Buy me a coffeeDaemon, Ayesha (“She-who-must-be-obeyed”)
“She-who-must-be-obeyed” the Undying Empress of the Living Flame, whose beauty enthralls nations and whose immortal will reduces kings, gods, and centuries alike to obedient ash.
Immortal Queen of the Living Flame
- Alias(es): She-who-must-be-obeyed, The Undying Empress, Queen of the Living Flame, The Veiled Immortal, Lady of the Pillar
- Gender: Female
- Race/Species: Immortal Human (Arcane-Transfigured)
- Occupation/Role: Absolute Sovereign, Immortal Sorceress-Queen, High Priestess of Pre-Human Powers
- Religion/Belief System: Self-deifying arcane fatalism; eternity confers moral authority
- Key Allies: Devoted Amahagger subjects, priest-servants, bound spirits, occult scholars serving unknowingly
- Primary Enemies or Rivals: Mortal rulers claiming absolute authority, secret orders targeting the Pillar, reincarnated souls resisting her, beings rivaling her immortality
- Abode / Base of Operations: Hidden ancient city with palace-temple complex built around the Pillar of Life
- Nationality / Cultural Background: Originates from a vanished civilization; culturally syncretic across absorbed empires and philosophies
- Languages Spoken: Multiple ancient, extinct, and ritual languages; rapidly acquires new tongues
- Moral Alignment: Lawful Neutral with authoritarian and absolutist tendencies
- Affiliations / Factions: Cult of She-who-must-be-obeyed, Priesthood of the Living Flame, shadow networks influencing politics and knowledge
- Significant Others / Romantic Ties: Kallikrates (long-dead lover, believed reincarnated); no other lasting attachments
In an age when ancient empires fracture, legendary cities fall, and the world trembles on the edge of rebirth, Ayesha endures unchanged. Known only as She-who-must-be-obeyed, she is an immortal sovereign who has ruled from shadow and sanctuary since before recorded history hardened into legend. To her, the year 1453 is not an ending but a confirmation: mortals rise, flourish, and collapse exactly as she has always known they would. Where kings cling to crowns and scholars argue over truth, She alone claims eternity, enforced by beauty that commands obedience and power that annihilates defiance.
Origins in the Ancient World
Ayesha was born in the twilight age, when early civilizations still contended with powers older than memory and knowledge had not yet been divided into doctrine and heresy. Raised among scholars, priest-philosophers, and keepers of forgotten lore, she learned early that knowledge was the only true dominion—and that death was merely a boundary imposed on the unworthy.
Her destiny changed when she uncovered the Pillar of Life, a relic of a vanished pre-human civilization or an abandoned experiment of elder powers. While others worshipped it, feared it, or died attempting to master it, Ayesha stepped into the flame and survived.
From that moment, time ceased to command her.
The Long Rule
For more than two millennia, Ayesha has ruled a hidden kingdom beyond the reach of maps and trade routes—a realm where rumor replaces geography and caravans vanish without explanation. Its people obey her absolutely, not because of law, but because disobedience feels unnatural in her presence.
She governs as:
- Queen, whose judgments admit no appeal
- High Priestess, interpreter of powers older than nations
- Living Relic, proof that mortality is not universal
She watches the rise and fall of empires as one might observe tides: predictable, violent, and ultimately meaningless.
Love, Sin, and the Eternal Waiting
In the ancient world, Ayesha loved a foreign warrior-scholar—Kallikrates, a learned wanderer whose culture prized reason and honor. Believing him her destined equal, she demanded from him not merely loyalty, but exclusivity of existence itself.
When she believed he betrayed her, Ayesha killed him.
The act shattered her certainty.
Since then, she has waited through the collapse of ancient powers, the rise of successor realms, crusades of ideology, and endless cycles of conquest, convinced that his soul would return to her reborn. Every century, she refines herself—mind, beauty, doctrine—preparing for the moment when destiny corrects itself.
In 1453, as legendary cities fall and the old order cracks, she believes the hour draws near.
Ayesha in the World of 1453
By this date, Ayesha is:
- Fluent in Greek, Latin, Arabic, and forgotten tongues
- A collector of forbidden manuscripts, suppressed philosophies, and pre-imperial lore
- A whispered presence among occult scholars, secret orders, and archivists of dangerous truths
- A threat to any throne or temple that claims ultimate authority, were her existence ever proven
She regards the collapse of ancient capitals not as tragedy, but as evidence—mortal civilizations decay, but she remains.
Major Achievements and Deeds
- Achieved true immortality through pre-human arcane forces
- Ruled uninterrupted for over 2,000 years
- Preserved lost knowledge erased elsewhere
- Quietly redirected regional history through selective intervention and annihilation
- Sustained a cult of absolute obedience across generations without succession
Character Analysis
Motivations
Ayesha seeks:
- Control over impermanence
- Validation of her ancient choice
- Reunion with the one soul she could not dominate
She believes the world should be ruled by the eternal, not the transient.
Fears
Her greatest fear is not death, but being wrong—that immortality did not grant moral authority, and that love cannot be preserved by force or eternity.
She also fears the Pillar itself: that the same power which elevated her may yet unmake her.
Psychology
Ayesha is calm, articulate, and terrifyingly reasonable. She does not rage; she explains, certain that explanation equals justification. Mercy, when granted, feels like cosmic favor. Punishment feels inevitable.
Ultimate Goal
Her true ambition is not empire, but fixity: a world where decay, doubt, and choice are replaced by eternal order under her guidance—with her beloved restored beside her, ruling forever.
Why She Matters in 1453
Ayesha embodies the tension of the age:
- Ancient authority versus emerging powers
- Eternal knowledge versus human reinvention
- Immortality versus historical change
Where 1453 marks the end of one world, Ayesha represents something far more unsettling:
A ruler for whom the end of worlds is routine.
She-who-must-be-obeyed, 5e 2024
She-who-must-be-obeyed, Pathfinder
She-who-must-be-obeyed 3.5
She-who-must-be-obeyed
“You are not worthy to know her name. You are not worthy to gaze upon her. You are not worthy to even know the She is, and therefore, you shall be no more.” – Chant of the Guardians of She
The scholars say, She is a creatures of pride and cannot abide this incarceration. She seeks to be adored. To have throngs bow before them. She is, after all, perfection personified, and deserves no less. Somehow it will pass, the prophets say, that She will come to the Material Plane.
She will conquer, for the weak hearts of mortals will break to behold them. She, they say, will come with the moon, riding upon a pale horse and winning empires with honeyed words that hide poison. He, it is written, will arrive with the sun, leading an army of mortals to conquest, burning across the earth. And when the world is split between the two ‘the most perfect man and the most perfect woman’ they will turn on one another and the world will end. But what do scholars and prophets know? For now, She is found wandering the halls of her glorious palace, where none may behold her. She will not allow it.
She is five feet, ten inches. She speaks Common, Draconic, Auran, Elven, Abyssal and Infernal.
| She (“She-who-must-be-obeyed”) | |
| Medium outsider (Daemon, Evil, Extraplanar) | |
| Hit Dice | 10d8+20 (65 hp) |
| Initiative | +3 |
| Speed | 30 ft. (6 squares) |
| Armor Class | 26 (+3 Dexterity, +8 insight, +5 deflection), touch 26, flatfooted 23 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +10/+10 |
| Attack | +2 dagger +12 melee (1d4+2/19-20 and poison) |
| Full Attack | +2 dagger +12/+5 melee (1d4+2/19-20 and poison) |
| Space/Reach | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks | Killing beauty, poison, spell-like abilities, spells |
| Special Qualities | Daemon traits, damage reduction 10/good, Darkvision 60 ft., immune to poison and disease, unearthly grace |
| Saves | Fort +22, Ref +23, Will +21 |
| Abilities | Strength 10, Dexterity 17, Constitution 14, Intelligence 18, Wisdom 13, Charisma 36 |
| Skills | Bluff +26, Diplomacy +30, Disguise +13 (+15 acting), Hide +16, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (arcana) +17, Listen +14, Move Silently +16, Perform (dance) +26, Profession (courtesan) +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Spellcraft +19 |
| Feats | Dodge, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (dominate person), Quicken Spell- Like Ability (teleport), Spell Focus (Enchantment) |
| Environment | Gehenna |
| Organisation | Solitary (unique), or Entourage (She plus 1d8 blinded eunuchs of a mixed class and race composition) |
| Challenge Rating | 15 |
| Treasure | Triple standard |
| Alignment | Always neutral evil |
| Advancement | – |
| Level Adjustment | – |
Combat
She disdains direct conflict, preferring instead to use her extensive magical arsenal to dominate and manipulate her foes, forcing them to kill one another. If pressed, she reveals herself to her foes, striking dead as many as possible. Of those left, she attacks using her envenomed dagger to extract payment from the living. Shes attacks are considered evil in addition to being magical for purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Unearthly grace (Su): She’s beauty goes beyond the mere physical; it permeates every part of her being. She is so desirable, in fact, that the gods are even smitten with her, bestowing the blessing of unearthly grace upon her. This gift from on high lets She add her Charisma modifier as a bonus to all of her saving throws.
Killing Beauty (Su): Beneath the coverings of exquisite silk is the most beautiful female form ever. If she reveals her naked physique, all humanoids within 30 feet’ regardless of whether or not they are normally attracted to her gender’ must attempt a DC 28 Will save or die.
Those who succeed and are normally attracted to individuals of her gender must attempt a second DC 28 Will save, or become obsessed with her, suffering 1d6 points of permanent Wisdom drain, and 1 point of Wisdom drain each day until either the victim’s Wisdom falls to 0 or the victim is healed through a heal and a remove curse, or wish or miracle.
Even a success on the second save results in the character being confused as the spell for 1d6 rounds. Once the initial save, or both saves if the victim is attracted to females, the victims are immune to all future instances of killing beauty for 24 hours, though they are still haunted by the vision of She.
This ability is Charisma based.
Poison (Ex): She employs a special poison on her dagger attacks. As a free action, She secretes the venom onto the blade. On a successful attack, the target must attempt a DC 17 Fortitude save. A failed save indicates the victim experiences horrific agony as the venom attacks his or her reproductive organs, dealing 1d6 points of permanent Charisma and Constitution drain.
Regardless of whether or not the victim succeeded the first save, the victim must attempt another DC 17 Fortitude save 10 rounds later. If the victim fails this save, his or her reproductive organs are destroyed, dealing an additional 1d6 points of Charisma and Constitution drain and rendering the target unconscious for 1d4 hours. Organs destroyed in this manner can only be healed by a heightened regeneration (9th) or through a wish or miracle. The save DC is Constitution based.
Spell-like Abilities: At will – dominate person, protection from good, teleport;
1/day blasphemy, plane shift. Caster Level 15th.
Spells: She casts arcane spells as a 15th-level sorcerer.
- Known Spells (Cast per Day: 6/10/9/9/9/9/8/6, DC 23 + spell level, 25 + spell for Enchantment):
- 0 acid splash, daze, detect magic, ghost sound, light, open/close, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue;
- 1st cause fear, charm person, color spray, hypnotism, magic missile;
- 2nd alter self, glitterdust, protection from arrows, scorching ray, touch of idiocy;
- 3rd blink, hold person, rage, suggestion;
- 4th charm monster, confusion, crushing despair, polymorph;
- 5th feeblemind, hold monster, mind fog, nightmare;
- 6th eyebite, greater dispel magic, mass suggestion;
- 7th insanity, power word blind.