Mothers of Smoke and Bone

 You crossed the river, but the ancestors tied your shadow to the shore.

"U we l’oto, vben vben gbe ukhin gha r’orie."

Now you walk with their voices in your shadow. You carry names the world has forgotten, and secrets the wind still remembers. People feel your presence like a story passed down in whispers. Some call you priestess. Some call you deathwalker. Some call you Maman Igbe—the one who walks between.

You are not trusted. You are not refused.
You are the silence after mourning. The flame after ash.
And wherever you go, the past walks with you.

 

“The child who buries the mother must learn to speak with silence.” — Esan Proverb

 

Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Arcana, Sleight of Hand, Religion,Insight,Perception or Survival

 

 

 

Tool Proficiencies: Forgery Kit and Disguise Kit

 

 

 

Languages: Choose two, one of which must be Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon

Equipment: A Offering Bowl of the Hollowed Earth, Mbira of Echoes, Bonewoven Bracelets & Anklets, Veil of the Ashen Ancestors. a disguise kit, The Jar of Words, forged ancestral document: a soul-seal, exile writ, or ritual blessing claiming you as the speaker of the dead, A set of traveler’s robes woven with faded Esan-style embroidery—protective symbols stitched into the hem with thread stained in herbal smoke, forgery kit, Calabash of Whispering Coals, Ritual Dagger, 2 blocks of  incense and 15 gp in tarnished, spirit-marked coins.

Suggested Characteristics

You have learned to live with the terror that haunts you. You are a survivor, who can be very protective of those who bring light into your darkened life.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I walk like I’ve already buried the worst of what’s coming.
2	I speak softly, as if I’m not always alone. I’m not.
3	I do not lie—I simply speak with voices that are not always mine.
4	I treat fire with reverence, ash with respect, and names with fear.
5	I listen more than I speak, and even in silence, I’m never idle.
6	I sometimes forget which memories are mine and which belong to the jar.
7	I am calm when others panic—because I know how death moves.
8	I remember the names of the dead, and that makes the living wary of me.

d6	Ideal
1	Memory. The forgotten become restless. To remember them is to honor them.
2	Balance. What has been taken must be paid. What was silenced must be heard.
3	Fear. Fear is not weakness—it is protection made sacred.
4	Mercy. Even the cruel deserve a final whisper.
5	Justice. The dead do not forget injustice, and neither do I.
6	Purpose. I was not sent back to walk blindly. My path is lit by the voices I carry.

d6	Bond
1	My Jar of Words contains names I must one day speak aloud.
2	I once helped a spirit find peace. I still dream of their gratitude.
3	A woman gave me her name before she died. I keep it safe until her story is finished.
4	The dead have given me a task. Until it’s done, I cannot rest.
5	Someone I love fears what I’ve become. I carry their fear like a scar.
6	I will bury the one who cursed me—with the proper rites, but no forgiveness.

d6	Flaw
1	Sometimes I speak to the dead more than the living.
2	I fear forgetting a name more than I fear losing a fight.
3	I trust omens more than people.
4	I no longer remember what I look like without the mask.
5	I don’t know if I’m serving the ancestors—or becoming them.
6	I enjoy being feared more than I should.