Fox-at-Twilight

The Fox-at-Twilight, born Ilira, was a moon elf adventurer and con artist. Known as Light by her friends, she was a rather enigmatic figure at best. "...Too hung up on power, darkness, and manipulation—not a sense of humor among the whole lot. Bor-ing. Demons. Ever heard a demon lord tell a joke? No? Well, of course, you've never met one, but take my word for it. Graz'zt, Orcus—thoroughly unfunny. The only ones who're worse are the archfiends, Mephistopheles in particular..."

- Fox-at-Twilight

Description
She was often described as having an athletic build, She was slight and lithe to the point of sensuality, with a distinctly elven allure. Hers was not a forgettable face or frame. Twilight had pale skin and raven blue-black hair that she usually wore in a tail to the small of her back. The color of her eyes depended upon the light and her mood but were often described as pale. She had alabaster skin and delicate features.

She wore several earrings and had at least two tattoos: a gold, eight-pointed, asymmetrical star on her lower back, which was the holy symbol of Erevan Ilesere and was known to shock at a touch, and a small black-and-silver fox tattooed on her lower belly.

Twilight acquired a spellscar at some point during the Spellplague.

As of the late 15 century DR, Twilight's appearance changed slightly, as she had solid gold eyes like those of a wolf. By that time, she had Gargan's name tattooed across her breastbone. She was said to wear only black in mourning for a lost love, though she denied this was the case.

Possessions
Her favored garments seemed to be black breeches, a billowy white blouse, vest, a single scarlet fencer's glove, and a matching half-cape. She also carried a particularly short rapier called "Betrayal", which was fashioned of hizaguur metal. In addition, Twilight was never found without her "Shroud", which was a star sapphire amulet that could hide her from scrying. She had some sort of fixation on the device and feared being 'visible' without it in her possession.

Abilities
Twilight fought by utilizing trickery as much as she did with her blade. She often lured her opponents into underestimating her by means of guile or plying her considerable charm to get what she wanted. Fox-at-Twilight was an accomplished duelist and extremely agile.

Relationships
Twilight was the sometime lover of Yldar Nathalan, despite having constant bitter struggles with his sister Cythara that ultimately ended in the death of the latter. Cythara's daughter, the fey'ri warlock Fayne, trained herself to exact revenge on Twilight.

Twilight became a close companion to Gargan Vathkelke, the goliath ranger who helped her escape the Depths of Madness. In the, Gargan manifested as a tattoo of his name across Twilight's breastbone. Twilight's sentient shadow formed in a shape similar to this, though the exact reason for this was a mystery.

Also that year, Twilight took the name of "Lady Ilira" and formed a close relationship with the Sunite priestess Lorien Dawnbringer. While the relationship was rumored to be one of a romantic nature, Lorien denied this fact.

Two men named Neveren and Lilten each claimed a connection to Twilight, one of whom claimed to be her patron and father, though the true nature of their respective relationships was unknown.

History
In the, Fox-at-Twilight helped the sun elf Yldar Nathalan and his sister Cythara in their quest for Ynloeth's Bracer, a powerful elven relic. Twilight proved herself to be far from trustworthy or dependable, and vanished rather than allow Yldar to grow close to her. However, she left him the bracer as a token of their time together. She tended to follow this pattern throughout her adventuring career: using deception to throw potential romantic interests off track and thus avoid intimacy.

In the, Twilight and a number of disparate adventurers were trapped in a dungeon controlled by a mad priest of Demogorgon named Gestal. While she demonstrated her speed, physical prowess, and shadowdancing abilities, Twilight was almost driven insane by the machinations of her tormentor. Only the timely intervention of Erevan Ilesere spared her, though this may have just been a hallucination on the part of Twilight. She escaped from the Depths of Madness, along with the goliath Gargan Vathkelke.

By the late 15 century DR, Twilight was living in the bustling city of Waterdeep. She disguised herself as a silk merchant and fashion queen called Lady Ilira Nathalan, using both her real name the surname of her deceased love. She was framed for the murder of her best friend and Sunite priestess Lorien Dawnbringer, but quickly fled the scene and sought out her revenge.

Rumors
Twilight made a variety of outrageous claims about her past, including being a former lover of her divine patron, Erevan Ilesere.

It was speculated that due to the color of her eyes, Twilight was an agent of the Shadovar as well as a possible assassin working for the shades of returned Netheril.

There were rumors that the Silver Fox series of chapbooks were written as an account of Twilight's adventuring career. The most recent volume, Fox and the Blue Fire ostensibly described her life during the time of the Spellplague.

Background
Author Erik Scott de Bie, creator of Fox-at-Twilight, together with Thomas M. Reid, provided additional details and 3.5-edition statistics for her, available here.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Realms of the Elves: "The Greater Treasure" • Depths of Madness • Downshadow