Zalia Deaththorne

Zalia (circa 1490 DR)

*"'Nettle**...Shut. Up.**"*
― Zalia repeating herself for the 27th time in a single hour.

**Zalia Deaththorne** is a Drow Wizard who specializes in the school of Necromancy. Caring, patient, and arachnophobic, her personality is far from the Drow of the Underdark due to being raised on the surface.

Always guarded by her undead wards, she is also almost never seen without her best/worst friend, the sentient Hand Crossbow, Nettle. When the situation is dire, she calls upon Blacktalon, her Gryphon, to aid her in battle.

Zalia is played by Kristoff Alejo.

## **Intro**

You smell it before you see them. The odor of strong perfume permeates from a shabbily-dressed, dark skinned elf with unkempt, blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She is not alone, however, surrounding her are figures whose features are mostly hidden by the dark cloak they wear.

"Hello there," the Drow starts with a thick yet smooth accent, "I am Zalia Deaththorne, I bear no title nor seek glory, but know that I am here before you in the name of ridding the world of evil. Please, do not mind my companions, they are prisoners who serve their sentence by aiding us in the coming travel."

Before Zalia continues, you hear a muffled voice coming from her person. She closes her eyes, all while making an annoyed face. "A-and...*this,*" Zalia brings out a dilapidated hand crossbow; two foggy, green glass baubles hangs from the handgrip alongside a blue feather.

**"Ahhhh!"** A sigh of relief comes from the crossbow **"Thought I'd never get out of there! So glad to see the light again! And what is that stench!? Crack open a window or somethin'! Smells like a Troglodyte's first prom night. Nyehehehe!"** The crossbow emits a cracked and high voice.

"This is Nettle." Zalia introduces her weapon, with a tinge of disgust and shame in her tone. "He will be helping us. At least, *will try* to."

As a barmaid passes to deliver your drinks, you begin to realize that the exaggerated perfume masks another stench. "Now that we're acquainted with..." Zalia grins with a hint of malice. Underneath the fragrance -- is the stench of rotting flesh. *"What would you ask of Death?"*

**"Hey Barmaid! Can I motorboat those pupp--"** Nettle is interrupted by Zalia angrily slamming him at the table.

## **Description**

### **Appearance**

Zalia shares many features common to that of a drow, with platinum blonde hair and purple skin. But due to her lengthy exposure to the sun, her skin is a lighter shade of purple. She neglects her hair, leading it to become straggly, but is styled in a pony tail to prevent her vision.

Her wardrobe is limited to the purple robe of her former mentor, which has been mended and sewn over several decades, covered by a shroud in place of a cloak. A pin with the insignia of the Harpers is used as a brooch. Nettle also hangs on Zalia's belt, which she tries her best to conceal and muffle.

### **Personality**

Zalia is pragmatic and outspoken.She is usually patient with others, but does not hold back when criticizing something or someone; the recipient of her berating is usually Nettle. She acts as a mother figure: making sure her companions are safe from danger, and even scolding them for if they make her worried. She is also fond of children. Zalia feels discomfort at the very mention of spiders due to her phobia, earning her some mocking from Nettle and her close companions.

However, Zalia's sense of morals is loose, and she believes in the end justifying the means; her only strict code is to turn any evil into an undead for a chance of "redemption." Zalia strongly believes in the elevation of the status of non-human races — in the back of her mind, Zalia may actually consider humans as the inferior race.

## **Biography**

### **Early life**

Zalia was raised by human parents after she was abandoned as an infant. She lived in a decrepit farming village in the border nations of the Hordelands. It was called "The Barrens" after its dry soil and lack of children. Zalia's youth was a fairly lonely one, not because there were no people her age, but also because of the lack of non-humans. She would be judged and rejected by the villages save for those who raised her.

     One day, when out in an errand, she came across a Tiefling hermit in the woods. Curious about a new character, she would interact with the tiefling from time to time. He was a practitioner of the Art of Magic, and would tutor Zalia in the basics of magic if she would bring him basic necessities from the village and keep his existence a secret. He also instilled stories on how humans would mistrust Tieflings and Drows, and in some cases, all non-humans.

     Before a decade passed, a devastating plague swept across the land, which took many lives including Zalia's foster parents. The remaining humans, who believed she was responsible, chased her away. She made the mistake of running to her mentor, where he was captured and accused of orchestrating the plague. The tiefling was then executed. Zalia escaped the villagers, and with grief, took her master's belongings and ran away.

       After years of piecing her master's notes together in solitude, she found out that her master had extensive research in necromancy and the topic of lichdom. He was attempting to find a way to create a phylactery that did not need the sustenance of souls to retain the form of a lich. Zalia believed that by becoming a Lich, she can soon build a world where humans and non-humans would live in peace, and she would achieve it even if it took hundreds or thousands of years. Knowing full well the taboo of necromancy, Zalia swore to herself that she would only raise evil beings into undeath, so that she may bind their souls to their mortal bodies and force them to do good in an effort to "redeem" them in a twisted fashion.

     With this, Zalia set forth to travel the world and complete her master's research, find the materials to gain immortality, and achieve her dream.

### **Early Career**

Zalia began her adventuring career in the region of Hillsfar. She despised the Red Plume and the government's treatment of non-humans, but this was the best place to start as it allowed her to observe the injustice that non-humans received. She would then travel across the Moonsea region, and her actions would take the interest of the Harpers. Zalia joined the Harpers in the hopes of uncovering the knowledge the faction had locked away from the rest of the world, and if it will aid her research and quest for lichdom.

She was one of the adventurers assigned to take back the city of Phlan from Vorgansharax and the Cult of the Dragon. Zalia took to the skies and supported the adventurers who would invade the inner city atop her new-found companion: an elder gryphon named Blacktalon. It was also in the retaking of Phlan that she would come across Nettle, the sentient crossbow. Despite Nettle's consistent blathering, Zalia held on to Nettle as the idea of transferring a soul to an inanimate object will aid in her understanding of manipulating souls.

### **Creating the Bleeding Hearts Guild**

After the success of the reclamation of Phlan, Zalia travelled west, to the Anauroch desert. Zalia was still dogged by the bias of her race, and due to her occupation as a necromancer, she kept away from settlements and avoided contact with other travelers. She began gathering more potential ingredients in the desert, and set up a temporary camp site a few miles away from a village to retrieve basic necessities. However, rumors of Zalia's undead servants began to circulate and attracted a pair of adventurers: Vincent Dawnstrider and Hope. The pair investigated Zalia's camp and destroyed her undead servants in a misunderstanding. Zalia attempted to drive the pair off, but was overpowered by Vincent and the Blue Rose. Vincent wanted to turn Zalia in to the villagers, but Hope saw that she did not mean any harm and invited her to travel with them. Zalia initially refused, but then accepted when the young boy protected her from the villagers.

Zalia would travel with Vincent and Hope as they headed northwest to the Sword Coast. She took an interest in Hope during their journey, and the trio's number would increase as their group would include Shantor the Beautiful, Lenneth, and Yvaine Stargazer during their adventure.

### **Later Adventures**

Zalia's early career was promising, as she was involved in numerous key events from Phlan to Maerimydra. The Bleeding Hearts guild was commissioned by the factions of Faerun to aid in fighting the fire giant warlord "The Iron Baron" Ugarak, as well as stopping the Druegar from taking Durgeddin the Black's armory in Khundrukar. Unbeknowst to her companions, Zalia would retrieve the magical rune stones that bound a fire elemental to armor, and a Black Soul Opal from these areas, both of which are rare ingredients that she would experiment on to create her phylactery.

The Guild proceeded to go east once again, back to the Moonsea region. The Brotherhood of the Cloaks from Mulmaster required help concerning a Thayan expedition. At this time, however, the Elemental Cultists have ravaged the city, opening the doors to the Thayan support. Zalia saw this as an opportunity to gather even more knowledge, as it is no secret that Thay is populated with master necromancers. By creating a reputation with the Thayvians, Zalia may be closer to uncovering the secrets of lichdom. She was sent to investigate a Netheril ruin and uncover the horrors of the Writhing Battery. The Bleeding Hearts and their companions would escape only by a hair's width from the creature they unleashed.

The guild could not respite, however, as they were called upon by their factions to aid in dealing with the demonic threat of the Underdark, and destroy the Dark Prince Graz'zt. Having knowledge and experience in large-scale battles, both Vincent and Zalia led the assault on the Drow city of Maerimydra,and banished Graz'zt. Once again, Zalia would collect a sample of the Writing Battery's prison, and ichor from the Graz'zt's blade, Wave of Sorrow, for her research. These ingredients were not all necessary for creating a phylactery, and are mostly experimental and largely trial-and-error.

Celebrating their success in Maerimydra, Zalia would study the Writing Battery and would leave the guild briefly to pursue more knowledge about it. She headed to Candlekeep along with a new set of companions from the factions. Once in Candlekeep, Zalia and her companions were teleported unexpectedly into the Warlock's Crypt, the lair of the infamous Larloch the Shadow King. Seeking answers, the adventurers delved deeper into the ruins, where they meet Rhaugilath the Ageless. The lich tested the characters and sent them to destroy Larloch's Writing Battery, leading to a decisive battle against its corrupted guardian. This experience would stay in Zalia's mind, and she hopes that she can contact Rhaugilath in the future.

### **The Breaking of the Guild and Lichdom**

Years have passed since Zalia joined the Bleeding Hearts Guild, and at last, Zalia has completed the formula for sustainable Lichdom. Instead of anchoring her soul to an inanimate object, her soul would be bound with another's. As long as both souls remained in the material realm, their bodies would reform indefinitely. It was similar to the effects of the Thayan's Umbral Snare, but greater in magnitude. However, her problem was that the surrogate soul needed to share the same blood, and Zalia had no knowledge of her own clan. Zalia would instead choose Hope so that she may bear a son for him, and turn the child into a phylactery. Zalia's relationship with the boy had grown considerably since their initial meeting, and their similarities and her maternal affection for Hope is what lead Zalia to choose him.

After her plan succeeded through questionable means, she wiped Hope's memory of the event to keep her mission a secret. The Guild would then come face to face with Vincent's enemy, the Cult of the Chimera, who were responsible for wiping out the Knights of the Blue Rose. Unfortunately, the Guild would be overpowered by the cult at the last moment, as their intentions were to release the Demon Lord trapped within the Blue Rose. Vincent was controlled by the Blue Rose to slay Lenneth, and the leader of the cult threw Hope into a Sphere of Annihilation.

### **Undeath**

The defeat broke the Bleeding Hearts in both body and spirit. With Hope's death and Zalia's failure to protect him, she left the guild in grief. Zalia would retreat into the Orsraun Mountains, where she would carve her lair in the peak of one of the mountains. The Ritual of Undeath was prepared right before she would give birth to her child. The moment her son left her body, Zalia bound her soul to his, killing Zalia and raising her into a lich.

Taking the name of Vasharyx, Zalia would convert the denizens of Orsraun into her servants, and those that defied her she raised as undead slaves. Continuing her twisted code of only raising evil beings into undeath, Vasharyx took the title of "The Warden of Souls," as reference to her keeping and torturing the souls of evil dragons, fiends, and even other powerful undead.

   All while building the beginnings of her empire, she would raise her son and name him Vel'rayne. Vasharyx would keep Nettle as Vel'rayne's companion and lock away everything else from her past, especially those concerning Hope. Vasharyx was queer for a lich for she hoarded neither magic items, knowledge, nor any source of power. She kept mostly to her lair, only dealing with trespassers in the vicinity to keep her existence a secret. Vel'rayne was the subject of Vasharyx's obsession, and she guarded him like an overprotective mother. Vasharyx still felt distraught about Hope and decided that she would not let any harm come to Vel'rayne and would keep him in her lair for the rest of his life. She would hide knowledge of her past from Vel'rayne and claim that Vel'rayne's real mother and father were dead (which was not far from the truth), and had Vasharyx raise him in their place.

Vasharyx was not bound to her lair, however, she would come out from time to time to meet with a select Harper agents under the guise of Zalia. She was determined to keep her lichdom a secret from the world. Through the Harpers, she was able to create a network of spies, which would be useful in increasing Vasharyx's influence over the outside world, a precursor to her dream of absolute peace between humans and non-humans.

In rare moments, Vasharyx would scry upon her former companions and even meet with Yvaine. She witnessed Vincent's costly success against the Blue Rose and his alias as Socrethar; she watched Shantor the Beautiful's rise to power and building an empire on gunpowder and superior technology; she also oversaw Yvaine's creation of the Cult of the Eye. Vasharyx, however, would ignore the machinations of her former companions, as long as it did not conflict with her vision.

### **The Flight of Vel'rayne**

As Vel'rayne grew older, he would become curious about his parents, remaining oblivious to Vasharyx's true relation to his mother. The lich would dismiss these concerns and still keep him close, away from the outside world. But Vel'rayne's inquisitiveness about his parents and the world beyond the lich's lair, to which he was only exposed through books, soon got the best of him. Ignoring his surrogate mother's warnings, Vel'rayne took off to the guarded sanctuary of the Vasharyx. He retrieved as many items that would help him outside and used the teleporter, which was the only way in and out of the lair.

Upon coming back and finding out about Vel'rayne's disappearance, Vasharyx grew distraught at the loss of her son, and searched for him relentlessly. Vel'rayne's knowledge of Vasharyx's magic allowed him to avoid her divination spells. The lich sought the aid of Yvaine and used her servant, Eclipse, to bring Vel'rayne back home, forcibly if needed.

## **Relationships and Affiliations**

### **Nettle**

Zalia had the misfortune to come across the sentient hand crossbow during the liberation of Phlan from the Dragon Cult. They have an interesting relationship to say the least, spectators would liken Nettle and Zalia to a comedy routine, with them playing the funny and straight man respectively. Nettle is wielded by her in combat as a unique arcane focus.

Nettle's original form was that of a halfling whose soul was transmogrified by an unnamed wizard centuries ago. His time in White Plume Mountain, as well as knowledge of other sentient weapons such as Hazirawn, Dawnbringer, and Orcsplitter has proved useful in Zalia's research of sentience and the soul. Despite proving to be a burden to Zalia for several years, she has not yet abandoned Nettle due to a deal they have struck in the past: Nettle would impart all he knows about his life as an inanimate object to aid in Zalia's quest of shaping souls, in exchange for her finding a way to grant Nettle his old, halfling body back.

### **Hope**

Hope (Unrelated to Ynuff) is a Tiefling cleric of Hestia who travels alongside Zalia in the Bleeding Hearts mercenary guild. He was the first to accept her into the group despite initial mistrust from the other members. As the antithesis to Zalia's militant view on achieving racial equality, they have argued quite often but she still remains fond of him. From their initial parental-like bond, a romantic relationship emerged between the two, resulting in the conception of their son: Vel'rayne.

### **Vel'rayne Deaththorne**

Vel'rayne is Zalia and Hope's biological son. Zalia guards Vel'rayne jealously, fearing for his life after witnessing Hope's untimely death. After achieving lichdom and becoming Vasharyx, she uses Rayne's own body as her phylactery, imbuing him with all manner of charms and wards so that no harm comes to him.

Despite being a lich and hiding her identity as Rayne's real mother, she still remains overprotective but loving, even after he manages to escape Vasharyx's hideout and steal some of her items. Vasharyx still watches over him and makes sure that no real harm will ever come his way, but she schemes to lead Rayne back to her, where he will be kept safe and protected with his mother.

### **Yvaine Stargazer**

Interactions between Yvaine and Zalia were limited during their time in the Bleeding Hearts guild. Though Zalia respected Yvaine's prowess, she remained wary of her hunger for power. Years later, after the disbanding of the guild, Yvaine would come to Zalia (Now Vasharyx) as the leader of the Cult of the Greater Eye. Yvaine would provide artifacts to increase Vasharyx's power, in exchange Vasharyx would provide her servants to construct and guard the Temple of the Eye — the most notable of which was Eclipse, who Vasharyx has sent to retrieve Vel'rayne back to his home.

### **Vincent Dawnstrider**

Vincent Dawnstrider is the leader of the Bleeding Hearts guild. Despite their initial relations and biases (with Zalia mistrusting humans and Vincent wary because of her profession), they became good companions. Zalia served as a sort of advisor to Vincent, and would never fail to point out the flaws of his plans. Yet she admired her leader's bravery and dedication to heroism, and trusted Vincent with her life.

### **Inlustris "Twink" Dawnbreeze**

Under the guise of Zalia and during her search for Vel'rayne, Vasharyx came upon Twink Dawnbreeze, an agent of the Harpers and one of the companions of Vel'rayne. Under the pretense of apprenticeship and allowing Twink access to Vasharyx's library of spells and arcane knowledge, she would try and extract information of Vel'rayne's whereabouts.

### **Blacktalon/Blightclaw**

During the reclamation of Phlan from Vorgansharax and the Dragon Cult, Zalia chose Blacktalon, an elder gryphon, as her mount to combat. She treats Blacktalon with much affection, much to its dismay. She observes its grooming more than she takes care of herself. Due to the lifespan the gryphon however, it began to grow weak and unfit to ride into battle. She would see Blacktalon live out the last of its days after the disbanding of the Bleeding Hearts.

After Zalia's descent to lichdom, she would keep Blacktalon's remains deep within her own dungeon. Only in dire need would she call upon her once-mighty steed to rise up again as the ruthless Blightclaw.

### **The Bleeding Hearts**

The Bleeding Hearts guild consisted of Vincent, Hope, Zalia, Shantor, Lenneth, and Yvaine. They were a mercenary group who kept a general peace across Faerun. Each member had a different agenda but were bound by necessity or interest.

### **Harpers**

Zalia was an agent of the Harpers and an informant. She uses the Harper resources to widen her web of influence and knowledge.

## **Character Information**

### **Magic Items**

* Tome of Clear Thought
* Nettle (+2 Hand Crossbow)
* Amulet of the Planes
* Bag of Tricks (Grey)
* Ring of Evasion
* Wand of Wonders

### **Class Abilities**

As a practitioner of Necromancy, Zalia lets her undead minions to do most of her work. The purpose of her servants is mostly to protect her companions, taking damage for them by triggering traps or drawing aggression away from Zalia's allies.

Her spells are mainly used for support and utility: whether it be heightening the abilities of her allies, or controlling the flow of combat. Her most favored spell is the Hypnotic Pattern enchantment: allowing her to shut down majority of opponents as her undead wards and companions focus their attacks on a single target at a time, all the while Blinking away to the Ethereal plane for safety. If threatened, however, Zalia can cast a Blight, using necrotic energies to wither the life essence of her attacker.

#### **Wizard Features**

* Arcane Tradition: Necromancy
* Grim Harvest
* Undead Thralls
* Inured to Undeath
* Command Undead

### **Quotes**

* *"Yes, yes. Nettle's magical, feel free to hit the dragon construct's face with him."* (Zalia lending Nettle to Glorious Genry during the Iron Baron incident when they faced against a construct that was resistant to non-magical weapons)
* *"I am not mad, just disappointed."*  (Zalia berating Wrath for rushing into battle without support from his companions.)
* *"STOP! PLEASE! Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods"* (Zalia closing her eyes as Oukrath turns into a giant spider and restraining her to ferry the group across a pit.)
* \*French Elf Screaming\* (Zalia's first experience in the Underdark is getting tied up in a web, all the while being teased by Glorious Genry and Nettle that a giant spider was nearby.)
* *"Come child, I have sweets."* (Zalia tries to lure a child so that she may get some information from him about concerning a quest. This method, however, drew concerns from the local guard.)