Esvele Greycastle

Esvele Greycastle was a Chondathan human cleric of Shar and a shadow adept from Chondath in the mid–14th century DR. Raised in the church, she worked intrigues in Sembia. Of more note were her later attempts to create dead-magic zones in Cormyr and Shadowdale.

Description
Esvele was of slim build and average height for her kind. Being of native Chondathan ancestry, she had curly dark brown hair, tawny-hued skin, and amber eyes, and was attractice. She kept her hair unbound and grew it long, down to her waist.

Personality
A true and zealous believer in the Lady of Loss and the teachings of her church, she was determined to fulfill her role as an exemplary worshiper of Shar. She kept her emotions well-guarded and only showed on her face the feelings that she wished to be known. This was in keeping with Chondathan mannerisms and customary serenity. Although she left the land at a young age, she'd spent long enough there to acquire its customs.

Early Years
Esvele was the middle daughter of a prosperous merchant family from Chondath. When Esvele was aged around thirteen years old, her parents slumped suddenly into poverty after some poor trading decisions. Almost on the street, they were approached unexpectedly by the clergy of the church of Shar, who offered them a substantial sum in gold for the purchase of Esvele. Her parents quickly accepted this offer and handed over their daughter.

Thereafter, young Esvele was raised to adulthood in the church, rising swiftly as a prodigy of the faith.

By 1372 DR, she was assigned to a secret temple in Urmlaspyr. There, she attempted to recruit new members to the church from the rich but jaded merchants of Sembia, using her looks and knack for intrigue.

Tearing the Weave
In 1374 DR Esvele was placed in charge of a plan to create a dead-magic zone over the Vast Swamp. She instructed the mutant black dragon Despayr as to what Shar's plans were so that he could fulfill them while she moved on to a new project. She also trained a shadar-kai sorcerer in the use of the Shadow Weave in the hopes that he would train more of his kind.

Scouring of Shadowdale
Later in the year, Esvele introduced Alokkair the wizard-king to an emissary of Telamont Tanthul, named Nayiiara Darhoun. The Lich allowed Esvele to create a temple to Shar beneath his lair in exchange for the Netherese knowledge Nayiiara bestowed him. It was in this lair that Esvele completed the Rite of Unwinding which created an expanding area that supressed the Weave over the entire dale. Her then Zhentarim allies, who had conquered the dale, had mixed feelings about her ritual. The Rite of Unwinding prevented the Chosen of Mystra from interfering with their occupation of Shadowdale but it also impaired their own spellcasting unless they converted their magic to Shadow Magic. Regardless, in 1375, adventurers, who would later go on to help free Shadowdale from the occupying Zhent army, slew Esvele and then reversed the ritual making magic function normally in the dale once more thus cutting short the career of a promising young priestess.

Abilities
Esvele was a capable cleric of Shar, commanding the Evil and Knowledge domains of divine spells. She also was an adept practitioner of Shadow Weave magic, of an especially insidious, pernicious, and tenacious form. She could also cast spells both silently and without making a move.

Her upbringing taught her to be a survivor, and she had a talent for intrigue. She proficient in the chakram.

Possessions
Esvele wore magical +2 studded leather shadow armor and fought with a +1 returning chakram and a +1 sickle. She wore a ring of mind shielding and also possessed a staff of charming, as well as scrolls of circle of death and globe of invulnerability.

Background
Esvele Greycastle began simply as an example priestess of Shar in Lords of Darkness; indeed, "Esvele" and "Greycastle" are taken from the list of example names for Chondathans in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition, page 12. She was reused as a behind-the-scenes villain for the Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave adventure and then as an open villain in Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land.