Elminster Aumar
The Sage of Shadowdale Elminster Aumar (a.k.a. The Old Mage, The Great Oversorcerer, Stinkbeard, and The Doombringer of Mystra)
Elminster Aumar, also known as the "Sage of Shadowdale" and the "Old Mage", was one of the most famous and powerful wizards in all of Faerûn, as well as a fair fighter and thief.
Physical Description
Body Features
As a high-level wizard, Elminster was capable of taking on almost any appearance imaginable.
In his natural state, Elminster appeared as a gray-bearded man of weathered visage, gruff tone, alert eyes, and nondescript attire. He was almost always smoking a meerschaum pipe that was spouting some vile blue or green smoke.
Elminster's most distinguishing physical feature was his hawk-like nose.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Early life
Elminster was born in 212 DR to Elthryn, who was the lord of the village of Heldon and a prince of Athalantar, and his wife Amrythale, in the kingdom of Athalantar. His family was killed by a malaugrym named Undarl, one of the magelords of the ancient kingdom of Athalantar. Taking up his father's broken sword, the Lion Sword, the symbol of the great king of the Stag Throne, Uthgrael Aumar, who was Elminster's grandfather, Elminster became a brigand and a thief at the ripe age of twelve. He soon realized, however, that he had no taste for killing, and gave it up when he went to become a burglar in the city of Hastarl, the capital of Athalantar. He met and formed a bond of friendship with a young thief, Farl, who knew Elminster as "Eladar the Dark". They committed many acts of thievery together and lived life fully, later forming the gang the Velvet Hands in opposition to a rival gang, the Moonclaws, who were servants of the magelords. Later, during a burglary, Elminster met the Magister of the time, Dorgon "Stonecloak" Heamilolothtar, the wizard who bore the mantle of Azuth's power. When asked if he was interested in learning sorcery, Elminster refused, as he hated all mages because of the magelords.
After many adventures, Elminster was visited by Mystra, the Goddess of All Magic. She tarried with him and left the awestruck Elminster with the message that he should learn magic and worship her. Soon thereafter, while he was still a young adult, Mystra transformed Elminster into a woman to strengthen his bond with magic and to know what it was to be a woman. This change also allowed her, now called "Elmara", to move within his enemies' circles without their knowledge that she was in fact the last surviving prince of Athalantar. For a few years, Elmara was a priestess of Mystra. Later, an avatar of Mystra (who went by the name Myrjala Talithyn, or "Darkeyes") trained Elmara in the ways of a mage and brought her to an ancient Netherese archmage known as Ander who taught Elmara a spell that would transform her back into Elminster. In the time that followed, Elminster learned much about magic from Myrjala, reaching the point where he could finish taking his revenge against the evil magelords who had usurped the kingdom. After a terrific battle, Elminster persevered and assumed the throne of Athalantar.
However, no sooner had he gained the kingship than he passed it to one one of his friends, Helm Stoneblade, a knight of Athalantar. Elminster stated that he had wanted to avenge his family's death, not become a monarch. As he and Myrjala left the kingdom, the Mage Royal, Undarl, attacked them, and the sorceress revealed herself to be Mystra. She offered to make Elminster one of her Chosen, and he readily accepted.
Around 241 DR, Elminster traveled to the city of Cormanthor, where he continued his magical studies as an apprentice to a cruel and powerful wizard and living among the ancient elven society. Elminster remained in Cormanthor for over two decades, and was present when the mythal was raised and the city was renamed Myth Drannor.
Somewhere around the mid–7th century DR, Elminster entered a tomb and became trapped there in stasis for roughly a century. He emerged from the dusty tomb in 759 DR.
By now, magic had become unreliable, and Elminster had to again learn to survive by his wits and the skills he'd picked up earlier in his life. The god Azuth soon came to him telling him that he mustn't rely on Mystra for aid like any other Chosen must with magic, this again being a test from Mystra. Soon he had to learn how to survive without constant divine aid. He later underwent further magical training under the tutelage of a wicked sorceress who sought to tempt him away from Mystra's path. Later, during a fake ritual for Bane, she revealed herself to be the goddess Mystra herself, once again testing him.
In 1336 DR, Elminster visited the Moonshae Isles.
The Time of Troubles
In 1358 DR, Elminster defended Shadowdale from an army of Zhentarim led by the avatar of Bane. Bane and Elminster battled, and both were caught up in the spell that Elminster had called upon to dispose of the avatar. Elminster was originally thought to have been destroyed,but when he later reappeared it became apparent that he had merely been transported to another plane of existence for a time.
In the 1370s DR
A few years later, Elminster discovered a daughter he had never known, Narnra Shalace, in Marsember. Because of her curiosity, Narnra quickly found herself involved not only in Elminster's activities but also in the intrigues of the Cormyrean nation.
On Nightal 15 1374 DR, Sharran agents attempted to steal the Ebon Diadem from Elminster's tower. Due to the essence of the artifact and the sheer power of Elminster's wards, on whose power the artifact fed, the Sharrans defeated Elminster (though not without losing most of their number) and a contingency spell whisked Elminster away, while his tower itself was blasted into ruin and transported to another, unknown plane.
Following the death of Mystra in 1385 DR and the collapse of the Weave in the Spellplague, Elminster was stripped of many of his abilities as one of the Chosen, though he still aged as slowly as he had for the previous millennium and was still quite powerful magically. However, every use of his magic drove him to—and sometimes over—the brink of insanity. When this happened, only Storm was able to bring his mind back, giving of her own essence to soothe Elminster's mind. Elminster could still cast minor cantrips at times—and had, on several occasions, cast minor illusions—without going mad, though this wasn't always the case. Despite these setbacks, Elminster and Storm continued with their campaign to save Faerûn, battling evil where they could.
In 1479 DR, after finally admitting that they needed help saving the Realms, and having run out of easy-to-steal magic items to feed to the Simbul, Elminster sought to gain access to artifacts known to contain the spirits of the Nine—objects powerful enough to pierce the wards surrounding the royal palace or, Elminster believed, to permanently restore the Simbul's sanity. He also sought to recruit the efforts of a descendant of his, Amarune Whitewave. During one of his excursions into the palace, Elminster's body was destroyed by Manshoon, who had secretly been peeling away the Old Mage's contingency spells over several years. However, Manshoon departed before he realized that Elminster had survived his body's destruction in a near-undead state. With the agreement of Amarune and the aid of Storm, Elminster's essence was placed in Amarune's body with the aid of a spell the ex-Chosen had discovered in a cache once belonging to Azuth. He then sought to train his great-granddaughter while attempting to defend the Forest Kingdom from Manshoon and traitorous nobles alike. Later, thanks to the sacrifice of the Simbul, he regained his former body again and ruined for good Manshoon's claim to the throne of Suzail.
In 1487 DR, Elminster (with the help of the Srinshee, Alustriel, and Laeral Silverhand) stopped Shar as well as Larloch from becoming the new deity of magic. He killed Telamont Tanthul and let Thultanthar fall upon Myth Drannor. Along the way, Mystra was completely restored. In 1491 DR, Elminster and Mirt the Moneylender returned to the city of Waterdeep, both aiding the newly appointed Open Lord of Waterdeep, Laeral Silverhand, uncover the culprits behind a string of murders of Masked Lords.
Comments