Veil of Ilya
The Veil of Ilya is an Orrian relic named after Ilya, one of the twins who are the goddess Lyssa. It is an elegant but otherwise visibly unremarkable domino mask with powers to pierce the curtain of reality, to look upon things not normally seen by mortal eyes. Its passive magic would allow the wearer to perceive things hidden by illusion or that exist out of phase with Tyria proper as if they were there normally. Should the wearer actively draw upon the Veil's well of power, they may reveal these things to those around them within a defined space and for a short period of time.[1]
History[edit]
The Veil was stolen from Orr during the Third Guild War, and it ended up in the possession of Duchess Adelaide Barradin of Ascalon. Using its power while visiting King Jadon of Kryta in Lion's Arch during the human-charr conflict, Adelaide noticed and exposed the cloaked mursaat who were accompanying a White Mantle ambassador in the king's court during a diplomatic meeting. Revealed to everyone present, the mursaat retaliated by attacking with powerful magics, killing the king's advisors and royal guard in seconds. Adelaide and her companions came to the king's defense with combined feedback spells, evacuating King Jadon through secret corridors at his direction.[1]
The duchess used the Veil's power again when she and the mesmers accompanying the fleeing King Jadon were intercepted by the pursuing mursaat at South Kessex. Although Jadon would succumb to his injuries sustained from a prior battle, Adelaide and her remaining mesmers would have perished in this new ambush if not for the timely arrival of the mysterious sorcerer Obryn who defeated the attackers.[2]
As the White Mantle and their mursaat masters took over Kryta after expelling the invading charr, Adelaide and her remaining mesmers, including their supporter Obryn, decided that they would not abandon Kryta to its new regime and formed the inner council of what would become known as the Mesmer Collective, a fledging network of spies and informants that would serve Kryta in the formative years of the Shining Blade and, later, their own kinsfolk in the Ascalon Settlement. In time, the Collective's numbers would grow. Individuals with ties and connections to larger Krytan towns would form the first outer council and, eventually, the first members of the Shroud.[3]
The fate of the Veil of Ilya after these events remains unknown, but it has presumably stayed in the possession of the Mesmer Collective ever since.
