Alaundo

Alaundo the Seer was a sage and prophet based at Candlekeep on the Sword Coast in the late 2 century DR. He was the singular sage whose predictions actually came true through the ages. Citing a seer from past ages that Alaundo called "the T Source", the prophecies he made included the creation of the Bhaalspawn and the creation of the Seven Scourges. "These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed words unwritten—and set them down ere they fade... Learn then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."

- Alaundo of Candlekeep

History
Alaundo arrived at Candlekeep in the. Where he'd come from, nobody knew; his peers presumed he'd been raised in one of the port cities of the Sword Coast, after various offhand remarks he'd made. Much else about him was a mystery. What was known was that he'd come to read the works of others, thanks to his great interest in books. Although some sources stated that Candlekeep was originally the citadel of Alaundo, he in fact had only a small and humble tower, about which much of Candlekeep grew. The precise location of this tower was lost over the centuries and in the many other towers built since.

While there, Alaundo added significantly to the Roll of Years, the grand list of prophetic names of years past, present, and future first developed by the Lost Sage Augathra the Mad centuries earlier, and extended it many centuries into the future. Alaundo and Augathra both based their work on a centuries-long corpus of elven lore and prophecies and expanded on it with their own predictions. A tradition at Candlekeep held that Alaundo had seen future events in his dreams, but needed multiple and repeated dreams to put them exactly in order. It was told by some that he'd been inspired by gods, or even that he was an avatar of a god himself. While a number of historians criticized Alaundo and Augathra alike as mere plagiarists who'd appropriated elven lore and claimed the credit, others would hail them as visionaries who tried to aid later generations with their forewarnings and encouragements.

After Alaundo died, Candlekeep became a place for the preservation and study of his prophecies, and indeed of all knowledge. Known collectively as the Prophecies of Alaundo, the monks would keep safe his prophecies among their vast collection of writings, and even chanting them ceaselessly night and day as they walked around the citadel under the direction of the Chanter and their three assistances, the Voice of the North, the Voice of the East, and the Voice of the South. When the Keeper decreed a particular prophecy had been fulfilled, it was removed from the Endless Chant, so it grew steadily shorter. Occasionally, one of the Avowed of Candlekeep would abruptly stop and stare and utter a cryptic prophecy in an unfamiliar voice, believed by many of them to be "the spirit of Alaundo rising within". While they would exclaim "Alaundo Speaks!", such prophecies were never accepted in the Endless Chant.

His skull was supposedly stolen shortly after his death and was a priceless relic venerated by the faithful of Deneir, Oghma, and Savras. It was greatly sought after by the illithids of Oryndoll, and rumors of its existence and whereabouts around 1370 DR caused an increase in illithid activity on the southern shores of the Deepwash. It was said that the bearer of the skull could speak directly with Alaundo using a speak with dead spell.

Personality
Alaundo was known to be quiet and erudite, and he was fascinated with books all his life.

Prophecies
Some specific prophecies of Alaundo were:
 * That Cormyr would be visited by "armies of the dead, and legions of devils" who would " sweep it away in ruin, unless those who should have been dead are there to stand against them." To guard against this threat, the Lords Who Sleep were formed, with a band of warriors in temporal stasis to await the day when the kingdom had need of them.
 * The Stone That Speaks, containing the trapped spirit of an archmage of Netheril, lay within the ruins of Tempus's Tears; Candlekeep sponsored many expeditions to retrieve it.
 * 1372 DR: A large-scale magical catastrophe would strike Anauroch, which was taken seriously by a Zhentarim agent putting together an urgent expedition to a recover a treasure there that year. Though not immediately catastrophic, Thultanthar, the City of Shade, returned there in Hammer.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Card Games
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Card Games