The Headdress of Night

The Headdress of Night is a large ceremonial headdress with great purple/blue feathers spreading back from a stone-carved skull, adorning a large beak of a tropical bird that hangs over the face. This headpiece is both beautiful and ominous, with Aztec overtones and a slight aura of magic meant to inspire awe. If looked at closely the inside headband and deep recesses of the skull's eye sockets reveal dried blood from ages past, hinting at ancient horrors and even older secrets.

This headpiece was handed down from one Grung priest of the Iu-Lo'K Tribe to another for generations in the lands of the Xen'drix Jungle. It was revered as a cultural artifact, denoting the Iu-Lo'K's connection to the mystical energies over life...and death. Then one day the tribe fell afould of the "Breeland Forestry and Sawmill" Company that was branching out to harvest Xen'drix lumber. The two forces collided, and great battles were had where many died on both sides; the natives feeling the brunt of the losses.

The "Breland Forestry and Sawmill" Company decided to hire out mercenaries to little avail: anyone entering the jungle area domiciled by the Iu-Lo'K Tribe would either never be seen again or would come back their numbers reduced and limbs missing. Unknown to the Company the Iu-Lo'K Tribe also prayed to their god, the Head Priest using the Headdress of Night as a conduit, to deliver themselves from the evils of the invading force.

Yiklusas Zsothu Anethi and her warriors answered both calls.

It is unknown what exactly happened after "Lady Yiki" was hired. All that is known is that Company paperwork verified that her and her group were contracted to take care of the "Grung problem." A few days later, ALL of the Iu-Lo'K Tribe were slaughtered... along with everyone from the "Breland Forestry and Sawmill" outpost in Xen'drix. The only survivors were a handful of her warriors and Lady Yiki...wearing a new purple-blue headdress.

Lady Yiki successfully argued in Sharn's court that her group's contract was written in such a manner to wipe out the Grung Tribe, and not to protect the Outpost. The "Breland Forestry and Sawmill" Company had to reluctantly agree the judge's decision that they had to pay her the agreed upon gold, regardless of their unproven suspicions that Lady Yiki or her warriors were responsible for the death of their workers. So, they paid her their agreed upon sum and interest...and decided the Outpost was not worth the hassle to rebuild.

For her part, Lady Yiki's reputation grew for her savagery AND her ability to argue in the courts. A part of this was due to the fact that she wore the Headdress of Night during the whole trial, inside the courtroom and out. Once the verdict was given, she was never seen with it again and refused to speak on the matter. It was thought to be lost or secreted away into some vault for safekeeping.

The skull of the Headdress of Night keeps smiling in the meantime...keeping its own secrets.