Clariburnus Tanthul

Clariburnus Tanthul was a shade sorcerer and shadow adept and one of the twelve princes of the city of Thultanthar in the 14 and 15 centuries DR. "Netheril ruled for thousands of years. Wrapped tight in a second womb of shadow, we have learned from our past mistakes for over a thousand more. How foolish for any mortal to even imagine standing against us now."

- Clariburnus Tanthul

Description
He was a massive individual, roughly the size of a bugbear. He had eyes that gleamed like polished bronze.

Personality
Never showing emotion in his flat, whispering voice or unlined skin, Clariburnus could don a façade of charm to mask his dead soul. Despite this, Clariburnus had retained more humanity than any of the other twelve princes of Shade. He had tremendous ambition, but was merciless and without honor, viewing cheating as a resourceful tactic.Despite this, Clariburnus had attained more humanity than any of the other twelve princes of Shade. He would even exploit the missteps of his own brothers if it meant raising his own status in the eyes of his father.

Possessions
Clariburnus often wielded a magical +3 glaive of wounding, that appeared to be formed from some type of black glass rather than metal.

Abilities
He was a skilled warrior and tactical commander.

Activities
Circa 1372 DR, Clariburnus had no known views on how the Shadovar should seize control of the Heartlands, but only because no-one had yet asked him.

By the late 1400s DR, Dethud was general of the armies of the revived empire of Netheril.

Free of the Shadowfell, Clariburnus longed to see the expansion of Netheril. One of his main goals was always to restore power to the First Enclave, Xinlenal. He was placed in charge of Shadovar operations in Neverwinter, where Clariburnus led the Netherese in the restoration of Xinlenal to Toril, along with the first new mythallar formed in ages.

Relationships
His father was High Prince Telamont Tanthul, and he had eleven brothers, the princes of Shade: Aglarel, Brennus, Dethud, Escanor, Lamorak, Malath, Mattick, Melegaunt, Rivalen,Vattick, and Yder. He was the second-youngest of the twelve Princes of Shade, and the youngest to survive his peoples' return to Faerûn.

Early Life
One of the twelve Princes of Shade, Clariburnus held power in Netheril since before the fall of the First Empire. He soon gained famed as the youngest captain in the military of Thultanthar. Although rumors said this was due to him being one of the Princes of Shade, Clariburnus was recognized by those closest to him for his military prowess.

Return of the Archwizards
In the, Clariburnus and his brothers returned to the Realms on the eve of the Return. His first destination, along with Escanor and Aglarel, was the Marsh of Chelimber, where the trio slew a group of phaerimm. There they encountered Lady Laeral Silverhand of Waterdeep, and after some verbal fumbling, make poor work of their first act of diplomacy back in the Realms.

Clariburnus enjoyed success however, when he and Brennus enlisted the aid of the witch Ruha, traveled to the lair of the blue dracolich Malygris, and killed its Dragon Cultist oppressor. The pair forged a new alliance that proved quite valuable during the emerging conflict between the Princes and the rest of the Realms.

The second-youngest prince then joined with Lamorak and made a second appeal to Laeral Silverhand, newly appointed commander of the Army of the North. The pair offered to help them destroy the phaerimm in the Shaeradim surrounding the elven city of Evereska. Clariburnus and Lamorak led the Shadovar alongside Laeral and her army through the shadowshell and the Deadwall surrounding the Shaeradim, and hunted down every phaerimm they encountered in the Vine Vale. Their victory was short-lived, however, as Clariburnus and his brother abandoned the Army of the North and allowed the phaerimm army to descend upon them when it was most convenient.

Time in The North
"What care have we for the feuding rabble that grubs about these lands? When fallen Xinlenal regains its rightful place in the skies, all the fractured factions of the North will be nothing more than cowering dogs in our shadow."

- Clariburnus Tanthul

In the late 1400s DR, Clariburnus, since taking over, commenced a search for Ioulaum, believing the mage to be alive. Upon arriving in the North, Prince Clariburnus would almost immediately strike an alliance with the Gray Wolf Tribe.

Upon finding the ruined enclave of Xinlenal, Clairburnus immediately set upon repairing it. By 1479 DR, he had put hundreds of shades, humans, shadar-kai, undead and constructs at work to uncover and repair the enclave. Knowing the mythallar would put Netheril at an advantage against Thay, Clariburnus sought magical relics and items to create residuum in order to feed the enclave's mythallar. The prince placed the Sharran priest Orthinos Eln in charge of overseeing the excavation.

Although Clariburnus sought items from ruins, he often resorted to attacking Thay for them as well. The prince soon became aware that he would eventually have to extend into New Neverwinter to complete his search, as the legion of items he'd already amassed were enough. Clariburnus often attacked Valindra Shadowmantle and her Thayan forces using the Gray Wolf warriors as the front line. He wished to close the Shadowfell portal inside the Dread Ring all the while keeping the Thayans reeling. In order to do this, he has directed the enclave of Kolthunral to invade the Thayan city of Surcross to end Thayan presence in Shadowfell.

Symbol
His personal sigil was a golden star with a black outline on a field of midnight blue.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Return of the Archwizards (The Summoning • The Siege • The Sorcerer) • Shadowbred