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Lady Taramyth
The Singing Flame (planar vulpinal guardinal companion [she/her] / NG)
Portfolio: Ignition, nurturing, purpose
Realm: Astral / River of Nine Fires (demiplane)
Lady Taramyth, the Singing Flame, is a vulpinal paragon who embodies the metaphor of goodness as a flame that must be kindled, nurtured, and wielded wisely. With her fox-like features, crimson-tinged fur, and eyes that burn like molten gold, she’s a hot-tempered bard whose fiery melodies ignite courage and hope in her allies.
Taramyth’s philosophy revolves around ignition, nurture, and purpose—she views goodness as a flickering flame that must be actively tended and wielded. First there’s the spark she seeks to ignite in others—the courage to rise against despair and embrace their potential for heroism. Then that delicate flame of goodness needs to be nurtured—fed by acts of kindness and shielded from forces that would extinguish it. And most important is the purpose, her guiding principle: Fire must not burn out of control but be wielded mindfully to illuminate paths forward, cleanse corruption, and forge new beginnings from the ashes left behind.
Taramyth’s unusual among the guardinals in that she doesn’t dwell on Elysium, but instead has constructed her own demiplane, the River of Nine Fires. It’s a real wonder too: An ever-flowing cascade of liquid flame that drifts through the Astral Plane, occasionally connecting to Elysium’s volcanoes and Mount Aetna on Ossa. The River of Nine Fires is both a symbol and a tool of her philosophy—a place where cleansing flames are honed into weapons of hope and renewal. This radiant realm serves as a sanctuary but also a cunning weapon in her ongoing vendetta against the baatezu archdevil Mephistopheles.
The origins of this animosity stem from an event that shames Taramyth to her core. See, she’s the source of the Hellfire that Mephistopheles claims to have invented. Being a baatezu of course it means he’s a liar—it was stolen in the first place. Disguised as a handsome firre eladrin, Mephistopheles fooled the vulpinal into sharing a secret about her Singing Flame, a source of celestial fire that burns so hot and so pure that it can reduce anything to ashes. Once he’d stolen the dark, Mephistopheles found a way to corrupt this flame into hellfire, which he then proudly presented as his own work, gaining himself the favour of Asmodeus. Lady Taramyth tumbled to the peel eventually, and was mortified that her own creation was being used for wickedness. Taramyth has forged alliances with Zaaman Rul, the exiled Prince of Good Fire Elementals, and together the bloods are cooking up a daring plan to storm Cania and extinguish the hellfire once and for all.
Taramyth’s most radiant and steadfast ally though is a phoenix known as Emberlight Reborn, a being of flaming beauty who embodies renewal and undying hope. Like the River of Nine Fires, Emberlight’s feathers shimmer with hues of gold, crimson, and violet, and their song is said to heal broken spirits and rekindle even the faintest embers of courage. Emberlight is the reason Taramyth and the Elemental Lord Zaaman Rul are allies, in fact, the reason Rul is even still alive. At his darkest hour, Zaaman Rul had been driven to the brink of being extinguished by Imix’s overwhelming forces on the Plain of Burnt Dreams. The phoenix appeared in a blaze of glory, and its song washing over Zaaman Rul, not only restoring his strength but also filling him with a renewed sense of purpose to fight for freedom and justice.
It turns out Lady Taramyth had played a crucial role in orchestrating this divine intervention. Sensing Zaaman Rul’s plight, she sought out Emberlight in its volcanic sanctuary, imploring the phoenix to intervene. Taramyth used the River of Nine Fires to guide the phoenix to reach Zaaman Rul at his moment of greatest need. The three have been steadfast allies ever since.
Sources: Bestiary 2 [PF1e] p15; Chronicle of the Righteous [PF1e] p35; Jon Winter-Holt