Melfen Ragoras

**Melfen Ragoras** was a Human that lived between 32 B.C. to 6 C.E. He was a childhood prodigy that went on to join the Scarhunter Organization tasked with spying on the Order of the Paryborn. Later in his life, Melfen became a prominent figure in the Cult of Tiamat, and was won over by a lust for power by Tiamat herself, becoming one of her most faithful servants until his inevitable death at the hands of the Heroes of Faerûn.

Melfen was trained as an apprentice mage in the city of Scornubel, but being dissatisfied by his training and him being bossed around by his superiors, Melfen stole valuable and powerful information and fled the city. Ever since, he has sought greater power in the world, even going so far as to joining a cult worshiping a long-banished evil dragon goddess.

## Background

### Childhood (32 B.C. - 17 B.C.)

Melfen Ragoras was born to the Scornubel nobles Karash and Darla Ragoras, the only child of the rich couple. Birthed into wealth, Melfen's parents sent him to a private school of spellcraft, a common occurrence for noble families in the city. It was noticed at a very young age, during his early teachings in the arcane arts, that Melfen had a natural talent in manipulating magic, and he was deemed a childhood prodigy by his teachers. It seemed as though every year, Melfen had actually advanced by three years in education, compared to his peers, who had a slow learning process.

At just the age of 11, Melfen was already entering the Mage's College in Scornubel, taking up the role of apprentice to the renowned archmage Vanrillis Tulch. Melfen was in awe of Vanrillis' knowledge of the arcane arts, but Vanrillis was in even more awe of Melfen's dedication to the subject, which proved it easy to teach the young pupil.

As Melfen's mind expanded, so did his desire to exemplify power, something that Vanrillis foresaw and feared. Melfen's attention shifted to focus on books from egotistical writers and powerful figures, as opposed to the intellectual and peaceful study books he had read before. He read about conquerors and kings, men who had put everyone beneath them to act as a pedestal that he may step upon, whose voices became command and law and order. The sheer thought of any amount of power over anyone at all excited Melfen, and his pursuit of power began.

   Melfen took to the Mage's College libraries, scouring the extraordinarily tall bookshelves and taking various scrolls and books, stuffing them into his robes and bags before heading back to his dorm room to deposit them in hidden locations. While stealing in the middle of the night, Melfen stumbled across a section of the library, blocked by a wrought iron gate and covered in chains and padlocks, a sign hanging above that read "off limits".

Curious, Melfen unlocked the padlocks through magic he had learned for escaping from imprisonment, and he silently wandered into the hidden nook behind the gate. Dark and musty, Melfen searched the forbidden library and found scrolls and books full of powerful spells and incantations, some of them bound in book covers made from metal. Melfen quickly flipped through the texts, breathing in the wealth of knowledge inked into the ancient vellum, from which he breathed the fumes of centuries past. Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Melfen snuffed out his light and stuffed several of the books into his bags, turning himself invisible at the last minute as someone walked into the forbidden library.

Melfen couldn't make out the face through the dark, but when they conjured up a faint light, Melfen noticed that it was his master, Vanrillis. Melfen was filled with ire at the sight of his master, he was tired of being commanded by an old and venerable man, and he was displeased by his demeaning status. Out of malice, Melfen revealed himself to his mentor for a moment, and with hatred in his eyes, he clutched Vanrillis' throat, channeling a dark magic through his body and draining the archmage's life. Vanrillis clutched desperately at Melfen's hand, barely able to choke out words. A wicked smile crept along Melfen's face as he watched his teacher suffer, and he clutched harder, throwing Vanrillis' lifeless body to the floor after he had sapped the energy from him, killing the archmage. Wisps of the soft orange glow of Vanrillis' soul drifted like candle smoke from his neck and Melfen's hand, dissipating in the air with the slight smell of honeydew.

   Melfen returned to his dorm and began packing important books and scrolls that he wished to take with him on his planned escape from the college. He collapsed on his bed and drifted off into sleep. The next morning, he was abruptly awoken by the city church bells ringing loudly. He hastily got out of bed and began to don a disguise, putting on stolen armor and wielding stolen weapons. He came to the realization that he couldn't take every book and scroll with him, so he took only the ones that he felt would be of good use to him.

As Melfen was about to step out of his dorm room, he heard the sound of collective armor rustling through the hall. He focused his magic to detect who was nearby, and he felt the presence of the city watch. Just as he shook himself out of his focus, he heard fierce pounding on his door, and he rushed for his window, kicking out the wooden frame and climbing along the outer edge of the college.

What Melfen had not anticipated was scaling down from the fifth floor to the ground level without slipping and falling. He knew that his magic could aid him, but he wasn't quite sure how to manipulate it in such a way, having never been in a situation such as this, and never daring to try it on his own time. He shimmied along an outer sill and looked down at his drop, something that would most definitely kill him from this height. Desperate for an escape, Melfen closed his eyes and focused on his magic, pushing himself off the building and falling away from it. He felt like he hit something, but when he opened his eyes and looked down, he was levitating inches off the ground, and when his mind lost focus of his spell, he hit the paved stone softly.

Melfen scrambled to his feet and began to run into the city, jumping over obstacles and dashing through alleyways. He was fairly certain the city watch had lost him, but he wasn't taking any chances, and so he raced for a way out of the city, knowing that the guards at the gates typically wouldn't have word of a criminal on the loose. When he finally reached the gate, still donning his disguise, he asked for permission to leave, and to his surprise, the guards complied, letting him leave Scornubel willingly.

Just outside the city gate was a caravan bearing an insignia he had never seen before, surrounded by men that looked like mercenaries. With nowhere else to go, Melfen approached the caravan and asked the men who they were and where they were headed. They were skeptical of Melfen, him barely being a teenager, but they replied anyway, naming themselves the Scarhunter Organization and stating that they were heading to the far off city of Waterdeep on a mission to put down a group of rebellious individuals. Melfen was interested in this mission, and he asked to join the Scarhunter Organization in his own words; "to bring order to the fair city of Waterdeep, and to put an end to those that oppose us". To this, the mercenaries laughed, and Melfen became annoyed.

After they finished laughing hysterically, they stopped and took a serious approach to his question, considering him useful as a spy for the Scarhunters as they attempted to root out their target; the Order of the Paryborn. The ringleader of the mercenaries, Gerald "The Bull" Windle, offered Melfen a position in their group, on the condition that he tells no one what he's a part of. Melfen agreed to this condition, and he joined the Scarhunters as they set off for Waterdeep.

### Order of the Paryborn (16 B.C. - 6 B.C.)

After a few months of acquainting himself with Waterdeep and their customs, which were vastly different from his luxurious life in Scornubel, he considered himself a fully fledged member of the Scarhunter Organization, conducting top secret missions and assassinations on the "spellscarred". He wasn't quite sure what these "spellscarred" people were and what they had done to the people of Waterdeep, but he had found a rather insatiable desire to kill.

In his prime, Melfen joined the Order of the Paryborn, but he only did so as a spy for the Scarhunters. He deceived the Order constantly and fed information directly into the Scarhunter Organization, giving them the whereabouts of lone wolf members, as well as journeys smaller groups of members may be going on. Through Melfen alone, at least fifty members of the Order had been killed off or captured for interrogation, only to be killed later.

Only two years into his induction, Melfen was already considered a mastermind among the other Scarhunters, and was held as a highly valued member. While working as a spy, Melfen caught word of an old member of the Scarhunters, a smuggler by the name of William Garrix, would be returning to Waterdeep after being gone for a few years, in dept to the organization.

Melfen put on a ruse and informed the Order that an important figure would be arriving to the city that they must keep a watch on, and he was accompanied by the hydronian Valythin to seek out this man. Melfen and Valythin watched William enter the city, being met with looks of concern and confusion as they all took notice of his silvered, scarred hand. Melfen and Valythin followed through the city as he left the crowd, Melfen having the plan of killing Valythin and William, and then telling the Order that Valythin was killed by the important man.

Instead, William was attacked by a group of Scarhunters who knew of Melfen's plan. Melfen was displeased with them, and he instructed Valythin to kill them as Melfen helped William back on his feet. Melfen's planned changed in the heat of the moment, and he explained that the men who attacked him were after him because of his spellscar, and he offered the man a place in the Order of the Paryborn if he ever needed work. He noticed William hesitate, but he eventually agreed, and Melfen slipped him a business card and left.

Melfen thought to himself that if William was part of the Order, and that he was a prime target for the Scarhunters, he could eventually lure William to a private location and kill him, just as he was supposed to. As William adjusted to the Order, earning the nickname "the Silver Hand" by Melfen, Melfen invisibly stalked his prey throughout the city, watching him wander the streets of Waterdeep, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Years passed as Melfen waited, and he was instructed to go on several business ventures with William, usually accompanied by a third wheel or some other group of Order members, preventing Melfen from making the kill. William opened up to Melfen, owing him his life, and sharing information on his past rather sympathetically. Melfen began to show remorse for William, and slowly began to regret his duties of killing him. As William taught Melfen about powerful artifacts that lay hidden all across the world, Melfen taught William about the Scarhunters, suddenly making second thoughts on the life he has been leading.

Then, while still spying on William as he was supposed to, Melfen noticed him head into a rather secret location within the city, some place he had never seen William go before. When Melfen followed him, he was met with an enthralling sight; the leader of the Order of the Paryborn, Gren Paryborn himself. Melfen was ecstatic, William had led him right into the perfect location, a place where he could receive powerful information on the Order.

After William and Gren spoke and William had left, Gren went back to studying in the confines of his secret shelter. Melfen, filled with a lust for blood, stepped in front of the old man's desk, removing himself from his invisibility. Gren was surprised to see Melfen step out of thin air, and before he could say a word, Melfen reached across the desk and grabbed the old man by the throat, pulling his life force out of him just as he did to his mentor so many years ago. After assassinating the Order's leader, Melfen felt powerful, and he felt good, so he stepped back into his invisibility and left the shelter, leaving the corpse of Gren Paryborn behind.

Upon return to the Scarhunter headquarters, Melfen reported his feat, and was met with disbelief and suspicion. The next day, when word had spread that Gren Paryborn was dead, the Scarhunters congratulated Melfen, and he was appointed as the second-in-command. This step up in power struck something malevolent in Melfen, and he had a new goal in mind; destroy the Order of the Paryborn for good, and kill William Garrix.