Description

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Ah, Her Serenity, the Lady of Pain. She's a source of terror in Sigil, the City of Doors, and even for the oldest greybeards, the Lady's a mystery wrapped in an enigma. She doesn't speak. Nobody knows what she is, where she came from, or what she wants. Sigil's an ancient burg, and the Lady's always been there, not governing so much as haunting it. She's thankfully rarely seen, because when she does show, it's always bad news. All a cutter can do is try to run. Most who lay eyes on her are torn to ribbons by something unseen. The rest are reduced to screeching, rambling barmies.

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On her home turf, the Lady's the deadliest creature in the multiverse. She's been known to slay greater gods who dare try to muscle in on her city, massacre whole factions in an instant, and send demon lords scrambling back to their pits. And when a berk really deserves it, she'll imprison them in a demiplane she creates on a whim, known as the Lady's Mazes. They're worse than a death sentence, some say. Rumor is a body can suffer many lifetimes in a maze, looking for a way out and slowly going mad. They all presumably have an exit, if a blood can find the key, but anyone who claims to have escaped the Lady's clutches is either lying or barmy.

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While she doesn't make many appearances, Her Serenity is the ruler of Sigil, the City of Doors, by default.  No one questions that. The Lady controls all of Sigil's portals, and who gets in or out. She doesn't compromise, and when she lays down the law, it is absolutely brutal, but a lot of greybeards argue that it's all for a reason.

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See, Sigil's a tempting strategic prize to every god, arch-devil, and planar power there is. Whoever controls the city has routes to all dimensions in existence. If Sigil was yours, you could conquer the planes, so a lot of high-up bloods are hungry to lay siege, if they could only stand up to the Lady of Pain.

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Ironically, the terror of the Lady ends up protecting a lot of folk. Seems she's not bent on conquest, beyond the Cage itself. In fact, she never leaves Sigil at all, far as anyone knows. Some believe the Lady's trapped there, but if she is, that might be a good thing. After all, she keeps the evil gods and powers out. She's the reason why cosmic wars haven't breached the city, and why angels and devils cross paths without bloodying the streets - the Lady keeps it civil, or you're in the dead book.

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Still, plenty of awful stuff goes down in the Cage, things you'd think the Lady would put a stop to - murder, crime, wretched poverty, the ugliest sorts of politics - but most of the time, it seems, she doesn't give a fig, and lets the city's factions sort it out.

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Locals are superstitious when it comes to the Lady. Folks try not to mention her in conversation, lest she appear. And word is there's a few acts Her Serenity finds especially offensive. If you commit them, she'll show up right quick,  they say, and suddenly you're a corpse.

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Don't block the portals around town. Don't mess with the Dabus, the Lady's servants. Don't threaten the city's stability. Don't mention a particular deity Her Serenity murdered, whose name shall not be repeated here. And whatever you do, don't offer the Lady your worship. Never suggest she's a god. Seems she really, really hates that.

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Heed those warnings, berk. You do not want to meet the Lady of Pain.