Thorn the Stitcher
MystaransMystic Healer specializing in reality-wounds
"I don't heal bodies. I convince the universe that you deserve to exist. It's harder than it sounds.""
Identity
- Residence
- The Mending House in the district of Broken Things
- Civilization
- Mystarans
Appearance
• Physical: Thorn is androgynous and ageless-looking, with skin covered in fine silver scars from healing reality-tears. Their hands glow with soft golden light when using their healing abilities. They move with careful precision, as if reality itself might tear if they're too abrupt. • Clothing: They wear practical healer's robes covered in patches from different realities—each patch represents a wound they've healed. Their medical bag contains instruments that exist partially in multiple dimensions. • Distinguishing Marks: Their face is unmarked by age but their eyes contain the weight of centuries of suffering witnessed. A spiral pattern on their palms marks them as a certified reality-healer.
Relationships
- Family - Their birth family disowned them for studying "unnatural" healing; they've built a new family from colleagues and patients
- Allies - The Guild of Reality Healers; several seers who send them patients; a network of former patients who owe them debts
- Rivals - Quack healers who prey on the desperate; politicians who want to control healing for power
Personality
- Traits: Gentle but firm, deeply empathetic, exhausted by their work, surprisingly funny when off-duty
- Mannerisms: Touches wounds gently before healing them, hums lullabies while working on serious injuries, collects small tokens from grateful patients
- Voice: Soft and soothing during healing, sharp and precise when teaching, full of dark humor when relaxing
Backstory
Thorn was a normal physician until they encountered a victim of reality-sickness—a condition where a person's existence becomes unstable across multiple timelines. They discovered an innate ability to "stitch" reality back together and spent decades training in the forbidden art of healing not just bodies, but existence itself. They're one of only twelve certified reality-healers in Mystara.
Story Hooks
- 1 A patient arrives with a reality-wound that shouldn't be possible, and Thorn needs the party's help investigating its source
- 2 Thorn's condition has become critical, and they need a rare ingredient from a dangerous location to stabilize themselves
Narrative Value
Thorn provides healing services while embodying the cost of helping others. Their deteriorating condition creates urgency and emotional stakes. They can introduce the concept of reality-sickness and serve as a quest-giver for medical mysteries. ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════