Null Psalm Hush-Bearer

Tier 3 Support

Null Psalm Hush-Bearer

Tier 3 Support

*"You do not have to sing it. You can lay it down. There is rest in not-sounding. May I show you?"* — Hush-Bearer Aen-Vesh, before the attempt on Kathai.

Motives & Tactics: ## Description A Hush-Bearer wears the Null Psalm's deep grey vestments and a small silver bell on a chain — the bell has no clapper and makes no sound. Their face is uncovered; the Null Psalm considers concealment a kind of song and refuses it. They are typically older — forties at minimum — because the Null Psalm's discipline is taught slowly. They carry no visible weapons. They do not need to. ## Motives Silence the hymn. The Null Psalm holds that the Unfinished Hymn is unfinished for good reason — that whatever it was meant to do is best left undone — and that anyone who can carry a note of it must, at minimum, be prevented from sounding the note. Conversion is preferable. Compulsion is acceptable. Silencing — by resonance dampening, by surgical removal of the carrier's voice, or in extremity by death — is the last resort that the Null Psalm prefers to admit it never uses. ## Tactics A Hush-Bearer opens with conversation. They want to understand the carrier. They want to know what the carrier has heard, what the carrier suspects, whether the carrier can be persuaded. They will spend an hour or a day or a week on this, depending on the carrier's importance. When persuasion fails, they invoke the silver bell — and the resonance dampening that emanates from it is the Hush-Bearer's primary combat tool. They do not aim to kill. They aim to silence. They will accept death only if a carrier has already begun to sound a note.

Difficulty: 15 | Thresholds: 10/20 | HP: 8 | Stress: 7

ATK: 3 | Hush-Bell Resonance: Close | 1d8+3 mag

Features

The Long Conversation - Action: Before initiative is rolled in any first encounter, the Hush-Bearer attempts conversation. They may speak for as long as the GM judges the scene supports — minutes, hours, a full session — about the hymn, the carrier's experience of it, and the case for silence. PCs who engage seriously may make a Knowledge roll (DC 15) to extract information about the Null Psalm's doctrine, leadership, and operational structure. PCs who refuse to engage cause the Hush-Bearer to escalate to combat on the next round.

Hush-Bell Resonance - Action: The Hush-Bearer rings the silent bell. All creatures within Close range must succeed on a Presence roll (DC 15) or be Silenced (cannot speak, cast verbal spells, sing, hum, or otherwise sound a note) until the end of their next turn. The Hush-Bearer is unaffected.

Dampen the Carrier - Action: Mark 2 Stress. The Hush-Bearer focuses on a target they have identified as a hymn-carrier and attempts to dampen the resonance the target carries. Target rolls Presence (DC 15); on a failure, the target cannot perceive, identify, or interact with any griefglass shard for 24 hours, and any hymn-note they were carrying becomes inert in their hands for the duration. On a Severe failure, the duration is one week.

Compulsion of Stillness - Action: Mark 3 Stress. The Hush-Bearer focuses on a single carrier within Close range and offers them stillness — a compulsion to lay down the hymn-note and walk away. Target rolls Presence (DC 17). On a failure, the target willingly surrenders the note to the Hush-Bearer and feels, for the rest of the scene, profound relief. The relief is real. So is the loss.

Bell-Bearer's Last Hush - Reaction: When the Hush-Bearer is reduced to 0 HP, they ring the bell one final time before falling. All creatures within Close range take 2d8 magic damage and must succeed on a Presence roll (DC 17) or be Silenced for the rest of the scene. PCs who were carrying a hymn-note must also roll Presence (DC 17) or temporarily lose the note's resonance for one full week as the dying bell-tone dampens it.

The Discipline of the Uncovered Face - Passive: The Hush-Bearer cannot lie. The Null Psalm's discipline forbids it. PCs who succeed on a Knowledge roll (DC 14) recognize this — and may then ask the Hush-Bearer direct questions that the Hush-Bearer must answer truthfully, though they may refuse to answer at all, and the truthful answer may itself be persuasive.