⚠️Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for seasons 1 and 4 of The Legend of Vox Machina. Reader discretion is advised.
The first half of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 came out swinging with their introduction of the Children of Truth. The group of Vecna cultists are defiling religious sites across Exandria as they claim they’re ushering in a new era. One member that stands out is the Necro-Ninja, whose magic is strong enough to burn out the eyes of Keyleth’s father in a way that Pike’s healing magic can’t reverse.
Now we know what her identity is. Episode 6 “We Are His Blood” ends with a close-up of the Necro-Ninja’s face and it’s…Delilah Briarwood?! The woman who was stabbed through the neck and dumped in acid at the end of season 1?
Yep, she’s alive and with scars around her eyes and glowing purple irises to boot.
Who Is Delilah Briarwood?
Delilah and her husband Sylas were the main villains of season 1 of The Legend of Vox Machina. They’d seized control of Whitestone by enslaving its people, and killing most of Percy de Rolo’s family. But this wasn’t your typical power grab.
Years before the series began, Sylas was dying. Desperate to save the love of her life, Delilah made a deal with a mysterious entity she came to serve: Vecna the Whispered One. The archlich and god wannabe was interested in Whitestone because the city sat on top of a powerful ley line nexus built over an ancient ziggurat. In other words, it can channel an enormous amount of magical power. And the Whispered One wants to use that power to finally ascend to godhood.
In exchange for her devotion, the Whispered One brought Sylas back as a vampire.
From that point on, every evil thing Delilah did in the series was in preparation to bring the Whispered One back into the Material Plane.
Thankfully, Vox Machina stopped the ritual before the Whispered One could return. Keyleth incinerated Sylas with a Sunbeam spell, and Percy’s sister Cassandra plunges her rapier through Delilah’s throat. Percy threw Delilah’s body into acid and it seemed like it was over right?
Wrong.
How Is This Possible?
The show hasn’t given us an explanation yet. We’ll probably get some answers later this season. But keep in mind that Delilah is a necromancer, a wizard subclass focused on manipulating the concept of life and death. Her body may have been destroyed in season 1, but her soul could have survived long enough until she found a way back to the land of the living.
Another possibility is that the Whispered One brought her back. Vecna does rule over the domain of undeath and dark secrets. Delilah has been nothing but a loyal servant, and a powerful one at that. It might be easier to resurrect Delilah since she’s already knowledgeable of what his plans are then to bring in someone new.
We also don’t know if Delilah chose this willingly. In season 1, she called out to the Whispered One from the ziggurat following the death of Atlas and felt abandoned when the ritual failed. Did she make another deal before she died? Did the Whispered One resurrect her without being asked, the way you’d reload a weapon you know works? Just how much agency does Delilah have as the Necro-Ninja? Or does she not care as long as she finds a way to reunite with her husband?
Either way, Delilah’s return is more than Vox Machina having to face an old threat. It’s a reckoning because you know Delilah will be out for blood.
Some things, it turns out, don’t stay buried for long.
