Maddened Maven (Basic Lore)

Maddened Maven (CR 25)
True Chaotic - Medium - Aberration
It is widely accepted among most intelligent creatures, at a very general level, that the world we all live in is balanced upon the surface of a much larger, darker, and far more terrible reality called the Outer Madness. Most people have little understanding of Planes, and in the minds of most people, Demons, Devils, Aberrations, and most 'weird' monsters are part of this terrifying background reality. However, there are always those who think that 'larger and more terrible' means, 'a convenient way to get power'. As a result, all over the world, in every race, creed, and culture, civilized or not, there are those with far too much greed and far too little wisdom who seek out this Deep Darkness and pledge themselves to it. The Creeping Madness is easy to access, easy to draw upon...and insanely dangerous. A fair number of those who attempt this foolish act are consumed utterly by their very first sup of that dark well, their lives, essence, souls, and flesh consumed entire. Many of those luckless fools do not quietly disappear, however. Maddened Mavens are those creatures, with the Spark or without, who have reached out to the Madness, and not only survived, they have grown exalted. Mavens are truly utter abominations, even though their physical forms are only slightly altered from a human 'norm'. Indeed, for the fiendish cadres of the Maddened, the Mavens are positively...comely. But their relatively fair form hides a broken soul more awful than most would dare to believe. Unlike many lesser Maddened, Mavens are almost always created new and whole, as foolish mortals seek eternal youth and power in the embrace of the Great Insanity. If there is some guiding principal in the Deep Dark, its most clear expression is in the choosing of those wicked souls who become Mavens. Mavens are exclusively female, just as Magnates are male, and they seem to serve as the fairly palatable faces of the Maddened. This is not to say they aren't terrible, because they are, and their insane desire to kill and destroy makes them difficult to deal with, no matter how they look. Maddened Mavens are the absolute foes of everything else in existence, and they use their less terrible appearance to set up alliances and develop schemes. Mavens are not great thinkers, but they have truly impressive amounts of cunning and duplicity. They will frequently have Travesties nearby as muscle, and Aberrants are always useful allies. Mavens often work with Magnates, as well. Maddened Mavens are almost always drawn from the Civilized Races, people who should have known better, but sometimes 'monstrous' races are also sources for Mavens. It is possible for Hags and Giants, among others, to be subsumed by the Eternal Black Night, and thus become Maddened Mavens. Maddened Mavens, like all of the Maddened, are united in their allegiance to the Endless Night, the Dark Sweet Depths that lie Outside. They are schemers and plotters, they always seem to have a few sister Mavens to aid them, and some Travesties for expendable muscle. They frequently seek out Magnates for deeper plans, but even on their own, they always act, vaguely or cleverly, to tear down civilization, destroy all the structures of the world, material and social, for good and for ill. Mavens seek to kill and destroy everything in the world, just like every Maddened, but they are willing to take a longer, slower approach then many of their Maddened brethren. Mavens are startlingly petite for such powerhouse destroyers, but they will quickly demonstrate their power if their insane plans are threatened.