Atta ( 417 AC - ? AC) was a black and white border collie, and companion and protector of Rhys Mason.
Biography[]
Monastery of Majere[]
Atta was raised by Rhys Mason at his monastery for five years, where she served to herd sheep.
In 422 AC, with the arrival of Rhys’ brother Lleu Mason at the Order of Majere Monastery, Atta found herself immediately disliking the young man. When he attacked her, she bit him and shortly after when Lleu poisoned everyone in the monastery and then attacked Rhys, she defended her master, driving off Lleu, who had been revealed as an agent of Chemosh. The dog then left the monastery with Rhys, in pursuit of Lleu to bring him to justice, and to continue to aid Rhys on his further adventures with Nightshade Pricklypear.
The Sheriff’s Sidekick[]
When Rhys and Nightshade reached Solace, and were to be transported to Storm's Keep, Atta was left in the care of Gerard uth Mondar, Sheriff of Solace. Gerard took care of Atta, and grew extremely fond of her, as she helped him on a number of errands and jobs around town. When Rhys and Nightshade returned from Storm’s Keep, Gerard returned Atta to them. They discovered that Atta, like Nightshade, could detect the Beloved of Chemosh on sight, something that other than nightstalkers like Nightshade, few other folk could do. The adventurers aided Gerard in setting a trap for one of the Beloved, Cam, that they identified in the town. Cam proved impossible to kill, and in turn attempted to choke Gerard to death. The loyal Atta launched herself into the grappling pair and then fought against Cam, who threw the dog off him and escaped. Rhys, Nightshade and Atta bid their farewells to Gerard and his friends, and then left in pursuit of the Beloved.
Trailing the Beloved[]
Following the Solace encounter, Nightshade, Atta and Rhys tracked the undead to New Port, where they again encountered Rhys' brother Lleu, and witnessed his demise at the touch of an innocent child. The adventurers were then captured by minotaur slavers and dumped in the Shrine of Zeboim. In the shrine, Mina questioned Rhys over what he knew of her origins, believing he could answer her questions; however he was unable to provide her with any information. The goddess Zeboim appeared directly afterwards after the same information, and again Rhys was unable to comply. He also informed Zeboim that Majere had forgiven him and he was no longer her servant. The raging Zeboim left Rhys and his companions to rot in her grotto, chained to the rocks. Soon after Nightshade and Atta were free, and Rhys lied to Nightshade to go journey to the Temple of Majere in Flotsam to go get help, hoping that the kender and his beloved dog would escape with their lives, since they were unable to get him free. The pair departed in good faith, leaving Rhys still chained in the grotto.
On the journey towards Flotsam, Nightshade and Atta became lost, and were set upon by a pair of Beloved. However the pair were rescued by the god Majere, who set a plague of grasshoppers onto the undead. The god then departed, offering Nightshade his blessing to go rescue Rhys. The kender and Atta reached Rhys, only to face he was being confronted by Chemosh himself. Atta bit Chemosh, causing him a minor injury as her teeth had been blessed by the power of Majere. The god was then struck by Rhys' emmide and departed to learn the nature of the shaking of the earth. The grotto continued to experience earth tremors until it began to collapse and fill with water. The kender managed to pick the locks of Rhys' manacles, something which he'd never been able to do before without the blessing of Majere. He then found himself unable to drag Rhys out of the grotto when six monks of Majere magically appeared and lent Nightshade some aid. The kender, Atta and Rhys escaped the grotto and noticed the Tower of the Blood Sea was now above the waves.
Mina Reborn[]
Rhys and his companions stared in amazement at the new edifice and noticed a girl lying unmoving on the shore. The monk raced over to rescue the young girl, only to learn shortly after from Zeboim that it was Mina, except she had somehow reverted in years back to the age of six. She asked to be taken to Godshome to be with her mother Goldmoon and Rhys complied, much to Nightshade’s horror, knowing that Goldmoon was long dead. The group were stopped by Ausric Krell, however Mina used magic to incapacitate Krell before they moved on. Atta continued to distrust the girl, however out of respect for Rhys, she did not attack Mina, but watched her with a steady eye. However Mina then decided she needed a present for Goldmoon, before she could meet her at Godshome. The present she wanted was located inside the Tower of the Blood Sea.
The group took a boat out to the small island that now housed the tower, only to find the land was overrun by hundreds of Beloved. They swarmed Mina, but the girl drove them back with holy rage, and kept the Beloved away from the small group, they then entered the tower and met Caele and Basalt Darkeye. Mina then went down the tower towards the Solio Febalas, only to find the path to it destroyed. However she used her magic to transport herself, Rhys, Atta and Nightshade through to it, whilst the two mages trailed them. In Solio Febalas, Mina claimed several magical artifacts for Goldmoon, and used her magic to disable Caele and Basalt when they tried to kill the adventurers. Nuitari appeared, apologised to Rhys and Mina for his wizards and magically secreted them away for good.
The companions made to leave the tower, only to find their way blocked by thousands of Beloved. Mina grew fearful and then after some prompting from Nightshade, seemed to remember the Beloved and was transformed back into her adult self. She used holy fire to destroy every single one of the Beloved, and then reverted back to a six year old, asking Rhys, Atta and Nightshade to take her to Godshome. The adventurers sailed to Flotsam, where Nightshade located a map which showed the way to Neraka, which he knew was somewhere near Godshome.
Outside of Flotsam, Chemosh appeared to the group and tried to convince Mina to come with him, however she refused. Zeboim then appeared and defended Mina and her friends, telling Mina that she would be able to use her powers to transport them all to Solace, where they could gain further directions on the precise location of Godshome. Both gods then disappeared. Mina used her powers to make the group all walk at extremely high velocity through from Flotsam to Solace in a single day. In the temple of Majere, the group were set upon by Ausric Krell and his Bone Warriors. Krell laid Rhys and Mina low, but was struck by a mystic spell cast by Nightshade and knocked unconscious. Mina blamed herself for Rhys being incapacitated, and ran off so Rhys and Nightshade would not need to take care of her anymore. Atta and Nightshade pursued her, whilst Rhys lay imprisoned in the golden bands that Krell had wrapped around him. Nightshade and Atta quickly ran into Mistress Jenna, sending her back to aid Rhys in getting free of the bands and stopping Krell from awakening and killing the monk, before pursuing after Mina once more. The kender and Atta tracked down Mina outside of Solace, where they continued to trail her northwards, and on catching up with her, made her understand that she didn’t need to run away, as Rhys and the kender understood the danger of taking Mina to Godshome, but did it because they cared about her. Mina acquiesced, allowing Atta and Nightshade to travel with her once more, and hoping that Rhys would catch up. The trio entered a small forest and came across a house. On entering the house, they were greeted by a kindly woman baking gingerbread who welcomed them all inside. A short while later, Rhys also travelled down the road and entered the house, finding the trio fast asleep, and recognised the kindly woman as the goddess Mishakal. The goddess informed Rhys that he had to take Mina to Valthonis, as no-one else would be able to lead Mina to Godshome, and that she could direct the monk and his companions straight to the former god.
The adventurers found themselves transported by Mishakal near Neraka, where they spotted a minotaur war party, which they bypassed, and entered the valley of Neraka. In the valley, Mina transformed from a girl into a woman once more, and greeted Galdar, who had Valthonis in tow. Mina appeared confused about events, asking Galdar to aid her in a fight that her forces won during the War of Souls. Galdar helped bring her mind to the present, and then showed her Valthonis, saying that Sargonnas wished her to strike down the individual who led to the fall of Takhisis, and claim her seat beside Sargonnas in the pantheon. Rhys in turn told her about Valthonis being her father, and that she was in truth a god of light, and Mina’s form changed once more. Mina asked Galdar for his sword so she could strike down the defenseless Valthonis. Galdar however told Mina that he honestly believed she should not take Takhisis’ place in the pantheon, nor kill Valthonis in cold blood. Wishing to have no more to do with the proceedings, the minotaur walked away, however Mina leapt after him, attacking the minotaur in a rage and beating him senseless. Rhys tried to stop Mina and was also beaten into unconsciousness and Atta was wounded by a vicious cut of Mina’s sword. Finally Nightshade then tried to stop Mina from attacking, but she viciously broke his neck, killing the kender.
With the death of Nightshade, Mina realised in horror what she had done, and transformed into a six year old girl once more, she broke down in tears over his corpse. Valthonis rose and offered minor ministrations to the three survivors, before he and Mina left, leaving the trio and heading towards Godshome. Atta, Galdar and Rhys were found and aided by the followers of Valthonis in leaving the realm.
Atta and Rhys finally returned to the Order of Majere Monastery, where Atta had a new brood of pups and returned once more to an idyllic life herding sheep with her children.
Personality and traits[]
Atta had penetrating brown eyes, and obeyed Rhys without question.
References[]
- Amber and Ashes, p. 105-106, 126, 147, 154
- Amber and Iron, p. 20-36, 83-122, 174-237, 262-271, 274-279, 301-304, 308-314, 321-327, 332-337, 345-351
- Amber and Blood, p. 5-17, 43-107, 113-123, 127-162, 177-196, 215-216, 222-234, 285, 298-304