Lady Laeral Silverhand

**Lady Laeral Silverhand** is the Lady of Waterdeep and a powerful human wizard. During the war against the Cult of the Dragon, Laeral was elected to serve as the ruler of Waterdeep. She replaced Lord Dagult Neverember who lost the recall election. Lord Neverember's standing fell apart when it seemed he cared more about empowering and enriching himself rather than helping the people of Waterdeep.

Laeral represented Waterdeep in the Council of Waterdeep, a collection of world leaders, economic unions, and various other factions who joined together to fight the Cult of the Dragon. She was crucial in securing the alliance with the metallic dragons who despised their evil chromatic counterparts.

After the Cult of the Dragon was defeated along with their evil goddess Tiamat, Laeral and the remaining active members of the Council of Waterdeep sent Order of the Gauntlet forces to Chult. Their mission was to acquire resources to rebuild the heavily damaged continent of Faerun. Best Friends Caravan member Sir Lance Morewood joined the contingent led by Niles Breakbone. Niles was overzealous and saw Chult as nothing more than a savage land. This led to conflict with the Chultan Amazons who nearly wiped out Niles' forces. The Acquaintances With Weapons partnered with the Amazons and found Niles' camp. Neuriel Clasp helped heal the Gauntlet's sick and injured members, including Lance. The party retrieved the Amazonian stolen goods and fled a fight with Niles. With Niles injured, Lance took over the camp and sent the Gauntlet back to Waterdeep. Niles stayed behind to enact revenge, which he died trying to get. When the Acquaintances With Weapons met with the Council of Waterdeep while investigating the disappearance of several BFC members, they helped establish legitimate ties between Queen Maxima of Chult and the Council of Waterdeep,

Like much of the world, Laeral believed Sir Isteval's lies that his nephew Newt "Pansy" Pansington killed Tiamat and saved the Best Friends Caravan from Tiamat. With the help of the Acquaintances With Weapons, the BFC set the record straight. Pansy died fighting for his uncle's lie. Sir Isteval stepped down as Lord of Daggerford after confessing the truth. Laeral decreed Bragga Warhammer the true Slayer of Tiamat.

Like most of her people, Laeral fell victim to the Reverie and was trapped under its heart-shaped dome. In this reality, she continued to serve as the Lady of Waterdeep. Her castle became infested with a demonic plant called the alkilith, which served as the harbinger of the Abyss. The alkilith could transform humanoids into demons and create portals between the abyss and the material plane. The mother plant's spores charmed Laeral into taking care of it and she unwilling did its bidding. She was ultimately freed by the Acolytes in Sexy Tights. They also convinced her she destroyed Waterdeep's Tower of the Archmage and killed her ex, Archmage Asher Runestone, and all of her disciples. When the Acolytes tried to make her step down for this "criminal behavior," Laeral admitted she couldn't. She revealed that Waterdeep is in fact run by mysterious collective called The Silent Council and that she and all the other Lords and Ladies of Waterdeep were just figureheads.

Laeral brought the Acolytes to meet the Silent Council. To her astonishment, they were being kept in a sort of stasis and stored in a warehouse with thousands of others. Laeral executed Silent Councilwoman Lilian Viaten after she realized how corrupt and evil she was. The Lady of Waterdeep proposed that the Acolytes officially partner with her in defeating the Harlot Witch. If they help secure her rule over the city, she would make them her new Silent Council or appoint them to positions of power within the city.

The Acolytes decided never to officially partner with Laeral and only worked with her when they had no other choice. Even then, there was clear hostility between the parties. After the Reverie fell, Laeral never discovered who the Harlot Witch was due to the Acolytes' machinations. Clementine used her magic to make Laeral believe the Harlot Witch died with Bedlam and Tasha Nightshade. She continued to serve as Lady of Waterdeep after the Reverie fell. It's unclear what, if anything, Laeral did to the remaining Silent Council members to secure her own station. Laeral presented the Acolytes with the Key to the City for their heroism prior to their departure.

## Titles

* Lady of Waterdeep
* The Open Lord of Waterdeep