Jarlaxle Banrae

As the immense leviathan ripped through the flagship of the Waterdavian Fleet, Jarlaxle knew what it truly meant as terror gripped his heart. Not fear for the Tromokratis that bared its claws upon the various ships in the port, but for its master. For it meant that Bopen had returned from the grave, and his debt was now due. - "Volo's" Guide to Piracy "Privateering for The Lord's Alliance"

Summary

Jarlaxle is a flamboyant swashbuckling Pirate Lord who will do anything to better the lives of the people he cares about most. He has no qualms for lying to, stealing from, or even murdering those who dare stand in his way.

Recently, he has learned that a potential "loose end" of his has discovered a Realmwide conspiracy and is helping old friends of his first mate run from The World War.

Early Life and The Arcane War

Jarlaxle Banrae is an extraordinary man, and thus his birth should have been extraordinary as well. However, the many conflicting tales he has given to the Golden Page archivists thus far on his origin, and the simple fact that he was born over 2000 years ago during The Arcane War, makes it hard to define what his early life looked like. Though it likely went like the lives of most would-be Heroes of the Arcane War: He would have fought as soon as he could hold a sword; or he could have been one of the many brigands who arose from the scarred landscapes of the war, using his skill with the blade and silver tongue to survive a world embroiled in war. Either way, when the Arcane War ended and The Weld was shattered, Jarlaxle Banrae was killed. Luckily for him, he is one of the few individuals of the Era blessed with what we now call Hero's Blood, and what was the end of most of the world was just the start of his story.

Compiling any information about Jarlaxle before his time in The Nexusrealm has proven... difficult. Sure, we have hundreds of stories about his "Great Deeds" during The Arcane War, but every crew he has had was told a completely different story. One thing is for certain, he learned how to use the technology of the time, as he helped me on a fairly confounding technological problem a few years back. - Notes from The Aurum Archivist

Floating to Fighting

Like many of the crystalline bodies floating in the shattered pieces of the Arcane Weld as the world slowly recovered, Jarlaxle Banrae was found and taken in by a group of Drow who worshiped the Watcher known as Drule. These twisted religious extremists had been granted the ability to move through the shattered Weld, and had been hunting down the people trapped in these crystals and forcing them to worship Drule in the cities they had built in The Nexusrealm, and Jarlaxle was found to be especially skilled at stealthily slaughtering rivals. The many ruling families of The Kingdom of Drulain were always fighting, and yet had to maintain a public appearance of peace. Thusly, their weapons of choice were daggers in backs and poison in food, and Jarlaxle proved himself as an agent of the faction known as Bregan D’aerthe. He did as his captors wished, executing hundreds of nobles and their families over the course of his years there, but he longed for a release. Fifteen years into his servitude, a new power vied for those crystalline bodies and Jarlaxle was selected as one of the first of many assassins sent after them.

The Nexusrealm is a dangerous place, and the Watchers there are not to be trifled with. The lives of fear they force upon their followers is one of the greatest disgraces in the Realms. Hopefully one day The Nexusrealm can return to the beautiful land it was all those eons ago. - Notes from The Aurum Archivist

The Ways of the Weld

The Crystalline Bodies floating through the shattered Arcane Weld were an exceptionally powerful source of magic, and could be harnessed to power all manner of arcane rituals. Jarlaxle was sent to kill The Pirate King: Bopen, who was using these pools of arcane energy to fuel his unique phylactery. Of course, the assassination attempt was a blood bath and when they surrendered, Bopen gave the assassins a way to survive. Whoever was the last alive could join his crew, and after one hundred years serving his fleet he would return them to Haygra proper. They could have an actual life again. Bopen cackled as the assassins ripped each other to shreds, and in the end Jarlaxle stood victorious. For the next twenty years, Jarlaxle served in Bopen's crew, hunting other frozen heroes and turning them into the Pirate King. It was here that Jarlaxle began to plot for freedom, and when Bopen was slain by The Band of the Moon, he had his shot. Bopen would be back, he knew, but not before he could set his people free from the shadowy grasp of The Nexusrealm.

Recently, The Golden Page had been given The Crown of Bopen after the lich had been finally slain by Epsilon Company, and we had learned much of Bopen's history from the memories contained within. Knowing now how skilled Jarlaxle is when he applies himself, we are truly lucky that he had never taken Jarlaxle's body. - Notes from The Aurum Archivist

Freedom

Jarlaxle quickly led a mutiny against the Pirate Captain that commanded the boat in Bopen's fleet that he had served under, and with a crew of his own he set sail for The Nexusrealm. Or more accurately, he sailed to the ruined city that had been rebuilt as the home for The Watcher Drule in Haygra. As he began to sail for the city, he was intercepted by The Pirate King Lilith Longtail. She was hunting the survivors of Bopen's fleet, and Jarlaxle hadn't had time to change the colors he flew. A battle ensued, and Jarlaxle managed to talk Lilith into peace. Knowing his cause was just, she sent him on his way, but not before Jarlaxle managed to steal Bopen's Cutlass from the King. Now armed with a weapon that might be able to harm Drule, Jarlaxle went to battle. Slinking through the shadows, Jarlaxle led rebel efforts, assassinated Priestesses, and shut the portal to The Nexusrealm, slaughtering the children of Drule who tried to stop him along the way. Jarlaxle nearly lost himself to the power of Bopen's Cutlass, but he managed to stop the blade from burying any thoughts in his mind and returned it to Lilith at the first opportunity, hoping to not be it's next host.

The specifics of what Jarlaxle himself was responsible for in the carnage at The Nexusrealm Gate are muddy at best, but all of it happened at his command. It was brutal, but extremely effective. No other Watchers have attempted incursions to the Primus Deutorem Pantheon since, and it appears that they will not get the chance to try again. - Notes from The Aurum Archivist

The Noble Life

The Drow had been freed from the grasp of Drule, and as Jarlaxle began planning how to get the survivors out of The Shattered Arcane Weld, The Second Arcane War began. The Arcane Weld returned, and Jarlaxle took whoever wished to follow him to The Blackshore. Jarlaxle was selected as a Pirate Lord as the countries of the world spread out. It was a feeding frenzy for Pirates at the time, and Jarlaxle and his crew ate well. Eventually, Jarlaxle needed to find a place to call home, and so he claimed a small city to the east of Majoria Centris in the Freelands as his home. Despite the initial grievances, the people eventually grew to love Jarlaxle as he was a kind lord. Between the Human Uprising plunging Majoria Centris into War and The Reemergence, Jarlaxle decided it was time to find proper protections for The City of Banrania besides just himself. He turned to The Lord's Alliance, but for years his requests for entry into their alliance were ignored. Then, The Open Lord of Waterdeep was found guilty of embezzlement, causing a new figure to step into the role. And if a fresh face wasnt enough motivation to try again, the gold he stole had not yet been found. And rumors swirled that the thousands of gold pieces were stashed away somewhere within the City of Waterdeep itself.

It was during this time that I met Jarlaxle, and he left a strong impression on me. For someone who's life had been focused on espionage and secrecy, he was an extremely flamboyant man. His personality was magnetic, and by the time my retinue and I left Banrania, I am fairly certain most of my archivists had fallen for him. - Notes from The Aurum Archivist

Dragon Heist

Chasing rumors of gold, called Dragons when created in Waterdeep, and hoping for a way to protect his people, Jarlaxle went to Waterdeep in disguise with a large group of his similarly disguised soldiers. As the City was embroiled in a war between the gangs lurking in the shadows, Jarlaxle met the adventurers who would soon be known as Epsilon Company and managed to sway one of their party into helping him accomplish his goal. Aila Goldberg, an up and rising Lawyer who was a native of the city of Waterdeep who managed to figure out Jarlaxle's identity on her own. These adventurers managed to discover the Dragon Vault, where the gold lay guarded by an ancient dragon but it was then that the city was attacked. A Leviathan ripped apart the fleet that protected Waterdeep as Bopen's Ship emerged from the waves. Jarlaxle was in the harbor at the time of the attack, and dueled with Bopen himself as the battle ensued. Jarlaxle managed to escape into the City, just in time to receive the call from Aila: They were in the vault. Aila stole the gold as Jarlaxle rushed in and rescued his new ally from the rage of the Dragon. Then with Aila's help, the adventurers were framed for attempting to steal the gold for themselves (And various other legitimate crimes they had committed in pursuit of the vault). Turning the gold in to the city and the "criminals" responsible, Banrania was accepted into The Lord's Alliance just in time for the world to be plunged into war.

It appears that nearly every important figure of The World War was present at this first battle. Though Jarlaxle has done an incredible job at covering up the shady way he acquired the gold from The Dragon Vault, The Page gave us many of the details from the first battle as the War escalated. - Notes from The Aurum Archivist

The World War and a Debt Paid

And so the World War began, as The Taydau fought The Alliance on the continent of Adar'lac and Bopen once again sacked the ocean for all of its treasures. Jarlaxle did his best to help coordinate the crippled Alliance Navy, but with Bopen still in play it was difficult. During one of Bopen's raids on Adar'lac, it was discovered that Psionics were his weakness. The Alliance needed Bopen gone, and so an expedition to recover an ancient Psionic Warship was begun with Epsilon Company taking the lead. It was recovered, and so Jarlaxle joined Epsilon Company in their newly recovered Spelljammer. Jarlaxle knew that they couldn't defeat Bopen and his hoards of undead alone, and so he called a meeting of the Pirate Lords. With some clever political maneuvering, including blackmail and murder, The Pirate Lords were convinced to help raid Bopen's Stronghold: Deadlantis. The Siege ensued and in the end, Bopen and his Phylactery had been permanently destroyed. Jarlaxle has paid his debt.

After Bopen was killed, Jarlaxle returned to being a neutral entity in the war after he supposedly had a part in the Murder of Thall Flamith. I can't say why, but I find it hard to believe the man I met in Banrania would aid the murderers of a wholly good man like Thall... - Notes from The Aurum Archivist

Pronouns
He/Him
Reputation
74U
Class Levels
Rogue 20
Date of Birth
Yasaga 30th, Unknown Year
Religion
Worshiper of Jadar

Pronouns

jar-LAX-ull BANE-ray