Shadowmaster

Shadowmaster was the title given to the leader of the malaugrym race. While any malaugrym could claim the title, and many referred to themselves as "shadowmasters", only the malaugrym who slew the previous true owner of the title would be recognized as Shadowmaster among all malaugryms. Thus, the true Shadowmaster was sometimes distinguished as the Great Shadowmaster or the Shadowmaster Supreme

Activities

The Shadowmaster dwelt in the Castle of Shadows, and was nominally recognized as the director of the malaugryms' overarching schemes and plots to seize control of Faerûn, although in practice the malaugrym would prioritize their personal goals over those of the Shadowmaster.

A Shadowmaster was generally understood to be the most powerful wizard among the malaugryms, and the title implied that they were one of the few capable of performing spells or rituals that allowed malaugryms to travel between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane. Because malaugryms were always desirous of traveling to the Material Plane to subjugate and feed on the peoples there, most went out of their way to please the current Shadowmaster. This made the Shadowmaster one of the few individuals in existence who could compel multiple malaugryms to work together, or who could order any given malaugrym to do or not do something.

A given Shadowmaster could theoretically rule the malaugrym in perpetuity as the race did not die of old age. However, they did weaken with age, so it was inevitable that a Shadowmaster would be slain and usurped. Challenges for the title came every few decades.

History

The original head of the malaugrym "family" was Malaug, the race's progenitor. Following his disappearance in the Year of the Chosen, 240 DR, the tradition of a Shadowmaster stepping in to lead the clan was established.

As the leaders and chief schemers of the malaugrym, Shadowmasters were responsible for any large-scale actions taken by the malaugrym race to infiltrate Faerûn. This included their intrusions into Waterdeep, Calimshan, and Thay in the late 12th and early 13th centuries DR, leading to the Harpstar Wars, as well as their efforts to capitalize on the chaos of the Time of Troubles in the mid-to-late 14th century DR.

In the Year of the Horn, 1222 DR, Khelben Arunsun ended the Harpstar Wars by seizing control of the current Shadowmaster's mind and convincing the remaining malaugrym that continued conflict with The Harpers was too costly. This Shadowmaster was slain by a younger malaugrym to seize her title, and the backlash would have incapacitated Khelben if it weren't for the intervention of Elminster.

Dhalgrave was the Shadowmaster in 1358 DR, but in trying to conquer Faerûn he was burned by Elminster. The next Shadowmaster was Huerbara, who proclaimed she would move more carefully.

As of the 1370s DR, the current Shadowmaster was investigating the logistics of pulling all of Toril into the Plane of Shadow and making it into a cruel playground for his malaugryms.

Notable Shadowmasters

• Dhalgrave
• Huerbara