Jian Haldeth

> *"I can't look- I can't look Grandpa Jian or any of my family in the eyes until he's dead. I have to kill him."* (Mariss D'Marothek, referring to Shulssu D'Marothek, session 19)
>
>

**Jian Haldeth** (pronounced /dʒi-ɑːn hɑːl-dɛθ/ *jee-AHN HAHL-dehth*) is a yuan-ti pureblood nobleman. He is Mariss D'Marothek's grandfather and the current head of the Haldeth Clan in Port Nyanzaru.

## **Description**

Jian Haldeth is a yuan-ti pureblood that stands at around 5 foot 3 inches (160 centimeters) tall and weighs around 161 pounds (73 kilograms). He has brown skin, a wrinkled, aging face and a flat nose. Like most yuan-ti, he has snake scales on his face; as typical of the Haldeth clan, they are red and black like a coral snake. He has long, thin white hair that falls down his back and golden, reptilian eyes that glint in the light. He has a long, thin white mustache and a goatee. His posture is hunched over with age, but his movements and grip reveal a hidden strength still left in him.

Jian typically wears fine clothes of Haldeth make, in shades of black, dark red and gold. His go-to outfit is a red and gold-accented overcoat reminiscent of a *cheongsam* with black pants and sandals. He occasionally deigns to wear golden hairpieces and bracelets, but doesn't often wear any more jewelry than that.

## **Personality**

Jian, like his children, shares that same universal Haldeth kindness that makes them so well-respected in Port Nyanzaru despite being yuan-ti. In his youth, he was much more active in this respect, volunteering and working amongst the city, but as he has aged, his kindness has become more passive. Regardless, however, Jian is charitable and empathetic, and his reputation for his kindness precedes him wherever he goes.

Jian is quite open-minded, surprisingly so for his age, and adapts well to new things. He has quite a colorful cast of characters for family, including his grandson, storm sorcerer Mariss D'Marothek, his son Huang Fu (known as the "Haldeth Heartbreaker" for his antics), his nephew Issek, a stone sorcerer, as well as many others. He loves and accepts his somewhat strange family with an open mind and an open heart, and is a welcoming and accepting paternal figure to every Haldeth in the city.

JIan is incredibly patient, and such patience has only grown as he has aged. He can be found contemplating things for hours at a time, and sees no issue in taking things slowly. Not much can rise a temper out of him, but when he is angry, it is a legendary force to see. Not many people have seen Jian Haldeth angry, and those who have typically never want to see him angry again.

## **Abilities**

### Yuan-ti Pureblood

As a yuan-ti pureblood, Jian Haldeth has a few innate abilities that have been passed down from yuan-ti to yuan-ti for generations. Like other yuan-ti, Jian is able to adjust his eyesight to see in the dark, and he is immune to poison. He is also magically adept like some of his peers; he has a resistance to magic, and can innately cast spells such as *poison spray, animal friendship* and *suggestion.* However, this magic is limited, and his abilities as a martial artist are far more honed.

### Martial Arts

Jian is adept at swordwork and martial arts. He was taught this skill by his father, Sibonelo, and passed the skills on to his son, Huang Fu. Jian is proficient both with his kicks (a type of unarmed strike) and his longsword, and together in tandem they make a deadly and polished combination. He also is adept with the longbow. Jian has practiced his skills for quite a long time, and he's absolutely no amateur and can effectively defend his home and family if he needs to, even despite his great age.

## **Possessions**

Jian is currently the head and proprietor of the Haldeth family home in Port Nyanzaru, a hilltop estate. His belongings all remain in this building.

Two of the Haldeth family heirlooms remain in the Haldeth estate of note. One is a painting of the first Haldeth couple, a high elven man named Fengge Haldeth and a human woman named Ai Lan Kao. This painting is 1500 years old. The other one of these family heirlooms is an ornate full-length mirror of which its golden frame is carved into the shape of snakes. The painting of Fengge and Ai Lan hangs in the front hall of the house, and the mirror stands silently in Jian's bedchamber.

Jian previously owned the Haldeth's Sleeping Death and the Haldeth Miaodao. Both heirlooms have since been passed down to his children.

## **History**

Jian Haldeth was born in the fall of 1422 to Sibonelo Haldeth and Nkechinyere Haldeth, both yuan-ti purebloods, in Port Nyanzaru in Chult. He was the third of three children. He was preceded by elder brother Nassor, who was born in winter of 1418, and sister Hualing, who was born in spring of 1419. Jian, Nassor and Hualing grew up very close, although eventually, stern Nassor broke away on his own as he aged, assuming more of the responsibilities of the home he would soon inherit.

Jian began working as a merchant at the age of 17, and when he was 22, he met human Chuil Agwuegbo, then 18. The following year, they got married, and within a year's time, Chuil had her first child, a daughter named Sselu, in 1447. They had 3 more children; daughter Najhia in 1450, son Huang Fu in 1454, and son Kwalu in 1461. As Jian's tiny family grew, Jian began to settle down and invested in real estate.

1467 saw Jian's eldest daughter Sselu marrying human Harim Gebrendi and then, a year later, welcoming Jian's first grandson, Shaiming, into the world. 1469 saw his second daughter, Najhia, wedding yuan-ti Shulssu D'Marothek, and having Jian's second grandson, Mariss, a year later in 1470. Jian liked Harim; he was kind, polite and hardworking, and he and Sselu complimented each other well with their hardworking natures. Sselu and Harim quickly built a business together in real estate, and Jian approved much of Harim, as Harim, typical to the culture of Port Nyanzaru, welcomed Jian into his own family like a father. Shulssu, however, was not nearly as kind, and Jian was suspicious of him. He made no moves to intercept his second daughter's marriage, but he did pass on something of his to her: Haldeth's Sleeping Death, a poison created by the Haldeths several centuries ago that served the purpose of protecting Haldeths from possible abusive spouses. Regardless of his feelings, Jian loved his grandsons (and his granddaughter Issi, too, when she was born 4 years later) with all of his heart.

In 1478, Jian's brother Nassor, the current head of the Haldeth Clan, passed away, and bequeathed the Haldeth home and title to his brother. He was survived by his wife Obioma, who he left a sprawling fortune as well. In 1483, his sister Hualing followed, preceded by her husband in 1481. More heartbreaking was the passing of his wife Chuil in 1486. The Haldeths had much to grieve, and when it seemingly couldn't get any worse, in July of 1488 his daughter Najhia, her son Mariss and her husband Shulssu suddenly went missing. Jian, Huang Fu, Kwalu, Sselu, Harim and Shaiming hesitantly made plans to visit the D'Marothek home, and came only to find it empty, and, more concerningly, foreclosed. Najhia, Shulssu and Mariss were nowhere to be found, and nobody had seen any of them anywhere in a couple of weeks. Jian got no news until early August of that year, when a stricken Huang Fu had called the family together to tell them something horrific: that Najhia was dead and Shulssu had fled the country. Huang Fu reassured everyone that Mariss was alright and Huang Fu was taking care of him, but Mariss was traumatized and didn't want to speak to anyone, believing himself to be at fault for the fate that had befallen his mother. Jian and his family grieved the loss of his second daughter, Najhia, made even more painful by a lack of a body to recover and bury. This pain was made even worse by an ever-more-distant Mariss, who the family worried for endlessly as he berated himself for his own perceived guilt.

Jian has been living in Port Nyanzaru ever since, being a kind and caring father and grandfather to his kids and grandkids.

## **Relationships**

### Chuil Haldeth

Chuil was the love of Jian's life, to put things succinctly. The diminutive Jian and the tall and willowy Chuil made an odd pair, but they were truly devoted to one another, and Chuil was enchanted by the short and stuttery Jian as he made his clumsy attempts to woo Chuil in his youth. Chuil was a devoted mother and grandmother, and Jian loved her dearly for it. Her passing pained Jian greatly.

### Kwalu, Sselu, Huang Fu and Najhia Haldeth

Jian loved all four of his children to bits, and saw each of their individual strengths and nurtured them. In Sselu, he saw someone hardworking, ambitious, and determined, and he taught his daughter everything he knew about purchasing and selling property. In Huang Fu, he saw someone clever and talented, and taught his son the martial arts that he knew. In Najhia, he saw someone kind and empathetic, and provided her with the knowledge he knew about keeping others happy and the means to defend herself even in a way that the gentle and kind-hearted Najhia could manage. In Kwalu, he saw someone generous, funny and gracious, and set aside a space for Kwalu to give the same charity that he gave in his youth. Najhia's death shattered Jian, as he never believed that anyone could ever be horrible enough to hurt his sweet and kind Najhia like Shulssu did.

### Shaiming and Issi Gebrendi

Jian loves both Shaiming and Issi, and he, in typical granddad fashion, spoiled his grandkids rotten. He believes both Shaiming and Issi are talented and have bright futures ahead of them, and would throw down his life for his grandkids just like he would for his kids. Even as he gets older, Shaiming and Issi spend a lot of time with their grandfather and Jian truly appreciates it.

### Mariss D'Marothek

The formerly polite and kind Mariss D'Marothek was just as much of a target of Jian's affection as was his cousins, and he, too, was spoiled rotten by his grandfather. Jian loved his strange and lonely grandson to bits, and was excited to see where Mariss would take his innate abilities. Jian was devastated when Najhia died and Mariss drew away from him. He doesn't understand why Mariss is so scared of talking to him, and never in any instant has he ever believed that Najhia's death was Mariss's fault.

## **Appendixes**

### **Gallery**

the Haldeth Clan's proud lineage.Jian, his children and grandchildren.