Gauwervyndhal

Gauwervyndhal, also known as Gauwer or The Empress Dragon, was the dragon ruler of Skelkor in 1479 DR.

Personality
Gauwervyndhal was a tyrant, but she also was paranoid. Gauwervyndhal had ruled Skelkor for so long that she was bored and craved entertainment, yet she greatly feared the outside world, to the point that she preferred to be isolated in her empire whenever possible.

Gauwervyndhal was known for being a brutal mother. She spawned clutch after clutch of wyrmlings whose lives were short in most cases, as only the strongest of each clutch survived to adulthood. The survivors became known as her "suzerains", tasked with day to day ruling of Skelkor, and with the protection of the land. She was very interested in the lore her suzerains obtained from their dreams granted by consuming arambar.

Gauwervyndhal also dreamed with getting a worthy mate, as she wanted to give birth to a perfect heir to inherit Skelkor, yet she couldn't trust a creature as powerful as the individual she had idealized to be said worthy mate.

Activities
Gauwervyndhal greatly feared magic, yet she was also obsessed with it. She bided her time trying to master all kinds of magic, and sending her agents and servants to get every magic item they could, or to destroy those they couldn't, to keep herself safe.

Description
No mortal in Laerakond, not even her own suzerains, knew to which dragon species belonged Gauwervyndhal. She usually took the form of a gigantic dragon with purple or rose-reddish scales, although she was known for being able to magically change her appearance.

Equipment
Dragons of all kinds feared Gauwervyndhal, as she possessed a powerful item known as the Wyrmcrown, that allowed her to poison any dragon related to her, or any dragon whose blood she had tasted.

History
Before the Spellplague, in the world of Abeir, Gauwervyndhal founded the Empire of Skelkor. Old legends of the Sword Lands had that the old king of Amra was a dragonheir, who controlled Gauwervyndhal and made her promise she would never attack his kingdom. Regardless of the truth, Gauwervyndhal had never attacked those lands, neither ordered her suzerains to do invade or attack them as well.

Nearly two centuries before the Spellplague, rebellious clans of dragonborn slaves managed to seize a province of the empire and free themselves from the rule of the Dragon Empress after the Battle of the Crippled Mountain, founding the nation of Tymanchebar. Gauwervyndhal was unable to subjugate the rebels.

In the wake of the Spellplague, however, Skelkor, along with a great Abeiran landmass later known as Laerakond, was transported to Toril. During the process, a portion of Tymanchebar, in whose lands was located Djerad Thymar, was separated from Skelkor and fell in the Faerûnian land of Unther. With their capital city lost, the remaining dragonborn in Skelkor lost their fighting spirit and Gauwervyndhal was able to defeat them and reconquer what was left of the province.

During the Wailing Years, many dragonborn clans rebelled after having found enough quantities of dragonbane amber to kill many dragons. Thanks to the warnings of her rathrea, Gauwervyndhal was aware of this rebellion beforehand, and fled to safer lands with a few of her dragon servants until the dragonborn rebels had expended all their dragonbane amber. After that, she returned to Skelkor, destroyed the rebellion and continued her reign of terror in the new world.

At some point, clerics of a few gods reached Skelkor. Out of fear, Gauwervyndhal sought out said priests and made arrangements with their deities, so their priest could never act against her.

A few years before 1479 DR, Gauwervyndhal sent agents to the city of Tarmalune to kidnap Halagothra the Healer. Gauwervyndhal's plot was disrupted, however, when Halagothra was rescued thanks to the efforts of the Vigilant order.