Last Name: Umbrynthal
Appearance
Race: Human, Netherese descent
Age: 23
Date of Birth: Eleint 15, 1328, The Year of the Adder
Height: 5'8" (1.73 m)
Weight: 117 lbs (53 kg)
Build: slender
Complexion: pale, clear
Eyes: piercing steel blue, wears reading spectacles
Hair: glossy raven black
Hair Style: short, and well kept
Apparel: expensive, well tailored, fastidiously neat
Personality Profile
General Health: generally good, though lately she appears more tired
Deity: Shar formerly Azuth, Mystra,
Initial Alignment: Lawful Evil (formerly Lawful Neutral)
Personality Traits: quiet, serious, formal, principled, austere, privileged, bookish, fastidious, entitled, arrogant, pedantic
Nature: lonely, jealous, insecure
Habits: adjusts glasses when annoyed
Speech: formal, precise, High-born Waterdhavian accent
Profession: Historian, student of the Art, Acolyte to Candlekeep
Base Class & Proposed Development: Wizard 7/10, Shadow Adept 10/10, Arcane Scholar 5/10
Hobbies: reading, history, ball and mallet
Languages: Arcane, Common, Illuskan, Alzhedo, Draconic, Thorass, Elven, Dwarvish, Loross, Netherese
Weapon of Choice: Crossbow
Background
Daughter to one of Waterdeep's minor but wealthy noble houses, Shaytessa Umbrynthal grew up protected, privileged, and prosperous; wanting for nothing save her father's love.
- Eleint 15, 1328, The Year of The Adder: Shaytessa and her twin sister Iradortha are born to Lady Margrethe Raventree and Lord Balthus Umbrynthal
- Shaytessa's father, Balthus Umbrynthal is a sharp and charismatic man, amassing a good fortune through shrewd investments, sharp business dealings and acting as liaison between the various merchant leagues, while quietly lending money to nobles who found themselves in debt.
- As a child Shaytessa is precociously inquisitive, while her sister Iradortha is much more relaxed and easy going.
- Tarsakh 8, 1331, The Year of the Leaping Dolphin: Lady Margrethe Raventree Umbrynthal gives birth to a son, Corthus
- Shay, Iri, and often their brother Corthus have many grand adventures together exploring the estate and terrorizing the staff.
- Shay is fiercly protective of her sister and younger brother.
- Shaytessa and Iradortha both receive instruction and education from private tutors. Upon being taught to read, Shaytessa begins voraciously consuming everything she can get her hands on, to fill her insatiable curiosity.
- Uktar 1335, while Lord Balthus is away on business Shaytessa and Iradortha's mother Magrethe and younger brother Corthus quickly fall ill and die from a strange fever, leaving seven year old Shaytessa and her sister Iradortha in the care of the household staff.
- Following her mother and brother's deaths, Shaytessa becomes exceptionally withdrawn, sometimes falling into catanonic staring fits.
- Bathus begins doting on Iri for her likeable charm and grace showering her with attention and gifts, while avoiding Shay's odd behavior and cool detachment. Shay withdraws further and further into books, often preferring to quietly read rather than go on "adventures" with her sister Iradortha.
- As the girls grow to young women, Shaytessa and her sister Iradortha receive instruction and training in social graces, etiquette and carriage at Mother Tamra's House of Graces on Mendever Street in Waterdeep's Castle Ward. Shaytessa does not so well, whereas Iradortha excels receiving high marks and praise.
- Shay begins to actively resent the attention her sister wins so effortlessly from others, and especially their father. Shay and Iri argue and fight like most sisters do, but Shay became increasingly withdrawn distraught as time goes on.
- In 1345, a collection of possessions belonging to Shay's patrilineal great grandfather are delivered to the Umbrynthal estate, including a locked trunk filled with books on the Art.
Taking it upon herself, Shay begins secretly studying the collection of ancient grimories that her great grandfather had assembled. Without proper training, Shay's research was a series of experiments, most of which led to little more than unpleasant odors and sounds within the house. - After an incident involving the release of an malevolent spirit within the estate, Lord Umbrynthal thereafter removed all of the grimoire's from Shay's possession and placed them under lock and key, and then hired wizard to instruct Shaytessa on the proper use of magic.
- Initially angry with her father for taking her books, Shay was thrilled by the opportunity to learn the Art from a real practitioner. Now with proper tutelage, Shay's skill in the Art grew rapidly, quickly mastering cantrips, and then proceeding to the First Circle, Shay seemed to have a natural talent.
- Shaytessa continued to watch as Iri blossomed, and their father lavished more and more attention upon Iri fueling Shaytessa's jealousy of her sister.
- However things changed in the house when Lord Umbrynthal had become entangled in financial trouble with House Margaster through a bad business venture. Lord Margaster, proposed forgiving the tremendous debt, in exchange for the merger of House Margaster and Umbrynthal, and his Iradaortha's hand in marriage. Aghas, and initially refusing the aging Lord Margaster's proposoal, Balthus reluctantly consents to the marriage.
Repulsed by the idea of marrying Lord Margaster, Iradortha begs her father not force her.
Angry at her sister's selfishness, Shaytessa lectures Iradortha on family responsibility, and when that has little effect, uses the Art to magically persuade her sister to accept Lord Margaster's proposal. - Kyrhorn 1349: The night before the wedding, Iradortha disappears from the Umbrynthal estate, sending the staff into panic. The following morning, Lord Margaster is found dead with a stab wound to his heart in an alley near The Inn of the Dripping Dagger in the Trades Ward, a witness gives an account of a young woman matching Iradortha's description being at the inn the previous night.
- All attempts to raise Lord Margaster fail, leaving House Margaster with many unanswered questions, and suspicions falling upon Iradortha and House Umbrynthal.
- Lord Umbrynthal, beside himself in grief and worry, offers substantial rewards for any information regarding his daughter, but as time passes, he began to lose hope.
- Nightal 1349, Balthus receives news that a young woman matching Iradortha's description had been seen in Baldur's Gate. Preferring to keep things quiet, and not knowing who to trust, Lord Umbrynthal sends Shaytessa to find her sister and bring her home.
- Infuriated for having to abandon her studies, Shaytessa arrives by ship in Baldur's Gate to search for her Sister.
- Eventually Shaytessa finds Iradortha, but in those few months Iri claims had fallen in love with a tribesman from the Savage North, and worse than that, they planned to marry. Attempting to take her sister home by force, Shaytessa learns that Iradortha is under the protection of House Vol, who threatens Shay should she try to take Iri home by force.
- Anticipating her father's reaction should she return home without his beloved "Iri", Shaytessa despondently resigns herself to remaining on the Sword Coast, waiting for Iradortha to come to her senses.
Goals
- Convince her sister Iradortha to break with Bala and return home to Waterdeep - failed
- Gain her father's respect and admiration - failed
- Gain access to the Libraries of Candlekeep that she might further her studies - partial
- Become skilled in the Art -accomplished
- Become a Master of the Art -accomplished
- Discover how to successfully interact with people in a way that feels natural to her, yet doesn't come across as insulting. - mostly failed
- Become an Acolyte of Candlekeep -accomplished
- Learn the true identity of the voice inside Shay's head - accomplished
- Learn the secrets of the Shadow Weave from "Grandmother" Lashartanna Umbranthal -accomplished
- Master the Shadow Weave -accomplished
- Unlock the Netherese Puzzlebox - accomplished
- Create an exact copy of the map to last known locations of all Netherese Enclaves prior Karsus's Folly -accomplished
- Remove the personality of Lashartanna Umbranthal from her consciousness -accomplished
- Assist in creating a clone body for Lashartanna -accomplished
- Author a language primer, grammatical and lexicon on both Loross and Netherese -accomplished, unpublished
- Author a biography of Lashartanna Umbranthal -mostly accomplished, unpublished
- Correct and revise and expand upon current histories of Netheril -mostly accomplished, unpublished
- Create redundant hidden copies of journals and spellbooks in the event of mind alteration. -accomplished
- Regain control of the Netherese construct sentience construct -failed
- Discover what became of the Enclave of Thultanthar (Shade) - unfinished
- Discover the process that enabled Lashartanna to embed her consciousness in the blood of her descendants -partial sucess
- Learn the secerts of blood magic
- Perfect cloning
- Explore memory transfer, storage and manipulation
- Obtain samples of the Waters of Lethe
- Destroy Lashartanna
- Destroy Seryna
- Destroy Nazeera
- Gain access to War Council meetings -partial sucess
- Contact General of Netherese forces -accomplished, failed negotiations
- Contact leader of Netherese enclave -failed
- Protect Baldur's Gate from the Netherese forces - failed
- Dissuade suspicion of revering "evil" gods -failed
- Seek aslyum from Shar -failed
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts:
House Umbrynthal
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