Mistress of the Parliament of Whispers

From Changeling Venue

Description

The Mistress of the Parliament of Whispers rules over her demesne with a barbed and honeyed tongue. While not often punishing her servants physically (she has other servants for that), the Mistress uses her powers of manipulation and emotional control to make even the thought of disobeying her one of pure agony. She and her domain serve two purposes for the Gentry: conflict mediation and one hell of a good time. She is skilled in the intricacies of the politics and amorphous rules of the Gentry, and often serves as an arbiter in matters that have the Gentry at each other's throats. When not holding court, she holds parties. Invitations to her domain for a good time are extremely valuable, and the parties manage to be remembered for some time, even considering the fleeting memories of the Gentry. The domain of the Mistress of the Parliament of Whispers is also an exporter of fine fruits and wine to other gentry, as her vast gardens grow an incredibly wide and bizarre variety of strange fruit. The servants who tend these gardens have what are considered the hardest job in her domain, for not only must they know the process and methods for growing and harvesting each type of fruit on the plantation, but they must also fight off the flocks of horse-sized rooks that wheel over the fields day and night.
For her servants, however, service to the Mistress of the Parliament of Whispers is far less cordial. Commonly, her servants are given multiple jobs and are expected to perform them all at the peak level of skill, even if they've never set their hand to it before. Rewards for good service are considered lavish: the right to kiss her hand, a strand of her hair, and the privilege to sleep on her favorite rug are all excitedly whispered about in her household. The penalty for failure or poor service is usually one of crushing depression and complete emotional breakdown. Attempted suicide is incredibly common among her servants, though these acts are usually prevented in the nick of time by seemingly random occurrences. The Mistress then chides the attempter for failing in even that task, and the cycle starts anew. If a servant is particularly strong willed, or if she just feels like it at that moment, the Mistress delights in a more physical display of punishment. Flaying and branding are favorite tactics, and these are often done with a twisted, artistic flair. She may even convince the servant that they are badges of honor after the punishment, only to reveal that they are marks of failure moments later. For repeat offenders, she permanently maims them in a spectacular fashion, her favorite method being changing the skin on the poor soul's hands to pliable obsidian. While the hands lose none of their dexterity, the new "skin" frequently flakes and shards, hurting the Lost and making many delicate tasks (such as harvesting) all the more difficult.
Most Lost who were servants of the Mistress have had their emotions, and indeed their entire personalities, shattered and rebuilt a thousand times over. The concept of "I" is a foreign one to them, and is the hardest thing to come to grips with once (and if) they escape. This emotional loss, coupled with severe physical reshaping or maiming, ensures the newly "escaped" Lost will have an insanely difficult time fitting in to a new world.

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Inspirations

Itzpapalotl, Aztec Goddess
Elizabeth I, Queen of England
Lady Astoria, from Dave Sim's Cerebus
Dorian Gray, from Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray
Queen Jadis (the White Witch), from Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

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