Manistrad Copperlocks
Manistrad Copperlocks
Manistrad Copperlocks is a dwarven citizen of Neverwinter and the owner of Mountain Gem Mining Company. She is a strong political ally of Lord Dagult Neverember and the dwarven exiles of Clan Velgrund.
History
Born in 1309 in a dwarven stronghold far to the south of Neverwinter, Manistrad never displayed the usual reverance for clan and family that is typical among dwarves. While she has never openly shared the story of why she left her clan, it is clear it was under bad terms, and Manistrad pointedly refuses to divulge her clan name. Manistrad traveled much of Northwest Faerun for years, slowly building up her skills in construction, before moving to Neverwinter in the late 1460s. There, Dagult Neverember had recently begun his New Neverwinter project to rebuild the city, and Manistrad saw great opportunity in being one of the first to assist in this effort. In 1471, she established Mountain Gem Construction and took on many rebuilding contracts. To meet these demands, Manistrad negotiated with the dwarven Clan Velgrund, a group of dwarven exiles that had settled in Neverwinter following its destruction in 1451. The clan, which was granted limited autonomy in exchange for helping Lord Neverember rebuild the city, felt most comfortable working under a dwarf, and many clan members joined Mountain Gem as employees. For her part, Manistrad treated the Velgrunds fairly and was well respected by the clan, though she pointedly refused to get involved in any traditional dwarven rites or ceremonies. After the bulk of Neverwinter was rebuilt, Lord Neverember began systematizing the various companies that aided in the reconstruction. Many of the companies were given the chance to become the foundation of Neverwinter's new guilds, but Manistrad had no desire to abandon the company she built from the ground up. Instead, she negotiated with Lord Neverember and was given a mining contract for a mine in the south just outside of Saltmarsh, which had recently gained a garrison of the Neverwinter Guard. Mountain Gem restructured from construction to mining, but most of its employees remained, as the dwarves had a great deal of experience digging. The Saltmarsh Mine opened in 1493 and Manistrad moved to Saltmarsh to supervise it. In 1494 the increased Neveren and dwarven presence in Saltmarsh earned Manistrad a seat on the Saltmarsh Town Council. In her position, Manistrad was the most vocal supporter of Emberist positions, arguing that Saltmarsh would be better off the closer it aligned itself with Neverwinter. Manistrad also brought two of her most trusted aides, her friend and artificer Mogran Oredelver and the overseer Lessni Deephatcher, to help her run the mine. As a member of the town council, Manistrad was deeply invovled in the 1496 Banesmark Crisis. She sanctioned the Heroes of Saltmarsh's mission to negotiate with the lizardfolk of the Sunny Shore Tribe and accompanied them to Neverwinter during their mission to meet Brisk, Lord Neverember's court wizard. During the journey to Neverwinter, she also convinced the Heroes to include Mogran in their team, believing that the group needed a Neveren to win over the entire town and seeing this as a great opportunity for Mogran to leave behind mine operations, which she saw as a waste of Mogran's talents. In Eleasis of 1496, the Saltmarsh Mine also had to be shut down when a group of firenewts occupied it. The Heroes tracked down the source of the issue, a Brass Door portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire, and Mogran negotiated with the efreeta Tajir Samiya Ikraam Samina Karim to keep the portal closed in exchange for 15% of the mine's profits. Shocked at the massive loss in profit, Manistrad had little choice but to fire Mogran to make him a scapegoat for Lord Neverember. Following the Battle of the Spire, Manistrad was inflicted with the mind-altering Banesmark by agents of the aboleth S'gothgah's cult of Bane. The effects of the Banesmark played up Manistrad's dislike for the provincial Saltmarsh and led to her advocating harsher measures against those discontent with Neverwinter's sway over the town. However, her Banesmark was identified by the Heroes in late 1496, and Manistrad and the others were kept imprisoned away from the other townsfolk with the Banesmark chalked up to a parasite from the Shadowfell. The Banesmark was removed from Manistrad in the beginning of 1497 by members of the Waterdavian Blackstaves, but the whole experience of the past year convinced Manistrad she needed to move back to Neverwinter. Manistrad turned over operations of the mine to Lessni, who also replaced her on the town council, and she moved home. She was joined by Mogran, who had gotten the confidence over the past half a year to ask Manistrad out on a date, which she agreed to. The pair married in 1511. In 1547, Manistrad and Mogran's relationship became strained following the Liberation of Nettlemurk Hall, the traditional stronghold of the Velgrunds. It had been Mogran's lifelong dream to return to his clan home, but Manistrad was happy in Neverwinter and refused to return to living as a typical dwarf.Social
Family Ties
Though opposites in many ways, Manistrad and Mogran have a very caring relationship with one another. Mogran is more prone to overt and obvious signs of affection, while Manistrad is more subdued, but the two have found a happy middle ground. Mogran has also invested most of his gold from his adventuring into Manistrad's business, giving her a greater deal of freedom to operate as she pleases.
Mogran adopted his three children, Erig, Naomi, and Dimitri while Manistrad and he were dating. Manistrad was not an active parent to the three of them growing up, as she and Mogran didn't live together for years after their adoption, she nonetheless cares for all three of them. She and Naomi have a particularly close bond, as Naomi's more withdrawn and slow to trust disposition found a mirror in Manistrad.
Current Location
Species
Year of Birth
1309 CR
189 Years old
Children
Current Residence
Gender
Female
Eyes
Light blue
Hair
Long, bright red
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Tanned fair
Aligned Organization
by Ashley
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