Mabel

Mabel's parents were members of the Order of Aurelia... and highly skilled scam artists.

Mabel's parents, both sheep beastkin, proclaimed that they were holy lambs sent by the Goddess. They exploited the Order's doctrine to grow their flock, and then fleeced those followers for all they were worth.

Mabel was born into and raised amidst this religious fervor, and was taught from a young age to always Follow what is good and shun what is evil. And, since the Goddess Aurelia was infallible, only good could possibly be done in Her name.

Her parents no doubt intended for their daughter to play a key role in their mountebank ministry... but whether by Mabel's luck or their misfortune, Mabel interpreted their teachings in an earnest, if extreme, direction: Protect what is good... and punish what is evil.

Mabel's burgeoning convictions led her to expose her parents' fraud to Parliament.

Her mother and father pled with her to the very last possible second, insisting that all was good in the name of the Goddess... but Mabel could not be swayed. What was evil had to be punished.

Hers was the key testimony that put her parents behind bars. Mabel had learned her parents' teachings: Follow what is good and punish what is evil. Even her own parents weren't exempt from that standard.

After her parents were tried and sentenced, Mabel was sent to live in a shelter run by the Order.

Others at the shelter pitied Mabel for losing her parents at such a young age, but they were also surprised that she felt no regret for her role in losing them.

Mabel paid no mind to their confusion or gossip. Even if others said she was an emotionless monster, she remained confident, for she had only done what was right.

Word of this bold girl naturally reached the ears of Parliament, the heart of all four elemental Orders. Mabel's unwavering resolve to punish evildoers, even her own parents, was a quality befitting an inquisitor, servants of Parliament charged with setting all personal biases aside to carry out the goddesses' will.

Mabel's deeds even caught the notice of Archbishop Cropian, the leader of Parliament, and he summoned her for an interview.

After a lengthy talk, the Archbishop took Mabel into his direct care, promising to train her as a nun, and when the time came, appoint her to the ranks of the inquisitors.

Mabel completed her basic religious training, and then, at Archbishop Cropian's demand, she immediately began training to become an inquisitor. Though far too young for such a role, Mabel's devout nature had caught Archbishop Cropian's eye, and he was determined to see her put to use for Parliament's cause as soon as possible.

Elphin, who had long trained inquisitors, was assigned as her instructor.

Though the thought of teaching a child to pass judgment upon others weighed heavily on Elphin's conscience, Parliament's decision was absolute. And thus Mabel's instruction began.

Mabel had no hesitation in performing an inquisitor's duties, whether it involved torturing sinners to lead them to repentance or carrying out executions with her own hand. Armed entirely with the word and doctrine of her goddesses, she accepted it all. She never rested, never wavered, and thus her growth as an inquisitor progressed at an extraordinary pace.

She never once questioned the word of her goddesses. She required nothing beyond it, and for its sake, she would do anything. To Parliament, Mabel was an exceptionally efficient and ideal weapon.

When confronting sinners, Mabel always began with conversation. She approached each sinner without regard to what they had done in the past, and determined through their conversation whether they were good or evil. If they were deemed evil, she would devote herself to guiding them toward reform under the Order's teachings.

If, despite Mabel's best efforts, the sinner before her remained unrepentant, then she punished them without mercy, for To refuse repentance is the ultimate evil.

Each time she successfully completed her duties, her instructor Elphin would offer genuine praise. Yet beneath the praise Elphin grew increasingly uneasy, as Mabel seemed to lose her human emotions with each passing day.

Despite Elphin's worries, Mabel quickly gained the full trust and recognition of both Parliament and Archbishop Cropian as an inquisitor.

Certain that she would never defy Parliament's will, Archbishop Cropian offered her Epigram, one of Parliament's treasured artifacts, as a sign of his confidence.

Epigram was a book that could temporarily materialize whatever was written within its pages. Depending on how it was used, Epigram had the potential to become extremely dangerous. Thus, it was not only forbidden to use freely, but even to issue out. Simply granting it to someone was enough to send shockwaves through Parliament.