Ezmerelda D'Avenir
Ezmerelda d'Avenir, a Vistana, is the protege of Rudolph
van Richten-despite the fact that her first encounter
with the vampire hunter was anything but pleasant.
Witness to Tragedy. When Ezmerelda was a little girl,
her family kidnapped van Richten's teenage son, Erasmus,
and delivered him into the clutches of a vampire.
Even today, years later, she can still hear Erasmus's
pleas for mercy. That event haunted her childhood.
Van Richten tracked down Ezmerelda's family soon
after the kidnapping, but not before the Vistani had
sold the boy. Though van Richten could have done them
harm, he instead interrogated Ezmerelda's mother and
father on the whereabouts of his missing son. Satisfied
with their answers, he spared their lives before departing
with the information they had given him. Ezmerelda
witnessed van Rich ten's act of mercy and was deeply
moved by it.
Van Richten's Tragic Tale. At the age of fifteen,
Ezmerelda, still troubled by what her family had done
to van Richten, ran away from h.ome. After many harrowing
adventures, she tracked down van Richten two
years later. Thinking she was a Vistana assassin, he put
a sword to her throat and threatened to spill her blood.
Ezmerelda convinced him that she genuinely wanted to
help him find his missing son, whereupon van Richten
told her the saddest of tales. He had found his son, who
had been transformed into a vampii:e spawn. When
Erasmus pleaded to his father for salvation, van Richten
granted his request by ending his existence.
Farewell. Ezmerelda remained by van Richten's side
for two years, helping him track down and slay many
creatures of the night. But because van Rich ten could
never bring himself to fully trust a Vistana, he kept secrets from her. The two vampire hunters got on each
other's nerves, and their arguments became more frequent.
At last, Ezmerelda suggested that they part company
with some shred of their friendship still intact, and
van Richten agreed.
Ezmerelda's Secret. Since bidding farewell to van
Richten, Ezmerelda has amassed a sizable personal
fortune, some of which she used to buy a wagon to carry
her vampire-slaying paraphernalia. On one of her less
successful adventures, a werewolf bit off her right leg
below the knee, and although she avoided being afflicted
with lycanthropy, Ezmerelda was sidelined for months.
She commissioned a master artisan to craft a prosthetic
lower leg and foot. After several tries, he delivered a
prosthesis that restored her mobility. She has since
adapted well to the false appendage and takes care to
hide it from view.
The Great Vampire Hunt. While in the company of a
Vistani caravan, Ezmerelda heard a rumor that Rudolph
van Richten had gone to Barovia to slay the most powerful
vampire of them all. She decided that he might need
help and traveled for months to reach Strahd's domain.
She rode her wagon to Vallaki and learned about an old
tower that seemed the sort of place van Richten would
use as a base. When she arrived there, she found some
of van Richten's belongings, but of the vampire hunter
there was no sign. Although she is anxious to learn the
whereabouts of her mentor, she is also eager to earn his
trust and respect. To that end, she has been poring over
van Richten's research and learning about Strahd and Castle Ravenloft, with every intention of dispatching the
vampire herself.
Tarokka Deck. Ezmerelda keeps a deck of tarokka
cards in her wagon (chapter 11, area Vl). Although the
cards aren't magical, Ezmerelda can use them to perform
a card reading for the characters (see chapter 1),
like the one that can be performed by Madam Eva.
Ideal. "Evil that feeds on the innocent is the worst of
all evils and must be destroyed."
Bond. "My mentor and teacher, Dr. Rudolph van
Richten, is like a father to me."
Flaw. "I go where angels fear to tread."
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