Lord Wivvyrholdalphiax Adrex

(a.k.a. Dosta-Dran, Hero of Ishita, Son of Larnwick)

"Dosta-Dran, the Burning Blow

Who let rage lead him to his foe

Who drew forth many a final breath

And later welcomed his own death"

Vintna of the Lakeside

Lord Wivvyrholdalphiax Adrex was a Jeltiri hero known for his membership in the Light Brigade.

Early Life

Adrex was born in Larnwick to Wivvyrholdalphiax Kinjhan, a soldier, and Wraxora, a nurse. Adrex was raised in an army setting and became a soldier of Larnwick himself upon reaching adulthood. He fought in the Larnwick-Haran War, and by the end of it was the lieutenant of the army under General Lubash Grell. Adrex married at 15 to a nurse called Farideh with whom he had three children, called Arjhan, Ocoria, and Medjhan. In late 997, Farideh died of complications when laying the egg of their fourth child, who also died in the process. Adrex departed in late summer of 998 on military leave, leading eventually to his meeting up with his adventuring companions.

The Eventide

Adrex met Silaqui Anlugthâl and Zachár Flame-tongue in Gaulvista in autumn of 999, and, after a few minor adventures with them, Æshir Þorlássón and Lady Caledaya Alvishar in Ecrindon. Shortly afterwards the party headed to Geldereth at the behest of Silaqui, where they encountered Strimien the Lightless, disguised as a surface half-elf named Naal. After leaving Geldereth, the party passed through Arvallad, where Strimien reported Zachár's presence to the guard and he was put on trial for his destruction of Fairbell Inn. Adrex played a pivotal role in Zachár's conviction, but also assisted him in carrying out his sentence. It was during this time that Adrex found himself snared by a captopict, wherein he was forced to defeat a young black dragon that had been imprisoned inside. He did, just barely, and, as a built-in feature of this particular captopict, was rewarded with a greatsword of dragonsteel. He later converted the weapon into a longsword and named it Drachenzahn. As the party quickly traveled southwest afterwards, trying to track Strimien, he betrayed them from within their ranks, landing them in the Underdark town of Trigafor, where they were to be executed. They escaped, and later, Strimien joined them, having been slated for execution himself for the slipup. During this time Adrex saw the need for a lawlessness he'd never supported or lived before. After the Light Brigade escaped the Underdark, Adrex officially became one of the founding members of the Light Brigade when King Talesan Fairfell of Jeltir hired them to seek out the three artifacts the nightbringers were after: the Tether of Kaeli, the Phial of Miranelle, and the Eternal Flame of Kishike. He was with the party over many adventures in the following weeks, during which the itinerant Vyselrin the Wanderer briefly joined the party and, while seeking a fabled sword in the Skydrum Islands, saddled Adrex with the Curse of Ragnvild, putting his life in imminent danger. Adrex, assisted by Æshir, Caledaya, and Pellen Overvale—who had just joined the party—broke the curse by traveling to Kroshesket and slaying the giant Ragnvild the Despoiler. When the curse was lifted, Na-Ima, goddess of death, appeared before him to thank him personally for his release of all the souls that had been trapped by the curse. From Ragnvild's body Adrex claimed the magical gauntlet Riesenherz. These adventures took place as the party awaited the formation of an army in Silverkeep to go search the Tors for the Tether, and therein Adrex was part of a scandal: he, along with Caledaya, helped to conceal the presence of Vetrano the Illustrious within Æshir, and his instrumental role in the actual finding of the Tether in the Tors, which would mean that no army was necessary. Adrex and Caledaya revealed the truth to Darekrun Bonecleaver, general of the army, who declared that anyone who wished to return home would be allowed to in light of this development. Later, when the presence of Vetrano within Æshir led to his death, Adrex was consumed by guilt, the incident allowing him to tap into the storied rage and might of a barbarian. He and Caledaya, with the help of the ki-rin Amin-El, willingly traveled to the Space Between to retrieve Æshir's soul. It was at this time that Adrex met Na-Ima for the second time, and at the end of the conversation, she allowed him and Caledaya to approach Æshir and offer to bring him back. Through these experiences, Adrex developed a strong devotion to Na-Ima. After returning to the material plane, defeating the undead guardian of the Tether Epherion Gelathirniell, and claiming the Tether, the Brigade returned to Silverkeep. As Caledaya had fallen in combat very near the end of the journey, Adrex alone faced judgment for the lies that had brought several hundred men and women needlessly into the peril of the Tors. He was charged with criminal negligence, but was pardoned in light of the circumstances. He reportedly expressed deep contrition for his part in the scandal and spoke well on Caledaya's behalf. King Talesan, after debriefing the party on the events in the Tors, sent them to address the monster attacks originating in Delamett Forest just outside of Larnwick. Adrex took charge during this venture, dedicating himself vehemently to the uncovering of the root of all the issues his city was facing. After being in Larnwick for only a few days, he reportedly suffered a psychotic break, becoming incoherent and senseless. He was arrested on the grounds of public endangerment, but broken out shortly thereafter by his party to travel into Delamett and investigate the source of the monsters there. It was discovered that he had been targeted by a disguised fiend with a casting of the spell feeblemind, of which he was cured by clerics who had arrived from Haran, sent by Riswynn Tedrektid after being contacted by Æshir. In the days following, Adrex spoke passionately regarding the need for renewal in Larnwick, and approved of the rise of Lady Rosalind Corvyre to power. However, Adrex also made an enemy during his venture: the rakshasa that had killed Lord Armon Corvyre and disguised itself as his son Robertus in order to sow discord in the city. This fiend specifically blamed Adrex for the foiling of its plans, and promised it would have revenge on him or his family. Though it was effectively imprisoned, it starved itself to death some weeks later, escaping back to the Nine Hells. Immediately afterwards, the party was sent to investigate strange goings-on in the refugee camp then known as Farriston. This venture ostensibly claimed the life of Æshir, which took a great toll on Adrex, though he refused to believe him to be dead. After the party's involvement in the Fracturing of Larnwick, Adrex was seen, publicly and within the party, as the Light Brigade's de facto leader. He spearheaded their preparations to travel to the Elemental Plane of Water, whereto they planned to travel to retrieve the Eternal Flame of Kishike, and organized all the party's activities, taking time in the midst of this to have his children and grandchildren moved to a secret location to keep them safe from the rakshasa. He traveled with the party to Siltgreaves Forest to seek the Morningstar of Linnaveria to trade it for the fork attuned to the material plane owned by Baroness Luella di Arabia of Findrick so that they could return from the water plane. It was here that they discovered that the morningstar had long been claimed by an ancient black dragon called Tovirikatch. They allied temporarily with the Wardens of Mabble to try to defeat her, but were losing the battle when Adrex called for a cease fire and negotiated their way out of the dragon's lair, though in exchange they left behind Kit of Tellmouth. It was around this time that Pellen Overvale was captured and executed by Mavislak the Blood-eyed. Shortly afterwards, the remaining members met up with Zachár, who had lost his wild magic and replaced it with a pact with a Hexblade. Adrex was reportedly more than a little leery of Zachár's decisions and new abilities, but tentatively allowed him to travel with and assist the party, while keeping a close eye on him. Not long after, the party traveled at last to the water plane by passing through a portal located at the bottom of a morkoth's lair in Skell Sea. This also necessitated a trade, and Adrex agreed that, when he died, the morkoth could add his skull to its collection. They entered the water plane and began their journey to the Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls, where they hoped to find information on the coldest place in the plane, which was where they believed the Flame would be found. They had many adventures on the way and in the end made contact with the marid scholar Kashif-Na Varud al Far, who gave them a mysterious wayfinder and sent them to the Frostfell. After traveling through the ice for several days and nearly freezing to death, the party at last retrieved the Flame and returned to the material plane. Shortly afterwards, the gauntlet Riesenherz beseeched Adrex to allow it to meditate with and study the Flame, as it had experienced great inspiration while on the Frostfell which had only continued, if not sharpened, when it had seen the Flame. Afterwards, Riesenherz produced a new creation, a sword which Adrex named Atemschaff and went on to dual wield with Drachenzahn. It was shortly afterward that the party discovered that Vetrano the Illustrious still lived, despite their assumption that he had died when Æshir had, and stayed that way. Adrex was far from trusting, but agreed to Vetrano's plan to forge a weapon that would assuredly slay Mavislak. The party traveled to the Gamirian College of Necromancy to retrieve their research, where Adrex slew the lich Lydredd the Living in a coordinated effort. Upon bringing back the research, the party was reunited with Æshir, who had been recovered from the Astral Plane by Kashif-Na Varud al Far, who Æshir revealed to the party to be his father. Æshir's main directive was to find a place to hide the Tether, which he had found in the Astral Plane after it had been sent there as a means to protect it from encroaching nightbringers. He traveled with the party for a few days before departing with a drow horizon walker to journey across the planes, keeping the Tether on the move constantly until the final assault of the nightbringers. Just before Æshir's departure, the party also reunited with Strimien the Lightless, though they held off on apprehending him, as he was actively assisting in their efforts to impede the nightbringers' plans. The next step for the creation of the weapon was to travel to the Shadowfell and find the Cult of the Runic Dusk and the being they worshiped, so as to slay it and seize its power source to fuel the weapon. However, before leaving, Adrex made contact with Riswynn and with Marina Nylorn to ask that they study the research and see if they could build the weapon themselves, to avoid relying on Vetrano. The party, together with Strimien, traveled to the Shadowfell, where Adrex was the most affected of the party by its bleak, dispiriting atmosphere. They found the cult and spent some days among their ranks before being allowed to approach the lapendra known as the Crepuscule. As they battled it, Adrex was struck down, but promptly revived by Strimien before the party grabbed the Crepuscule's power source and fled the demiplane where it had resided as it collapsed around them. The party briefly took separate paths after their return to the material plane, with Adrex and Æshir approaching Vetrano and attempting to arrest him. After a long, tense confrontation, they subdued him and chose to use the Crepuscule's power source to strip him of his powers, which they had discovered he had stolen from another lapendra, rather than receiving as a gift, as history had long believed. Adrex, together with his party, went on to fight in the Battle of Geldereth. Adrex worked closely with Prince Bereth Nerenia to develop a strategy based on the intelligence they had gathered. It is reported that, during this time, he was observed to be on friendly terms with Strimien. During the fight, Adrex served in the front lines, acquitting himself with honor and skill. In the end, he fell back with most of the Brigade to confront Mavislak in the heart of the Miranellic temple, where it was Adrex who, with the Twilight Blade forged by Marina Nylorn, dealt the killing blow to the Supreme Nightbringer Mavislak Yen-Ixir, and was present when Miranelle herself appeared before the assembly and at last unveiled the stars after six months of darkness.

Later Years

After the battle, Adrex assisted in cleanup before returning to Jeltir and remaining there for some time. He received multiple prestigious commendations for his deeds throughout the Eventide, including a patch of land containing a few villages and a minor lordship. He moved into the quiet town of Turivex but continued to be itinerant for some time, pursuing several endeavors: upholding the new responsibilities that came with his lordship, working on planning a drow haven and rehabilitation program, and pursuing some means of protecting his family from the rakshasa that had threatened them. The lattermost endeavor took eleven years and many quests to dangerous locales, but at last he was able to learn the fiend's true name and use this knowledge to destroy it forever. Meanwhile, it had taken several years and many influential people backing him, but he at last managed to get the Upperlight up and running in the deepest ravine of the Weaver's Hills of Jeltir. Also during this time, Adrex actively assisted Strimien in finding work. Eventually, shortly after attending Æshir's wedding on the plane of water, Adrex settled at last into a quiet life in Turivex. For a few years he mostly delegated duties and saw that they were carried out, while taking time to rest deeply. When he was 64, he was witnessed rising early and going out to rest on his small balcony for a few minutes before beginning to speak to a tall gray figure who appeared from the mist and offered him her hand. Adrex placed his hand in hers, and slumped back into his chair. When guards came to check on him a few minutes later, they found that he was dead. Adrex was buried alongside his wife Farideh in Tilled Cemetery, in Larnwick.