Kadija Sumal

Kadija Sumal
Type	NPC
Actor	Matthew Mercer
Character Information
Pronouns	she/her
Titles	Professor
Creature type	Humanoid
Race	Orc
Age	Older (in 843 PD)
Place	Aydinlan Seminary, Yios, Aeshanadoor, Marquet
Connections	Roe Estani Grim Verity (member)
Profession	Professor
Status
Status	Alive
Appearances
First seen	"Ominous Lectures" (3x45)
Stream	Campaign Three (1 episode)

Kadija Sumal (pronounced /kəˈdiːʒə suːˈmɑːl/) is a professor in the Aydinlan Seminary of Yios. As an NPC, she is played by Matthew Mercer.

Description

When encountered by Imogen Temult and Fearne Calloway in 843 PD, Kadija was an older orcish woman wearing her hair in about a dozen thick braids gathered at the back of her head with a ribbon and falling to mid-back. She wore professorial robes over casual clothes, had dark brown eyes and gray-green skin, and appeared tired.

Imogen observed a "slightly manic, paranoid, but studious energy to her", and that she appeared to have been living under growing stress for some time. She was extraordinarily cautious and fearful, as her office had no less than seven locks on the door and during her conversation with Imogen Temult about the Omen Archive, she continually looked all around to check everything was secure.

Biography

Professor Sumal spearheaded the Omen Archive, a study of individuals who had occasionally reoccurring dreams of red storms: these subjects, from across Exandria, shared a dream of a roiling red storm chasing and consuming the dreamer. She found that the records of such accounts seemed to swell near the reoccurring celestial solstice on a roughly 30-year cycle, and interest in the phenomenon had recently increased within academic circles. As part of the study, she developed and compiled theories surrounding the dreams, involving spiritually or psychically sensitive individuals being touched by fiendish influence, Ruidus tidal corruption, or elemental boundary flares or failures. Liliana Temult, Imogen's mother, was listed as either a contributor to or subject of the study.

Roe Estani said that Kadija's work was a bit before his time, but before he finished his tenure at the Aydinlan Seminary he had "some crossover" with Kadija. In reality, both he and Kadija became members of The Grim Verity, a group dedicated to research about the true nature of Ruidus, although by 843 PD, Estani had long since retired and left.

As of Bells Hells' visit to Yios in 843 PD, Kadija was the only member of Grim Verity still working at the Seminary, as the least publicly connected to the group. She intentionally kept at a distance so as to be able to maintain an ear to the ground. When Imogen and Fearne visited her in her office at the Seminary, she was behind multiple locks and very reluctant to allow entry until they mentioned their visit was about the Ruidusborn. After she nervously admitted them, Imogen revealed her mother was Liliana Temult and Kadija described more of the purpose of the Omen Archive study, stating that Otohan Thull was the last Exaltant studied by the Omen Archive. Thull became unhappy with the limited information she received when the researchers grew uncomfortable about her motives. It was at that point that Grim Verity scattered and went into hiding as their offsite researchers began to disappear.

Kadija also mentioned the Exaltant speaking of the Reilora, crimson dream beings who could tether themselves to Exandrians during flares of Ruidus. The researchers pulled back when they were unable to determine the Reilora's motives.

When Imogen mentioned her dreams and asked for help dealing with them, Kadija explained that although the archive's records had been taken by those working with Otohan and the Cerberus Assembly not long before Bells Hells arrived in Yios, she had removed several important pages from it and hidden them. She retrieved them from hiding just as Ludinus Da'leth arrived, cast a spell on her that robbed her of her mind, and took the pages which he identified as critical to the success of the project to release Predathos. When the party was transported to the Feywild by Planerider Ryn, they left Kadija in her care.

Appearances and mentions

• Campaign Three: Bells Hells
  • "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11), mentioned only (first mentioned)
  • "Make It Fashion" (3x12), mentioned only
  • "Omens Above" (3x19), mentioned only
  • "Promise and Potential" (3x22), mentioned only
  • "The City of Flowing Light" (3x42), mentioned only
  • "Axiom Shaken" (3x43), mentioned only
  • "Ominous Lectures" (3x45) (first appearance)

References

Art: