Laeral Silverhand

Laeral Silverhand

Laeral Silverhand (pronounced: /ˈlɛərɔːl/ LAIR-awl) was one of the Seven Sisters, a Chosen of Mystra, and the Open Lord of Waterdeep, formerly known as the "Lady Mage of Waterdeep". Together with her partner Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, they led the Moonstars, a dissident faction of the Harpers, which sought to guide the cities and countries of the North toward a shared destiny. One of the most prolific magic item creators in recorded history, Laeral was particularly adept at determining the abilities of magic items and could potentially do so merely by holding one in her hand without activating it. She also hid a gift granted to her by Mystra to deactivate or cause malfunctions in magical items that touched her.
As a centuries-old wizard, Laeral was one of the most accomplished spellcasters in Faerûn, though her powers steadily declined as she had to increasingly devote her energies to maintaining her aging body. Like all Chosen, Laeral's divine blessings were much reduced in the wake of the Second Sundering, as all gods took a more distant approach to interfering in mortal affairs. Nonetheless, her knowledge and facility with Weave-craft, as well as her silver fire, made her a formidable opponent.

History

After their mother died, Laeral, Dove, and Storm were placed into the care of Elminster until they came of age. When her sisters left the Old Sage, Laeral elected to stay with him as his apprentice. When she had finished her studies, she left to join the Harpers.
Laeral left the Harpers early and, in the Year of the Warrior's Rest, 806 DR, at age 41, she was a self-styled queen, ruling the realm of Stornanter from Port Llast. Many later sages believed that Laeral had named herself after this queen, not realizing that it was actually her. It was at this time that Laeral also attempted to rebuild and resettle the ruins of Illusk. Before she did so, she explored the Host Tower of the Arcane, where she encountered several liches who were members of the Grand Cabal, rulers over Illusk from centuries before. She sealed the liches inside the tower with magic before continuing with her other works.
Barely ten years into her reign, Laeral's court mage, Malek Aldhanek, with whom she had worked very closely, was apparently assassinated in a plot involving other nobles. Realizing too late that she was in love with Malek, Laeral quit her court and spent twenty five years wandering Stornanter. In truth, Malek was not dead—he'd never even existed—and was actually Khelben Arunsun in disguise. Khelben faked his death to deal with a dire prophecy he had discovered in the works of Alaundo. During this period of wandering, Laeral came into conflict with Slarkrethel in the Year of the Leaping Lion, 834 DR and although the great kraken was driven off, he managed to steal Laeral's magical throne, which she had crafted with Malek.
Her activities attracted the attention of her sister Syluné, who desired to rule over the same region, and the two were drawn (some say manipulated) into spell-battle in the Year of the Hunted Elk, 841 DR. Having grown up separately, neither recognized the other so, before they destroyed each other, Mystra felt obliged to manifest herself before the two sisters and explain their heritage, offering them both the mantle of Chosen. They accepted and journeyed together for a time, under the guidance of Azuth.
After the fall of Myth Drannor, Mystra herself appeared to Laeral. With the end of Luruar, stability was once again needed in the northern Sword Coast, and Mystra tasked Laeral with maintaining it by becoming Open Lord of Waterdeep. According to Mystra, her presence would actually restrain abuse of magic for personal gain, and therefore limit the possibility that the general population could turn against wizards, blaming them for eventual disasters, and blindly hunting all Art-wielders. Following Mystra's request, Laeral returned to Waterdeep, and swiftly managed to gain the support of the Masked Lords of the city, supplanting Dagult Neverember as Open Lord.

Personality

Laeral was incredibly organized—it was the only way she could manage to fit all of her activities into a single day. She was friendly and accommodating, leading almost everyone who met her, even the haughty nobles of Waterdeep, to consider her a true friend. She was also proactive in her defense of the city, to the extent that certain Waterdhavians would stage calamitous events so that she would keep tabs on persons of interest for them without their needing to ask for her help or involve themselves directly.
Having been in thrall to the Crown of Horns and forced to commit heinous acts by it, she felt that she understood the nature of evil better than most and often mediated disputes with rogues, undesirables, and sentient monsters, especially in Skullport where she kept an alias identity in the form of Irusyl Eraneth.
Laeral was infuriated by magic-users who employed their power to deceive and exert baleful influence over others. She disliked doppelgangers and slave-owners. Laeral was especially conscious of personal security and always kept several daggers hidden on her person.

Activities

Laeral spent most of her day instructing and looking after her partner's wizard apprentices, most of whom were too intimidated or overawed by their master to actually learn from him. She also maintained Blackstaff Tower, ensuring its wards and stores were maintained. She also spent much of the day meeting with friends, allies and even strangers who wanted to speak with her.
The rest of her time was spent coordinating the efforts of the Harpers (until the Harper Schism), carrying out duties for the Lords' Alliance, and acting as a spy for the Lords of Waterdeep both in the city and in Skullport as Irusyl. She also kept constant watch on any of Khelben's apprentices who left Blackstaff Tower to ensure that no treachery was afoot. Her free time was spent either studying spells, exploring other planes, attending parties, shopping for clothes (which she refused to haggle over), or alone with her consort Khelben
Though she did not need to sleep, she insisted on being left alone for her "highsun nap", during which time she did as she pleased without the constraints of her hectic schedule. Also, if, for some reason, she was unable to perform some of her more mundane daily tasks, she could call upon a long list of trusted Waterdhavian ladies (some of whom were powerful nobles) to do them for her.

Goals

Apart from attending to her duties, Laeral held as her objectives the addition of Cormyr, Amn, Westgate, and Luskan to the Lords' Alliance. She also made efforts to remove Zhentarim influence from the Sword Coast and the North. Her ultimate goal however, was to unite all thinking races, be they dwarves, elves, humans, or orcs in a goodly purpose.

Family

Laeral was one of seven female spellcasters born to the ranger Dornal Silverhand and his wife Elué (with the exception of Qilué Veladorn who, due to divine intervention, was drow). Collectively, they were known as the Seven Sisters.
She had three children, a girl named Maura, conceived by Laeral during her time under the influence of the Crown of Horns by an unknown father. Maura was in love with the Crown Prince of Evermeet, Lamruil. Laeral also had twins, a boy named Krehlan Arunsun and a girl, fathered by her consort and fellow Chosen Khelben shortly before his death.

Possessions

When Laeral became a Chosen, Mystra gifted Laeral with special power over magic items. As such, Laeral created many magic items in her lifetime. Notable and oft-copied examples include a magic steel shield that granted the wielder resistance to spells, and shields of this type were subsequently named Laeral's spell shields. In addition to the normal abilities of a Chosen of Mystra, Laeral had given herself the permanent benefit of wearing a ring of fire resistance. Although there is a type of magic armor called Laeral's storm armor, it is not clear what role Laeral had in its development. Laeral ceased her prolific creation of magical items after she was freed from the Crown of Horns.
Laeral collected beautiful dresses and shoes. She liked to wear them to social occasions but didn't care if they were soiled or ruined while she wore them. Laeral also particularly valued hand-sized ornaments depicting frogs, snails, and toads. The pride of her collection was a set of jewels carved into the shape of snails and frogs that magically orbited her bedside table.
During her reign as the Open Lord of Waterdeep, she wore a robe of the archmagi.