The vilay are one of the so-called lesser breeds of the Arak and are the shadow elf equivalent of dryads. They sometimes even refer to themselves as dryads. Vilay look like very pale elfmaids with long white hair and sparkling green eyes. All vilay can change into nightingales at will.

Combat: The vilay almost never fights herself, for she is usually well-protected by her loved ones’ spirits. If she is forced into combat she relies on her ability to cast charm person three times per day, enforcing a -3 penalty to the target’s saving throw. In addition, she has the ability to cast spells as a 5th-level cleric (3/3/1).

If the vilay can lure her target into an embrace, she can also drain one level with her kiss. A victim killed via this energy drain will be not transformed into a “spirit love”, unless they are willing to become vilaykin (see below).

A vilay can only be harmed by spells or magical weapons of at least +1 enchantment, and is immune to weapons made of wood even if they are enchanted. However, any bone weapon can hurt a vilay, even if they are non-magical. Note that the crystalline skulls the vilay collects do not count as bone. Exposure to direct sunlight is very harmful to the vilay, doing one point of damage each round. If the light is somehow dimmed the damage slows to one point per turn.

Habitat/Society: A vilay chooses a large tree for her home, which can be identified by the circle of crystalline skulls which surrounds it. The more skulls on display, the more the vilay is honored by the others of her kind; thus stealing any of these skulls is one of the greatest crimes a vilay can imagine, perhaps other than the loss of one of her prized lovers. Vilay sometimes meet to celebrate one of their “great days”, but when asked they don’t even seem to know when the next of these days will be. Most vilay tend to live alone, but some gather in so-called “groves” living tree to tree.

Ecology: Vilay fill the same ecological niche as normal dryads, protecting the woodlands and the creatures that live within them. Other Arak rarely do any serious business with them; often they only visit to hear the stories of the vilay’s loves and marvel at the beauty of their hostess.

Vilaykin

Vilay only rarely create changelings in the traditional sense. They rather prefer to literally love their paramours to death and keep their spirits, creating beautiful incorporeal undead. These undead are bound to the vilay through their skulls, now crystalline and as hard as adamantite thanks to the vilay’s magic, which are all that remain of their former bodies. The vilaykin are still free-willed, but most prefer to stay with “their” vilay. Even those who are allowed to travel the world, collecting gifts and stories for their love, must return to their skull a least once a year, with no chance of resisting the call.

Vilay chose their kin because of their beauty or their exceptional skills in the field of romance and love. Vilay are not very choosy when it comes to the question of gender, they tend to select females as often as males.

To create a new spirit, a vilay’s lover must be a willing subject. She then engages in acts of passion with her loved one and drains his or her life-force; no saving throw is required because the loved one must be absolutely willing to even start the ritual.

By René Littek