Keph Thingoleir

Keph Thingoleir was a young duelist in Yhaunn in the 14 century DR. He lived at Fourstaves House with the rest of the Thingoleir family.

Description
He had brown hair and a goatee, and always wore his magic rapier Quick at his side.

Personality
As a young man, he covered up his insecurities with acts of bravado and rebellion, carousing and fighting in the Stiltways to prove his worth and drown his worries.

At the height of his fervor for Shar, he was recklessly overconfident and aggressive, filled with a sense of invincibility.

Abilities
Unlike the rest of his family, Keph had no innate ability with arcane magic. Instead, was a good fighter and duelist, and was very skilled with his rapier Quick.

Being raised by wizards gave him a decent familiarity with magic, even if he could never use it. He had a deep well of willpower, and he had the potential to wield divine magic if trained properly.

He was able to intuitively channel the powers of The Leaves of One Night, an ability that both Selûne and Shar considered dangerous. After accidentally using The Leaves to defend himself, he had a silvery rune of abjuration from it branded on his left thumb which he could use to banish summoned creatures.

Relationships
Keph was the youngest child of Strasus Thingoleir and Dagnalla Irongard, two experienced archmages. He was the younger brother of the wizards Malia Thingoleir and Roderio Thingoleir, and the uncle of Malia's child Adrey Foxrun.

Growing up as the only non-wizard in his family, they had difficulty relating to each other and he developed a sense of inferiority and isolation. As an adult, he felt resentful and envious of their abilities, rebelling against his parents whenever possible. Although his father attempted to bond with him by gifting him Quick, he paid little heed to the effort. The only family member he wasn't antagonistic towards was his niece Adrey, to whom he was a beloved uncle.

His closest friendship was with Jarull Cartcoster, a fellow restless young man with whom he would often spend his nights carousing.

He had a fierce rivalry with Lyraene, another young duelist. He was bitterly envious of even her limited grasp of cantrips.

History
In Eleasis of 1373 DR, he was arrested and questioned regarding the disappearance of his friend Jarull, who had been kidnapped by the shade priestess Variance Amatick.

At the Sky's Mantle tavern, he was goaded into a duel with Lyraene, who easily bested and humiliated him. He was rescued by Variance, who was impersonating Jarull's form with shapeshifting magic. As Jarull, she gave him a vial of magesbane dust, hoping to gauge the wards in his family home. Keph was inspired to use it to get revenge on his brother, and sprinkled it in Roderio's alchemical ingredients and vessels, ensuring his next project would be sabotaged. Unfortunately, Keph had grossly miscalculated the effects of the dust, which destroyed the workshop and almost killed his brother. He managed to cover up the evidence of what he did and got away with it, with the incident blamed on Roderio making a mistake while working.

Later, Variance manipulated Keph into joining the temple of Shar. During his initiation, he had to ritually murder his niece Adrey, but deduced that it was an illusion and proceeded with the "sacrifice". Variance was impressed by his wits and willpower, and noted that he would be worth training as a priest of Shar. She further manipulated him by tricking him into thinking he could cast an orison, greatly boosting his self-esteem and tying his self-worth to his devotion to Shar.

After being initiated and filled with overwhelming confidence, he lured his rival Lyraene into another duel and theatrically defeated her. He then began torturing her with Quick, intending to cripple her arms and prevent her from ever casting spells again. Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the Selûnite priest Mifano, who drove him away and healed Lyraene.

A few nights later, he was drinking at Cutter's Dip when the Selûnite priestess Feena Archwood arrived incognito, attempting to investigate the cult of Shar. By chance, he took her side in a brawl against the thugs Stag and Drik, defeating them and earning her thanks.

After an affirming encounter with Adrey at home, he had a series of nightmares that forced him to confront his misdeeds and the future that awaited him. He immediately fled the city in an attempt to escape Variance and her church, meeting Feena again at the gates as she also fled Moonshadow Hall.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Mistress of the Night