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Myth 41 of the Painted Grace

—

by

Dale
in

Lore:

  • Across bustling bathhouses, royal dressing suites, and dusty traveling caravans, cosmeticians and courtly valets share a persistent superstition: “The face you show the sun is merely clay, but the face painted with patience commands the eye of kings.” Folk belief insists that beauty is not an accident of birth, but an intentional defense against a callous world—a properly dressed countenance can disarm suspicion, veil inner terror, and turn aside bitter malice before a word is spoken. Originating from Mistress Lyanna, the legendary court visage-mistress who turned away an invading general’s wrath simply by presenting her empress in flawless, unearthly morning paint, myth magic honors this deep conviction in aesthetic poise. An avatar who embraces the artistry of the cosmetic ritual can mend social fractures, present an unassailable exterior, and charm the senses of those who seek conflict.

Description:

  • A slender, double-ended cosmetic wand carved from dense, fragrant wild plum wood, smoothed by decades of pomade and fragrant oils. One end is fitted with a soft, natural camel-hair applicator tipped with crushed mica and rose paste, while the other features a rounded, polished jade blending stone. The central midriff of the wooden body is wrapped in cream-colored raw silk cordage, held fast by two thin bands of hammered electrum. Set into the central balance band is a tier 1 magic crystal: a smooth, oval rose quartz cabochon that glows with a pale, pearlescent blush resembling morning lamplight reflecting off alabaster powder. The wand exudes a subtle, persistent scent of pressed jasmine petals, ground rice flour, and sweet almond oil.

Stats:

  • Tier: 1
  • Rarity: Common
  • Item Hit Points: 30 (Avatar Base plus Resilience 10 multiplied by Tier 1)
  • Resilience: 10
  • Armor Check (AC): 1 (Adding directly to the avatar’s Defense score, within the maximum limit of 3 per item tier)
  • Suggested Market Value: 100 silver coins
  • Weight: 0.5 pounds (Held in hand, tucked into a vanity roll, or worn on a belt loop)

Passives:

  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: While held in hand or tucked openly into a sash or belt, the avatar gains a +1 competence bonus on Charisma (Persuasion) and Wisdom (Insight) checks made during social negotiations, audience chambers, or high-stakes introductions.
  • The Painted Veil: Cosmetics, hair oils, face clays, and scented perfumes applied using this wand remain perfectly fresh, vibrant, and undisturbed by mundane sweat, rain, high winds, and road dust for 30 days.

Actives:

  • Beguiling Blush: Once per short rest, as an action, the avatar lightly sweeps the rose paste tip across their cheeks or a companion’s brow, causing the rose quartz crystal to pulse with soft pink radiance. A creature within 15 feet viewing the ritual must succeed on a Willpower or Wisdom saving throw (DC set by the avatar’s base presence or spellcasting score) or become charmed and pacified for 1 minute, suffering a –1 penalty on hostile action checks and refusing to initiate violence against the recipient.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per day (1/long rest), the avatar touches the jade blending tip to their own face or a willing ally’s skin while invoking the lore of Mistress Lyanna. A translucent, pearl-like cosmetic sheen settles over the subject’s skin for 10 minutes. The glaze grants +2 Resilience and 10 temporary Hit Points against physical cuts, abrasions, and bludgeoning strikes, deflecting minor blows as if the skin were porcelain.

Slot:

  • Held / Belt Slot (One-Handed Tool / Cosmetician Implement)

Tags:

  • Held, Belt, Tool, Attunement, Tier 1, Common, Cosmetology, Lyanna, Beauty, Grace, Rose Quartz, Plumwood, Jade, Mind’s Eye Reveal, Visage, Pomade, Vanity, Courtier, Charm, Electrum, Silk, Powder, Composure, Mask, Allure

Commerce and Acquisition of Myth 41 of the Painted Grace

  • High-End Bathhouses, Perfumed Spas, and Courtly Ateliers:
    • Situated in aristocratic pleasure districts, palace wings, and luxury bath quarters, these tranquil establishments cater to nobility, foreign dignitaries, and high-ranking envoys preparing for state functions.
    • Master visagistes and head masseurs value the wand as an elite beauty instrument capable of maintaining immaculate court makeup through stifling banquets and diplomatic trials.
    • An unaffiliated avatar purchasing the wand from a master beautician or salon curator pays the baseline retail price of 100 silver coins (or 10 gold coins).
    • Avatars holding recognized standing with courtly syndicates, entertainer guilds, or the Perfumers’ Compact benefit from the tier-based faction discount of 10% multiplied by tier level; for a tier 1 avatar, this 10% reduction drops the retail cost to 90 silver coins.
    • Transactions in these premier ateliers are logged through the Mind’s Eye and handled via the World Bank ledger with the customary 1% transfer charge.
    • Liquidating the wand to an atelier manager grants the standard tier-adjusted resale value (base minus 10% per tier), earning a tier 1 avatar 90 silver coins, provided the rose quartz shows no fissures and the camel-hair brush remains intact.
  • Theatrical Wardrobes, Opera Guild Houses, and Troupe Caravans:
    • Operating out of grand amphitheatres, traveling player wagons, and festive carnival squares, these bustling hubs manage elaborate stage costumes, disguise wigs, and stage makeup.
    • Troupe directors and lead prima donnas prize the tool for preserving heavy theatrical greasepaint, stage alabaster, and colored powders under hot footlights and open-air rainstorms.
    • Because stage magic and durable cosmetic gear are rare commodities along performance circuits, guild wardrobes sell verified wands to performers at a standard markup of 110 to 125 silver coins.
    • A troupe prompter or wardrobe mistress looking to buy the piece from an avatar will offer a solid 85 to 95 silver coins to bolster the cast’s stagecraft reserves.
  • Merchant Outfitter Bazaars, Silk Markets, and Vanity Guild Stalls:
    • Found along river wharves, crossroads trade arcades, and bustling metropolitan bazaars, these vibrant stalls supply imported pigments, almond unguents, fine silks, and decorative personal accessories.
    • Modistes and luxury outfitters trade the wand as both a practical cosmetic aid and a charming fashion status piece for wealthy burghers and merchant consorts.
    • Sales are conducted in hard coin, raw silk bolts, or trade scrip, with merchants generally pricing an authentic wand between 105 and 120 silver coins.
    • An avatar trading the wand in the bazaar can negotiate a swift payment of 80 to 90 silver coins from a vanity stall merchant seeking rare items for noble patrons.
  • Frontier Saloons, Waystation Haberdashers, and Curio Pawnbrokers:
    • Located in rustic mining settlements, trail crossroads, and rough frontier outpost settlements, these general houses handle dry goods, trail sundries, second-hand gear, and frontier entertainment supplies.
    • A cultured frontier tavernkeeper, madam, or visiting dressmaker who recognizes the smooth rose quartz and remembers the legend of Mistress Lyanna will happily trade up to 115 silver coins’ worth of rations, clean horses, or silver nuggets to secure the wand.
    • In contrast, an unappreciative outpost pawnbroker who views the tool merely as a fancy horse-hair stick and colored glass bauble will discount it as trivial vanity junk, pricing it down to 25 to 35 silver coins for a customer, or offering a bare 10 to 15 silver coins to an avatar seeking immediate cash.

Roleplay Applications of Myth 41 of the Painted Grace Across Diverse Environments

  • Noble Ballrooms, Diplomatic Feasts, and Royal Salons:
    • Defensive Roleplay: Trapped in a tense circle of scheming aristocrats or courtly duelists looking to humiliate the party, the avatar utilizes the passive +1 Armor Check to gracefully absorb a deliberately clumsy stumble, stepped-on foot, or jostling elbow without breaking stride. By touching the jade blending tip to a targeted diplomat’s forehead, the avatar invokes Alabaster Glaze, granting them +2 Resilience and 10 temporary Hit Points to shield against poisoned glass fragments, stray dueling slashes, or concealed needles while maintaining an unperturbed, porcelain composure.
    • Offensive Roleplay: Facing a hostile ambassador determined to break a peace treaty, the avatar uses Visage of Impeccable Composure to read the room’s social currents and spot subtle signs of faltering resolve. Sweeping the rose paste applicator along their cheekbones to trigger Beguiling Blush, the avatar washes the diplomat with disarming charm and unearthly grace, imposing a –1 penalty on their aggressive rhetorical challenges and compelling them to abandon open hostilities during the banquet.
  • Theatrical Stages, Carnival Midways, and Masquerade Halls:
    • Defensive Roleplay: When a stage fight turns deadly or a masked assassin leaps into the orchestra pit, the avatar falls back on the wand’s passive +1 Armor Check to deflect theatrical rapiers, swinging stage rigging, or thrown tankards. Invoking Alabaster Glaze upon a panicked prima donna, the avatar turns her stage makeup into an unyielding shield that shrugs off splintered planks and flying glass from shattered stage lanterns as they evacuate the theater.
    • Offensive Roleplay: To pacify a drunken, brawling mob surging toward the footlights, the avatar takes center stage under the limelight. With a dramatic, sweeping brushstroke across their brow, the avatar triggers Beguiling Blush. The pulsing rose quartz radiates alluring composure across the front row of brawlers, draining their violent momentum, leaving them spellbound by the performance, and granting the party time to slip through the wings unnoticed.
  • Grimy Underworld Dives, Brothels, and Back-Alley Gambling Dens:
    • Defensive Roleplay: Cornered in a dimly lit tavern parlor by loan sharks or cutpurses seeking to rough up the party, the avatar uses the wand’s passive +1 Armor Check to roll with incoming brass-knuckle jabs and swinging stool legs. Striking an ally’s face with Alabaster Glaze, the avatar hardens the ally’s exposed skin into a slick, porcelain barrier, blunting bludgeoning strikes while The Painted Veil ensures that heavy sweat, spilled ale, and flying grime fail to strip away the avatar’s disguise or social identity.
    • Offensive Roleplay: Infiltrating a syndicate-run den to question an evasive crime boss, the avatar uses Visage of Impeccable Composure to navigate streetwise deceit and discern genuine extortion from empty bluster. Leveling the wand in an exaggerated cosmetic touch-up to activate Beguiling Blush, the avatar ensnares the enforcer guarding the door, forcing him to drop his belligerent posturing and agreeably answer questions regarding contraband movements.
  • Dusty Trail Crossings, Wilderness Caravans, and Frontier Camps:
    • Defensive Roleplay: When a dust storm or sudden bandit skirmish hits an exposed supply wagon, the avatar relies on the wand’s passive +1 Armor Check to turn aside ricocheting sling stones and thrown hatchets. Tapping Alabaster Glaze onto a vulnerable caravan driver, the avatar envelops them in a defensive sheen that absorbs jagged debris, whipping desert sands, and surprise blows while ensuring their focus stays locked on guiding the panicked draft beasts through the ambush.
    • Offensive Roleplay: Intercepted at a narrow mountain pass by a band of desperate desert raiders, the avatar steps out into the dust, completely unbothered by wind and grime thanks to The Painted Veil. Sweeping the brush tip across their brow, the avatar triggers Beguiling Blush. The enchanting glow of the rose quartz catches the eye of the bandit leader, arresting his violent impulse with an unearthly aura of poise and luxury that makes striking the party seem like an unforgivable vulgarity, opening a window for peaceful parley.

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective

  • Sight:
    • The oval rose quartz cabochon at the wand’s balance point brightens with a gentle, milky-pink luminescence, sending faint trails of pearlescent light down the wild plumwood grain.
    • The camel-hair bristles shimmer with sparkling motes of crushed mica and rose paste, while a delicate, porcelain-like sheen spreads across treated skin like liquid silk.
    • Viewing through the Mind’s Eye, social tensions and emotional discord reveal themselves as harsh, jagged lines of muddy gray and static orange around onlookers, which soften and dissolve into harmonious, flowing ribbons of blush pink upon activation.
  • Sound:
    • The user hears the soft, rhythmic swish of bristles gliding across fine silk, accompanied by a quiet, chiming resonance akin to crystal goblets lightly clinking together at a banquet.
    • Ambient shouting, harsh clatter, and aggressive snarls fade slightly, replaced by a hushed, attentive murmur.
  • Smell:
    • An intoxicating fragrance of sweet almond oil, freshly pressed jasmine petals, delicate rosewater, and powdery rice flour blooms into the air, completely masking acrid sweat, blood, or dungeon filth.
  • Taste:
    • A faint, delicate flavor of candied plum skin, honeyed water, and sweet almond paste lingers pleasantly on the palate.
  • Touch:
    • The raw silk cordage around the handle warms against the palm, while the skin treated with the jade blending tip feels instant soothing relief—cool, taut, and smooth like polished marble.
  • Extra-Sensory Perceptions:
    • Aesthetic Empathy: The avatar instinctively senses the underlying vanity, social insecurities, and emotional vulnerabilities of nearby creatures, knowing precisely which diplomatic gesture will disarm their malice.
    • Poise Anchorage: The user experiences an intense sensation of physical and emotional balance, feeling entirely immune to fluster, shame, or embarrassment in the face of hostility.

Observer’s Perspective

  • Sight:
    • Observers see the rose quartz emit a warm, radiant blush that casts the wielder in an ethereal, soft-focus morning glow.
    • When the jade tip or bristles touch skin, a faint pearlescent glaze ripples across the target’s face, smoothing away blemishes, scars, and dirt into an unblemished, porcelain finish.
    • The user suddenly appears commanding, statuesque, and breathtakingly composed, radiating an aura of effortless nobility that makes aggressive postures feel awkward and out of place.
  • Sound:
    • Observers hear a distinct, velvet rustle—like the trailing train of a courtly silk gown crossing polished marble—followed by a soothing, melodious hum that invites quiet contemplation.
  • Smell:
    • A sudden wave of refined jasmine, crushed rose petals, and clean almond unguent sweeps across the area, cutting through smoke, stale beer, or swamp rot.
  • Taste:
    • Nearby witnesses perceive a soft, floral sweetness at the back of their mouths, accompanied by a soothing, velvety coat on the tongue.
  • Touch:
    • The surrounding air grows noticeably balmy and mild, carrying a soft breeze that gently cools flushed faces and eases tense shoulder muscles.

Positives

  • Provides an ongoing +1 Armor Check to the avatar’s Defense against physical bludgeoning and kinetic melee strikes without consuming an armor slot.
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure provides steady bonuses on Persuasion and Insight checks during high-stakes courtly debates and trade bargaining.
  • The Painted Veil keeps disguises, stage paint, and personal grooming completely unaffected by rain, mud, sweat, and wind for 30 days.
  • Beguiling Blush effectively halts incoming aggression from a hostile onlooker, imposing a –1 penalty on their hostile action checks and charming them for 1 minute.
  • Alabaster Glaze armors the wielder or an ally with +2 Resilience and 10 temporary Hit Points, deflecting physical cuts and blunt impacts as if skin were hard porcelain.

Negatives

  • The unmistakable floral fragrance of jasmine and almond oil easily travels downPerception of Activation:

Sight

  • User’s Perspective: The visual field instantly sharpens to hyper-focus, with edges blooming into faint luminescent halos and color saturation spiking dramatically.
  • Observer’s Perspective: The user’s pupils dilate rapidly, accompanied by an eerie, glassy reflective sheen over the irises and micro-tremors in eye movement.
  • Positives: Pristine target tracking, enhanced night vision, and immediate identification of micro-details.
  • Negatives: Severe photophobia, momentary visual blooming from bright lights, and temporary tunnel vision.

Sound

  • User’s Perspective: Ambient noise drops into a vacuum-like silence, immediately replaced by a crisp, high-frequency resonance followed by layered, amplified acoustic layers.
  • Observer’s Perspective: A subtle, low-frequency pressure wave emanates, accompanied by a soft, static hum resembling ionizing air.
  • Positives: Total auditory spatial mapping; ability to isolate faint, distant whispers or structural stresses.
  • Negatives: Auditory overload from sudden sharp sounds; disorientation caused by intense internal feedback.

Touch

  • User’s Perspective: A surge of freezing cold followed by an intense thermal wave rushing under the skin, feeling like pressurized liquid electricity.
  • Observer’s Perspective: Piloerection (goosebumps) covers exposed skin; subtle kinetic vibration or static discharge is felt when standing nearby.
  • Positives: Temporary suppression of physical pain receptors; acute spatial sensitivity through air currents on the skin.
  • Negatives: Residual nerve numbness, phantom burning sensations, and muscle exhaustion once the surge fades.

Smell & Taste

  • User’s Perspective: A sharp metallic taste reminiscent of copper and battery acid coats the tongue, paired with a pungent smell of ozone and burnt quartz.
  • Observer’s Perspective: A faint, chemical scent of struck flint and cold steel lingers in the air surrounding the user.
  • Positives: Heightened detection of volatile airborne compounds, toxins, or changes in atmospheric chemistry.
  • Negatives: Lingering metallic dysgeusia that suppresses appetite; intense dryness of mucous membranes.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions (ESP)

  • Chronoperception (Time Distortion):
    • User: Time appears to dilate to a crawl, allowing complex tactical calculations in milliseconds.
    • Observer: The user’s physical reactions seem unnaturally swift and fluid.
    • Positives: Extreme cognitive edge in rapid-response situations.
    • Negatives: Mental desynchronization and fatigue after returning to real-time cadence.
  • Electromagnetic Awareness:
    • User: A prickling pressure behind the frontal lobe mapping local electric currents, radio waves, and machinery.
    • Observer: Electronic devices near the user experience momentary interference or flickering screens.
    • Positives: Passive radar tracking of hidden tech and power conduits.
    • Negatives: Headaches near high-voltage lines or dense signal transmitters.
  • Bio-Presence Sensation (Aura Mapping):
    • User: Intuitive gut-level perception of living entities through walls, felt as rhythmic pressure pulses.
    • Observer: Unsettling feeling of being directly watched, even if the user is facing away.
    • Positives: Complete prevention of ambushes; clear reading of intent and vitals.
    • Negatives: Emotional bleeding and nausea in densely populated areas.

Crafting Recipe: Myth 41 of the Painted Grace

Materials Needed

  • One Tier 1 Magic Crystal: a smooth, oval rose quartz cabochon with cloudy, milky-pink translucence and an internal pearlescent sheen.
  • One seasoned spindle of fragrant wild plum wood (8 inches long by 0.75 inches thick, cured with almond oil and free of checks).
  • One sphere or rounded cabochon of fine nephrite jade (0.5-inch diameter, drilled with a blind mounting socket) for the blending tip.
  • One ounce of selected soft camel hair (harvested from winter shedding, degreased, and sorted to uniform length).
  • Two hammered electrum ferrules or sheet strips (60% gold, 40% silver alloy) for securing the brush and jade tip.
  • Three yards of raw ivory-silk cordage, lightly dressed with beeswax and sweet almond balm.
  • One dram of prepared rose paste mixed with pulverized cosmetic mica and cold-pressed jasmine oil.
  • Half an ounce of refined pine pitch and hide glue for anchoring the stone mounts and hair tuft.

Tools Required

  • A precision wood-turning lathe or carving chisels and scrapers.
  • Jewelers’ needle files, fine piercing saw, and fine-grit emery paper (up to 1200 grit).
  • A small jeweler’s charcoal brazier and alcohol lamp for warming fittings and adhesives.
  • Brass burnishing tool, bezel roller, and needle-nose tweezers.
  • Fine camel-hair binding wire or strong silk whipping thread.
  • Gem-setting stake and small wooden pin vice.
  • A clean cosmetic stone mortar and glass muller for blending mineral pigments.

Skill Requirements

  • Fine Woodcraft and Lathework: Skill Level 3 or higher to turn the wild plum wood shaft, balance the tapered contours, and bore the mounting sockets on either end.
  • Gem Cutting and Fine Metalwork: Skill Level 4 or higher to shape the jade blending sphere, turn the electrum ferrules, and seat the rose quartz cabochon into a central bezel ring.
  • Cosmetology and Pigment Preparation: Skill Level 3 or higher to clean, align, and bind the camel hair bristles and prepare the mica-infused rose paste.
  • Magical Crafting: Skill Level 5 or higher to weave the folklore of Mistress Lyanna into the rose quartz matrix, anchoring the conviction of unyielding poise and grace.

Crafting Steps

  • Turning the Plumwood Core: Mount the seasoned wild plum wood blank on the lathe. Turn the spindle down into a balanced, dual-ended ergonomic handle with a slight swell at the midsection. Mill a recessed central seat to accept the central quartz setting and silk grip. Drill a centered receiving hole in the forward end for the brush tuft and a mounting peg at the rear for the jade sphere.
  • Sanding and Oil Treatment: Sand the plumwood smooth using ascending grits of emery paper. Rub the bare wood repeatedly with sweet almond oil and crushed jasmine flower essence, buffing with a woolen cloth until the grain takes on a deep, satiny luster and fragrant scent.
  • Preparing and Setting the Brush Head: Gather the camel hair into a dense, rounded dome. Bind the base of the hair with fine silk thread under tension, dipping the root into warm hide glue. Insert the bundle into the upper electrum ferrule, slide the assembly over the forward plumwood peg, and peen the metal collar snugly into place.
  • Mounting the Jade Blending Stone: Warm the blind socket of the jade sphere over an alcohol lamp and line it with refined pine pitch. Press the jade sphere firmly onto the rear wooden tenon until it seats flush against the lower electrum ferrule, wiping away any excess adhesive.
  • Wrapping the Silk Grip: Apply a whisper-thin layer of warm beeswax to the recessed handle section on either side of the central bezel channel. Wind the raw ivory-silk cordage tightly in close, seamless coils, securing the ends with an invisible whip-finish to ensure a comfortable, sweat-resistant grip.
  • Setting the Rose Quartz Cabochon: Mount the electrum bezel ring into the central channel of the plumwood haft. Seat the oval rose quartz cabochon flush within the setting. Using the brass burnisher, gently turn down the electrum bezel rim around the gemstone until it is firmly locked with no rattle.
  • Infusing the Applicator: Dress the camel-hair bristles with a small measure of the crushed-mica rose paste, working the pigment evenly into the tips using a cosmetic stone palette until the brush carries a subtle, shimmering blush.
  • Awakening the Myth of Lyanna: Place the completed cosmetic wand across a polished silver vanity mirror alongside fresh jasmine blossoms and a bowl of clean water. Using the magical focus, recite the legend of Mistress Lyanna while holding absolute mental conviction that a face painted with patience can conquer empires. Channel the mythic matrix until the rose quartz pulses with a soft morning-pink radiance, binding the +1 Armor Check, 30 hit points, and the charms of composure into the implement.

Plum-Stick and Face-Covering of Mistress Lyanna Before Red-Spear Horse-Chief

In the uncounted season before the flat-walled capital threw away its outer ditches of mud, when the red river ran with three crooked turns toward the bitter marshes, there ruled an Earth-Empress named Sula-of-the-White-Doves. Her stone houses had many brass screens and five thousand oil jars. Yet from the dry grass-hills beyond the horizon came the Iron-Leg Horse-Men, whose teeth were filed into points and whose leader was called Chief Kormag-of-the-Split-Jaw. The horse-riders burned four hundred wheat-kilns and drank the barley wine straight from the fat clay pots. Their iron-pointed spears were as many as dry summer weeds, and their shouting shook the swallow-birds from the palace eaves.

Within the walled sleeping-quarters, the palace lords were weeping into their sleeves like soft sheep. The young fighting-men had cast their bronze knives into the well-holes, fearing the horse-cleavers. The Empress Sula tore her outer robes of raw saffron cloth and sat in the cold hearth-dirt, rubbing gray ash into her hair-braids. She cried out with an open mouth: The stone is cracked! The red horses have crossed the boundary-ditches! In the morning, our meat will be given to the river-crows, and our heads will sit on long sticks beside the gate-post!

Then walked forth from the lower chamber of scent-pots the woman named Lyanna. In the old crooked glyph-marks, she is called She-Who-Grinds-the-Seed-Into-Smoothness. She did not carry a shield of bull-hide, nor did she hold a throwing-dart of tempered river-copper. She was small-boned like an orchard bird, wearing an under-tunic of plain flax that smelled of cold almond milk and pounded flower-leaves. In her right fingers she held a narrow, three-pounded stick of wild plum-wood. One end had the soft neck-hair of a desert beast, and the other was tipped with a round white stone from the cold jade brook. In its middle-belly was a pink rock that carried the morning-sun inside its fatness.

Mistress Lyanna stood before the weeping Empress and said with low, even throat-words: O Mother-of-the-Ditches, wipe the dry ash-dirt from your brow-bone. A ruler who shows her blood-fear to the wolf invites the wolf’s back-teeth into her throat. Give me three small pots from the cool shelf: the white powder of river-shells, the red oil squeezed from winter plum-skins, and the clear fat of mountain nuts. Let us make ready a face that does not permit slaughter.

The Empress was shaking like a reed in water, but Lyanna took the Empress’s chin-bone into her left hand. Her fingers were neither hot nor wet with terror, but cold and hard like river-gravel. For three watches of the night, while the horse-warriors struck their iron cleavers against the outer gate-timbers, Lyanna sat by the flame of a small lard-wick.

First, she took the white bone-scraper and cleared away the gray soot and the salty tear-tracks from the royal cheeks.

Second, she ground the river-shell powder with almond milk in an earthen bowl, making a thick, cold cream. With the soft camel-hair of the plum-stick, she painted the Empress’s skin. The brush went back and forth, tick-tack, without hurry, as though there were no shouting men outside the high ditches. The yellow skin of terror became smooth and pale like polished palace-porcelain that has slept three hundred years in a dark chest. Not one blemish, not one vein of fright-blood was left to be seen.

Third, she touched the pink rock of the wand against the Empress’s mouth. She dipped the hair-end into the grease of red plums and drew two thin, sharp wings across the royal lips. The mouth was made firm, like a carven stone seal that issues an order to tax three provinces.

Lastly, she passed the round jade sphere over the Empress’s eyelids and forehead. As the jade rolled across the temples, the wild flutter of the Empress’s pulse went asleep. Her eyes, which had rolled about like frightened calves, became wide, still, and dark like cistern-water at midnight. The fear-wind fled from her ribs.

When the dawn-sun split the gray mist like a yellow knife, the gates of the inner court gave way with a splintering noise. Chief Kormag-of-the-Split-Jaw stepped into the stone throne-room. His horse-boots were crusty with ditch-mud, and his skin was covered in the dried sweat of horse-backs. His iron cleaver dragged behind him upon the slate floor, making a harsh, screeching noise like an owl. Behind him pressed sixty riders, smelling of tallow, blood, and burnt straw, their red spears lifted to skewer the women.

Kormag took four heavy steps into the great room, lifting his cleaver to shout a death-howl.

Then his eyes struck the throne-bench.

There sat Empress Sula. She was not hiding beneath a couch. She had not pulled out her hair-roots. She sat straight upon the carved cedar-wood, clad in a fresh gown of heavy vermilion silk that fell without a single wrinkle to her sandals. Her countenance was unearthly, white, and immaculate like a mountain peak that has never known a hunter’s footprint. Her cheeks held the soft, cold blush of an unpluckable peach, and her painted lips were curled into a faint, indifferent half-smile, as if the shouting army was merely a troop of street-clowns arriving twenty minutes before dinner.

The Horse-Chief stopped his heavy feet. His mouth hung open, and the breath went out of his chest with a dry rattle. He had fought kings whose skin turned green with cowardice. He had speared captains who vomited in their harness from terror. Never had his eyes beheld a mortal face that looked upon blood-axes with the calm boredom of a grandmother watching pond-ducks.

Is this an earth-woman, the Chief muttered through his broken teeth, or has a stone goddess dropped from the moon-path to eat our souls?

The sixty horse-riders behind him dropped their spear-points to the flagstones. The scent of hot horse-sweat and dried gore seemed suddenly foul, crude, and shameful in the quiet hall. The air did not smell of iron; it smelled of crushed jasmine-blossoms and fresh almond-milk drifting from the small plum-stick tucked into Lyanna’s flaxen sash. The warriors looked at their own ragged, grease-stained sleeves, and their knees grew soft with unworthiness.

Empress Sula did not rise. She did not raise her voice. Moving only her painted lips, she said across the silence: You make a loud clatter upon our stones, man of the hills. If you have come to bring the yearly horse-tribute, leave your beasts in the lower square and wash your hands at the fountain before you speak of grain.

Chief Kormag stood for three breathings, his cleaver-arm trembling. Then, without striking a single blow, he slid the iron blade back into its wood scabbard. He bowed his scarred forehead until it touched the cold slate floor, took off his ring of hammered gold, and laid it upon the lowest step.

We did not know the high house was occupied by the unshakeable ones, the Chief whispered.

He and his sixty riders backed out of the high gate, turning their horses toward the wild grass-country, never setting foot upon the capital’s ditch-banks again while that painted face looked over the parapet.

The moral of this story is: The blunt fury of iron and the clamor of brute beasts can break walls of mud and wood, but an unyielding countenance shaped by patient grace and artful composure makes weapons feel crude, disarming the wrath of kings before a single drop of blood can fall.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu

Mistress Lyanna’s Cosmetic Wand

  • Item Classification: Minor Occult Implement / Courtly Talisman
  • Appearance: A wild plumwood cosmetic wand tipped with soft camel hair and a polished jade sphere, centered with a pale rose quartz cabochon wrapped in silk and electrum.
  • Sanity Cost: 0 to carry or activate; witnessing the unnatural, mesmerizing aura costs 0 SAN.
  • Physical Protection: Grants 1 point of mundane armor against blunt, kinetic, or improvised melee strikes when held in hand or tucked into a sash or belt.
  • Social & Aesthetic Insight: Grants a +10% bonus to Charm, Fast Talk, and Psychology checks during formal negotiations, high-society audiences, or when evaluating interpersonal deceit.
  • The Painted Veil: Stage makeup, disguises, face powders, and scented unguents applied using this wand remain pristine and impervious to mundane sweat, rain, high wind, and road dust for 30 days.
  • Beguiling Blush: Once per day, the user spends 1 Magic Point and sweeps the brush across their brow or cheek while facing an adversary within 15 feet. The target must succeed on a Regular POW check or suffer a penalty die on hostile actions and refrain from initiating violence for 1 round, disarmed by the wielder’s effortless poise.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per day, the user spends 2 Magic Points and touches the jade sphere to their face or a willing ally’s skin. For 10 minutes, the subject gains 2 points of physical armor against cuts, bludgeoning, and ballistic abrasions (or absorbs up to 5 points of physical damage before the glaze shatters).

Blades in the Dark

The Court Visagiste’s Plumwood Wand

  • Item Profile: Fine Cosmetician & Disguise Tool (0 Load when carried on a sash or 1 Load in a vanity roll)
  • Quality Tier: Tier I
  • Defensive Leverage: The dense plumwood core and electrum ferrules deflect improvised strikes, granting +1 Armor against blunt trauma or scuffling blows.
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: You gain +1 Effect on Sway and Consort rolls when participating in high-society gatherings, parleying with nobility, or defusing volatile disputes through social poise.
  • The Painted Veil: Disguises, face paint, and cosmetic dyes applied with this wand remain completely intact against weather, sweat, immersion, and physical scuffs for two scores.
  • Beguiling Blush: Once per score, you may spend 1 Stress while confronting an aggressive opponent. The target’s immediate hostile action is placed in a Desperate position with Reduced effect as they are momentarily spellbound by your commanding composure.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per score, you may spend 1 Stress to roll the jade tip across an ally’s face or your own. For the remainder of the scene, the target gains the equivalent of heavy armor against the next physical strike or blunt trauma, treating severe physical harm as moderate harm.

Dungeons & Dragons

Wand of the Painted Grace

  • Wondrous Item, Common (Requires Attunement)
  • Item Category: Wondrous Item / Tool (Held or Belt)
  • Armor Class Bonus: While holding this wand or wearing it tucked into a belt or sash, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class against physical bludgeoning and kinetic melee attacks.
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: You gain a +1 bonus on Charisma (Persuasion) and Wisdom (Insight) checks made during formal audiences, social negotiations, and interrogations.
  • The Painted Veil: Cosmetics, pigments, and disguise makeup applied using this wand are immune to nonmagical smudging, water damage, perspiration, and environmental wind for up to 30 days.
  • Beguiling Blush: Once per short rest, as an action, you sweep the brush across your cheeks and present your visage to a creature within 15 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed until the end of its next turn. While charmed in this way, the creature cannot make attacks or take hostile actions against you.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per long rest, as an action, you touch the jade stone to yourself or a willing creature within 5 feet. For 10 minutes, the target gains +2 Resilience (Damage Threshold) against bludgeoning and slashing damage, along with 10 temporary hit points.

Knave

Lyanna’s Plumwood Wand

  • Item Type: Tool / Cosmetic Implement (Hand or Belt)
  • Slot Usage: 1 inventory item slot.
  • Armor Defense: +1 Armor Check (adds directly to Defense score while carried in hand or hanging from a belt or sash).
  • Quality: 3 / 3 (loses 1 Quality point upon absorbing a direct crushing impact or sundering strike).
  • Traits:
    • Courtly Poise: The bearer has advantage on Charisma and Wisdom checks made to persuade court officials, see through social deceit, or parley with hostile sentries.
    • Flawless Paint: Any cosmetic disguise, greasepaint, or war paint applied using this wand cannot be washed away, smudged, or degraded by rain, mud, or sweat for 30 dungeon turns.
    • Beguiling Blush: Once per day during an encounter, the bearer sweeps the brush across their cheeks toward an enemy within 15 feet. The target must make a Wisdom save against the bearer’s Defense; on a failure, it hesitates and cannot take hostile actions on its next turn.
    • Alabaster Glaze: Once per day, the bearer touches the jade tip to themselves or an ally. For one dungeon turn (10 minutes), the recipient’s skin hardens like porcelain, granting 10 temporary hit points and absorbing minor bludgeoning trauma.

Fate

Wand of the Painted Grace

  • Aspect: Composure That Commands the Eye of Kings
  • Stunt (Visage of Impeccable Composure): Because you possess the Wand of the Painted Grace, you gain a +2 bonus when using Rapport or Empathy to Overcome obstacles or Create an Advantage during formal diplomatic audiences, social negotiations, or attempts to read courtly deceit.
  • Stunt (The Painted Veil): Cosmetic disguises, ceremonial paints, and courtly face powders applied with this wand resist all mundane weathering, heavy sweating, rain, and mud, entirely eliminating related scene complications or hostile environmental aspects.
  • Stunt (Beguiling Blush): Once per scene, you can spend a Fate Point while applying or touching up your cosmetics to place the situational aspect Spellbound by Poise on a hostile or unruly target within your zone, with one free invoke.
  • Stunt (Alabaster Glaze): Once per session, you can spend a Fate Point and roll the jade blending tip across your face or an ally’s brow to create the protective aspect Porcelain Composure with one free invoke. The recipient may invoke this aspect to absorb incoming physical stress or reduce the severity of physical consequences from blunt or slashing attacks.

Numenera & Cypher System

The Court Visagiste’s Plumwood Wand

  • Level: 1 (Tier 1 Artifact)
  • Form: A slender wild plumwood wand wrapped in ivory silk and electrum, fitted with a camel-hair brush, a jade blending orb, and a pale rose quartz cabochon.
  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check only upon invoking Alabaster Glaze).
  • Effect (Constant):
    • The bearer gains +1 Armor against physical blunt and kinetic impacts while holding the wand or wearing it openly on a belt or sash.
    • The difficulty of all social tasks involving persuasion, deception detection, and high-stakes courtly interaction is eased by one step.
    • Face paints, oils, and disguise makeup applied with this tool resist degradation from water, heavy perspiration, and trail grit for up to 30 days.
  • Effect (Activated):
    • Beguiling Blush: As an action, the user spends 1 Intellect point and sweeps the brush toward a creature within immediate range. The target’s next hostile or offensive action is hindered by one step due to disarming grace and aesthetic awe.
    • Alabaster Glaze: As an action, the user touches the jade stone to themselves or an ally within immediate range. For 10 minutes, the recipient gains +2 Armor and 10 temporary Hit Points (or pools 3 additional points into their Might Edge against physical harm). Make a Depletion roll upon activation.

Pathfinder

Wand of the Painted Grace

  • Item 1 | Common, Divination, Emotion, Invested, Magical, Mental
  • Price: 15 gp
  • Usage: held in 1 hand or worn on belt; Bulk: L
  • Aesthetic Defense: While held in hand or worn in an accessible belt scabbard or sash, the wand grants a +1 item bonus to AC against physical bludgeoning and kinetic melee attacks.
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: You gain a +1 item bonus to Diplomacy checks to Make an Impression or Request, and to Perception checks to Sense Motive during formal social engagements and negotiations.
  • The Painted Veil: Disguises, cosmetic greasepaints, and perfumes applied using this wand are immune to water damage, mundane sweat, and environmental wind for 30 days.
  • Activate—Beguiling Blush: Single Action (concentrate, emotion, mental); Frequency: once per hour; Effect: You sweep the rose paste brush across your brow and present your poise to a creature within 15 feet. The target must attempt a DC 15 Will save. On a failure, the creature takes a –1 status penalty to attack rolls and hostility-driven checks for 1 round, disarmed by your calm grace.
  • Activate—Alabaster Glaze: Two Actions (concentrate, manipulate); Frequency: once per day; Effect: You touch the jade blending stone to yourself or a willing ally within touch range. For 10 minutes, the target’s skin hardens with a porcelain sheen, gaining a +2 item bonus to Hardness against physical bludgeoning or slashing damage and 10 temporary Hit Points.

Savage Worlds

Wand of the Painted Grace

  • Classification: Arcane Device (Minor Talisman / Relic)
  • Min Str: d4 | Weight: 0.5 lb | Power Points: 10
  • Embedded Arcane Powers:
    • Courtier’s Guard: When carried in hand or tucked into a sash or belt, the wild plumwood and electrum fittings grant +1 Armor against physical blunt and kinetic strikes.
    • Visage of Impeccable Composure: The bearer gains a +1 bonus on Persuasion and Notice rolls made during social negotiations, audience chambers, or when reading intentions.
    • The Painted Veil: Cosmetics, greasepaint, and disguise pigments applied with the wand resist running, smudging, or fading from heavy sweat, rain, or dust for 30 days.
    • Beguiling Blush (Empathy / Pacification variant):
      • Power Points: 1
      • Range: 3 inches (6 yards)
      • Duration: Instant
      • Trapping: Sweeping the rose-tipped brush across the brow radiates a disarming pink aura. On a failed Spirit roll, the target is Distracted until the end of their next turn and will not initiate violence against the user on their next action.
    • Alabaster Glaze (Protection / Barrier variant):
      • Power Points: 2
      • Range: Touch
      • Duration: 10 minutes
      • Trapping: Rolling the jade blending sphere across an ally’s skin coats it in a porcelain sheen, granting +2 Toughness and absorbing up to 10 points of physical damage before the protective glaze dissipates.

Shadowrun

The Painted Grace Focus Wand

  • Item Type: Armor Accessory / Visagiste Dual-Natured Focus (Sash, Belt, or Hand)
  • Armor Value: +1 Defense Rating against physical melee impacts and blunt kinetic trauma
  • Capacity: 0 (The organic wild plumwood haft, raw silk bindings, and quartz-jade matrix reject cyberware and electronic micro-circuitry)
  • Availability: 3 (Courtier Focus / Cosmetology Implement)
  • Cost: 2,000 Nuyen
  • Astral Profile: Dual-Natured. The rose quartz core shines with an alluring, soft pearlescent and rosy astral resonance, smoothing chaotic emotional spikes and projecting effortless aesthetic control.
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: The user gains a +1 dice pool modifier to Con, Influence, and Judge Intentions tests made in face-to-face social negotiations, formal audiences, or when seeing through hostile deceits.
  • The Painted Veil: Physical cosmetics, disguise pigments, theatrical greasepaint, and scented oils applied using the wand are impervious to rain, heavy sweating, and road grime for 30 days.
  • Beguiling Blush: Once per 12-hour rest cycle, by spending a Minor Action while presenting the brush-tip to a hostile target within 5 meters, the user projects an aura of disarming poise. The target must succeed on a Willpower + Intuition test against the user’s Charisma + Influence; on a failure, the target suffers a –1 dice pool penalty on all aggressive actions and cannot initiate an attack against the user for 1 combat turn.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per 24-hour operational cycle, spending a Simple Action to touch the jade sphere to the skin of the user or a willing subject creates a porcelain-like barrier. For 10 minutes, the recipient gains +2 Armor Rating and 10 temporary Condition boxes against physical bludgeoning and slashing damage.

Starfinder

Wand of the Painted Grace

  • Item Level: 1
  • Category: Worn Magic Item / Personal Implement (Sash, Belt, or 1 Hand)
  • Bulk: L
  • Capacity: Recharging Grace Matrix (1 charge/day)
  • Price: 325 Credits
  • Kinetic Defense: Grants a +1 enhancement bonus to Kinetic Armor Class (KAC) against physical bludgeoning and kinetic melee strikes while held in hand or worn tucked into a sash or belt sheath.
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: The user gains a +1 competence bonus to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks during high-stakes diplomatic meetings, formal audiences, or undercover social operations.
  • The Painted Veil: Disguises, face paint, and cosmetic applications applied with this wand remain unaffected by sweat, weather, immersion, and harsh atmospheres for 30 standard days.
  • Beguiling Blush: Once per standard rest (after an 8-hour recharge period), as a standard action, the user sweeps the brush across their brow to enchant an onlooker within 15 feet. The target must succeed on a Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1 for half character level + Key Ability Modifier) or take a –1 penalty on attack rolls and hostile skill checks for 1 round due to overwhelming social deference.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per day, as a standard action, the user rolls the jade stone across their face or an ally’s brow within touch range. For 10 minutes, the recipient gains +2 Hardness against physical bludgeoning or slashing damage and 10 temporary Hit Points.

Traveller

Anomalous Visagiste Wand

  • Tech Level (TL): 3 (Hand-carved wild plumwood, jade, and raw silk) / Functional TL 12 aesthetic resonance implement
  • Slot / Encumbrance: Held, Sash, or Belt Gear (Negligible Cargo / 0.25 kg)
  • Armor Protection: Adds +1 protection to Armor value against kinetic, blunt, and improvised melee strikes while worn or held.
  • Structural Integrity:
    • Wand Hit Points: 30
    • Wand Resilience: 10
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: The bearer gains DM+1 on Admin, Carouse, Deception, and Persuade checks during diplomatic meetings, formal parleys, social inspections, or high-society functions.
  • The Painted Veil: Physical makeup, facial camouflage, or stage disguises applied using the wand are stabilized by a localized psycho-harmonic field, resisting smudging, perspiration, and harsh weather for 30 standard days.
  • Beguiling Blush: Once per operational day, taking an active action to present the wand in a subtle cosmetic flourish toward a target within 5 meters forces them to make an Average (8+) Willpower or Social check. On a failure, the subject is enthralled by the user’s composure, taking DM–1 on aggressive actions and refraining from initiating hostilities for one combat round.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per operational day, touching the jade tip to the user or an ally provides a temporary molecular stabilization effect. For 10 minutes, the subject’s skin gains +2 Armor protection and absorbs up to 10 points of physical damage before the protective glaze dissipates.

Warhammer

Lyanna’s Wand of Painted Grace

  • Item Classification: Talisman / Courtier Implement (Sash, Belt, or 1 Hand)
  • Encumbrance: 0 (Negligible)
  • Availability: Scarce
  • Armour Points: 1 AP to the Arm and Body against bludgeoning and improvised melee attacks while held in hand or tucked into a courtier’s sash or belt.
  • Visage of Impeccable Composure: The bearer gains a +10 bonus on Charm, Intuition, and Leadership Tests made during noble court proceedings, diplomatic parleys, and high-society gatherings.
  • The Painted Veil: Disguises, face powders, greasepaint, and perfumes applied using the camel-hair brush are completely immune to running, smudging, or dissolving from rain, sweat, and road grime for 30 days.
  • Beguiling Blush: Once per day, the bearer may spend an Action to sweep the brush across their cheek toward a hostile opponent within 4 yards. The target must pass a Challenging (+0) Cool Test or suffer a –10 penalty to all Tests and refuse to make a direct attack against the bearer until the end of the following round.
  • Alabaster Glaze: Once per day, the bearer spends an Action to stroke the jade blending stone over their own skin or that of a willing ally within touch range. For 10 minutes, the subject’s skin takes on a glazed porcelain finish, gaining +2 Toughness and 10 temporary Wounds against physical bludgeoning and slashing attacks.