Vellus Venti
Is he even real, or just the afterthought of desire?
The scent of what ache smells like.
A strange drift on the breeze.
Eyes that burn like molten gold, and a scent that wraps around you like velvet. It lingers—deep, rich, woven into your clothes, left behind on sheets like a secret. Those who’ve breathed it say it changes them. It smells like protection, like safety, like ache. Velvet and metal. Fire and shadow. How can a man be a scent? He isn’t a man at all. He was born of longing and grief. When his beloved lost him, she wept so deeply that even the stars wept alongside her. From that profound grief, Tamhana crafted a gift—not of flesh, but of soul. A memory. An echo. The Goddess of Stars and Guidance could not bear to hear her descendant Caelina’s sorrow and thus bestowed this blessing. Not fully there. Not fully gone. A presence stitched from ache, woven with love, carried in scent. He came to her not in the flesh, but in the drifting trace of what she missed most: the way he smelled when she leaned into him. The warmth that clung to her skin. The memory that breathed back.
Effect on Others
Taboo
The Scent of Her
Properties
Material Characteristics
Physical & Chemical Properties
A Crystal Bottle of Vellus
Wonderous Value
10,000–15,000 GP Uses
A crystal bottle of Vellus is a rare and precious thing—so treasured that it is often locked away in heavily guarded vaults. Its use is reserved for the most intimate of moments: to relive memories of long-lost loved ones, to recall the scent of a fleeting passion, or—on rare and dangerous occasions—to become entirely lost in one’s own reverie. In larger quantities, it is sometimes dabbed onto a scarf or piece of cloth, hidden away and used sparingly, as even the smallest trace can summon feelings too powerful to bear. Vellus Thoughts
He was once asked by a woman deep in grief, “Do you hate it—when people take pieces of you?” Vellus’s reply was as soft as the wind itself. “I am made of pieces,” he said, “fragments of long-lost memories—something everyone longs to hold close. I do not hate it. I only long to be near her again.” His voice, though quiet, echoed with sorrow. With memory. With Caelina—his beloved star.
I love this article, and I’m saving it for the reading challenge in August.
Thank you for reading!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It was a delight to create!