Don Rel

Don Rel

Don Rel was the leader of the reformed Cult of the Dragon during the Great Dragon War. A master manipulator, fearsome combatant, and cult fanatic, Don Rel threatened the entirety of the Prime Material Plane before he was stopped by the Breadwinners.

History

Don Rel was born in 1450 as a human child to members of the Cult of the Dragon. At the time, the cult primarily dealt in the creation of dracoliches, but Don Rel dreamed of greater things. His devotion and loyalty to the cult allowed him to quickly make his way up the ranks until, in the 1470's, he began to be a well known figure.
During this time, Don Rel came into conflict with the cult's current leader, Naergoth Bladelord. Don Rel believed that the Cult of the Dragon was capable of so much more, that rather than helping dragons cheat death they should create a world only for dragons and their worshipers by freeing Tiamat from Avernus. Don Rel's charisma won over the cultists, and Bladelord chose to abdicate his position in favor of Rel.
Throughout the rest of the 1470's and the 1480's, Don Rel's reformed cult began a mass recruitment drive, targeting the forgotten, the downtrodden, and the vulnerable. One lucky alliance for Rel was that of Azbara Jos and his Red Wizard exiles, who offerred to join the cult in exchange for killing Szass Tam. During this time, Rel also became aware of the Armor of Tiamat, mythical magical items from before recorded time that could assist in freeing Tiamat. Finding these armor pieces became a priority for the cult, and by 1491 they had found all but the Gauntlet of the Black Dragon.
In 1489, Rel, hiding his true identity, posed as a professor at Gregory Tumbleton University in order to get close to and steal the Aethercore to protect the Well of Dragons. In 1490, his first attempt to steal the Aethercore was foiled when students Mariana Goldfinch, Malachor, Legolass, and Amber uncovered the plot, though Rel's involvement was hidden. To prevent the students from interfering again, Rel created the Faerun Scholars Program, and sent each student abroad to study.
On the 28th of Elient, the Cult of the Dragon made it's first major action of the Great Dragon War by launching the Raid on Tumbleton. During it, Don Rel managed to steal the Aethercore and escape with it. Rel retreated with the rest of the cult's forces to the base outside of Tumbleton before departing northward.
In mid-1492, Rel was in Castle Naerytar to investigate the location of the Gauntlet of the Black Dragon and to convince the black dragon Voaraghammanthar to join the cult. However, he fled through a teleportation circle when the Breadwinners and Force Grey agent Viné Seraph stormed the castle.
In Elient of 1492, Rel spent nearly all of his time in the Well of Dragons finishing the preparations needed to summon Tiamat, including raising the Chromatic Pentagram from Avernus into the Well's caldera. All of the wyrmspeakers in place, along with the three pieces of the Armor of Tiamat still in their possession, Rel set the ritual to complete on the 2nd of Marpenoth.
During the Battle at the Well of Dragons, Rel remained in the Chromatic Pentagram attempting to force the ritual to completion. At its tail-end, the Breadwinners arrived, attempting to disrupt it. Though Tiamat, had nearly broken through, and despite one last ditch effort by Rel, the Breadwinners killed the cult leader, sealing Tiamat in her prison in Avernus.

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Species

Half-Dragon

Life

1450 CR 1492 CR 42 years old

Circumstances of Death

Killed by the Breadwinners during the Battle at the Well of Dragons

Gender

Male

Aligned Organization

Cult of the Dragon