Eltan

Grand Duke Eltan was the founder and leader of the Flaming Fist mercenary company, as well as a Grand Duke of the city of Baldur's Gate in the 1300s DR. During the iron crisis of 1368 DR, Eltan was nearly assassinated by members of the Iron Throne, but he survived the attempt.

Description
Eltan was a handsome, tall man with black hair and grey eyes. He was usually clad for combat, wearing a full suit of polished plate mail and carrying multiple magical items and weapons. He was extremely wealthy, as a result of leading the wildly successful Flaming Fist company.

Personality
A steadfast and principled man, Eltan was respected by many Faerûnian rulers, both for his tactical genius and because he was familiar with the plight of ruling a realm. Eltan had a sincere belief in maintaining the balance of power among the many small kingdoms of Faerûn, and as such actively sought to hire out his Flaming Fist to prevent the formation of empires. Although he had a love of fighting, Eltan strove to keep emotions separated from business.

Possessions
Duke Eltan owned an enchanted suit of plate mail and a displacer cloak. He wore a girdle of frost giant strength and gauntlets of ogre power, greatly increasing his strength. He disdained the use of a shield, and preferred to bring a hammer of thunderbolts into combat, although he rarely used it. Other weapons in his arsenal included a frostbrand longsword, a magical silver longsword, a magical silver dagger, as well as a telepathic short sword named Roan, which he was greatly attached to. Eltan wore a ring of absorption, a ring of anti-venom, a greenstone amulet, as well as a magical bracelet that allowed him to telepathically communicate with his senior officers.

Eltan's personal fortune numbered 160,000 gp, contained in a sealed vault in the Nether Mountains, accessible by his friend Moruene through a scroll of teleport.

Activities
Eltan was often the subject of assassination attempts, since it was commonly believed that the Flaming Fist would crumble without his leadership.

Relationships
Eltan kept the counsel of two good friends. The massive fighter Scar was Eltan's right-hand man in the Flaming Fist. The two were close, having known each other since their youth, and Eltan was one of only two people who knew Scar's true name. Moruene, a powerful magic user, was a lifelong friend of Eltan, and his occasional lover.

In combat, Eltan, together with Moruene, would often be protected by the seven senior officers of the Flaming Fist. These visored, plate-clad warriors would form a hedgehog formation around Eltan, willing to give their lives for their leader.

History
Although he was born in Baldur's Gate, Eltan spent some of his youth in Waterdeep together with Scar and Moruene. He eventually returned to his home city, and in the he founded the Flaming Fist mercenary company, unifying several smaller mercenary groups in the process. The Fist quickly became popular, drawing so many recruits that it numbered two thousand strong not long after its foundation. With his newfound political power, Eltan leveraged his way onto the city's ruling Council of Four. One of his first acts was to hire his own company to establish law and order in the crime-ridden Lower City of Baldur's Gate, using government taxes to finance the enterprise. Incorporating Eltan and the Flaming Fist into the ruling structure of Baldur's Gate was a large benefit to the city, through increasing tax revenue, curbing lawlessness, and making it a significant military power along the Sword Coast.

In the early 1360s DR, Eltan and the Flaming Fist were involved in several ventures. They were hired by Sembia to fight the Tuigan menace in the Hordelands, and aided the Golden Legion of Amn in ending the notorious pirate lord Akbet-Khrul. Eltan also hired his company out for reduced rates in Tethyr: it was speculated he was planning to leverage this into setting up a puppet government for himself.

When Maztica was discovered in the, Eltan immediately financed expeditions to the new continent, as well as to Chult. He was inspired by his city's founder, Balduran, who had vanished whilst searching for Anchorome. Seized by an urge to explore, Eltan purchased a fleet of ships and sent hundreds of Flaming Fist across the sea, led by his friend Scar. The Maztica expedition arrived in the, and founded the settlement of Fort Flame on Maztican soil. Fort Flame was heavily beset by sahuagin and wild elves, but remained standing. Scar returned to Baldur's Gate, and in the reinforcements sent by Eltan arrived at Fort Flame.

When the iron crisis plagued the Sword Coast a couple years later, Duke Eltan worked with Scar and Abdel Adrian to investigate the Iron Throne and their activities within the city. Unfortunately, a greater doppelganger took the place of Eltan's healer Rashad and gradually poisoned the Grand Duke over a period of time. While the untrustworthy Angelo Dosan briefly took power as the head of the Flaming Fist, Eltan was able to recover from his ailment.

In Uktar of that year, Eltan and his fellow dukes committed one hundred Flaming Fist mercenaries to the Coalition army. The combined forces marched on Dragonspear Castle to stop the senseless destruction caused by the Shining Crusade.

Legacy
By the, Eltan was long dead, but still remembered. His descendants became a patriar family in Baldur's Gate, though they sold their stake in the Flaming Fist company to cover debt. Eltan's armor and sword were on display among other trophies and relics in the Seatower of Balduran.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate series (Baldur's Gate • Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear)
 * Gamebooks
 * Spawn of Dragonspear