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Asphodel
Born to unknown parents on another plane, presumably somewhere in Mystara,
Asphodel comes from an unusual draconic race rarely if ever seen in on Toril. As
a relatively young (in dragon years) Amethyst Dragon, she has had difficulty
fending for herself alone in an extremely hostile world. Her early life was a
peaceful one, as she was raised by a kindly family of Silver Dragons in the
mountains near the Spine of the World. When she was old enough that it became
obvious that she was “adopted”, she eventually chose to move on and make her
way in the world, taking only a few gifts from her family to start on her way.
Asphodel
quickly found that life in the human world was difficult and brutal. While she
once had a human “friend”, while she hid her own race under the guise of
human form as many dragons do, she was swiftly betrayed when she revealed her
true nature. This sad event has lead to her having a certain sadness and
distrust when dealing with most humans and other humanoid creatures. She has
spent a relatively large amount of time adventuring, most of it alone. Her
unusual heritage has lead to even more unusual allies.
When Proctiv’s Egg was found and
released from its bonds by a powerful half-draconic sorcerer, Asphodel was among
the first to be trampled by the invading darkness that followed. The half-dragon
sorcerer was among her few friends, and they made the mistake of using her lair
as a rally point while they determined how to deal with the egg and its powerful
contents. It was near her lair that another of their companions, a Deep Gnome
wizard, shattered the egg with a successful Mordenkainen’s Disjunction spell.
The terrible force unleashed filled the entire surrounding area with a tangible
black smoke, much of which covers Asphodel’s home, leaving it uninhabitable.
Asphodel’s only true companion and
constant comfort is her intelligent Staff of the Magi, whom she has named,
“Gina Masters.” As a “young” creature, Asphodel innocently has been
attempting to find a “male” magical item to pair with “Gina”.
When Asphodel was forced to leave her
home, the Arcane Knight known as Salaris offered her a place to stay. Salaris,
the younger “son” of Andarin Lightblade, her shelter in a small Citadel
devoted to Torm where he had stayed as a child. Sadly, their enemies were not
far behind. A powerful group of assassins had been sent to kill Asphodel and
take her body for “research”, hired by an unknown force. Rumors indicate
that the Red Wizards of Thay may have been the source, but the only thing that
has been confirmed so far is that the Dark Paladin was not involved.
Unfortunately, one of his children was. While staying in the Citadel, Asphodel
and her companions met a “Monk of Illmater” who appeared to be one of the
caretakers for the location. When an elder red dragon appeared to attack, the
“Monk” who had gained their trust thrust a poisoned rapier into Asphodel’s
back, severely wounding her. Fortunately, the companions were able to hold off
the powerful dragon and this assassin long enough for Salaris to arrive and join
the fray. Jacinth, the assassin, was taken off guard by Salaris’ use of a Holy
Blade, and forced to retreat upon suffering wounds he could not regenerate. The
red dragon was slain, and Asphodel was forced to move on again.
Salaris, feeling terrible that he had
unknowingly lead her into a trap, escorted her to the mountain where her family
lived. Her foster parents were still very much the same as when she had left
them, since dragons age so slowly. She spent several blissful months catching up
with her family, before moving on to make a new nest of her own. Salaris came to
visit her and told her that Jacinth seemed to have disappeared, and that he
would send news when he knew more.
News came in the form of a human
Bard. Aurin had met Asphodel only once before, at a tavern with Salaris, and he
had been enchanted by her unearthly beauty. With very, very little idea what he
was getting into, he had gladly volunteered to escort the beautiful maiden
safely to any destination on Toril she wished. Of course, this was far beyond
his capabilities, but her request was simple enough; he was to take her to an
old abandoned Library near Candlekeep, once devoted to Oghma, where she could
study in relative peace and safety. It wasn’t long before they realized they
were being followed. Fortunately, the assassins that dogged their tracks were
not the same ones that had assaulted her before, but more little more than
simple sellswords. After a few brief battles, they reached the area with
relatively few difficulties, and Aurin gave Asphodel a long and difficult
farewell.
It wasn’t long before Asphodel
found her way into trouble again. Study quickly (by dragon standards) grew
tedious for her, and Asphodel had the bad (good?) fortune of teleporting into
the forested realm just outside of Myth Drannor in her searching for Salaris.
After accidentally removing the powerful Petrification spell that had been
holding a Green Dragon captive for several centuries, she managed to find her
way into the Dark Paladin’s home. The events that followed were perhaps some
of the most inexplicable in the history of Myth Drannor; after a brief (and
remarkably nonviolent) encounter, Aerin hired the Neutral Good dragon as his
“gardener”. She gleefully accepted, taking on the role of caretaker for the
forests surrounding his land, until Salaris decided to stop by and check on
her…
Note: Asphodel’s Character
Sheet is not up to date. Her more recent character sheet uses a lower age
category with a high number of Sorcerer levels to better represent her
statistics and spell casting ability. This will be posted as soon as I can
obtain a recent copy.