Elminster Aumar Elminster Aumar , also known as the " Sage of Shadowdale " and the " Old Mage " , was one of the most famous and powerful wizards in all of Faerûn , as well as a fair fighter and thief . Description . As a high - level wizard , Elminster was capable of taking on almost any appearance imaginable . In his natural state , Elminster appeared as a gray - bearded man of weathered visage , gruff tone , alert eyes , and nondescript attire . He was almost always smoking a meerschaum pipe that was spouting some vile blue or green smoke . Elminster ' s most distinguishing physical feature was his hawk - like nose . Personality . A natural storyteller , Elminster was normally a witty , clever , and very charming man . He was a consummate actor , however , and could be imperious , grave , and terrible as the situation demanded . He rarely revealed the full extent of his true nature to anyone who was not an extremely close friend . He could portray himself as a trickster , a rake , a stern father figure , or any other stereotype he wanted to assume , depending on what he wanted to accomplish or what reaction he wanted to elicit from those around him . Elminster snored loudly while sleeping , although he muted this magically if it would disturb friends . It should be noted that as one of Mystra ' s Chosen , Elminster did not need to sleep . History . Early life . Elminster was born in 212 DR to Elthryn , who was the lord of the village of Heldon and a prince of Athalantar , and his wife Amrythale , in the kingdom of Athalantar . His family was killed by a malaugrym named Undarl , one of the magelords of the ancient kingdom of Athalantar . Taking up his father ' s broken sword , the Lion Sword , the symbol of the great king of the Stag Throne , Uthgrael Aumar , who was Elminster ' s grandfather , Elminster became a brigand and a thief at the ripe age of twelve . He soon realized , however , that he had no taste for killing , and gave it up when he went to become a burglar in the city of Hastarl , the capital of Athalantar . He met and formed a bond of friendship with a young thief , Farl , who knew Elminster as " Eladar the Dark " . They committed many acts of thievery together and lived life fully , later forming the gang the Velvet Hands in opposition to a rival gang , the Moonclaws , who were servants of the magelords . Later , during a burglary , Elminster met the Magister of the time , Dorgon " Stonecloak " Heamilolothtar , the wizard who bore the mantle of Azuth ' s power . When asked if he was interested in learning sorcery , Elminster refused , as he hated all mages because of the magelords . After many adventures , Elminster was visited by Mystra , the Goddess of All Magic . She tarried with him and left the awestruck Elminster with the message that he should learn magic and worship her . Soon thereafter , while he was still a young adult , Mystra transformed Elminster into a woman to strengthen his bond with magic and to know what it was to be a woman . This change also allowed her , now called " Elmara " , to move within his enemies ' circles without their knowledge that she was in fact the last surviving prince of Athalantar . For a few years , Elmara was a priestess of Mystra . Later , an avatar of Mystra ( who went by the name Myrjala Talithyn , or " Darkeyes " ) trained Elmara in the ways of a mage and brought her to an ancient Netherese archmage known as Ander who taught Elmara a spell that would transform her back into Elminster . In the time that followed , Elminster learned much about magic from Myrjala , reaching the point where he could finish taking his revenge against the evil magelords who had usurped the kingdom . After a terrific battle , Elminster persevered and assumed the throne of Athalantar . However , no sooner had he gained the kingship than he passed it to one one of his friends , Helm Stoneblade , a knight of Athalantar . Elminster stated that he had wanted to avenge his family ' s death , not become a monarch . As he and Myrjala left the kingdom , the Mage Royal , Undarl , attacked them , and the sorceress revealed herself to be Mystra . She offered to make Elminster one of her Chosen , and he readily accepted . Around 241 DR , Elminster traveled to the city of Cormanthor , where he continued his magical studies as an apprentice to a cruel and powerful wizard and living among the ancient elven society . Elminster remained in Cormanthor for over two decades , and was present when the " mythal " was raised and the city was renamed Myth Drannor . Somewhere around the mid – 7th century DR , Elminster entered a tomb and became trapped there in stasis for roughly a century . He emerged from the dusty tomb in 759 DR . By now , magic had become unreliable , and Elminster had to again learn to survive by his wits and the skills he ' d picked up earlier in his life . The god Azuth soon came to him telling him that he must rely on Mystra for aid like any other Chosen must with magic . Soon he had to learn how to survive without constant divine aid . He later underwent further magical training under the tutelage of a wicked sorceress who sought to tempt him away from Mystra ' s path . Later , during a fake ritual for Bane , she revealed herself to be the goddess Mystra herself , once again testing him . Elminster later served as a foster parent to three other of Mystra ' s Chosen : Laeral Silverhand , Storm Silverhand , and Dove Falconhand . He was also suspected of having something to do with the founding of Waterdeep , or at least with the organizing of the city ' s lords . In 1336 DR , Elminster visited the Moonshae Isles . Elminster was instrumental in forming the Rangers Three , who aided him in recurring battles with the mysterious Shadowmasters during this time . The Time of Troubles . In 1358 DR , as the critical moment of the Time of Troubles approached , Mystra knew of what was to come and she shed most of her power into Midnight , the human wizard , so that all of her essence would not cease to exist . Since Elminster obtained his power from Mystra , this change left him personally powerless at a critical juncture . During the Time of Troubles , Elminster defended Shadowdale from an army of Zhentarim led by the avatar of Bane . Bane and Elminster battled , and both were caught up in the spell that Elminster had called upon to dispose of the avatar . Elminster was originally thought to have been destroyed , but when he later reappeared it became apparent that he had merely been transported to another plane of existence for a time . In Elminster ' s absence , the foes of good tried to rally , but the other Chosen , the Knights of Myth Drannor , and the Rangers Three held them at bay until he returned . With the present crisis averted , all seemed calm , but the Shadowmasters had other ideas . Elminster and the Rangers Three , along with their allies , managed to frustrate and foil the plans of this race of shapeshifters . Elminster also confronted the Overgod , Lord Ao , over his instigation of the Time of Troubles while innocents were being killed . He recruited one of the Rangers Three , Sharantyr , and they equipped themselves from Elminster ' s cache of magical items , which would still function . The two of them were later reunited with the other two members of the band , Itharr and Belkram , but even the Rangers Three could not prevent Elminster from being wounded in battle . Despite this setback , Elminster and the Rangers , along with their allies , not only freed High Dale and defeated Manshoon of the Zhentarim , but they also outlasted the Time of Troubles , and Elminster regained his magic . In the 1360s DR . He aided Abdel Adrian and his companions , making occasional appearances to the party , both to check on their progress , and to impart wisdom in regards to their quest in the Bhaalspawn crisis . In the Nine Hells . After the floating city of Thultanthar returned to Faerûn in 1372 DR after its exile in the Plane of Shadow , the Shadovar came to Shadowdale to ambush Elminster . In the confrontation , spells were thrown , and Storm Silverhand blasted one of the shadow princes with a ball of " silver fire " . Since shadovar were living shadow magic , and silver fire was pure Weave magic , the collision between the two tore at the fabric of reality , creating a rift to the Nine Hells . Elminster realized that the only way to close the portal before legions of devil s spilled forth into Toril was to close it from the other side . Elminster entered the portal and narrowly managed to close it , but at the expense of much of his magical strength . Once in Hell , he was abducted and enslaved by an outcast archdevil known as Nergal , who wished to discover the secret of Mystra ' s " silver fire " . Elminster was subject to brutal tortures , surviving only because of his exceptional endurance and ability to heal himself with " silver fire " . While the arch - fiend plundered Elminster ' s thoughts and memories , Mystra became aware of her favorite servant ' s plight and entered Hell herself to find him . Realizing that her presence in Hell was overly conspicuous , Mystra retreated and dispatched more subtle agents to find him , first Halaster Blackcloak the Mad Mage of Undermountain ( who was defeated ) , and then the Simbul . After much searching , the Simbul found him , and together they defeated Nergal and returned home . In the 1370s DR . A few years later , Elminster discovered a daughter he had never known , Narnra Shalace , in Marsember . Because of her curiosity , Narnra quickly found herself involved not only in Elminster ' s activities but also in the intrigues of the Cormyrean nation . Elminster later secretly helped a small group of adventurers near Westgate at the village of Reddansyr , investigating the fate of a clone of Manshoon , and unmasking the real leader of Night Masks of Westgate , the Night King known as " The Faceless " ( the Manshoon clone , now known as Orbakh ) , three years after the Manshoon Wars in the year of 1373 DR . On Nightal 15 1374 DR , Shar ran agents attempted to steal the " Ebon Diadem " from Elminster ' s tower . Due to the essence of the artifact and the sheer power of Elminster ' s wards , on whose power the artifact fed , the Sharrans defeated Elminster ( though not without losing most of their number ) and a " contingency " spell whisked Elminster away , while his tower itself was blasted into ruin and transported to another , unknown plane . Post - Spellplague . Following the death of Mystra in 1385 DR and the collapse of the Weave in the Spellplague , Elminster was stripped of many of his abilities as one of the Chosen , though he still aged as slowly as he had for the previous millennium and was still quite powerful magically . However , every use of his magic drove him to — and sometimes over — the brink of insanity . When this happened , only Storm was able to bring his mind back , giving of her own essence to soothe Elminster ' s mind . Elminster could still cast minor cantrip s at times — and had , on several occasions , cast minor illusions — without going mad , though this wasn ' t always the case . Despite these setbacks , Elminster and Storm continued with their campaign to save Faerûn , battling evil where they could . For years , the two of them pretended to be " Elgorn " and " Stornara Rhauligan " , " repairers of ever - crumbling stone , plaster , tapestries , and wood " in the royal palace of Suzail , spying on and testing the loyalties of War Wizard s and nobles alike . On one occasion , Elminster even stole into the bedchambers of King Foril Obarskyr and made changes to the Suzail Writ , while his majesty slept not a spear - length away . In 1479 DR , after finally admitting that they needed help saving the Realms , and having run out of easy - to - steal magic items to feed to the Simbul , Elminster sought to gain access to artifacts known to contain the spirits of the Nine — objects powerful enough to pierce the wards surrounding the royal palace or , Elminster believed , to permanently restore the Simbul ' s sanity . He also sought to recruit the efforts of a descendant of his , Amarune Whitewave . During one of his excursions into the palace , Elminster ' s body was destroyed by Manshoon , who had secretly been peeling away the Old Mage ' s contingency spells over several years . However , Manshoon departed before he realized that Elminster had survived his body ' s destruction in a near - undead state . With the agreement of Amarune and the aid of Storm , Elminster ' s essence was placed in Amarune ' s body with the aid of a spell the ex - Chosen had discovered in a cache once belonging to Azuth . He then sought to train his great - granddaughter while attempting to defend the Forest Kingdom from Manshoon and traitorous nobles alike . Later , thanks to the sacrifice of the Simbul , he regained his former body again and ruined for good Manshoon ' s claim to the throne of Suzail . In 1487 DR , Elminster ( with the help of the Srinshee , Alustriel , and Laeral Silverhand ) stopped Shar as well as Larloch from becoming the new deity of magic . He killed Telamont Tanthul and let Thultanthar fall upon Myth Drannor . Along the way , Mystra was completely restored . Relationships . Family Tree . Allies . His allies included the Harpers , the other Chosen of Mystra ( especially the Simbul , his paramour ) , and Mystra herself , as well as Lhaeo , his scribe , and good people everywhere . Elminster interacted regularly with the other Chosen of Mystra through a telepathic link . As well as once sharing a bed with the goddess herself , he conducted a relationship with the Simbul of the Seven Sisters . Elminster and Khelben " Blackstaff " Arunsun had something of a rivalry , whilst Volo sorely taxed the old mage ' s patience . Apprentices . Elminster once ( briefly ) had a Calishite apprentice named Raerlin , who stole the key to Elminster ' s closet in order to obtain a powerful spellbook ( or possibly a phylactery ) . When Elminster retrieved the key in 1336 DR at a magefair with the help of Storm Silverhand and subsequently opened the closet , Raerlin appeared as a lich . He was defeated when Storm burnt the pages of the tome Raerlin was after . Skills . According to Lyra Sunrose , Elminster was skilled with a needle and thread , having sewn a blouse for her . Elminster was a poor horseman . Works . Elminster penned a number of books in his time including " " . Quotes . Elminster on : Residence . These notices could be found on the side of the path leading to Elminster ' s tower in Shadowdale :