The Whisperer

– Report #665||42||12 by Sister Quaestor Eva Crussandi, Ashen Dawn Archives

Object’s name:
The Whisperer – ANOINTED.

Known aliases:
Veiled Lady, Whispering Bride, Hidden Madonna,
 Lady of Whispers, The Champion’s Bride, Eternal Maiden.

I am able to report that some theories and speculations concerning the Whisperer, mainly put forth by my predecessor, the late Brother Questor Mattias of Künsch, have been, if not confirmed, then heavily supported by new evidence. As was Brother Mattias’ suspicion, it would appear that the Whisperer has been forging groups in the places where she has visited, from secret societies to heresies or cults for the deranged or desperate.

It should be noted that the presence and activities of such groups have been our main means of tracking her movements; thus, this conclusion could be based on our limited understanding and perception of her own activities, movements, and motives. An alternate interpretation for the appearance of these groups is that they are simply fueled by her mere presence, a byproduct of her appearances more than the results of her devises. While there are supporters of this theory among my team, I myself do not adopt this interpretation and I base this on several observations.

I must note that the Whisperer has portrayed little to no interest in the fate of her groups after their creation. She has neither reacted, opposed, or attempted to thwart the elimination of any of them, either by us, the churches or local authorities. Furthermore, these groups seem isolated and operating separately, each with its own modus operandi and adopting different rituals and beliefs. To this day, and throughout the years of observations, the different groups have never contacted or cooperated with their counterparts. These points could support the theory of lack of intention behind their creation, however such differences could also be perceived as planned.

Despite their differences, it must be underlined that, to our knowledge, the different groups have never clashed with each other. Ritualistic fanaticism, which seems to be the most apparent common denominator among the different groups, rarely leaves room for competition or alternate dogmas and yet not once, not even when present in the same cities, have these different groups vied for power and influence among those predisposed to such extremes.

Intrigued by this observation, further investigations revealed that their differences are surface level only; while rituals and approaches differ, these groups share core beliefs and understandings. To our understanding, the Whisperer approaches entirely different groups of people, from the fanatically zealous or the bored privileged to the destitute, hurt, desperate and miserable, thus it seems natural to employ different means of approach that would resonate better with each targeted social group. Her cults often start as small heresies to the Theist Creed or new interpretations of existing Dei. When left unchecked, a few of these group evolved into death cults which engaged in violent conversions, abductions, ritualistic murders (whose rituals, however, may vary from extremely violent to “kind” poisoning), while a number of them have been led to mass suicides – especially among those groups that had avoided detection for years.

Such extremes, which have proved paramount to the investigation, must be perceived as rare. On at least two confirmed occasions, her teaching prevailed over a young gentleman’s club – namely the Pragian Society of Hunt and Literature – and a small brotherhood of knights – the Leracian Knights of the Little Lady – where the teachings of the Whisperer were embraced as philosophical ideas and interpretations of the oath of fealty respectively. The discovery of these groups was entirely accidental – which, alarmingly, could propose that more such cautious groups could exist. In fact, it could be speculated that the vast majority of the Whisperer’s groups remain introverted, preferring quiet conversion to aggressive methods that risk attracting attention. In the end, however, all types share one common goal: gain oaths of fealty from their followers (or victims). This is done in the name of the Champion Returned, the Savior Sun, the All-father (sometimes Undying All-father), and, even if rarely so, Hazlia by name.

This last observation is, perhaps, the greatest indication that the Whisperer is purposefully bringing such groups of people together, founding cults and heresies where the ground is fertile. If their presence was a simple by-product, logic would suggest that at least some of those groups would turn their devotion to the Whisperer herself. While the “Veiled Lady” is often the object of admiration and adoration, she has, without fail, never been the central figure of the belief system of these groups.

The presence of the Whisperer herself has been partially confirmed, to date, in thirteen different cities on the outskirts of the Heartlands. While it has been suggested that her presence in the Kingdoms may date to decades, if not centuries, there is little to no evidence to substantially support such an extreme scenario; even so, one should not dismiss it entirely. While we can be reasonably certain of her presence at specific places and even during specific dates, she remains elusive; no eyewitnesses can be presented and we have only been able to place her presence after she had departed or, at least, after her “public” appearances had ceased in a specific area. Despite the numerous reports and reasonably accurate tracking of her movements, no discernible pattern can be detected and therefore none of our predictions so far have been successful. It must be admitted that we are no closer now to apprehending or terminating her, than we were five years ago.

Conclusion: Based on the above observations, I propose that the purpose of this Anointed’s existence is, for lack of a better term, recruitment. Despite past failures, suggested courses of action must remain infiltration of these groups, followed by extraction and/or termination of the Whisperer herself.