Athesias Uludan

Fan art of Lord Athesias Uludan, by Allenthelost.

**Lord Athesias Uludan** is a human mage and a member of the Cerberus Assembly, filling the role of Archmage of Diplomatic Union. As an NPC, Athesias Uludan is played by Matthew Mercer.

## **Description**

### **Appearance**

Lord Athesias Uludan is a human male with slightly long salt and pepper hair that curls slightly and is pushed to one side. He wears a long black robe with silver and blue detailing on it.

### **Personality**

Athesias Uludan carries himself with a "practiced, very smooth, tailored persona" that lends to charismatic and persuasive interactions. He wears a half-cocked grin and gives off the impression of wanting to make a good impression socially. His charming and bombastic personality helps him in diplomacy, but his narcissistic and showy nature led others in the Cerberus Assembly to distrust him with secrets. Yussa Errenis described him as "a buffoon".

## **Biography**

### **Background**

Athesias was originally employed as a teacher at the Soltryce Academy; he was considered effective in that position, but he was felt difficult to trust with state secrets because of his narcissism and fondness for spectacle. As a result, he was promoted to Archmage of Diplomatic Union of the Cerberus Assembly as soon as the position became available. In that position, he serves as the Assembly's ambassador and is tasked with maintaining positive relations with people both within the Empire and abroad. His political influence became relevant enough that his distant cousin, Zhafe Uludan, became Marquis of Nicodranas as a way to keep good relationships between the Clovis Concord and the Dwendalian Empire, presumably at some point before 790 PD.

### **"The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97)**

Athesias Uludan was present on the Assembly ship the *Wind of Aeons* along with Martinet Ludinus Da'leth when the Mighty Nein arrived in Nicodranas just prior to departing for the peace negotiations with the Kryn Dynasty.

## **Relationships**

### **Zhafe Uludan**

Athesias is a distant cousin of Zhafe Uludan, the marquis of Nicodranas. Because of this familial relationship, the Clovis Concord appointed Zhafe as marquis as a diplomatic concession to foster a good relationship with the Empire and to allow the Uludan family to maintain a truce between the two nations. Though Zhafe insists that this is not true, Zhafe is afraid of the Cerberus Assembly and does always as Athesias asks, making him a pawn. For his part, Athesias does not seem to hold a high opinion of Zhafe, whom he described as "a dead dog", and he was not offended on Zhafe's behalf when it was suggested that the Marquis Demesne and the prestige of the family was not up to Marion Lavorre's standards.

### **Zeddan Graf**

Athesias has a rivalry with Zeddan Graf, who performs a similar role for the crown and as such often runs into Athesias abroad. The two loathe each other, and Athesias enjoys ruining or undermining Graf's plans. Ludinus Da'leth remarked that, should Athesias decide to be present for the peace talks, it would be "interesting having to keep him and Zeddan civil".

## **Appearances and mentions**

* Campaign Two
	+ "Whispers of War" (2x18), mentioned only (first mentioned)
	+ "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) (first appearance)
* *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, Figures of Interest

## **References**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 42-3. Chapter 2: Factions and Societies. "Cerberus Assembly: Figures of Interest".
2. ↑ See "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) at 0:49:53.
3. ↑ See "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) at 3:02:13.
4. ↑ His name is spelled as both "Athesius" and the "Athesias" in the official YouTube captions. The *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount* uses the "Athesias" spelling.
5. ↑ See "Whispers of War" (2x18) from 3:40:00 through 3:41:43.  Caleb reads about the Cerberus Assembly at the Cobalt Soul
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 See "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) from 0:42:10 through 0:42:55.
7. ↑ See "Titles and Tattoos" (2x84) at 0:39:38.
8. ↑ See "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) at 0:49:53.
9. ↑ See "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) at 3:02:13.
10. ↑ The Uludans were considered the "royal family" of Nicodranas five years before "Choose Their Adventure...Again!" (Sx81), which takes place in a time in Scanlan's life when he's still inexpert and lacks confidence, and by the end of it he's trying to behave more like the charismatic Ranthiel Volthor. Since between 795 and 796 PD Scanlan had a messy affair with a member of the Darrington Estate staff that forced the bard and his troupe to leave, presumably the gnome's time with the Glorious Ones preceded this incident in Deastok. For more information see "Curious Tides" (1x89) at 1:13:37 and "*Talks Machina* #17: 'Voice of the Tempest'" (TMx17) at 56:37
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 See "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) at 0:49:27.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 44.
13. ↑ See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 67.
14. ↑ See "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97) at 3:01:46.
15. ↑ See "High Seas, High Stakes" (2x99) from 1:52:50 through 1:53:27.

**Art:**

1. ↑ Fan art of Lord Athesias Uludan, by Allenthelost (source). Used with permission.