Subminister Vex Seretika, Perpetual Overseer of the Meres

Vex Seretika takes the form of a tall, striking woman with flesh of amber and hair of ever-flowing oil that leaves rivulets in her wake. Vex’s progenitor, the Divine Minister Noi, assigned her to be the overseer of the Headwater Meres, two ancient reservoir-organs that (separately) supply fresh water and usable resin to several primary conduits — and thus, to many of the sub-conduits the Octet depends upon. This assignment was meant to teach Vex patience, the keen sense of timing and restraint that makes Noi such an effective trickster. Instead, she languishes in boredom, an ennui that demands remedy. For years, she has been slowly drawing local machine spirits into her good graces, surrounding herself with sycophantic courtiers. They put on plays and intrigues for her amusement, and scour the Reaches for treasures that might win her approval. Those who indulge Vex become favorites, showered with attention and gifts. Those who refuse — or worse, who try to spoil her fun — are transformed into living statues of amber. While the Headwater Meres required little oversight from Vex, her misappropriation of its machine spirit attendants has led to increasingly frequent malfunctions that the subminister fixes with haphazard patches. Even small leaks of oil into major water conduits might prompt the affected nation to send Alchemical investigators. This would delight and endanger Vex, who would welcome the company — so long as they don’t look close enough to notice that the Meres are dangerously close to absolute failure.