Elminster

Elminster Aumar (born in 212 DR ), also known as the "Sage of Shadowdale" and the "Old Mage", was one of the most famous and powerful wizards in all of Faerûn, as well as a fair fighter and thief.

Appearance
As a high-level wizard, Elminster was capable of taking on almost any appearance imaginable.

In his natural state Elminster appeared as a gray-bearded man of weathered visage, gruff tone, alert eyes, and nondescript attire. He was almost always smoking a calabash pipe that was spouting some vile blue or green smoke.

Elminster's most distinguishing physical feature was his hawk-like nose.

Personality
A natural storyteller, Elminster was normally a witty, clever, and very charming man. He was a consummate actor, however and could be imperious, grave, and terrible as the situation demanded. He rarely revealed the full extent of his true nature to anyone who was not an extremely close friend. He could portray himself as a trickster, a rake, a stern father figure, or any other stereotype he wanted to assume, depending on what he wanted to accomplish or what reaction he wanted to elicit from those around him.

Allies
The Harpers; the other Chosen of Mystra (especially the Simbul, his paramour); Mystra herself; Lhaeo, his scribe; and good people everywhere.

Elminster interacted regularly with the other Chosen of Mystra through a telepathic link. As well as once sharing a bed with the goddess herself, he conducted a relationship with the Simbul of the Seven Sisters. Elminster and Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun had something of a rivalry, whilst Volo sorely taxed the old mage's patience.

The Making of a Mage
The first novel in the The Elminster series, Making of a Mage recounts the character's origin story, which explains why he has levels in so many different character classes (fighter, rogue, cleric, and wizard).

Elminster was born in 212 DR to Elthryn, the lord of the village of Heldon and a prince of Athalantar, and his wife Amrythale, in the kingdom of Athalantar. His family was killed by a malaugrym named Undarl, one of the magelords of the ancient kingdom of Athalantar. Taking up his father's broken sword, the Lion Sword, the symbol of the great king of the Stag Throne (who was Elminster's grandfather), Elminster became a brigand and a thief at the ripe age of twelve.

He soon realized that he had no taste for killing, and gave it up when he went to become a burglar in the city of Hastarl, the capital of Athalantar. He met and formed a bond of friendship with a young thief, Farl, who knew Elminster as Eladar "the Dark"; they committed many acts of thievery and lived life fully, later forming the gang the "Velvet Hands" in opposition to the rival gang, the Moonclaws, who were servants of the magelords. Later during a burglary, Elminster met the Magister of the time, Dorgon "Stonecloak" Heamiiolothar, the wizard who bore the mantle of Azuth's power. When asked if he was interested in learning sorcery, Elminster refused, as he hated all mages because of the magelords.

After many adventures, Elminster was visited by Mystra, the Goddess of All Magic. She tarried with him and left the awestruck Elminster with the message that he should learn of magic and worship her. Soon thereafter, while he was still a young adult, Mystra transformed Elminster into a woman named Elmara to strengthen his bond with magic and to know what it is to be a woman. This change also allowed him to move within his enemies' circles without their knowledge that he was in fact the last surviving prince of Athalantar. For a few years, Elmara was a priestess of Mystra. Later, an avatar of Mystra (who went by the name Myrjala "Darkeyes") trained Elmara in the ways of a mage and brought her to an ancient Netherese arcanist who taught Elmara a spell that would transform her back into Elminster. In the time that followed, Elminster learned much about magic from Myrjala, reaching the point where he could finish taking his revenge against the evil magelords who had usurped the kingdom. After a terrific battle, Elminster persevered and assumed the throne of Athalantar.

However, no sooner had he gained the kingship than he passed it to one one of his friends, Helm Stoneblade, a knight of Athalantar. Elminster stated that he had wanted to avenge his family's death, not become a monarch. As he and Myrjala left the kingdom, the so-called Mage Royal, Undarl, attacked them, and the sorceress revealed herself to be Mystra. She offered to make Elminster one of her Chosen, and he readily accepted.

Elminster in Myth Drannor
A sequel to Making of a Mage, Elminster in Myth Drannor takes place shortly afterwards. In this novel, Elminster travels to the city of Cormanthor. The book details the ancient elven society and its people, as well as highlighting Elminster's continued magical studies, as he serves as an apprentice to a cruel and powerful wizard.

Elminster remains in Cormanthor for over two decades, and is present when the mythal is raised and the city is renamed Myth Drannor.

The Temptation of Elminster
The Temptation of Elminster moves the time line ahead several centuries. At the outset of the novel in 759 DR, Elminster emerges from a dusty tomb, after being trapped there in stasis for many years (roughly a century, suggesting he entered the tomb around 659 DR).

During much of this book, magic becomes unreliable, and Elminster must again learn to survive by his wits and the skills he picked up earlier in his life. He later undergoes further magical training under the tutelage of a wicked sorceress who seeks to tempt him away from Mystra's path.

Following the events of The Temptation of Elminster, Elminster served as a foster parent to three other of Mystra's Chosen: Laeral, Storm Silverhand, and Dove. It is also suspected that he had something to do with the founding of Waterdeep, or at least with the organizing of the city's lords.

Time of Troubles
Elminster was instrumental in forming the Rangers Three, who aided him in recurring battles with the mysterious Shadowmasters during this time. Elminster also took time out to defend Shadowdale from an army of Zhentarim led by the avatar of Bane. Bane and Elminster battled, and both were caught up in the spell that Elminster had called upon to dispose of the avatar. Elminster was originally thought to have been destroyed, but when he later reappeared it became apparent that he had merely been transported to another plane of existence for a time.

Shadow of the Avatar Crisis
In Elminster's absence, the foes of good tried to rally, but the other Chosen, the Knights of Myth Drannor, and the Rangers Three held them at bay until he returned. With the present crisis averted, all seemed calm, but the Shadowmasters had other ideas. Elminster and the Rangers Three, along with their allies, managed to frustrate and foil the plans of this race of shapeshifters.

Elminster also confronted the Overgod, Lord Ao, over his instigation of the Time of Troubles while innocents were being killed. As the critical moment of the Time of Troubles approached, Mystra knew of what was to come and she shed most of her power into Midnight the human wizard, so that all of her essence would not cease to exist. Since Elminster obtained his power from Mystra, this change left him personally powerless at a critical juncture.

He recruited one of the Rangers Three, Sharantyr, and they equipped themselves from Elminster's cache of magical items, which would still function. The two of them were later reunited with the other two members of the band, Itharr and Belkram, but even the Rangers Three could not prevent Elminster from being wounded in battle. Despite this setback, Elminster and the Rangers, along with their allies, not only freed High Dale and defeated Manshoon of the Zhentarim, but they also outlasted the Time of Troubles, and Elminster regained his magic.

Elminster in Hell
When the floating city of Thultanthar was returned to Faerûn after their exile in the Plane of Shadow, the Shadovar came to Shadowdale to ambush Elminster. In the confrontation spells were thrown, and Storm blasted one of the shadow princes with a ball of silver fire. Since Shadovar are living shadow magic, and silver fire is pure Weave magic, the collision between the two tore at the fabric of reality, creating a rift to the Nine Hells. Elminster realized that the only way to close the portal before legions of devils spilled forth into Toril was to close it from the other side.

In the opening of Elminster in Hell, Elminster entered the portal and narrowly managed to do so, but at the expense of much of his magical strength. Once in Hell he was abducted and enslaved by an outcast archdevil known as Nergal, who wished to discover the secret of Mystra's silver fire. In the most graphic scenes of the The Elminster Series, Elminster was subject to brutal tortures, surviving only because of his exceptional endurance and ability to heal himself with silver fire. While the arch-fiend plundered Elminster's thoughts and memories, Mystra became aware of her favorite servant's plight and entered Hell herself to find him. Realizing that her presence in Hell was overly conspicuous, Mystra retreated and dispatched more subtle agents to find him; first Halaster Blackcloak, the Mad Mage of Undermountain (who was defeated) and then the Simbul. After much searching, the Simbul found him, and together they defeated Nergal and returned home.

Elminster's Daughter
Elminster's Daughter takes place a few years after Elminster in Hell (the novel also acts as sequel to Death of the Dragon). A relatively light-hearted book when compared to the more violent Elminster in Hell, it focuses primarily on the life of one of Elminster's children, Narnra Shalace.

Narnra Shalace has none but herself to depend upon. She eventually finds her way to Marsember through a set of strange circumstances, and meets an old man, who is none other than Elminster. Because of her curiosity, Narnra quickly finds herself involved not only in the intrigues of the Cormyrean nation, but also with Elminster, who turns out to be her father, who she has never known.

Other Events
Elminster then secretly helped a small group of adventurers near Westgate at the Reddansyr Village, investigating the destiny of the clone of Manshoon, and unmasking the real leader of Night Masks of Westgate, the Night King known as "The Faceless" (the Manshoon clone, now known as Orbakh), three years after the Manshoon Wars in the year of 1373 DR. He has also aided Abdel Adrian and his companions, making occasional appearances to the party, both to check on their progress, and to impart wisdom in regards to their quest in the Bhaalspawn crisis.

On 15 Nightal 1374 DR, Sharran agents attempted to steal the Ebon Diadem from Elminster's tower. Due to the essence of the artifact and the sheer power of Elminster's wards, on whose power the artifact fed, the Sharrans defeated Elminster (though not without losing most of their number) and a contingency spell whisked Elminster away, while his tower itself was blasted into ruin and transported to another, unknown plane.

The Spellplague
Following the death of Mystra and the collapse of the Weave, Elminster was stripped of many of his abilities as one of the Chosen, though he still aged as slowly as he had for the previous millennium and was still quite powerful magically. However, every use of his magic drove him to - and sometimes over - the brink of insanity. When this happened, only Storm was able to bring his mind back, giving of her own essence to soothe Elminster's mind. Elminster could still cast minor cantrips at times - and had, on several occasions, cast minor illusions - without going mad, though this wasn't always the case.

Despite these setbacks, Elminster and Storm continued with their campaign to save Faerûn, battling evil where they could. For years the two of them pretended to be Elgorn and Stornara Rhauligan, "repairers of ever-crumbling stone, plaster, tapestries, and wood" in the royal palace of Suzail, spying on and testing the loyalties of War Wizards and nobles alike. On one occasion, Elminster even stole into the bedchambers of King Foril and made changes to the Suzail Writ, while his majesty slept not a spear-length away.

In 1479 DR, after finally admitting that they needed help saving the Realms, and having run out of easy-to-steal magic items to feed to the Simbul, Elminster sought to gain access to artifacts known to contain the spirits of the Nine - objects powerful enough to pierce the wards surrounding the royal palace or, Elminster believed, to permanently restore the Simbul's sanity. He also sought to recruit the efforts of a descendant of his, Amarune Whitewave.

During one of his excursions into the palace, Elminster's body was destroyed by Manshoon, who had secretly been peeling away the Old Mage's contingency spells over several years. However, Manshoon departed before he realized that Elminster had survived his body's destruction in a near-undead state. With the agreement of Amarune and the aid of Storm, Elminster's essence was placed upon Amarune's body with the aid of a spell the ex-Chosen discovered in a cache once belonging to Azuth. He then sought to train his great-granddaughter while attempting to defend the Forest Kingdom from Manshoon and traitorous nobles alike. Later thank to the sacrifice of the Simbul he regained his former body again and ruined for good the Manshoon's claim about the throne of Suzail.

In 1487 DR, Elminster (with the help of the Srinshee, Alustriel and Laeral Silverhand) stopped Shar as well as Larloch from becoming the new deity of magic. He killed Telamont Tanthul and let Thultanthar fall upon Myth Drannor. Along the way, Mystra was completely restored.

Apprentices
Elminster once (briefly) had a Calishite apprentice named Raerlin who stole the key to Elminster's closet in order to obtain a powerful spellbook (or possibly phylactery). When Elminster retrieved the key in 1336 DR from a magefair with the help of Storm Silverhand and subsequently opened the closet, Raerlin appeared as a lich. He was defeated when Storm burnt the pages of the tome Raerlin was after.

Trivia

 * According to Lyra Sunrose, Elminster was skilled with a needle and thread, having sewn a blouse for her.
 * Elminster was a poor horseman.
 * Elminster snored loudly while sleeping, although he muted this magically if it would disturb friends. It should be noted that as one of Mystra's Chosen, Elminster does not need to sleep.
 * Elminster penned a number of books in his time including Songs of the Wind: The Holdings of Windsong Tower.

Quotes
"Elminster on:

''Whenever magic one doth weave 'Tis never ever wise to deceive''
 * Magic :

Methinks ye shouldst take what is given when proffered by an elf. They have secrets aplenty, as well they should, and take care ye don't pry too hard. Inquisitiveness is admired by the People, but rude investigation is not, and ye'd crack the shell of a dragon turtle with your teeth sooner than gain secrets from a slighted elf.
 * Elves :

I am Elminster of Shadowdale, called by some the Old Sage, and called far worse things by others. I've walked these realms for over a thousand years. Yet, I am far from the oldest, wisest, or mightiest being to walk the ground of Faerûn with my well-worn boots&mdash;and that is truth. But if ye learn the long history of my deeds, ye'll know precisely what I stand for and what I am. And that's a rare and precious thing, knowing yourself. Do ye know exactly what ye stand for?
 * Himself :

Adventurer, I am Elminster, and I say to ye that these forgotten realms are yours to discover, reforge, and defend, yours to make anew in winning your own crown. Go forth and take up arms against the perils that beset us!


 * Tolerance :

Ye, I, and all gathered here now, are dangerous. Should we then be destroyed out of hand because of what we might do? Nay! It is the right and the doom of all creatures who walk Faerûn to do as they will; it is why we of the art frown so at those who charm often, or in frivolous cause. Not even the gods took unto themselves the power to control ye or me so tightly that we cannot walk or speak or breathe save at another's bidding! It is their will that we may be free to do as we may. Slay a foe, sure, or defend thyself against a raider - but to strike down one who may some day menace thee? That is as monstrous as the act of the usurper who slays all babies in a land, for fear of a rightful heir someday rising against him!

These notices can be found on the side of the path leading to Elminster's tower:

is cracked and paved with the bones of those who could not behave.""
 * "Gone gathering spell components." (This sign at the base of the path is very old and weather beaten, and most pay it little heed.)
 * "No trespassing. Violators should notify next of kin. Have a pleasant day."
 * "An archmage often can react poorly to interruption. Please reconsider before it is too late."
 * "Trespassers could die a quick and certain death or they could be invited in for stew. Thank you for thinking better of disturbing my privacy."
 * "Rumors of spike-filled pits along this path are almost totally false. Thank you for your caution."
 * "This ancient path

Novels and short stories
Elminster has made several appearances in the novels and short stories. Here is a (currently incomplete) list of appearances, in chronological order by in-world year:
 * Elminster: The Making of a Mage (Elminster Series #1)
 * Elminster in Myth Drannor (Elminster Series #2)
 * The Temptation of Elminster (Elminster Series #3)
 * "Lord of the Darkways" (Dragon #390)
 * "Elminster at the Magefair" (in Realms of Valor and The Best of the Realms)
 * Shadowdale (Avatar series #1)
 * Tantras (Avatar series #2)
 * Waterdeep (Avatar series #3)
 * Elminster in Hell (Elminster Series #4)
 * Elminster's Daughter (Elminster Series #5)
 * Elminster Must Die (Sage of Shadowdale #1)
 * Bury Elminster Deep (Sage of Shadowdale #2)
 * Elminster Enraged (Sage of Shadowdale #3)
 * The Herald (The Sundering (series) #6)

Computer games

 * Pools of Darkness
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (under the pseudonym Terminsel an anagram for Elminster)
 * Baldur's Gate II: Throne Of Bhaal