Vambran Matrell

Vambran Matrell was the scion of the noble House Matrell of Arrabar in the Vilhon Reach in the mid-to-late 14 century DR.

"You're a sad, spoiled little boy who never learned that the world and the people in it don't belong to you just because you're wealthy. Now, you're either going to drop down to the floor and plant your face on the tiles, or else I'm going to put this bolt right in your nose. Your choice. What's it going to be?"

- Vambran Matrell to Denrick Pharaboldi

Description
By 1373 DR, Vambran's forehead was decorated with three tattooed blue curcles, traditional in the Vilhon Reach. The most recent circle was the indicator that its owner is a practitioner of arcane magic.

Personality
Vambran Matrell was born into money and status, but he learned early on that wealth did not mean an easy life in the city of Arrabar. He spent most of his early life trying to impress his family and not bring embarrassment and dishonor to his kin, all while trying to find his own lot in life.

Possessions
Vambran Matrell cherished his intricately decorated silver and gold breastplate - the goodbye gift from his aunt Xaphira Matrell.

History
Vambran was born in the. He was only four years old when his grandfather - Obiron Matrell, the visionary merchant and the creator of House Matrell, died. The young man's father died just four more years later. The true mother figure in Vambran's life was Xaphira Matrell. She was just fourteen years older than Vambran when the responsibility fell on her shoulders. With time, Xaphira came to see young Vambran as her beloved younger brother.

Xaphira herself was a tomboy spitfire and taught his young ward to climb walls, sneak out from home, and fight with fist and sword. Eventually, when Vambran was old enough, aunt Xaphira left Arrabar to pursue a career in mercenary work. Vambran's idolization of his dear aunt gave his aspirations of the same future. However, a tragedy struck in the Flamerule of the during the Night of Ghosts festival hosted by Eles Wianar, the Lord of Arrabar. Vambran Matrell, along with two of his young friends and fellow noble scions, Adyan Mercatio and Horial Rohden, were playing around with a bejeweled crossbow, gifted to young Vambran by his uncle Kovrim Matrell. Shooting plantains off a tree, Vambran unleashed a stray bolt that lodged itself in a stranger's chest, killing him. The victim was Rodolpho Wianar, a cousin of the Lord of Arrabar. Xaphira Matrell and her brother Dregaul Matrell knew that this accidental murder meant death for Vambran and ruin for House Matrell. Desperate to see her nephew unharmed, Xaphira took the blame. She masqueraded as an assassin and fled Arrabar, likely to never be able to return again.

In the years that followed, Uncle Dregaul never forgave Vambran for his foolish crime, bringing the family so close to destruction and being the cause of his sister's disappearance from Arrabar. Vambran himself felt the crushing weight of guilt for all the same reasons. The loss of his mother-figure left the young man devastated and emotionally traumatized. Not having any prospects of inheriting family business nor titles, Vambran, along with Adyan and Horial, enrolled into service with the elite Waukeenar militaristic organization - The Order of the Sapphire Crescent. The act was met with disapproval from Dregaul Matrell, who thought the job to be for the common man, unfit for nobility. Instead, he wished his nephew to transfer his talents to serve within the Church of Waukeen to improve the family's standing with the major religious power of Arrabar. By the, Vambran reached the title of lieutenant, and he was well-traveled, all across the Sea of Fallen Stars aboard the Lady's Favor. He came to love his work and being in command.

On Tarsakh 10, 1373 DR, Vambran returned to Arrabar just in time for his sister's – Emriana Matrell's, 16 birthday. The young hellion snuck out of the family home to meet her brother in port along with the family's trusted carriage driver Prandles. On their way home, Vambran heard screams of terror and dashed into a dark alley only to see a suspicious scene of two commoners, laying slain at the hands of Municipal Guard of Arrabar. The strange guards claimed the commoners were killed as they committed the crime of claiming to be spell-casters by painting identifying blue dot on their forehead. Vambran knew that if, indeed, the victims were wearing the dots on their foreheads, they would not be hastily and poorly applied in chalk. The guards also chose not to heed Vambran's words despite the hierarchy and respect the members of the Sapphire Crescent shared with the guard – another suspicious indicator that the perpetrators were impostors. Serendipitously, another group of guards arrived, led by Captain Leguay. The bodies were taken into custody to be magically interrogated the following day.

Upon arriving at the Matrell family home, Vambran was met with scorn for endangering his sister while Dregaul Matrell dismissed his nephew's good intentions and extremely suspicious guards. On Tarsakh 11, young Matrell paid a visit to the Municipal Guard of Arrabar to aid the investigation; however, he was stonewalled by the Captain, who cared little for the slain commoners and informed Vambran that the bodies were not interrogated. Instead, their bodies were destroyed by clerics of Waukeen who claimed the victims were affected by the dreaded magical plague that infamously decimated region during the Rotting War. Angry with the law enforcement, Vambran turned for help with his investigation to his uncle and the leader of the Sapphire Crescent – Kovrim Lazelle.

After their meeting, uncle Kovrim and Vambran headed to Dark She Looks Upon Me, a popular Arrabarran eatery. There, the young lieutenant was ambushed by a band of mysterious assassins who were hellbent on stopping Vambran's investigation. With help from a mysterious figure in red armor, Vambran barely survived the assault. Kovrim Lazelle arrived just in time to heal his nephew's wounds. Now certain he's stumbled into something serious, Vambran headed to the Crying Claw tavern to recruit his childhood friend and fellow Sapphire Crescents – Adyan Mercatio and Horial Rohden. Accompanied by his loyal friends, Vambran used the Art to track down a jeweled dagger taken from Emriana by the corrupt Municipal Guard of Arrabar. The magic led the trio to a warehouse with Dressus's body. The guard who took the dagger was dead, and Vambran was ambushed by a hungry leechwalker, another trap. The creature badly hurt the trio while Vambran was saved by the red-armored woman once again.

The next day, Tarsakh 11, Vambran recovered from the injuries with the healing magic of Waukeen. The man followed another lead – the dead servant's mother who lived in the eastern part of Arrabar. Nimra Skolotti, the mother of the killed servant, and the servant sister, Mirolyn Skolotti, reluctantly revealed to Vambran that Jithelle Skolotti was not having an affair with Hoytir, the stable hand she was killed alongside. In reality, the young servant woman was sharing her bed with Denrick Pharaboldi, Emriana's unwanted paramour. The old woman also revealed that Jithelle was pregnant with Pharaboldi bastard. Vambran knew that this child was the reason for the young servant's death.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Sapphire Crescent &bull; The Ruby Guardian &bull; The Emerald Scepter