Kierkan Rufo is a fictional character from the Forgotten Realms series The Cleric Quintet, written by R.A. Salvatore.
Biography
Kierkan Rufo was originally a cleric at the Edificant Library, and the rival of Cadderly Bonaduce. Jealous of the attention his fellow devotee of Deneir received, Rufo was easily manipulated by the evil priest of Talona, Barjin, who hypnotized him in his efforts to unleash the chaos curse. So affected by the curse, Rufo was overtaken by his hatred for Cadderly and his lust for Danica Maupoissant. Despite becoming violent, he was subdued and freed from the effects of the curse.
Later on, Rufo became repentant, seeking to redeem himself for his actions. He accompanied Cadderly, Danica, and the elf prince Elbereth to Shilmista, which had come under assault from Barjin's allies, among them Aballister Bonaduce. Once again, Rufo found himself manipulated, forced to obey the wizard Dorigen and her imp ally Druzil. A coward to the end, Rufo returned home before the conflict ended. Accompanying Headmaster Avery to Carradoon, he was once again used as a pawn by Castle Trinity. Inadvertently, his actions resulted in Avery's death, and he received a holy brand from Cadderly.
Exiled and alone, Rufo met up with Druzil once again, returning to the Edificant Library to retrieve the chaos curse. Consumed by greed, Rufo consumed the elixir, transforming himself into a vampire. He proceeded to seize control of the library, making many of the other priests into lesser vampires or zombies-with the exception of Brother Chaunticleer. So prepared, he was lying in wait when Danica returned to the library. Rufo attempted to take her as his queen, but was denied by her use of suspended animation.
Cadderly's return led to a confrontation between the old rivals, a battle of Rufo's evil magic against the clerical powers Cadderly possessed. So great was Rufo's power, he denied Deneir in Cadderly's face. However, with the combination of Cadderly's power and the light of the sun, Rufo was destroyed, followed shortly thereafter by the desecrated Library.
Biography
Kierkan Rufo was originally a cleric at the Edificant Library, and the rival of Cadderly Bonaduce. Jealous of the attention his fellow devotee of Deneir received, Rufo was easily manipulated by the evil priest of Talona, Barjin, who hypnotized him in his efforts to unleash the chaos curse. So affected by the curse, Rufo was overtaken by his hatred for Cadderly and his lust for Danica Maupoissant. Despite becoming violent, he was subdued and freed from the effects of the curse.
Later on, Rufo became repentant, seeking to redeem himself for his actions. He accompanied Cadderly, Danica, and the elf prince Elbereth to Shilmista, which had come under assault from Barjin's allies, among them Aballister Bonaduce. Once again, Rufo found himself manipulated, forced to obey the wizard Dorigen and her imp ally Druzil. A coward to the end, Rufo returned home before the conflict ended. Accompanying Headmaster Avery to Carradoon, he was once again used as a pawn by Castle Trinity. Inadvertently, his actions resulted in Avery's death, and he received a holy brand from Cadderly.
Exiled and alone, Rufo met up with Druzil once again, returning to the Edificant Library to retrieve the chaos curse. Consumed by greed, Rufo consumed the elixir, transforming himself into a vampire. He proceeded to seize control of the library, making many of the other priests into lesser vampires or zombies-with the exception of Brother Chaunticleer. So prepared, he was lying in wait when Danica returned to the library. Rufo attempted to take her as his queen, but was denied by her use of suspended animation.
Cadderly's return led to a confrontation between the old rivals, a battle of Rufo's evil magic against the clerical powers Cadderly possessed. So great was Rufo's power, he denied Deneir in Cadderly's face. However, with the combination of Cadderly's power and the light of the sun, Rufo was destroyed, followed shortly thereafter by the desecrated Library.
Taegan Nightwind is a character from the Forgotten Realms fictional world. He is an avariel, an elven subrace noted for their wings and the fact that they are nowadays extremely rare in Faerûn.
Taegan is a warrior, and more specifically a duelist and bladesinger, relying on his lightning reflexes, fencing skills, and arcane abilities rather than brute strength to win a fight. He left his tribe when he was young in order to seek a more adventurous life that the one offered to him if he stayed with his fellow avariel. He regards members of his subrace as little more than uncivilised (though peaceful) nomads, and he does not take pride in talking about them, or even the elven race in general (although lately there have been signs that this may begin to change).
Taegan was a resident of Lyrabar, the capital of the Kingdom of Impiltur, where he ran his own fencing academy. He got caught up in a conspiracy by the Cult of the Dragon (led by the lich Sammaster) to induce permanent madness to all dragons in Faerûn, and his academy was burnt in a show of retribution by Sammaster's agents. In the midst of all that, he left Impiltur in the company of a group of dragon hunters he had met only a short time before and three dragons (Karasendrieth, a female song dragon, Chatulio, a copper dragon who was very keen on using illusions, and Jivex, a mischievous faerie dragon). The members of the group were Dorn Graybrook (a half-golem fighter/ranger), Raryn Snowstealer (an arctic dwarf ranger), Pavel Shemov (a human cleric of Lathander), and Will Turnstone (a halfling scout).
He ended up in Thentia, where he worked with the wizards of the city towards discovering a traitor under Sammaster's orders among them. It turned out that Sammaster had probably arranged for the murder of one of the circle's members, Phourkyn One-eye, and compelled a sun wyrm, also a disciple of Ashardalon, to take his place under the veil of illusionary magic. In the meantime, his companions were scattered. Some of them fought to repel a dragon attack against the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, while others fought in Damara alongside King Gareth Dragonsbane against orcs and goblinoids from Vaasa who had crossed the Bloodstone Pass and invaded Damara. Both ventures were successful, and the group in the monastery had discovered secret lore that enabled them to temporarily cure the permanent rage that Sammaster had instilled in the mind of the dragons.
Taegan still remains in Thentia, readying himself for the next step in the quest to unravel Sammaster's plans.
Taegan is a warrior, and more specifically a duelist and bladesinger, relying on his lightning reflexes, fencing skills, and arcane abilities rather than brute strength to win a fight. He left his tribe when he was young in order to seek a more adventurous life that the one offered to him if he stayed with his fellow avariel. He regards members of his subrace as little more than uncivilised (though peaceful) nomads, and he does not take pride in talking about them, or even the elven race in general (although lately there have been signs that this may begin to change).
Taegan was a resident of Lyrabar, the capital of the Kingdom of Impiltur, where he ran his own fencing academy. He got caught up in a conspiracy by the Cult of the Dragon (led by the lich Sammaster) to induce permanent madness to all dragons in Faerûn, and his academy was burnt in a show of retribution by Sammaster's agents. In the midst of all that, he left Impiltur in the company of a group of dragon hunters he had met only a short time before and three dragons (Karasendrieth, a female song dragon, Chatulio, a copper dragon who was very keen on using illusions, and Jivex, a mischievous faerie dragon). The members of the group were Dorn Graybrook (a half-golem fighter/ranger), Raryn Snowstealer (an arctic dwarf ranger), Pavel Shemov (a human cleric of Lathander), and Will Turnstone (a halfling scout).
He ended up in Thentia, where he worked with the wizards of the city towards discovering a traitor under Sammaster's orders among them. It turned out that Sammaster had probably arranged for the murder of one of the circle's members, Phourkyn One-eye, and compelled a sun wyrm, also a disciple of Ashardalon, to take his place under the veil of illusionary magic. In the meantime, his companions were scattered. Some of them fought to repel a dragon attack against the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, while others fought in Damara alongside King Gareth Dragonsbane against orcs and goblinoids from Vaasa who had crossed the Bloodstone Pass and invaded Damara. Both ventures were successful, and the group in the monastery had discovered secret lore that enabled them to temporarily cure the permanent rage that Sammaster had instilled in the mind of the dragons.
Taegan still remains in Thentia, readying himself for the next step in the quest to unravel Sammaster's plans.
Vangerdahast is a character in the fictional fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms, and is perhaps the greatest mage to have ever taken up the mantle of Mage Royal. For decades he controlled the Kingdom of Cormyr, in fact if not in title. While the king would fight the wars and sit on the throne, Vangerdahast would keep the court in order and keep control of the various factions who wished to dethrone the King. He was the overall leader of the defenses of Cormyr and only the king could command him. His title of Mage Royal allowed him control over the two main military factions of Cormyr, the knights known as the Purple Dragons and the mages and wizards of the War Wizards. He could also to a large extent control the Harpers who reside in the kingdom. He was trained by Elminster and therefore knows spells and magics far beyond the average wizard.
Elminster's Daughter
In the book Elminster's Daughter, he had retired from being Mage Royal and has retreated into a hidden Sanctum so that he could devise a new ultimate defense for the kingdom (The demise of the previous ultimate defense taking place during the events of the novel "Beyond the High Road"), for he wanted the kingdom to be truly safe long after he had passed away. The only practical solution was to insure that the protection would not be a purely magical defense, (which might draw arcanists eager to learn the Mage Royal's secrets) by the binding of Dragons who would slumber in stasis until they were needed, at which point they could be summoned using key words/phrases and certain gestures using certain objects that only the reigning monarchs and Elminster would know.
When a Song Dragon named Joysil Ambrur found out about the Dragon binding spell being made, she considered it too risky to allow anyone to develop the spell on the off chance that it be stolen and used to enslave the whole of the Dragon race. She confronted Vangerdahast who swiftly defeated her and could have killed her but chose not to since he felt he had done too much killing in his life already. When a rogue War Wizard blasted Vangerdahast with a powerful spell it momentarily shook Vangerdahast, allowing the dragon to break free. Joysil proceeded to ask why the wizard had not slain her and when he explained why her heart softened. But still realizing the risk she chose to flee to gather fully a dozen other dragons to kill the wizard.
At the same time, word had leaked of his experimentation and a Master Red Wizard of Thay named Darkspells had gathered a small army of other Red Wizards and had launched an attack on the kingdom in hopes of distracting the War Wizards and Purple Dragons while he stole the spells of binding. Hearing about Vangerdahast's plan, a group of revolutionaries had launched an assault on the Castle Cormyr and the Royal family in the hopes of slaying them, further adding to the confusion.
When the Dragon host arrived and saw the Red Wizards they realized that those Wizards might be able to figure out the spells and proceeded to eat, burn and crush the Red Wizards who, after losing most of their force, proceeded to run screaming from the battlefield that was Cormyr.
The Dragons then went to Vangerdahast's Sanctum and confronted him, who informed them that he had realized the risk involved in the binding spell and had chained the spells to himself so that when he died the spells and all his notes would be instantly destroyed. Seeing this Joysil told the other dragons to go off and divide her hoard amongst them and that she would take care of the problem. She revealed that she had talked to Vangerdahast's old mentor Elminster and he had a solution. That Vangerdahast become a dragon himself to help defend the realm and then Joysil proceeded to say that she would be his Consort and that they would wait in stasis together. Through Elminster's magic (with the aid of Mystra of course) Vangerdahast was turned into a dragon (unknown type) and the two dragons were bound to the kingdom, awaiting in stasis to be called back to defend the Kingdom of Cormyr.
Elminster's Daughter
In the book Elminster's Daughter, he had retired from being Mage Royal and has retreated into a hidden Sanctum so that he could devise a new ultimate defense for the kingdom (The demise of the previous ultimate defense taking place during the events of the novel "Beyond the High Road"), for he wanted the kingdom to be truly safe long after he had passed away. The only practical solution was to insure that the protection would not be a purely magical defense, (which might draw arcanists eager to learn the Mage Royal's secrets) by the binding of Dragons who would slumber in stasis until they were needed, at which point they could be summoned using key words/phrases and certain gestures using certain objects that only the reigning monarchs and Elminster would know.
When a Song Dragon named Joysil Ambrur found out about the Dragon binding spell being made, she considered it too risky to allow anyone to develop the spell on the off chance that it be stolen and used to enslave the whole of the Dragon race. She confronted Vangerdahast who swiftly defeated her and could have killed her but chose not to since he felt he had done too much killing in his life already. When a rogue War Wizard blasted Vangerdahast with a powerful spell it momentarily shook Vangerdahast, allowing the dragon to break free. Joysil proceeded to ask why the wizard had not slain her and when he explained why her heart softened. But still realizing the risk she chose to flee to gather fully a dozen other dragons to kill the wizard.
At the same time, word had leaked of his experimentation and a Master Red Wizard of Thay named Darkspells had gathered a small army of other Red Wizards and had launched an attack on the kingdom in hopes of distracting the War Wizards and Purple Dragons while he stole the spells of binding. Hearing about Vangerdahast's plan, a group of revolutionaries had launched an assault on the Castle Cormyr and the Royal family in the hopes of slaying them, further adding to the confusion.
When the Dragon host arrived and saw the Red Wizards they realized that those Wizards might be able to figure out the spells and proceeded to eat, burn and crush the Red Wizards who, after losing most of their force, proceeded to run screaming from the battlefield that was Cormyr.
The Dragons then went to Vangerdahast's Sanctum and confronted him, who informed them that he had realized the risk involved in the binding spell and had chained the spells to himself so that when he died the spells and all his notes would be instantly destroyed. Seeing this Joysil told the other dragons to go off and divide her hoard amongst them and that she would take care of the problem. She revealed that she had talked to Vangerdahast's old mentor Elminster and he had a solution. That Vangerdahast become a dragon himself to help defend the realm and then Joysil proceeded to say that she would be his Consort and that they would wait in stasis together. Through Elminster's magic (with the aid of Mystra of course) Vangerdahast was turned into a dragon (unknown type) and the two dragons were bound to the kingdom, awaiting in stasis to be called back to defend the Kingdom of Cormyr.
Arilyn Moonblade is a half-elven assassin from the Forgotten Realms fantasy world, created by author Elaine Cunningham and introduced in the Songs and Swords series of novels.
Appearance
Like most half-elves, her ears are pointed and she has retained her youthful appearance and vitality even into middle age. Her eyes are blue, flecked with gold, and she has a more human build than elvish, though her skin is still quite fair. She has black hair and a hint of blue beneath her skin and generally looks more like an elf rather than a half-elf.
In 3.5 Edition Dungeons & Dragons game terms, Arilyn is rated as a 1st-level rogue/4th-level fighter/5th-level harper agent.
History
Arilyn was raised in the elven city of Evereska, but was never really accepted by the community due to her half-elven nature. When she was fifteen years old, her mother was killed by a pair of common street thugs. From that time on, she carried her mother's sword, a moonblade from which she has adopted her surname. For the next decade or so, she studied swordsmanship under the tutelage of one of the teachers for the academy in the city. Afterwards, when she left, she became an assassin for the Harpers, though she herself did not join the organization until later. She was a Harper for a while, but left them after undertaking a rescue mission for Isabeau Thionne, a noblewoman from Tethyr, whom she considered to be not worth rescuing.
Arilyn's moonblade is a hereditary elven sword, which has many different powers. Perhaps the most notable is that it tries to kill any unsuitable wielder who tries to hold the sword. It has nine different symbols on the blade, each representing a different power given to it by one of the wielders. The moonstone in the hilt enables each successive wielder to grant a power to the sword over a period of time. The different powers include: An abnormally fast swing to the sword, protecting the holder from fire, glowing blue to warn of close danger, silent warnings of danger, dreams warning of danger, projecting illusions to disguise the wielder, a portal between Faerûn and Evermeet known as an elfgate, and the ability to call forth the shadows of those who previously held the sword, or the wielder's own shadow. Arilyn's mark grants the blade the ability to warn her of when the wild elves of the Wealdath have need of a hero's sword by glowing green. She uses the two-handed style of wielding the sword in honor of her deceased mother.
Relationships
Arilyn's mother was Princess Amnestria of Evermeet, and her father Bran Skorlskun, a human ranger. Amnestria's power that was added to the sword was the elfgate, which was judged extremely dangerous should word of it ever escape, so the moonstone was removed from the hilt and replaced with a topaz, and Bran took the moonstone with him, away from Amnestria, who moved to Evereska under the name Z'beryl. As mentioned, Amnestria was killed by a pair of thugs. Bran continued to wander Faerun until in the novel Elfshadow, he returned to Arilyn in the city of Waterdeep, where the moonstone and the moonblade were reunited. He has maintained sporadic contact with her ever since.
Arilyn meanwhile became romantically involved with the noble Danilo Thann, whom she travelled with and later married. Arilyn had kept Danilo at a distance for some time, until she managed to make peace with her past, her elven side and family, and with herself, finally able to accept Danilo's honest affection and love for her. Along the way she had a brief, but passionate, relationship with the wood elf chieftain Foxfire while helping defend his tribe in Tethyr in the novel Silver Shadows.
Arilyn has established links with her family on Evermeet, at first through the young and liberal Prince Lamruil and later with Queen Amlaruil, when Arilyn proved herself by thwarting the machinations of Kymil Nimesin to bring about the end of Moonflower rule on the Island of Elves. Arilyn herself was unexpectedly assisted in this by the ambiguous Waterdhavian crime lord Elaith Craulnober, who is fond of her.
It is in the novel Dream Spheres that Arilyn and Danilo finally formalize their relationship, overcoming their past issues and the opposition of his formidable mother, who disapproves of her son's half elven love, an opposition hinting at secrets in the family.
Appearance
Like most half-elves, her ears are pointed and she has retained her youthful appearance and vitality even into middle age. Her eyes are blue, flecked with gold, and she has a more human build than elvish, though her skin is still quite fair. She has black hair and a hint of blue beneath her skin and generally looks more like an elf rather than a half-elf.
In 3.5 Edition Dungeons & Dragons game terms, Arilyn is rated as a 1st-level rogue/4th-level fighter/5th-level harper agent.
History
Arilyn was raised in the elven city of Evereska, but was never really accepted by the community due to her half-elven nature. When she was fifteen years old, her mother was killed by a pair of common street thugs. From that time on, she carried her mother's sword, a moonblade from which she has adopted her surname. For the next decade or so, she studied swordsmanship under the tutelage of one of the teachers for the academy in the city. Afterwards, when she left, she became an assassin for the Harpers, though she herself did not join the organization until later. She was a Harper for a while, but left them after undertaking a rescue mission for Isabeau Thionne, a noblewoman from Tethyr, whom she considered to be not worth rescuing.
Arilyn's moonblade is a hereditary elven sword, which has many different powers. Perhaps the most notable is that it tries to kill any unsuitable wielder who tries to hold the sword. It has nine different symbols on the blade, each representing a different power given to it by one of the wielders. The moonstone in the hilt enables each successive wielder to grant a power to the sword over a period of time. The different powers include: An abnormally fast swing to the sword, protecting the holder from fire, glowing blue to warn of close danger, silent warnings of danger, dreams warning of danger, projecting illusions to disguise the wielder, a portal between Faerûn and Evermeet known as an elfgate, and the ability to call forth the shadows of those who previously held the sword, or the wielder's own shadow. Arilyn's mark grants the blade the ability to warn her of when the wild elves of the Wealdath have need of a hero's sword by glowing green. She uses the two-handed style of wielding the sword in honor of her deceased mother.
Relationships
Arilyn's mother was Princess Amnestria of Evermeet, and her father Bran Skorlskun, a human ranger. Amnestria's power that was added to the sword was the elfgate, which was judged extremely dangerous should word of it ever escape, so the moonstone was removed from the hilt and replaced with a topaz, and Bran took the moonstone with him, away from Amnestria, who moved to Evereska under the name Z'beryl. As mentioned, Amnestria was killed by a pair of thugs. Bran continued to wander Faerun until in the novel Elfshadow, he returned to Arilyn in the city of Waterdeep, where the moonstone and the moonblade were reunited. He has maintained sporadic contact with her ever since.
Arilyn meanwhile became romantically involved with the noble Danilo Thann, whom she travelled with and later married. Arilyn had kept Danilo at a distance for some time, until she managed to make peace with her past, her elven side and family, and with herself, finally able to accept Danilo's honest affection and love for her. Along the way she had a brief, but passionate, relationship with the wood elf chieftain Foxfire while helping defend his tribe in Tethyr in the novel Silver Shadows.
Arilyn has established links with her family on Evermeet, at first through the young and liberal Prince Lamruil and later with Queen Amlaruil, when Arilyn proved herself by thwarting the machinations of Kymil Nimesin to bring about the end of Moonflower rule on the Island of Elves. Arilyn herself was unexpectedly assisted in this by the ambiguous Waterdhavian crime lord Elaith Craulnober, who is fond of her.
It is in the novel Dream Spheres that Arilyn and Danilo finally formalize their relationship, overcoming their past issues and the opposition of his formidable mother, who disapproves of her son's half elven love, an opposition hinting at secrets in the family.