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Urhasdea
Sister of the Moon (planar felinal guardinal companion [she/her] / NG) [dead?]
Portfolio: Lunar cycles, reflection, sacrifice
Current Location: Baator / Avernus / Hanging Marches / The Last Grove
Urhasdea, Sister of the Moon, was a lynx-like felinal guardinal of near-divine power, renowned across Elysium for her grace and wisdom. She disappeared centuries ago during an ill-fated assault on Avernus, the first layer of Baator, where she sought to undermine one of Furcas’ many plots. Urhasdea’s mission was noble, but perilous: To protect the souls of nocturnal creatures who were being lured into infernal contracts by devilish trickery. Her goal was to destroy a baatezu artifact known as the Eclipse Chalice, a device said to corrupt lycanthropes by severing their connection to moonlight and turning their powers to pure darkness. Chant goes that Furcas’ plan was to promise werecreatures on the Prime that he had the ability to cure their lycanthropy. Fact is, that was true. Unfortunately, the part about being enslaved to the forces of darkness forevermore was in very small print, and berk, who reads all of that?
However, Urhasdea’s assault ended in tragedy when she encountered a mercenary troop of sacroloths stationed in Furcas’ stronghold, the Forked Pyre, venomous yugoloths whose bite can petrifiy even celestials. The sacroloths’ venom turned Urhasdea into a rocky statue, leaving her body hidden in The Last Grove, an overgrown killing floor near the Forked Pyre’s gate to Dis. All of her companions were slain, petrified or carried off in chains by the ‘loths.
The aftermath of Urhasdea’s disappearance sent ripples through Elysium and beyond. Her loss was deeply felt among the guardinals. Her failure also emboldened the baatezu, who used her petrified form as a grim warning to other celestial interlopers, for a time at least. They soon got bored with their prize and allowed the statue to become overgrown and forgotten.
In Elysium, some questioned whether the mission had been too reckless, while others saw it as a necessary act of defiance. Whether the sacroloth encounter was just bad luck, or whether Urhasdea had been double-crossed by a stag-turning werebeast who tipped off Furcas, perhaps we will never know.
The guardinals have since sent numerous expeditions to first locate and then recover her remains, but none have succeeded so far. It;s been a few centuries now—long enough for the baatezu to have forgotten about the whole affair. Perhaps inside the statue, Urhasdea is still alive. Although after being trapped in such a vile place for so long, who can tell what will have become of her mind?
Before the fateful battle, Urhasdea’s philosophy of goodness was centred on lunar cycles, reflection, and sacrifice. She believed that goodness, like moonlight, waxes and wanes but is never truly extinguished, and that every loss or setback can be seen as part of a greater cycle leading to renewal. If this is correct then perhaps she will yet wax back into ascendency. Although she’s certainly taking her time about it…
Source: Hell Unleashed [PF1e] p41; Jon Winter-Holt, with thanks to nickdagp480young for flagging this obscure companion!