Alexander Carim

## General

Alexander Carim was a previous Blackstaff of Waterdeep, and the direct predecessor to Vjara Saphir. For decades, Alexander acted as the supreme arcane authority within the city - protecting it and its citizenry and keeping the multitude gangs in check at the same time. Doing so through feats of unseen-in-centuries magical power, a cool head under pressure, and a staunch devotion to Waterdeep, Alexander became something of a legendary (if far-removed) symbol for the city.

In July, 497 H.F., he would die of natural causes and his soul would join the collective Blackstaff Line within the eponymous artifact, to aid Vjara in her own tenure as Blackstaff.

## Description

Alexander Carim is an old, half-elven wizard. He dons voluminous light-blue robes and a tall-pointed, medium-brimmed wizard’s hat to match. Beneath his hat Alexander is bald with a wrinkled, yellowed, liver-spotted face. He has thick, bushy eyebrows knitted under an oft-wrinkled brow. He has watery blue eyes with heavy eyelids surrounded by wrinkles but his eyes are expressive, widening to a pair of intense and blood-shot dinner-plates when he is angered or surprised. He has a short, hooked nose and thin lips. As a half elf he has slightly pointed ears.

Alexander has a mustache that connects with and forms into a long, straight, wispy, beard that hangs down off his face down to his navel. All of his facial hair is thin, and stark white.

He does not wear gloves, and so his palms and the undersides of his fingers are permanently stained soot-black from handling the Blackstaff he wields. And somewhere on his person, Alexander Carim too carries the Arcane Ledgermain which is customary to his station.

## Biography

### Before Death

Upon a Blackstaff's death, their soul is sealed in totality within their eponymous staff - until the day Waterdeep falls. In fear of the consequences of his oath (and in his desire to spend an afterlife with his wife and son), Alexander Carim sought to shirk this fate.

In January, 497 H.F., he met with a woman who claimed ownership of a strange artifact. The woman called herself "Maria Cotton", and the artifact in question was the Far Belt: a component of the Orrery of the Wanderer which, when separated from its parent object, enabled wielders to open "windows" to other planes. With this item in tow, Maria Cotton offered Alexander the chance to explore other planes freely, and to speak with any being--living or dead--that he so wished. In exchange, all Maria required was the knowledge on how to summon beings from other planes.

Alexander knew the value of the knowledge Maria sought. He also suspected that no-one in the modern era had the resources or power to put that knowledge to practice effectively. To Alexander, there was no way Maria could make use of the information he provided her anyway. He accepted her offer, and in exchange for providing her the ritual to summon extraplanar beings, Alexander was given the opportunity to speak with the Learned Tilerelit of Leng: an ancient arcanist who had mastered the domination of souls and planes, with whose knowledge Alexander hoped to escape the bounds of his oath to the Blackstaff Line.

With this knowledge, Alexander began to make preparations. His heir would need to release him from the Blackstaff's imprisonment using the Learned Tilerelit's knowledge, and so he chose an apprentice who could be convinced to aid him in his plight: he chose Vjara Saphir, for her empathy and her desire to help others.

Unbeknownst to Alexander Carim, Maria Cotton did in fact posses not only the power to enact this ritual (via her Belt), but now also the knowledge to do so (via Carim's attempt at a tilted trade). Maria had deceived Alexander, but it only would be after the aged Blackstaff's death that Maria would put her plans into action; Alexander would never live to stop her himself.

After his death, and upon learning of the full extent of Maria Cotton's deeds from the Strike Team, Alexander Carim fell into a deep despair. He felt immense regret at letting his fear jeopardize the city, and he decided it was a path that should have never been taken in the first place. To make amends, he placed his faith in Vjara and the Strike Team to protect Waterdeep where he had failed.

## Trivia

* Of all the previous Blackstaffs accessible to Vjara, Alexander Carim is the only one shown so far to assume direct, sole control of her body: he spoke through her to admonish Baradad Zzzzaxatroph, and then later to speak with the Strike Team on his dealings with Maria Cotton.
* It is unclear how Alexander Carim knows the identity of Baradad Zzzzaxatroph, as the identities of Masked Lords are closely guarded secrets even from the Blackstaff and the Open Lord of Waterdeep; it is confirmed, however, that Alexander is very much aware of Baradad's identity even when this Masked Lord is cloaked and disguised.