on patrol. Last seen walking away from Mike’s roadside grave at ^[10]. The Aurelian confessor role is now operationally documented on-screen - a confessor attaches to each patrol, runs arcane detection in real time, and rules on heresy on the spot. This specific s18 confessor is unnamed and should be treated as one instance of a recurring patrol-component figure unless and until the DM names her in a future session.

See also

• Glenn - the patrol knight who acted on her say-so.
• Aurelian forces - the parent faction.
• Mizzium Apparatus - the magic item whose cast she detected.
• Mike - the heretic she identified and committed to execution.
• Steven - the heretic she identified and spared on the Insight-vs-Deception flip.
• Bright Gate - the checkpoint her patrol was attached to.

References

1. ^ Session 18, line 1988 — First appearance - "what can only be described as a priestly person behind them".
2. ^ Session 18, line 2026 — Begins reacting to Mike's Message cast - "the priestly person behind them" raises a finger.
3. ^ Session 18, line 2044 — Detects the Mizzium-channelled Message cantrip; voiced single word "Morotic!" (likely Whisper artefact for an in-fiction term, possibly "Heretic" or similar - flagged for DM verification).
4. ^ Session 18, line 2107-2115 — Rolls Insight against Steven's disadvantaged Deception; Insight wins; in-fiction order "kill the heretic and bring him in" is then walked back to "he seems to be telling the truth" - spares Steven, commits Mike to execution.
5. ^ Session 18, line 2127 — Sheathes her mace once the execution is committed.
6. ^ Session 18, line 2115 — Inline citation.
7. ^ Session 18, line 2047 — Inline citation.
8. ^ Session 18, line 2176 — Inline citation.
9. ^ Session 18, line 2020-2023 — Inline citation.
10. ^ Session 18, line 2296 — Inline citation.