Amahl Shoon IV

Qysar Amahl Shoon IV, known as Amahl the Mad, was the fifth emperor of the Shoon Imperium. He went insane in the final years of his reign.

Activities
Beginning with the death of his own brother, Shoon III, Amahl Shoon IV assassinated anyone who bothered him. He killed the lowliest slaves to the entire ruling class of the city of Manshaka. In his last two years as emperor alone, he had more than 200 nobles assassinated. He also oppressed the various religions of the Empire. Like Emperor Shoon II before him, he persecuted the Ilmatari especially severely.

Relationships
Amahl IV was the younger brother of Shoon III and the older brother of Amahl Shoon V.

Possessions
Amahl had a pair of prized possessions: his Silver Scimitar and his Mastering. The ring, one of the powerful Qysari Rings of the Shoon Imperium, gave him the ability to harm or cast spells upon wearers of other shoonrings and unlocked special attack and defense abilities in the Silver Scimitar. Amahl's sword and ring, and the hand that bore them, were strangely never recovered from the River Agis after Amahl's death, even after over 100 years of searching.

History
When his older brother came to power in 123 DR, Amahl IV was appointed Caleph of Calimshan. He lusted after power and desired his elder brother's position, so he murdered him one day during a feast in Shoon III's harem in 130 DR and took the crown.

Every year, the qysar demanded that fireworks be loosed in his honor on his birthday. On one such occasion&mdash;fittingly, the Year of Sparks Flying, 138 DR&mdash;several fires erupted in the poorer sections of Almraiven, Calimport, Memnon, and Shoonach. Amahl blamed the Ilmatari, boldly claiming that they started the fires that killed thousands to ease their suffering.

After traveling for fifteen years, Amahl IV's brother, also named Amahl, returned in 142 DR to find one brother mad and the other brother murdered. Amahl V tried to depose Amahl IV civilly, but Amahl IV refused to listen to reason and attempted to slay Amahl V with his magical scimitar. Amahl V, who was a wizard, used a wind spell to blow his brother off the Imperial Mount, where he fell to his death in the River Agis.

Amahl IV was buried at Nykkar.

Trivia
Despite his brother's madness, in 194 DR, Amahl V commission a statue of Amahl IV to be erected in the Bakkal Sabban of Calimport as part of the Fountain of the Qysars, a monument to the first seven rulers of the Shoon. Amahl IV's statue was the one on the north side of the octagonal palisade.

Appearances

 * Licensed Adventures & Organized Play
 * A Wrinkle in the Weave