Elaith Craulnober - History

History

Elaith was born and grew to maturity amid the splendor of the isle of Evermeet. He had a home, love, and he was heir to the Craulnober moonblade.

Elaith was formerly a captain of the guard on Evermeet, a highly skilled warrior and a very respected elf. He was betrothed to Princess Amnestria, the mother of Arilyn Moonblade, whom he dearly loved. He was due to inherit a moonblade, and, although well aware that many had been judged unworthy of wielding it, it never occurred to him for a second that he might not be considered worthy. He lived what he himself felt was a charmed life.

However, Elaith had a fatal flaw. Although not truly evil at this time, he lacked depth of character. He excelled at fulfilling the rules and laws of Evermeet and meeting, even exceeding, expectations of what an elf should be, but only because this was what was expected of him. He obeyed the rules only because he was supposed to. This failing was enough for the moonblade to judge him unworthy.

Elaith's world was shattered when the moonblade rejected him. Usually, a moonblade's rejection is fatal to the one who draws the sword, but because Elaith was the last of his line, the sword merely became dormant (although Elaith surely would have preferred death.) Unable to face anyone on Evermeet, particularly Amnestria, after his failure, he fled, finding himself in Waterdeep. He soon found that utilizing his great skills in ventures that were not necessarily ethical (or legal) could prove immensely profitable—and that indulging in acts of cruelty could allow him to sublimate the great pain he felt at his own loss.

He took passage on a vessel to Waterdeep. Once in Waterdeep, he discovered the cold rage and icy temper that have come to mark most of his life since then. Putting his own interests and survival above all, Elaith has grown to quite the notorious figure in and around the City of Splendors.

He soon became a rogue elf, and began building his own underground empire in Waterdeep. He acquired a reputation for ruthlessness as both an assassin and crime lord, which he went to great lengths to keep for some time. He has a fondness for magical items, and retained his family Moonblade, though this was of course dormant.

Elaith met Danilo Thann and Arilyn Moonblade in the events of Elfshadow, and aided them in their quest to find the Harper Assassin. However, despite Elaith's fondness for Arilyn, he had his own personal agenda and vendetta - which caused no little difficulty for the pair. Especially Danilo Thann, whom he arranged to be assassinated - a job he later rescinded. He later aided both of them in solving the puzzle to finally defeat Kymil Nimesin and his personal plan to usurp the elven throne.

In the events of Elfsong, Elaith hesitantly joined forces with his hated enemy, Danilo Thann - in order to solve a riddle of the ancient Green Dragon, Grimnoshtadrano - and to hunt down an artifact to stop a sorceress from destroying Waterdeep. With a rag-tag army of minstrels, mercenaries, and riddlemasters - Elaith and Danilo solved the riddle and regained the artifact, wherein Elaith finally reveals his true intentions. He steals the artifact in an attempt to reactivate his dormant Moonblade to rehonor his bloodline for his new daughter, Azariah Craulnober. The Moonblade was later reactivated, not because of the artifact, but because of his selfless sacrifice for his daughter.

In the events of Dream Spheres, Elaith discovers the magical qualities of the Dream Spheres - a mercantile product used to create dreamscapes for the upper nobility of Waterdeep. In an attempt to test the "evil" of his soul, Elaith took a legendary intelligent Mhoarkiira - a magical artifact used to magnify a person's magical capability. Legend says that the Mhoarkiira would bend an ordinary person's soul to evil, but if wielded by a truly vile being, the artifact would bow down to his will completely. Temporarily fooled by a false copy of the artifact - Elaith, believing himself beyond redemption, sank down to the evil streak of cruelty and ruthlessness he was previously known for. However, at the end, he once again aided Arilyn and Danilo in destroying the evil Mhoarkiira to restore order in Waterdeep.