Lathan Aendyr
Son of Prince Volospin Aendyr of Blackhill
AC 1016
"I am a Glantrian. My home is not a land of rubble and ruins or sunken beneath the sea. My home is Glantri."
Appearance
Lathan Aendyr has the features of the pure pale-skinned Alphatians, with smooth alabaster skin contrasting against his ebony hair and dark deep-set black eyes. His day-to-day attire generally identifies him as an Alphatian: wizardly robes in blues and whites, with fancy designs of clouds, winds and skies. For formal events and social affairs, he is not averse to wearing the latest Glantrian fashions, particularly blacks and midnight blues to contrast against his pallid features.
He appears to be quite moneyed for someone who has lost his whole nation.
Personality & Quirks
Lathan Aendyr was once compared to a breeze-blown cloud of an autumn afternoon: high-flying, silent, aloof, yet always billowing with the unseen forces of the heavens. Many people are actually intrigued by—and attracted to—Lathan's silent detachment, and often wonder what lofty thoughts and ideas lie behind his far-searching skyward gazes.
What people do not know is that Lathan's aloofness is a very carefully practiced front. Inside, Lathan is a tumultuous windstorm of psychopathic rage, ready to do away with all his perceived enemies (Flaems and Thyatians to begin) at the mere whiff of an opportunity. Lathan is amoral and treats all other people with absolute indifference, save for a very chosen few whom he considers as loved ones.
Still, Lathan rarely drops this fabricated demeanor and constantly maintains his mild-mannered gentility and the light breezy air about him.
Background
Lathan Aendyr was born in AC 988, son and heir to Prince Volospin Aendyr of Blackhill and his wife Lady Serena Aendyr. He grew up like much children of nobility, strictly groomed to be a future Prince of Glantri, at the same time lavishly pampered by his privileged existence. It was only when Lathan began living in Glantri City and began to attend the Great School of Magic that his troubles began.
Being an Alphatian, Lathan felt very much apart from other Glantrians, as if the other ethnic groups of Glantri all hated him and conspired to make him unwelcome. In truth, Lathan was no more alienated than the other Glantrians, but the hatefulness and malevolence of his own upbringing, mostly taught to him by his father, Prince Volospin, made him especially keen to this loathing. Prince Volospin did teach Lathan to control his own hatred, and to only act on it when the right opportunity arises; and if that opportunity was not forthcoming, then Lathan better take careful and deliberate steps for the opportunity to present itself.
Lathan began his magical studies at the Great School of Magic in AC 1000, but he stayed longer than most students of his talents and intelligence, because he was nearly expelled thrice. The first time in AC 1003, Lathan started a fight with Pieter Verlien, son of Countess Sinaria Verlien of High Sonden, over racial differences, for which Lathan was suspended for a year by the Grand Master at the time, Prince Étienne d'Ambreville.
The second time was in AC 1006, when Lathan was caught trying to extort money from a failing student. But since the student was dropped out and returned to Aalban (where he gave up wizardry altogether and became a vagrant!), the case against Lathan was dropped.
The third time in AC 1009 was like the first incident, this time Lathan unlawfully dueled against an instructor, Derghov Loeten (who later became the Master of Invocation); but with the Great War against Alphatia raging, and later the disappearance of Prince Étienne, Lathan did not face charges. He did however take another year off, just to avoid any confrontations with Master Derghov, academically or otherwise. (There was supposed to be a fourth misdemeanor in AC 1012, but the new Grand Master, Prince Harald Haaskinz, characteristically turned a blind eye to avoid trouble. It is also rumored that in this case, Prince Harald was unduly influenced by his wife, Asadel Haaskinz, to be lenient on Lathan Aendyr.)
The truth of the matter is, Lathan's troubles in the Great School do not just stem from his sociopathic hatred against non-Alphatians (thought this does play a big part). As early as AC 1000, Lathan has been a dealer of zzonga, the distressing drug that was the scourge of the Alphatia Empire.
During one trip to Alphatia, Lathan discovered the wonders of zzonga, as well as its deleterious effects, and arranged from large quantities of the drug to be smuggled into Glantri through Blackhill. By AC 1005, just when relations between Alphatia and Glantri were becoming volatile, Lathan had already managed for the zzonga fruit to be grown in Glantri itself. Lathan had several underground greenhouses in Blackhill, at least two in Glantri City, and possibly more elsewhere within the Principalities. (These are tended by magens under his control, as Lathan does not trust anyone else.)
Lathan began secretly selling zzonga to the wizards at the Great School, particularly to the untalented and unmotivated students who were failing, the over-stressed burnouts who were already unproductive, and the withdrawn recluses whose lack of activity would hardly be noticed in the first place. In fact, even with his extra years, Lathan extended his stay at the Great School to amass more clients. Eventually, Lathan introduced zzonga to Glantrian high society as a fashionable relaxant and party drug. Lathan was careful in selecting his clients, choosing those who would be most in need, those who would not cause him trouble, and those who would pay him handsomely. So far, Lathan has been very discreet and cautious that his operations, although extensive, has not been exposed. No one knows how far ranging his zzonga operation has spread, nor how wealthy Lathan Aendyr has gotten.
Lathan Aendyr is the sole survivor of Alphatian House Silverston, and has no love for the Principalities of Glantri. Lathan's ultimate goal is to bring Glantri to its knees through zzonga addiction, much like what happened to Alphatia centuries before. He does not care if the destruction of Glantri is brought about by internal collapse or foreigners taking advantage of its societal weakness, as long as he has a hand in the downfall of this ancient enemy.
Web of Intrigue
To Lathan Aendyr, most everyone in Glantri is either an enemy to undo, or a pawn easy to do away with.
Lathan hates all Flaems, from Count Pieter Verlien of High Sonden whom he fought with at the Great School of Magic to Princess Juliana Vlaardoen of Bergdhoven whom he has never met personally. He will kill every one of them with magic, with zzonga, or his bare hands, if given the chance. Lathan hates Thyatians as well, be they Caurenzans or Aalbanese, but find them easy to manipulate into his treacherous plots, and thus finds use for them before getting rid of them. All other Glantrians, Lathan couldn't care less about, and he has no qualms about turning them all into zzonga addicts—if they can pay his price.
Since the destruction of the Alphatian Principality of Blackhill, Lathan has become a political non-entity, and he prefers it that way. A few surviving Alphatians look to him to found a new Principality, but they are weak and inconsequential. Lathan, however, is one of the most independently wealthy wizards in Glantri from his earnings from zzonga, and his savings are safely kept in the banks of Glenmoorloch in Klantyre and in Darokin. Lathan also has considerable political influence through the various nobles in the highest echelons of Glantrian society who depend on him for zzonga. Some of these include Asadel Haaskinz, Prince Harald's discontented wife (who also purchases zzonga to drug the mad Saghir Haaskinz, Harald's uncle), the much despised Dame Diane de Moriamis, former Viscountess of Malinbois (who is rumored to have retired from the world altogether to become a full-time zzonga addict), Sire Charles d'Ambreville (who uses zzonga to calm his oversensitive nerves), and Lord Rejladan Virayana (who suffers from terrible nightmares).
Despite the fact that he has no political ambitions in the conventional sense, Lathan has been targeted by several Glantrian political figures as a rival and enemy. Foremost among these is Princess Dolores Hillsbury of Fenswick. Princess Dolores is unsure about Lathan's position regarding her claims of being the daughter of Prince Volospin Aendyr (and therefore Lathan's half-sister), and would much prefer that he remained silent about the matter permanently.
With all that Lathan ever cared about crushed by the Great Meteor, Lathan Aendyr has come to attach his sole happiness on one person: Judith Beaumarys-Moorkroft, the daughter of Lord John Beaumarys-Moorkroft, Archduke of Westheath. But like a proper lady from Fenswick, Lady Judith has not made any commitments to Lathan's romantic overtures. But Lathan is willing to wait patiently—much like he does when plotting the downfall of Glantri.
Lathan keeps a vicious slimy gremlin, which has served as his familiar since he was merely twelve. He named this gremlin Marix, which means "Bad Blood" in Alphatian, since Lathan used a pint of his own blood in his conjuration of the familiar and almost died.
Style of Magic & Combat
Statistics: 5th-level magic-user (D&D, AC 1000), 9th-level mage (AD&D, AC 1016); Str 9, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 14; AL C (D&D), NE (AD&D).
Languages: Alphatian (Blackhill and Common dialect), Thyatian (Glantrian dialect), Flaemish.
Weapon Proficiencies: staff, dagger, knife.
Skills: alchemy, brewing, plant lore (zzonga), ancient history (Alphatian), etiquette, reading/writing, spellcraft.
Lathan Aendyr was born to be the inheritor of the Alphatian legacy of air magic, but between selling zzonga and his personal troubles, Lathan never got around to focus on joining the Secret Craft of Air Elementalism. His father, Prince Volospin, the High Master of Air Elementalism, could easily have sponsored him, but did not on the principle that Lathan should prove his worth and earn it himself. In the end, Lathan was too late, as most of the Alphatian Air Elementalists died in the Great Meteor crash in AC 1006. Lathan however is in no rush to join the Secret Craft. He is quite familiar with its workings and even its membership (This much his father revealed to him!), and already knows a couple of potential sponsors if the time comes. As a result, Lathan has a more well-rounded attitude towards magic and a more varied repertoire of spells, compared to other Alphatians. Nevertheless, Lathan finds air magic easier to cast and has a small collection of common air-based magical items.
By far, Lathan's truest source of power is zzonga. Only a recreational user himself and with the finest most distilled kind, Lathan has fully researched the substance and mastered its formulations, administrations, and effects through his own experiments. Lathan has learned to prepare zzonga as a potion, a jam, a wine, an inhaled powder, and even as a concentrated oil that can be absorbed through the skin. Lathan knows how to prepare a formulation that is quick-acting in the matter of seconds, or a time-delay to take effect as much as a day later. Lathan also knows how to adjust dosage of zzonga for a range of effects, from a mild calming sedative without the usually will-numbing effect, to a potent coma-inducing dose that leaves the hapless victim in a catatonic (but gleeful) reverie. Lathan also knows the weakness of zzonga, such as its ill effects on lycanthropes and vampires (hence his lack of clients from Boldavia and Morlay-Malinbois). Lathan's expertise in zzonga is such that he has incorporated zzonga into a few of his crafted spells with the drug.
"Do not pity a man such as Lathan Aendyr. With no family, no home, no people nor legacy, he has nothing to lose—and is thus a very dangerous man."
(Pieter Verlien, Count of High Sonden)
References:
Spells of the Secret Craft of Air Elementalism
Author: Kit Navarro