Dagult Neverember

Appearance Description

Neverember was tall, broad-shouldered, and strikingly good-looking, with angular features, a mane of silver-flecked "pumpkin-brown" hair, and deep-set but shining dark eyes. He was often called a "lion of a man" for both his appearance and bearing, and was said to have the look of a strong ruler. By the end of his tenure as Open Lord, Neverember sported a short but thick beard that had gone grey.

History Of Dagult Neverember

Early Life

Dagult Neverember was born into the noble Neverember family in the Year of Ten Terrors, 1429 DR. He grew up in Neverwinter, and even from a young age, he began to dream about creating a mercantile empire for himself. At some point he moved to Waterdeep and firmly established himself there, so much so that the people of Neverwinter did not see him as one of their own when he eventually returned. From Waterdeep, he achieved his goal of building a mercantile empire, and became obscenely rich and thus influential. At some point, Neverember began to invest heavily in the island of Mintarn, where he founded a ship-building company as well as facilities to train mercenaries. He also bankrolled the White Sails company, which grew to become the biggest Tarnian provider of soldiers and ships for hire. In Waterdeep, he married into the noble Brandarth family, adding his wife's broad property holdings and wealth to his own. She bore him a son, Renaer, before dying when the boy was still in his youth and leaving everything to him instead of to Dagult. Neverember became the Open Lord of Waterdeep circa the Year of the Three Heroes United, 1467 DR. By this time, he had become one of the richest men in the city, and thanks to both his resources and his political acumen, Waterdeep began to thrive after years of neglect. Not all went smoothly, however. In an unpopular move among the nobility, he instituted a law that allowed for a limited number of Waterdhavian titles to be bought and sold. He personally organized the sale of many noble titles to potential allies in exchange for the promise that he could rely on their support in the future, while also profiting in the present. He also immediately implemented a tax on all residents of the city, requiring them to pay one shard each month when the City Guard came knocking. Furthermore, within a year he had lost most of the City Navy after sending them to hunt Northlander pirates, and so hired a fleet of Tarnian mercenary ships to replace them (and proceeded to profit from spending Waterdeep's funds to hire companies in which he was an investor).

Lord Protector of Neverwinter

“People of Neverwinter! I am here not as a conqueror but as a protector. The soldiers I bring come to bolster the defenses you have struggled to maintain, and to stop the lawlessness that threatens all you’ve already accomplished. Together, we will do more than rebuild. We will make a New Neverwinter!” — Dagult Neverember

In the Year of the First Circle, 1468 DR, Neverember turned his attention to the ruined city of Neverwinter, which had been destroyed when Mount Hotenow erupted about 16 years earlier. He started the "New Neverwinter" movement to rebuild the city, claiming himself to be the "Lord Protector of Neverwinter". This role was commonly understood to be one of stewardship, with the recognition that he would legally step down if an heir to the Alagondar line of Neverwintian kings came forward to claim their throne. However, Neverember aimed to prove that he himself was a descendant of Neverwinter's former kings and thus a rightful king of Neverwinter. To lend credence to his claims, Neverember invested a great deal of his own personal fortune to rebuild the city's infrastructure, buy the interest of merchants, keep the city safe by employing an army of Tarnian mercenaries, and even ensure that Neverwintian refugees had enough food and gold in hand. Within a decade, a steady flow of refugees were returning to the city and Neverember had turned himself into the linchpin of Neverwinter's stability by providing Neverwintians with ever-improving security, work, and access to goods. Neverember's true intentions were popularly understood to be imperialistic, and his efforts to increase the prosperity of the city were in order to gain the favor and love of the Neverwintians so that they would welcome him as their king in the future, thus transforming Neverwinter into the center of his powerful mercantile empire. While he was quite popular with refugees who returned to the city under his watch, Neverember's army of Tarnian "peacekeepers" soon aggravated many locals, notably among those who hadn't fled the city following the Ruining. In addition to his army of mercenaries, Neverember also paid for an army of carpenters, stonemasons, and artisans to rebuild Neverwinter. To spur economic growth, he implemented a policy of few regulations on trade and low taxes on imported goods, hoping to attract back former residents as well as merchants from across Faerûn. This largely succeeded, and as the city grew, he took a keen mercantile interest in the trade and visitors coming and going via the docks. By the end of the 1470s DR, the docks had been rebuilt fully (at the cost of every tree on the Upland Rise north of the city) and a steep tariff had been imposed on incoming merchant ships. Shortly after his arrival in the city, Neverember began prioritizing a fortification known as the Wall to keep his New Neverwinter operation safe and to protect his base of operations at the Hall of Justice, a former temple to the then-dead god Tyr, that he had selected largely because of its emotional significance to the people of Neverwinter. To make his occupation of the old temple more palatable to the locals, he initially staffed it with priests of Torm to create the illusion that he was rededicating it to a still-living god. In the Year of the Fourth Circle, 1474 DR, Neverember announced the completion of his "Protector's Enclave", a section in the southwest of Neverwinter that he declared to be (mostly) rebuilt and as safe as any other city. While it was more secure than the rest of the ruins—it was protected by the Wall and was centered on the Hall of Justice—it was also a veritable police state under the strict control of Neverember and his mercenaries who patrolled the streets, his spies who kept the residents in line, and his tax collectors who kept the operation funded. Any defiance or opposition against Neverember's rule was swiftly, and often violently, repressed within the Protector's Enclave. This ultimately led to the rise of the Sons of Alagondar, an underground movement associated with the Harpers, who were dedicated to resisting Neverember's reign in Neverwinter, fearing that his imperialistic goals would not aid the people of the city in the long run. At some point, Lord Neverember banned the High Sun Games that were being held in the city, considering them brutal. For example, in the final Games, one contestant made it to the last round, only to be half-eaten by a remorhaz.

“I knew the task of rebuilding the city would not be easily done: For the cataclysm had struck not just the city walls and buildings, but its very heart. And all the wise men from whom I sought advice said Neverwinter was dead, that the restoration I hoped to make was impossible, even with a fortune far greater than all I had. Those were dark, hopeless days, and yet in this crowd before me, I see some of those brave faces from that dark time.” — Dagult Neverember

Neverember increasingly began to spend most of his time in Neverwinter, and left much of the day-to-day running of Waterdeep to his trusted lieutenants, including clerks and bureaucrats loyal to him personally and allies among the Lords of Waterdeep. He traveled to Waterdeep only irregularly, meaning his visits were hectic affairs in which he dealt with long-delayed legal and governance decisions as well as a flurry of meetings and events, including speeches, conferences with nobles and merchants, and summary court rulings. He was known to handle matters important to the city without communicating with the other Lords of Waterdeep, often using stalling tactics to keep them out of his way. Amidst all of this, he still found time for womanizing in Waterdeep, including a year-long torrid romance with Kalain, an artist whom he met when she painted his portrait in the Year of the Final Stand, 1475 DR. When he was busy with his new duties in Waterdeep, he left the day-to-day running of Neverwinter to General Sabine and Mayor Soman Galt. As of the Year of the Purloined Statue, 1477 DR, news was finally beginning to spread that Neverwinter was rebuilding, and Neverember had put out a call to invite back all who had fled following Mount Hotenow's eruption.

Threats and Rivals

In the Year of the Dark Circle, 1478 DR, upon returning to Neverwinter from a trip to Waterdeep, Neverember survived an assassination attempt led by his Neverwintian spymaster Dhafiyand, who was secretly a member of the Red Wizards of Thay and who had acquired the legendary Crown of Neverwinter. Neverember was saved thanks to the efforts of one of his agents, Rucas Sarfael, and the aid of several members of the Sons of Alagondar who sought the Crown for themselves, but the affair ended with the Crown in Neverember's possession. It was said that the Lord Protector protested against his mercenary bodyguards' efforts to keep him safe during the attack, wishing to fight his enemies head-on. He also gave a rousing speech to onlookers once his former spymaster lay dead at his feet. His focus in Neverwinter at this time was split between fully reclaiming the Blacklake District and defending the people from both Many-Arrows orcs occupying the city's northeast and plaguechanged horrors—sent by the Abolethic Sovereignty—rising from the Chasm in the city's southeast. Despite great investment to ensure the city's security, Neverwinter was far from safe. Also in 1478 DR, he proclaimed the "Protector's Law", a controversial decree that any and all spellscarred or plaguechanged individuals were to be expelled from Neverwinter and sent to Helm's Hold. This was accompanied by Neverember sending mercenaries to help police the town, and he quickly established sufficient political influence that the town could do little except acquiesce to his whims. By the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR, many in Waterdeep felt that Neverember was abusing his power, using the City Watch for his personal errands, and wielding his influence to waive penalties for his son's reckless escapades. That year, he conspired with Khondar "Ten-Rings" Naomal to find the Overlord's Helm in order to find out the secrets of his fellow Lords of Waterdeep, but this relationship disintegrated when the full extent of Khondar's plans to establish wizards as the rulers of Waterdeep became known. Furthermore, his constant focus on Neverwinter caused concern among Waterdhavians, although he assured them that his efforts were meant to bring Neverwinter under Waterdeep's influence. Also in 1479 DR, a self-proclaimed "Lost Heir" of the Alagondar bloodline seemingly wearing the Crown of Neverwinter made public their claim to the throne of Neverwinter, rallying the support of the Sons of Alagondar and quickly turning public opinion against Neverember and his "tyrannical ambitions" for the city. For his part, the Lord Protector claimed that he would be happy to hand over the city to a legitimate heir, but openly questioned the Lost Heir's methods, secrecy, and refusal to parlay. Privately, he had no desire to give up the city in which he had invested so much, and so he instructed General Sabine to hire a group of adventurers to track down the so-called heir and discover their true intentions. This Lost Heir was ultimately revealed to be a fraud wearing a false Crown of Neverwinter.However, the real Crown was stolen that same year following the Thayan-led Siege of Neverwinter when members of the Nashers—a splinter faction of the Sons of Alagondar—plotted to place their leader, Arlon Bladeshaper, on the throne.

“As you know, I have taken the beleaguered city of Neverwinter under my wing and sunk a great deal of time, coin, blood, and sweat into its reconstruction...” — Dagult Neverember, 1479 DR

Even after the Crown was recovered, Neverember would subsequently fend off yet another pretender to the throne in the wizard Gyrion and his Cloaked Ascendancy, who also produced a false Crown and used it to rally the Nashers against him. Neverember would take an increasingly aggressive stance toward tracking down and eliminating any descendants of the Alagondars with stronger claims to the throne than himself. In addition, he hired groups of volunteer rangers and adventurers to take care of other issues relating to the security of Neverwinter and the surrounding region, including slaying Mordai Vell, leader of the Ashmadai, and recovering an artifact known as the Talon of Umberlee, which was believed to have the power to protect the city against threats from the sea. He also sent troops to garrison points north of the city, including Rothé Valley and Raven Cliff Beach. Eventually, the many threats faced by Neverwinter—including the Many-Arrows orcs, the Thayans, and the horrors of the Chasm—were brought under control, leading Neverember to institute public celebrations such as an annual jubilee and the festival of the Masquerade of Liars. He also celebrated the opening of new trade relations with Icewind Dale and New Sharandar. In the Year of the Nether Mountain Scrolls, 1486 DR, Neverember, along with General Sabine and Jelvus Grinch, met with Bruenor Battlehammer and Emerus Warcrown in Neverwinter to discuss the reclamation of Gauntlgrym from the drow. Neverember had been hiring adventurers to seek out the underground city for over seven years, hoping to rebuild it as his own, but the dwarves had brought an army to his doorstep to demand he relinquish any claim to Gauntlgrym's riches. Caught by surprise and left with no leverage, Neverember was merely able to insist that any new dwarven realm's borders would not touch the surface, and thus any trade in or out of Gauntlgrym could be taxed by him. Once the dwarves had secured the city, tensions remained high between Gauntlgrym and Neverember.

Ouster from Waterdeep

During his tenure as Open Lord, Neverember took advantage of several opportunities to enrich himself and to further his goals in Neverwinter at Waterdeep's expense. He hired mercenary companies in which he was an investor, used Waterdhavian soldiers and laborers to rebuild the High Road to Neverwinter (at the expense of Waterdeep's own construction needs), and—most egregiously—embezzled large sums of money. In one scheme, he stole half a million dragons from Waterdeep's coffers, and to conceal this sum, he made an arrangement with the gold dragon Aurinax: in exchange for the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon, Aurinax would guard the gold until Neverember wanted it back. For secrecy, he then removed the information from his mind, and stored it in an artifact known as the Stone of Golorr. In the summer of the Year of the Rune Lords Triumphant, 1487 DR, Neverember participated in a separate year-long scheme to launder another million gold pieces—mostly in platinum—out of Waterdeep with the aid of House Margaster: he "purchased" the ruined keep of Thornhold from the Margasters for a paltry sum of 40,000 gold pieces, and House Margaster arranged to have the million funneled from Waterdeep to Neverwinter under the ruse of Clan Stoneshaft purchasing the Thornhold deed from Neverember. Following the completion of this scheme in the Year of Dwarvenkind Reborn, 1488 DR, Neverember would also seemingly support an invasion of Luskan by the Margasters in exchange for the laundered money. Around the same time, Neverember ordered soldiers to reclaim the ruined town of Leilon that lay between Neverwinter and Waterdeep on the High Road. Shrewdly, he ensured that all those responsible for rebuilding the town would be loyal to him personally. By spring of 1488 DR, rumblings of the Waterdhavians' frustrations with his rule had already spread far and wide. Neverember was increasingly seen as a tyrannical ruler in Waterdeep, and circa the Year of the Warrior Princess, 1489 DR, he was facing several political scandals. With his resources stretched thin between rebuilding Neverwinter and maintaining influence in Waterdeep, it was at this time that the Masked Lords of Waterdeep decided to replace him as Open Lord in favor of Laeral Silverhand. Prior to his ouster, Neverember led the Council of Waterdeep—an alliance meant to stand against the rise of the Cult of the Dragon threatening the North—which had further made him not only ruler of Neverwinter and Waterdeep, but leader of the entire Lords' Alliance. Thus, the loss of his status as Open Lord hit him particularly hard as it also cost him his place of leadership on the Council. Even so, he continued to join the meetings and to pledge his and Neverwinter's support for the fight against the Cult, hoping to restore his honor by demonstrating the strength of his leadership. He remained a voice of pragmatism on the Council, even supporting unsavory tactics such as forming an alliance with the Red Wizards. The decision to depose Neverember from the Open Lordship occurred while he was in Neverwinter and effectively exiled him from Waterdeep, thus severing his connections to his assets in that city, which included the hoard of money he had embezzled and the Stone of Golorr, which had been hidden in the Palace of Waterdeep. Many of his loyal clerks left alongside him, leaving Waterdeep's bureaucracy short-staffed.

Refocus on Neverwinter

Having been ousted as Open Lord of Waterdeep, Neverember focused all of his efforts in his role of Lord Protector of Neverwinter, continuing to rebuild the city, revive Neverwinter's economy, and secure his grip on power. Slowly but surely, Neverwinter had begun to return to being a center of civilization on the Sword Coast under his stewardship. However, bitter over his expulsion from Waterdeep, Neverember became more despotic and began to enforce more heavy-handed laws in Neverwinter. Blaming the nobles and guilds of Waterdeep for betraying him, he enacted high taxes and harsh regulations to constrain the Neverwintian nobility and abolish any Neverwintian guilds in an effort to stifle all political competition. This soon became a strategy of scapegoating the city's wealthy for all of Neverwinter's ails, a message that he found resonated well with the poorer citizens, but perhaps complicated his efforts to attract wealthy families from Waterdeep to invest and settle in the city. The continued demand for construction work to rebuild the city served to funnel more coin into the pockets of poorer residents, earning Neverember greater popularity among them. At some point, his seemingly bottomless pockets had begun to run dry, perhaps leading to the ever-steeper taxes he imposed on Neverwinter's aristocrats and rich merchants. He also began the process of training local Neverwintians to form their own army and city watch, known as the Wintershield watchmen, in order to reduce his reliance on paying Tarnian mercenaries. This also had the benefit of being quite popular with the citizenry, who still resented being policed by foreign soldiers. Furthermore, he managed to finally coordinate the closing of the Chasm in the heart of the city, and—in an apparent show of humility—he moved his office into his private home and gifted the Hall of Justice to followers of Tyr to restore as a temple. These actions made him an even more worthy leader in the eyes of the Neverwintians.

“I am more than pleased to offer my services and gold to rebuilding this fine center of culture and trade. Through our combined efforts, Neverwinter will be reborn as a bastion of good in the Sword Coast North!” — Dagult Neverember, 1479 DR

Due to this commitment and his many accomplishments helping the city and its citizens, the people of Neverwinter finally accepted him as the rightful leader of their city, despite the fact that people from other lands saw him as a tyrant. While he still faced opposition, even many of the Sons of Alagondar eventually began to join him to help replace the ranks of mercenaries.[1] However, he was still not recognized as a king or heir to the throne, and so throughout this period, Neverember continued to seek the death of any other person who claimed to be a descendant of the Alagondar family.[34][104] In a testament to Neverember's immense influence at this time, his ouster from Waterdeep combined with his draw down of mercenaries from Mintarn led to a crisis on the island nation as much of their reliable income dried up. At the same time, Neverember had stopped contributing to the payment of tribute to the red dragon Hoondarrh, exposing the island realm to a greater threat from the beast. Needless to say, the Tarnians largely saw this as a betrayal. Resentment and suspicion of the former Open Lord remained rampant in Waterdeep, and some believed he intended to start a war to regain control of the city.[105] When a number of the Lords of Waterdeep were murdered in the Year of the Scarlet Witch, 1491 DR, Neverember was immediately and unjustly accused of the deeds as people believed he wanted to take revenge on them over his exile. When Laeral asked him about this—using a spell to commune with him from Waterdeep and to read his mind in the process—she learned that Neverember was innocent, and he in turn learned that she wished for friendlier relations with Neverwinter. Nevertheless, mistrust of Neverember remained high in Waterdeep, and spies were sent to keep an eye on his activities.[106] Around this time, work on resettling Leilon neared completion. Neverember remained the de facto ruler of the town, with Neverwintian soldiers occupying it—led by Sergeant Hazz Yorrum—and rebuilding efforts being overseen by his agents—notably Grizzelda Copperwraught and Valdi Estapaar.Despite this, he still insisted that the settlers pay for the privilege of his troops securing the High Road between Leilon and Neverwinter. Following the Battle of Leilon, in which the townsfolk fended off an assault from two cults dedicated to Talos and Myrkul, Neverember took a more active role in the area's defense by posting large bounties on Leilon's enemies.