Cereus Aizlewood
Alias Slayer of Crondusa Species Ghostwise Halfling Gender Female Affiliation Weastern Pirates Occupation Medic, Cleric Deity Eldath
Cereus Aizlewood, known simply as Cere to her friends and foes alike, and mistakenly dubbed “the Slayer of Crondusa” by the Commonwealth of Tormenta Navy, is a young female Ghostwise Halfling pirate and the most junior member of the Weastern Pirates by age. She serves as the crew’s onboard medic — and, in practice, its therapist, moral compass, and the person most likely to be watching the room while everyone else is talking.
Born in the Secartha Desert of Melioria and carried to Aigora through a portal she stepped into on faith, Cere’s life transformed from isolated and misunderstood to purposeful and loved aboard the Wind of the Weast. She is a devoted Cleric of Eldath, Goddess of Peace and Nature, and the only member of the crew capable of responding to her Ghostwise halfling ability of Silent Speech — a distinction that belongs exclusively to Tohnkh.
Overview
Aliases: Slayer of Crondusa, Child of the Waterfall Species: Ghostwise Halfling Gender: Female Height: 3’0” Eye Color: Green Date of Birth: Cancer 28th, 1476 Talamh Old (16 y/o) Place of Birth: Secartha Desert, Melioria Affiliation: Weastern Pirates, Founding Patron of the Blooming Domain Occupation: Medic, Cleric, Pirate Class: Cleric (Grave Domain → Blooming Domain) 16 / Ranger 3 Deity: Eldath, Goddess of Peace and Nature
History
The Greenhouse and the Name
Cere’s story begins with her mother, Dianthus — a florist living in a secluded greenhouse in the Secartha Desert alongside her husband Aspen, a botanist and lightfoot halfling. The greenhouse was made sustainable through both their skills, and Dianthus had already raised three children there before Cere.
While pregnant, Dianthus experienced recurring bouts of insomnia and spent many nights alone among her plants. On one of those nights, the cacti she knew so well bloomed flowers she had never noticed before. She named her unborn child Cereus — for the night-blooming cereus, a detail of her garden that had surprised her — and then died unexpectedly during childbirth, leaving a void in the family that the newborn could not fill and was, in time, quietly blamed for.
Her father and siblings never fully healed from Dianthus’s passing. Cere grew up in a household that ranged from indifferent to openly resentful, her particular way of seeing the world read as morbid rather than thoughtful, her questions about death and nature interpreted as disturbing rather than sincere. She was homeschooled, isolated, and largely left to herself.
The Vision and the Portal
After years of at best indifference and at worst disdain, Cere cried out to Eldath — Goddess of Peace and Nature — for a sign of where she was truly meant to be. She was answered with a vision: a beautiful oasis surrounded by desert for miles. An anomaly. A destination.
She packed her things and left. She did not tell anyone she was going.
Her search led her to help Lord Summershield clear Castle Arevon of its haunts, and eventually to a waterfall — which, as she approached it, opened into a portal. She treated this as confirmation rather than warning, and stepped through.
She arrived in Aigora, and shortly after encountered the Weastern Pirates.
Wind of the Weast
Cere was sixteen when she joined the crew. She was shy, soft-spoken, and a pessimist with strong convictions about life, death, and the line between them that made her, in most social situations, deeply easy to misunderstand. It was Tohnkh she trusted first — his friendly face in Port Tormenta the one she clung to while everything else was loud and frightening. Over time, the crew became the family her blood relations had never been.
She served as the ship’s medic, cleric, and — though she would not have used the word — conscience. Her high Insight made her the crew’s most reliable reader of people; she spent most of her time keeping her friends safe from liars and crooks while projecting the appearance of a small, wide-eyed child. She and Jebbedo and Tohnkh formed a close bond early, the small gang of the ship. She and Khemmis had a rocky start — he was violent in ways that frightened her — but grew into genuine closeness, and her prayers for his stability, offered to Eldath on his behalf, may have contributed to what Baal eventually made of him.
She officiated the wedding of Savina Blannis and Razgaal Blannis. She discovered that Khallis’s warlock patron was Nathair, and said nothing in the moment while privately weighing every implication.
She also carried a bounty of 30,000 gold pieces from the Commonwealth of Tormenta Navy for the slaying of Crondusa — a title the crew gave her to boost the morale of Weastworld, and which she did not technically earn, as she did not land the killing blow.
After the Weast
When the legend of the Weastern Pirates had run its course on Aigora, Cere did not stop moving. She had come through a portal once before on nothing more than faith and a vision, and she had learned that the act of crossing was not the end of anything — it was the beginning of the next part.
She is known to have visited at least one other world in the time that followed. Some accounts place her in a world called Meliora — little else is recorded. Whether she went looking for something there, whether she found it, or whether Meliora was a waypoint rather than a destination is not clear. Those who knew her well enough to guess would say that wherever she went, she was either following a sign from Eldath or walking back toward something she had left unfinished.
Her personal quest to visit home with her newfound friends remains open in every account of her.
Personality
When the Weastern Pirates first met Cere she was soft-spoken, shy, and prone to expressing entirely sincere thoughts about death and nature in ways that landed badly. She has grown considerably since — less in the sense of having changed and more in the sense of having found people who understand her, which turned out to be the only thing she needed to become exactly who she always was.
She is wise beyond her years and still a teenager underneath it. She loses her mature composure when her buttons are pushed, gets competitive in games, and has a documented weakness for her crewmate David. She is the ship’s therapist and will be clear-eyed about everyone’s problems while showing selective blindness about her own.
Icks: Beetles, hearing small races called “dwarves”, necromancy, being underestimated for her age or height. Likes: Flowers and gardening, checking in on her friends, flying on her Broom, inner tubing. Strengths: Planning, reading people, healing, bolstering allies in a fight, holding onto hope and faith when no one else can. Struggles: Speaking to children, persuasion, academics, walking quickly, crafts, cold weather.
Equipment
- Holy Symbol — A glass spherical terrarium holding an impossibly small waterfall and living foliage. An heirloom found in her mother Dianthus’s greenhouse.
- Broom of Flying — Gold-detailed broom enchanted with the words “Please” and “Home.” Made for her by Jebbedo.
- Magic Mirror — Those who look into it see not themselves but someone they loved who has passed. Sound passes through, allowing conversation with the dead. Given to her by Jebbedo; found in the lair of the Sand Witch.
- Breastplate of Wisdom — Grants +1 to Wisdom. Given to her by Khemmis.
- Holy Cross of Blannis — A cross usable as a bludgeon with magical properties activated by Blannis blood. Found in the Blannis tomb beneath the Magdreal.
- Mists of Eiton — +1 shield; allows switching places with a creature within 30ft when expending a 3rd level spell slot. Traded from Jebbedo for Hound.
- Magical Tattoo — +1 Wisdom; depicts a cactus with a night-blooming cereus flower growing from a skull. Received in Port Tormenta.
- Tear of Opteima — The absorbed essence of the Goddess Opteima. Grants +2 Wisdom and granted Cere oversight of the Womb of the Grave. Changed her alignment from Chaotic Good to Lawful Neutral.
- Spider Familiar — Named Cleome, after Cleome Spider Flowers. Goes by Cleo. Cere and her belongings are lightly covered in cobwebs.
Relationships
The Weastern Pirates
-
- The first crew member she trusted. He filled a fatherly role she had never had — listening to her guilt after Desmond killed their crew, sizing up David and encouraging the relationship to develop, being the one person capable of responding to her Silent Speech. She does not only consider him her captain. She protects him because of it; she uses Insight to watch the people around him specifically.
-
- An uncle figure. She admires his intelligence and photographic memory, relies on him to solve what she cannot, and spent a formative period of the voyage sharing a room with him — she praying before bed while he tinkered. He made her the Broom and the Mirror. She made him a potato sack shirt once, on a dare. He accepted it.
-
- They did not get along at first. He was violently reckless; she was small and unsettled by it. After steady bonding over nature and a frank conversation about how his recklessness affected her and the party, they became genuinely close. She lends him an ear during moral dilemmas. He taught her to trust her own fighting instincts. She prayed to Eldath for his stability — earnestly, in private — and she believes Baal was exactly what Khemmis needed because nature is the only thing that can balance chaos from within.
-
- The saving grace of Cere’s early impression of tieflings. Level-headed and reasonable, Savina does not do many personal missions with Cere, but when they have, the memories are among Cere’s fondest: discovering H.O.O.T. Juice together, scrying on Razgaal. Cere officiated her wedding.
-
- Cere is Neko’s official vet. She respects the quality of Neko’s cooking and has been trying to find the occasion to repay her with a Hero’s Feast.
-
- Hesitant and tolerant in equal measure. She does not take much of what he says at face value and is accustomed to bumping into him in places he claimed not to be, because he uses Mislead with regularity. She is aware that his warlock patron was Nathair — for years, without his knowledge — and is quietly weighing what that means and what, if anything, should be done about it.
-
Pinoch
- Jebbedo’s son, who Cere relied on in battle and still does, through Hound. She considers him the goodest boy and thinks about how his soul is manifesting now that he is no longer physically present. He cannot be reached through the Magic Mirror, but somehow still speaks to Shrim, which she finds curious and has not stopped thinking about.
Deities
-
Eldath
- Cere’s guiding light. Eldath answered her when she felt most alone and has never stopped delivering. When Nathair cast Eldath out of Aigora, Cere — with Opteima’s assistance — spent Sending spells across the continent gathering faith and returning Eldath’s influence to the world. She considers this her most important act as a cleric.
-
Opteima
- Cere’s temporary source of divine magic while Eldath was shunted. Opteima initially expressed doubt in Cere’s ability to stop Nathair, which Cere converted into a teaching opportunity rather than a discouragement. Opteima is now the first Cleric of the Blooming Domain — a faith Cere built and passed on. She checks in with Opteima in the Womb of the Grave while she sleeps.
-
- A pathetic pretender, in Cere’s assessment. Every attempt he has made to unsettle her has had the opposite effect. She is not afraid of him. She is impatient for his end.
-
Trix’alleb
- Maxedine’s wife in another life. Cere considers her the heroine of a romantic tragedy and admires her deeply. Trix’alleb gave Cere immunity to Nathair’s medallions, a gift Cere intends to use well.
Personal Quests
- Find the Waterfall from her vision. (The beginning of everything)
- Cast Hallow on the ship to protect against fire.
- Spread the word of Eldath to restore her influence to Aigora.
- Abolish slavery in the Sang-Lothor Imperium.
- Find the Butterfly Globe left for her by Eldath with Aroo Goola.
- Visit home with her newfound friends.
Selected Quotes
“We are what we are meant to be when we become it.” — Cere’s stance on destiny
“Your mother is dead. And that is okay.” — In an attempt to comfort a fresh orphan
“Dead men can share a lot of tales despite popular belief.” — In reference to the Speak With Dead spell
“I pray he finds guidance. To be able to fight for those who are chained in the most productive way… the rocks can get sifted. The dirt, become fertile. And the path become plush with flora.” — A prayer to Eldath for Khemmis
“You think you know everything, but I don’t need to be omniscient to know your end is near. See you soon.” — To Nathair, as her Divine Intervention succeeds
“I’ll put in a bad word for you with Opteima.” — To Kalkstein, just before Savina stabs him in the chest
“And may we continue to protect this love as we have till now, for what purpose have we if not to protect those feelings which deserve it?” — While officiating Savina and Razgaal’s wedding
“Put your faith in a Goddess who deserves it.”
Trivia
- Cere carries a bounty of 30,000 gold pieces from the Commonwealth of Tormenta Navy as the titled Slayer of Crondusa. She did not land the killing blow. The title was given to boost Weastworld’s morale and stuck.
- Her shampoo at the Weastkeep is eucalyptus scented.
- She is deeply intolerant of cold weather, having grown up in a desert. She often shuts down in snow to preserve heat.
- She has crafted two gifts for Savina: a shirt made from a potato sack on a dare, and an owl chia pet. Both were ugly. Both were accepted.
- She is cultivating miniature non-sentient versions of Shrim in her room, so she has something physical to remember him by if he falls in battle.
- Her spider familiar is named Cleome, after Cleome Spider Flowers. Goes by Cleo. Cere and her belongings are accordingly covered in cobwebs.
- She was originally intended to be from Faerûn, but her player adjusted her backstory after using the character in a one-shot in another world.