Xenk Yendar

Xenk Yendar was a human paladin and adventurer from Thay in the 15 century DR. He was a fellow adventurer of Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgor, Simon Aumar, and Doric,   but was renowned as a holy warrior, healer, and hero in his own right. "In those instances when faith wanes and doubt waxes, I recall the tenets of the ancients, which teach us that—"

- Xenk

Description
A handsome and muscular man, he had an altogether striking appearance. He had a tattoo on his forehead that marked him as a Thayan and was the symbol of Szass Tam.

He wore ornate half-plate armor trimmed and emblazoned with gold designs, over blue-green attire and under a fine cloak.

Personality
The very image of the knight in shining armor, of the resolute paladin, Xenk embodied what it meant to be a heroic divine warrior against all the odds. He had sworn an Oath of Devotion to help the innocent and uphold justice, had a reputation for kindliness, honor, and integrity, and he endeavored to inspire the same goodness in his companions. Furthermore, his longevity gave him a farther perspective and more experience than most, yet it could also be a burden upon him. Xenk dealt with every issue with complete dedication and conviction, which made him seem too serious to others, but he was known to make a slight smile. He was the kind to walk a straight line and go over a boulder than around it. He was always ready to share his knowledge and wisdom with others, but all too often, those others were not willing or patient enough to listen.

Abilities
Xenk had an aura about him that helped protect those near him from harm. With his cleansing touch, he could not only heal a fellow creature's wounds but also cure what ailed them as with lesser restoration. He was capable of other divine magic and had great prowess as a warrior, and could cause his blades to strike with a radiant divine energy. He could sense the presence of evil by smelling it.

Despite his holiness, Xenk's close brush with undeath left him aging slower than a human otherwise should. This gave him great longevity—he grew to be more than a century old. He also possessed darkvision.

Possessions
He wielded a unique 'daggersword', a longsword that could come apart into both a dagger and a shortsword, making him a very versatile warrior. With this, he could fight with the longword or he could dual-wield both shortsword and dagger to pick apart his opponent's defenses. Furthermore, he could launch its blade like a spear at an opponent with enough force to skewer a target and knock them down, and still leave him with armed with the dagger. Shortly after, the blades would magically reattach, On its blade was inscribed, in the Celestial language, the legend "Neither Virtue Nor Blade Shall Break," ironically enough.

He wore half plate armor.

Activities
"Cothin al napeai!"

- Xenk's battle cry when charging into the fray

Xenk spent his days traveling the realms of Faerûn in search of villainy to oppose, innocents to protect, and good deeds to do.

He was athletic and insightful, and was learned in history and skilled in survival, and also had keen hearing.

Relationships
He was an old enemy of the undead Thayan assassin Dralas.

History
Xenk grew up in the land of Thay, in the Thaymount tharch as a subject of the the Zulkir of Necromancy, Szass Tam. As Xenk would recall, when he was a boy in the mid-1370s DR, Szass Tam called all the other zulkirs and all the people of Thaymount, Xenk and his parents among them, to a grand celebration atop the Citadelon the eve of the summer solstice. A few of the common people carried sun symbols. But it was all a lie—instead, Szass demanded all Thayans abandon their mortality and serve him in undeath. Then Szass cast the spell of beckoning death that consumed their souls, thereby creating an army of undead under his control for his coup and conquest of Thay. All who tried to flee were slain. He saw a girl his age, Ishira, standing alone and lost in the panic. In their fear, Xenk's parents tried to force their son into the ritual, but he refused and fled, but the mark of Szass Tam on his head glowed with a magical connection. He escaped, but only barely, losing a part of himself to the ritual and left changed by the necromantic magic. From then on, he would age slowly and live through the next century.

Escaping the lich-ruled nation of Thay, Xenk was forced to live in exile as a wanderer of the Realms for the next century. In his time, he performed many great and heroic deeds.

Circa 1400 DR, Xenk arrived amidst the Battle of the Evermoors as it raged between the Uthgardt Elk tribe and the Cult of the Dragon, together with their black dragon, Rakor. In the aftermath, Xenk found a dying warrior with a vital mission—Ven Salafin, who was struggling to get the helmet of disjunction away from the cultists. Xenk inspected his wounds and found he could not help him, but promised to keep the helmet of disjunction safe. Believing him, Ven gave up the helm and expired. Xenk ultimately stored the Helm of Disjunction in the Underdark, within the ruins of Dolblunde, believing it to be "the last place anyone who values their life would go."

On one occasion, Xenk worked with the Emerald Enclave, an order of guardians of nature, to thwart the destructive schemes of the church of Talos, the Storm Lord.

On another, he fought battles in the desert of Anauroch beside a warrior of the Elk tribe; this man, a cousin of Holga, vouched for him as a good man.

Once, Xenk even held back a beholder with nothing more than a sharpened gourd, or something else sharp, at least according to Simon's uncle.

By the late 1490s DR, Xenk was operating out of the village of Mornbryn's Shield on the River Surbrin, not far from the old Evermoors battlefield, where he was now working with the Harpers. At that time, the would-be thieves Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgore, Simon Aumar, and Doric arrived to ask Xenk Yendar about the fate of the helmet of disjunction, just in time to witness the paladin rescue a tabaxi baby that had been swallowed by a monstrous fish and return it to its mother, and then make a donation to a dragonborn beggar. Edgin was scornful, thinking all Thayans were killers corrupted by the evil Red Wizards of Thay and disgusted by Xenk's righteousness. Nevertheless, the others gained Xenk's interest by speaking of their desire to rob and bring down the corrupt and tyrannical Lord Forge Fitzwilliam of Neverwinter and of his connection to a Red Wizard, Sofina. In a Harper sanctuary beneath Caldreth's Pickles, Nuts, and Foods, Xenk told them of the evil of the Red Wizards and Szass Tam's takeover of Thay and the turning of its populace to undeath. For his assistance in finding the helmet of disjunction, Xenk required that the thieves share any stolen riches with the Neverwintan people, to which Edgin very reluctantly agreed, swearing it on a Harper book at Xenk's demand.

Xenk led the party into the Kryptgarden Forest, where an entrance to the Underdark lay, in a deep hole that he termed "the orifice". On the way, he asked about Edgin's past, why he had left the Harpers and Zia's death, whilst warning that Zia may not be willing to be resurrected. He also tried to improve Edgin's views of Thayans by sharing his own tragic past.

After venturing down into the Underdark, the party passed uninterested intellect devourers and arrived at the ruins of Dolblunde, wherein Xenk had hidden the helmet of disjunction long ago. After negotiating the trapped collapsing bridges, that is triggering and collapsing them before Xenk could finish explaining the intricately complicated technique needed to cross them, Simon noticed that Marlamin's walking stick was in fact a Hither-Thither Staff, and they used it to cross into the city. Finding and opening the gnomish mechanical box, Xenk retrieved the helm. But that was when a band of undead Thayan assassins led by Dralas showed up, having been sent by Sofina to find and kill the thieves. Xenk and Dralas taunted one another; it was not the first time they'd clashed. They fought valiantly, with Xenk handily taking down the whole squad of assassins and impressing the others, as his companions provided a little aid but mostly just watched. At last, Xenk dueled and defeated his old enemy Dralas. But the undead did not stay dead for long; their wounds regenerated and they gave chase. Then they were all interrupted by the surprise appearance of the red dragon Themberchaud, far from his home. He took care of the undead assassins, by simply eating them, but then turned his attention to the others, chasing them around the ruins and its bridges and breathing fire. At one point, unable to fly up, he pushed a bridge down, causing Edgin to slide down toward his maw—stopped only when Xenk heroically leaped overhead and thrust his sword into Themberchaud's head, though with no serious harm done. Recovering, Themberchaud chased them into a narrow cave, but could not get his head through. The damage caused seawater to leak in. In the end, though, Edgin actually made a plan that worked, organizing his team and getting Themberchaud to breathe gas and create an explosion that would open a water channel and free them. Xenk was pleased with Edgin returning to the heroic ways of the Harper.

Some time later, with the helmet of disjunction in their possession, they emerged in the Sea of Swords and swam to shore, where they rested on the rocky beach. There, Xenk said his farewells; though they asked him to stay and assist them, he preferred to let Edgin, Holga and the others use what they had and rise to the occasion themselves rather than for him to keep carrying them himself. He departed down the beach, heading off for adventures anew.

Background
Xenk is played by actor Regé-Jean Page. He was confirmed to be a paladin class via a promotional video played at the San Diego Comic-Con 2022's Tavern Experience. He is described by producer Jeremy Latcham as the "ultimate paladin, holy, smart, on point, just very, very determined, and does not love the vibe of some of the other people in the group because he's a very moral man. He represents the player who takes it too seriously." His full name was revealed in an interview with writer-directors Daley and Goldstein on January 23, 2023, but the spelling is unconfirmed. Daley said, "He's a Paladin with this traumatic past. He's an adept fighter. He's incredibly serious and in many ways, the antithesis of the rest of our group of thieves. He's got zero sense of humor and feels like he was plucked out of another fantasy film that obviously creates a delicious rift between him and Chris Pine's character who is equal parts threatened and baffled by him." Goldstein added, "We always find it funny when someone's taking things very seriously and has no sense of humor at all."

Appearances

 * Film & Television
 * Honor Among Thieves
 * Novels
 * The Junior Novelization • Heroes Unite!
 * Comics
 * Honor Among Thieves: The Feast of the Moon