Zelphar Thann

Zelphar Thann was the fourth son of Rhammas and Cassandra Thann of Waterdeep and an older brother of Danilo Thann. He served as Tethyr's Count of Rivershire and Estate Chancellor. He was in charge of public works and maintained the siegeworks in the Reclamation Army. However, his passion was wine, so he took care of most of his family's vineyards in the south.

Personality
Zelphar Thann was known to be quiet, thoughtful, and reserved, which made him appear weak and ineffective. He was well aware of how he was perceived and preferred to use others' misconceptions to his advantage.

Abilities
Not only was Lord Zelphar a superb architect, but he was also an excellent leader, managing the county assigned to him well in spite of his unpopularity with the landed families. (Of the seven land-owning families of Rivershire, only two of them liked the new count.)

Holdings
Count Thann's manor was Lhestyn's Hearth, which he named after his grandmother. Zelphar redesigned the formerly abandoned manor's defenses. It was twelve miles north of Darromar.

Activities
As Estate Chancellor of Tethyr, Count Zelphar Thann was responsible for the building and maintenance of all public works&mdash;public buildings, defenses, roads, bridges, etc.&mdash;which made him one of the most popular officials in the eyes of the common people. His role extends to military engineering projects as well. Thus, when Queen Zaranda sent her army to Riatavin after that city defected from Amn, Zelphar was sent along with them as an advisor.

Relationships
Zelphar was a member of the famous House Thann of Waterdeep, but as a Tethyrian he was swayed by Prince Haedrak to join in the latter's quest to retake the throne of Tethyr. His family provided 200 cavalry and 2,000 pikemen for the cause.

Haedrak, and later Zaranda Star, tried hard to set up Zelphar with Perendra Raslemtar. The two nobles did grow very fond of each other, yet their shyness and business meant the relationship progressed more slowly than the royal couple would have liked.

Zelphar was a friend of Kyrin Hawkwinter, and he was responsible for fortifying her keep of Daraqadim.

Rumors
It was rumored that the Qonsir family, led by Lord Tedeo Qonsir, was trying to unify the other families of Rivershire against Zelphar by making the accusation that his relationship with Lady Perendra was simply a ploy to gain standing with the queen.

Zelphar was a member of the Merchant's Chosen of Riatavin, which made him a target for the Shadow Thieves. While he was there in 1370 DR, they took advantage of the opportunity to spy out what information they could from the count's staff. The Knights of the Shield were aware of the Thieves' plans, however, and thwarted assassination attempts against both Zelphar and his nephew Erktos, the Royal Bailiff. With Lord Inselm Hhune a duke in Tethyr, keeping the two Thanns alive was in their interests for the purposes of manipulating trade and politics.