Alias

Alias was a human construct "daughter" of a once-disgraced Harper bard Finder Wyvernspur that had been given true life in 1357 DR by an alliance of powerful evil beings who intended for her to be their perfect assassin. Instead, she became a hero and a sellsword.

"..My allies had their own purposes, something I should have realized when each gave her a different name. I named her Alias because I could not give her my own. All I wanted was for her to live in peace and sing my songs."

- Finder Wyvernspur

Description
Alias was a beautiful unaging young woman. She was tall and weighed, and had reddish-blond hair and striking green eyes. For a period of time circa 1373 DR, Alias changed her hair color to raven-black.

The most distinct feature of Alias was the legacy of her magical creation. That feature was the magical tattoo that covered her right arm, wrist to elbow. The elaborate azure tattoo shimmered and glowed, and upon closer examination was a collection of tiny glyphs. The tattoo, the azure bonds, were swirling patterns of thorns and waves, with a beautiful azure blooming rose.

Before the rose, however, the tattoo consisted of runes that represented her masters and creators: an insect-like squiggle (Cassana), three interlocking rings (Zrie Prakis), an open palm with a fanged mouth (Moander), a flaming dagger (Fire Knives), concentric circles (Phalse), and lastly, there was an empty spot. Upon the masters' deaths, the runes disappeared, and the empty spot blossomed into an image of a rose, that represented Alias' "father", Finder Wyvernspur.

Personality
Alias was a strong-willed individual, an unexpected result of her interrupted creation, it gave her the power to resist the magical control imprinted on her by her masters. She stood up to wizards, liches, fiends, and gods, so she was strong enough to weather anything the Realms had to throw at her.

Even though she called herself a sellsword, she never fought for money, only for a good cause, she despised slavery and fought tooth and claw to free anyone who was forced into servitude.

Due to the memories given to her by Finder, a proud and arrogant man in his past, the programming that was put in place to keep her from seeking the aid of clerics, and reinforced by her being manipulated by a deity, Alias harbored mistrust towards gods and thought clerics to be fools.

Alias was born into an adult body with a full set of memories and it affected her emotional maturing. She was prone to extreme emotional overreactions, seething rages, deep adolescent sorrows, ecstatic happiness, and child-like infatuation, like kids and teenagers tended to do. Over time she matured and grew more independent from both her father-figures, Finder, and Dragonbait, as a child does from her parents with age.

Alias was created to be an amazing singer and her mind was filled with Finder's ballads and songs and often found solace in singing, even if just to herself. She cherished her memories, even though she knew they were false.

Abilities
Alias was a highly capable fighter, proficient in all swords (including exotic saurial broadswords), daggers, maces, axes, clubs, darts, all polearms, lances, morning stars, and quarterstaves. She was able to hold her own in battle when blinded and was a skilled horseback rider.

She was created to hold ancient lore knowledge, including information about the draconic Feint of Honor, know all songs and ballads by Finder Wyvernspur, possessed a hauntingly beautiful singing voice, and knew how to play a chordal horn. By the late 14 century DR, Alias' knowledge of lore and history was considered to be virtually unsurpassed in all the Realms.

Alias had a permanent misdirection spell effect bestowed on herself as a part of her creation, and it extended to any in her company.

As a part of Alias' design, death was warded away from her and her sisters by Zrie Prakis's magic, making Alias immortal and unaging (she was still killable by other means).

For a period of time, after she destroyed her masters, in 1357 DR, Alias along with her companions were protected by a benevolent spell of Elminster’s Blessing that was cast by Elminster himself, unbeknownst to them.

In 1358 DR when Alias got hold of the Finder's Stone once again, she used its power to cast the permanent tongues spell on herself to be able to understand her "brother", saurial paladin Dragonbait.

The same year Alias discovered she was a "soul singer," thanks to her connection to a saurial soul. A soul singer was a type of saurial oracle who could make known the status of saurials in distant areas. The soul songs Alias had been singing were warnings of the return of the god Moander.

Possessions
When Alias first came to the existence she was left with simple leather leggings, plate mail, a pair of tall knee-high leather boots with daggers tucked in them, a red cape, and a simple longsword. She kept her hair in place with an eagle-shaped barrette.

When Alias was captured by her masters and prepared for the ritual, she was outfitted with magical gear they intended for her to use as the servant. She has been given a seemingly impractical +2 chain mail shirt that split in the middle and exposed the flesh between the breasts adorned with black metal pauldrons and a magical + 3 longsword.

While traveling through Cormyr and the Dalelands in 1357 DR she owned a purebred horse that she named Lady Killer. By 1373 DR, Alias was a well-known sage and adventurer who owned a home in the city of Westgate.

Relationships
However, several additional versions of Alias had been created by Phalse. These clones disappeared upon Phalse's defeat, teleported to parts unknown. Upon the discovery of the not-living and not-dead clones, Alias felt pity for them and refused to have them destroyed.

Once Alias met her father and creator Finder Wyvernspur, they quickly bonded against what either one expected. Their resulting relationship was that of a family, even though it was strained with Alias' knowledge of the Nameless Bard's past, and Finder's personality flaws.

Among Alias' oldest companions and friends were: Olive Ruskettle, a famous halfling "bard" who joined the party for selfish reasons but steadily grew from a nuisance and an annoying companion to a friend; Akabar Bel Akash, a Turmish merchant and a wizard who helped Alias to destroy her masters, later, Alias felt child-like infatuation with the mage, they remained close friends until his death; Zhara, one of Alias' clones and a widow of Akabar, they shared some sibling rivalry; Mintassan, a planeswalker sage, and a wizard; and, of course, her "brother", Dragonbait, a saurial paladin, with whom she shared deep love and kinship. While living in Westgate in the late 14 century DR, Alias made good friends with a young Merchant Lord of Westgate, Thistle Thalavar, and a half-dragon/half-elf Veredale.

Alias and Dragonbait took on the role of protectors for the Saurial community they freed from Moander in Lost Vale. And she felt deep hate for her masters and their affiliated organizations - Cultists of Moander, Fire Knives, Night Masks, and the Iron Throne.

Childhood
Alias was born a single child to an emotionally closed-off fisherman's widow. The mother died when Alias reached her teens, no relatives, known or long-lost came to the woman's wake. A year later Alias left her home to avoid being married off to a weaver, a good man, but not a match for her. She eventually was picked up by an all-female adventuring group, Company of the Swanmays. It was with them she felt a kinship for the first time in her life. The adventuring women shared their love of risk, open road, wilderness, and adventure. With the Swanmays Alias regularly traveled through the Shadow Gap, spent winters in Shadowdale, became close friends with another young member of the company named Kith. Eventually, the Swanmays disbanded and Alias joined the Adventurers of the Black Hawk with whom she stole the Eyes of Bane from the temple in Baldur's Gate.

True Origins
None of these memories, of course, were true... Alias was a creation of an arrogant Harper agent and a bard, Finder Wyvernspur, later known only as the Nameless Bard. The bard was renowned for the beautiful songs and stories he's created throughout his life and he sought to preserve them uncorrupted by time, inevitable changes tampering. Eventually, Finder realized that the only to achieve that was by creating a magical vessel, a repository of knowledge. The first version of that became the artifact known as the Finder's Stone, the second attempt created was a construct, a copy of Finder himself - Flattery. Imperfect construct by irrationally obsessive standards of the bard. Finder mistreated Flattery, causing the sentient construct to kill one of the bard's assistants, and disfiguring the other one. The Harpers did not tolerate the creation of a monster and subsequent deaths of the apprentices, and they punished Finder. They took away the source of his pride, songs were erased from Toril, the bard's name stricken from the history, and Finder himself was banished to the Citadel of White Exile on a different plane.

Harpers were not as diligent as they thought they were and the story of Finder's failure reached an evil and ambitious wizard Cassana. She was able to find and recover the Nameless Bard. Cassana convinced him to create a new vessel and used her equally evil and ambitious allies to help with the task. Cassana created the body, making a copy of her own. The powerful lich Zrie Prakis used his powers to ward Alias from death, making her unaging. The Fire Knives provided money for the expensive magical creation process and wanted to receive a perfect assassin in exchange, to remove King Azoun IV of Cormyr from the throne. The cultists of the god of rot Moander provided the divine life energy in exchange for the "unborn child" only way of freeing the long-imprisoned avatar. Phalse, the fiend was to provide the pure and untainted soul - the final component to create Alias. That soul was that of the saurial paladin Dragonbait. The paladin and Alias were tattooed with the azure bonds to seal the control of the body and transfer the soul into it. Finder created false memories for the construct, recorded his songs and stories, but realized that Alias was alive, before the saurial's sacrifice was complete. Somehow Dragonbait's soul splintered and gave life and consciousness to the construct, a newborn in an adult body. Finder realized that they created a living, thinking being with a soul when he watched the newborn Alias cradling and singing to Dragonbait who was badly hurt. Finder tried to let Alias escape, gave her the potions of healing but instead of escaping she continued showing her humanity and healed the saurial instead. Finder begged Dragonbait to rescue the newborn, take her as far from Westgate as possible.

Finder was imprisoned in Cassana's dungeon in a cell enchanted with the feeblemind spell, and Dragonbait took Alias to Suzail. He made sure that she would be found at the stoop of The Hidden Lady and placed in one of the rooms to sleep off the perceived night of drinking and debauchery. Three days later Alias woke up, fully conscious, plagued by false memories of her life, a gap in the recent events, and a strange shimmering magical tattoo.

Azure Bonds
Confused, Alias assumed the tattoos were connected to the memory loss and sought help with the obviously magical predicament. She met Akabar Bel Akash in the Hidden Lady, a mage, and a merchant from Turmish. He attempted to cast detect magic on the azure bonds, they exploded in bright strobing lights and azure pyrotechnics. Alias thought the wizard did something wrong and visited the Towers of Good Fortune. The curate present at the time, Winefiddle tried to help Alias by casting the remove curse spell. The bonds reacted even more aggressively, taking control of Alias' body and going for the kill. The curate survived by Tymora's good luck and suggested Alias visit a sage - Dimswart.

On her way back to the Hidden Lady, Alias was ambushed by the Fire Knife assassins who were able to track Alias thanks to two attempts to remove the azure bonds. They tried to subdue the sellsword woman but were defeated with the help of Dragonbait. Alias quickly felt a connection with the strange creature not remembering her creation nor realizing that he was an intelligent creature. Together they reached the Dimswart Manor where they agreed to rescue a bard from the dragon in exchange for the sage's help. The bard's name was Olive Ruskettle, and Akabar joined Alias on the mission as he was there when the bard was taken away. Alias challenged an ancient red dragon Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco to the Feint of Honor. Alias rescued Olive, and the women escaped with their lives thanks to Olive's bluffing skills. On the way back to the Manor, Alias and her new companions, by chance, stumbled upon a circle of stones erected by Zrie Prakis. They defeated the lich's mineral quasi-elemental but that alerted her masters.

The entertainment for the Dimswart's daughter's wedding was rescued just in time. Alais, Dragonbait, Akabar were all invited to the event as guests. There the programming put in place by Fire Knives kicked in. The assassins planted the command for the construct to attack and assassinate King Azoun IV upon hearing his voice. One of the groom's family members Giogioni Wyvernspur imitated the king's voice in jest. Alias lost control of herself and attempted to kill the poor nobleman. Stopped by Dragonbait, she fled the scene, still controlled by the bonds, Alias knew no place to run to so she returned to the Hidden Lady.

Akabar, Dragonbait, and Olive followed Alias armed with information about the glyphs on her tattoo. Deciding to pursue one of the leads about the mysterious masters, the adventurers traveled towards Yulash. In reality, Alias' programming was luring her there, towards the prison of the avatar of Moander. They traveled through Shadow Gap, where Cassana tracked the group down while polymorphed into a robberwing. The group confronted and killed a monstrous kalmari, one of Caasana's summoned extraplanar creatures on loan to the Iron Throne.

The group reached Shadowdale, a place from Alias' false memories. The swordswoman became acquainted with lord Mourngrym Amcathra who praised and rewarded the group for freeing the Shadow Gap from the Iron Throne occupation. Alias realized that no one from her past remembered her in Shadowdale. There she met Elminster Aumar who realized what and who Alias truly was. He gifted the woman with the Finder's Stone to aid her on the quest.

In Yulash alias unwittingly released the Abomination of Moander who trapped her and revealed her true origins to Alias. The monstrous pile of rotting matter, the Abomination of Moander, started its way through Cormanthor towards the city of his ancient enemies, Myth Drannor. Alias' friends managed to defeat the monster eventually after enlisting the help of Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco, pursuing it through the gate where the Finders Stone guided the group through the swirling planes and other worlds. The final battle with Moander took place over Westgate where Mist ignited the creature destroying both in the process.

In Westgate, Alias freed herself from the cultists of Moander, fought for her freedom. She crossed paths with poor Giogi once more, but peacefully this time around. She reunited with her friends in Westgate's Rising Raven Inn. The breather was shortlived as the masters had the upper hand on their home turf. Cassana made an in-person appearance and used her wand to put Alias to sleep. Zrie subdued Akabar, and Dragonbait fell to the Fire Knives' poison, while Olive was taken in by Phalse. While in Cassana's hands, Alias was forced to beat Akabar half to death just to please the evil sorceress. The second sacrifice attempt was about to commence on the Hill of Thorns outside Westgate. With Olive's help, Finder Wyvernspur was freed from Casana's prison. The Bard told the origins of Alias' and his own past to Akabar and Olive while they healed up and prepared for the final confrontation.

To torture Alias more, Cassana forced the sacrifice to be done by Alias herself. The evil wizard did not realize the strength of the connection between her construct and the saurial, and the sheer willpower that Alias developed. Alias plunged the sword into Cassana instead of Dragonbait, and Finder, Olive, Akabar joined the battle with the masters, cultists of Moander, and Fire Knives. Both Casana and Zrie Prakis perished in the combat by Alias' hand, while Phalse, with Cassana's wand, fled to the Citadel of White Exile. There Alias uncovered the fiend's plan. He created clones of Alias, her sisters, that were varied in skin tone, and professions (Cat, Zhara, and Jade were among them), to use them as his own perfect assassin army to dispose of the enemies. Starting with Moander's true self deep in the Abyss. Alias confronted Phalse in his true form - a beholder-like creature with stalks that ended in mouths instead of eyes. When the creature attempted to control Alias with Cassana's wand, Alias overpowered the magical device shattering it and taking Phalse's hand with it. Alias defeated the demon in combat, destroying the last of her masters. She met her father at last, and they started to bond as a family. With Elminster present, Alias promised to testify in front of the Harpers to reinstate her father's name whenever it was to happen.

The Ogre's Paw & the New Alliance
Following the adventure's conclusion, the friends dispersed. Akabar returned to his mundane life of a merchant, Olive went on her own "bard" business, and Alias and Dragonbait continued adventuring together. One such adventure came calling when Elminster tasked the duo with recovering a powerful artifact called the Hand of Vaprak. The task led Alias and Dragonbait to Baldur's Gate where they joined the crew of Realms Master in confronting the original owner of the Hand, an ogre mage Gornak. The monstrous humanoid had slain and taken the identity of a sage named Gondal and his tower. Alias and Dragonbait fought Gornak, his skeletons, and a giant earth elemental and eventually recovered and disposed of the artifact, sending it into the Demiplane of Fear.

Some months later the heroes were destined to reunite once again. Alias and Dragonbait were contacted by a cleric of Helm named Mixilia who claimed that the Cult of Moander was back in Yulash trying to return Moander to the Realms. As Alias, Dragonbait, and Mixilia entered the destroyed temple of Helm, the same place Alias unleashed the Abomination four months ago, the group was ambushed by a vegepygmy group and a shambling mound. Mixilia was murdered while the duo was fighting. There Alias and Dragonbait were aided by a group of adventurers bearing the all-too-familiar azure bonds. Alias knew that her masters were back, or at least some version of the dark alliance. Together they ventured deep into the Temple of Moander, stopping the cult from bringing the god of rot back once again, traveled to the Zhentil Keep, where they reunited with Olive (under the name of Stevie Nickelplate), who was up to no good as per usual. The adventurers visited the Temple of Bane and the tower of Lord Fzoul Chembryl. They traveled to the Village of Hap where they reunited with Akabar, who was there on merchant business and defeated dracolich Crimdrac, a minion of the Red Wizard named Dracandros. And ventured into Myth Drannor to defeat Tyranthraxus the possessing spirit.

Surviving and breaking the New Alliance, the heroes went their own ways for a while once again. Akabar left for Turmish, eventually marrying his third wife Zhara, one of the clones of Alias created by Phalse. Olive settled in Immersea for a bit, where she aided Giogioni against Finder's creation, Flattery, learned about the history of the Finder's paternal abuse, and met two more clones of Alias - Jade, and Cat.

The Song of the Saurials
Alias and Dragonbait found themselves back in Shadowdale the next year when Elminster came through on his promise to help Finder Wyvernspur appeal in front of the Harper court. During the same time, Alias' singing started somehow change and distort, changing their meanings to death, rot, and destruction, without Alias' control over them. Akabar and his new wife Zhara found Alias to inform her of Akabar's dreams of Moander's return. He was committed to destroying the god once and for all. Alias' relationship with her newfound sister began on a wrong foot, Alias dislike of clerics, and child-like jealousy over Akabar contributed to that.

When the Harper appeal session started, a saurial wizard Grypht teleported into the courtroom. Thinking they were under attack Harpers retaliated, driving the saurial toward's Finder's cell. Olive was there trying to rescue her friend. The trio was attacked by one of the Harpers, Kyre, who was enslaved and rotten on the inside by the Seed of Moander. Kyre stole the Finder's Stone, imprisoned the saurial, but Finder and Olive escaped by teleporting away. When Alias and the guard reached the Finder's cell, Kyre accused Grypht of kidnapping the Bard. While Alias and Dragonbait were hunting the alleged kidnapper, Akabar was charmed by Kyre, as she forced him to aid in Moander's return. Eventually, Akabar was able to break the spell and freed the saurial wizard. Together they retrieved the Finder's Stone and killed Kyre, realizing that nothing was left of the Harper as she was hollowed out from the inside by Moander's rotting vines.



Alias and Dragonbait were joined by Zhara and a Harper agent Breck Orcsbane in tracking of the wrongly accused saurial. The heroes found out that Moander brought an enslaved saurial colony to the Realms, the same colony Dragonbait hailed from. Grypht was trying to reach Champion aka Dragonbait when he teleported into the Harper tribunal. Alias and her group reunited with Akabar and Grypht after battling Moander's corrupted rotten treants. Alias received the Finder's Stone, lost a year ago in a battle with Moander. She was able to access some of the artifact's stored spells to cast permanent tongues spell and be able to really converse with her brother for the first time. Alias was able to tap into the Stone's power and teleport everyone to the Stone's master. The adventurers were finally all together. Alias was able to rescue her father and Olive from orcs and a Moander-infested beholder.

The Finder's Stone teleported them to the Lost Vale where enslaved saurials were building a body for the new Abomination of Moander. There Dragonbait was captured by Coral his mate, who was controlled by the Seed of Moander. Alias and Akabar were captured to be sacrificed to bring Moander back into the Realms. Dragonbait rescued his sister but Akabar was sent to Moander's home plane of the Abyss, followed by Finder. There Akabar sacrificed his life to help defeat Moander, Finder Wyverspur used the Finder's Stone's magic to obliterate Moander. Finder did not perish, instead, he absorbed the defeated god's divinity and ascended to godhood himself.

Alias felt gutted by the loss of her friend and, seemingly, the loss of her father. She committed herself to aid Dragonbait in restoring broken saurials, helping them build a new life for themselves, and becoming the defender of the Lost Vale. At one point after the the Time of Troubles, Alias was seen passing through the settlement of Skull Crag in the Storm Horn Mountains of Cormyr, claiming she was heading towards a grand adventure.

Masquerades
After helping saurials create a new home in the Lost Vale, Alias began taking missions from the Harpers, officially joining the do-gooder organization. A decade passed since Alias helped destroy Moander. She found her place in the world. She grew independent from her soul-brother, adventuring on her own but often visiting Dragonbait and his wife Copperbloom back in the Lost Vale.

One of Alias' later adventures brought her, Dragonbait, and Olive back together again. They headed to Westage to help Grypht commence a magical item trade. There they met Mintassan, a wizard and a planeswalker. That adventure brought them head to head with the Night Masks guild of Westgate. The Masks' leader, the Faceless, under the guise of Victor and an amulet of misdirection, toyed with Alias' feelings, making her fall for him, then he attempted to assassinate Alias, but failed. The sellsword woman survived the poison but received a scar on her cheek to remind her of the attempt. The final battle with the leader of the Masks let the group through a portal that led to a pocket dimension. The gate trapped creatures that were guided by strong negative emotions. Both the Faceless (greed) and Alias (loss of the love she thought the had) were trapped, but Mintassan aided Alias to escape as Victor was killed.

Following the defeat of the Night Masks leader, Alias became a renowned hero in Westgate. Mintassan commissioned a stature of Alias that was proudly displayed in the Market Triangle, ensorcelled by Mintassan himself, protecting the statue from vandalism, destruction, and even saliva was reflected back at anyone who dared to spit at the monument. Alias's friend Jamal the Thespian of Westgate put the sellsword's adventures in Westgate to print. The book was titles Alias Versus the Night Masks and available for purchase from Mintassan's Mysteries curio shop.

By the, Alias settled well in the city of Westgate and gained a reputation as a lore-sage and a hero. In one of her adventures around that time, Alias rescued a young woman who became the youngest Merchant Lord of Westgate after the death of her mother. Lord Thistle Thalavar thought that she owed Alias for the rescue, but the two became close friends despite Thistle believing she "owed" Alias. Another, more recent friendship of Alias' was a half-dragon-half-elf named Veredale. In 1373 DR, a group of adventurers from Ravens Bluff approached Alias, asking for her help with ancient draconic lore. She agreed to travel to the Living City to lend her expertise to the Ministry of Arts, but in return, she requested the heroes help her stop a recent gang war between the Chult of Tiamat and the Cult of the Dragon. She also needed help in rescuing Veredale, abducted by Cult of the Dragon, to test out the dracolich creation magics on a half-dragon. Subsequently, Alias' allied slew Emerelda, a green dragon princess and removed Tiamat's foul influence from Westgate.

Rumors & Legends

 * It was rumored that Tyranthraxus, the Possessing Spirit, was searching for Alias or one of her sisters due to the unaging nature of their bodies.


 * After the defeat of the Night Masks in Westgate, it was rumored Mintassan traveled with Alias to the planes on a mission, adventure, or just a vacation.

Trivia

 * Dragon magazine 153: Game Wizards: An evening (wasted) with Elminster featured a conversation between Jeff Grubb and Elminster in which the old mage informed Jeff that Alias was very amused by the cover of Azure Bonds and suggested Master Caldwell treat Olive and Giogi just as well in the upcoming book The Wyvern's Spur or Alias would come after Jeff and his lovely wife Kate with her broadsword.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Curse of the Azure Bonds
 * Novels
 * Azure Bonds • Song of the Saurials • Masquerades • Once Around the Realms
 * The Wyvern's Spur • Finder's Bane • War in Tethyr • The Common Spell
 * Comic Books
 * Converging Lines • Converging Lines • The Great Game • Fools Rush In
 * Liches in Love
 * Video Games
 * Curse of the Azure Bonds • Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards • Spellfire: Master the Magic
 * Licensed Adventures & Organized Play
 * Dragon's Honor
 * AD&D Trading Cards • Spellfire: Master the Magic
 * Licensed Adventures & Organized Play
 * Dragon's Honor