Onyx the Invincible

Onyx the Invincible, or Onyx, Blood of Placidor, was a male dwarf fighter, thief, and adventurer who hailed from Eartheart in the Great Rift and lived in Waterdeep in the late 1350s DR.

Personality
He was a wild exception to the classic image of a dour dwarf looking to the past. Onyx the Invincible was hot-tempered and bad-tempered, rowdy and impulsive by nature, brimming over with energy to act, to perform great deeds, and grab some gold and fight evil creatures bigger than himself along the way. He had little interest in ancient history, instead wanting to forge his own reputation for the future, to be known as a dwarven hero himself. However, he was still young in his early adventuring days, barely 35, so his dwarven elders viewed his ways as "the mad passions of youth". They expected he would achieve either greatness or an early and reckless demise.

As a descendent of Placidor, Onyx had the right to call himself "Blood of Placidor". However, rebellious by nature, he refused to go by the traditional dwarven name. Instead, he named himself "the Invincible", a challenge to any who would test it. However, he was the only one who ever used it.

Onyx enjoyed battle, saying he liked to get close enough to see the look of death in a foe's eyes. However, he had a soft spot, buried deep, deep inside, not that he liked to admit it. He claimed to have no liking for elves, nor anyone much taller than himself, who were many. He also insisted he hardly knew the meaning of the word "pain", and thought treating his injuries to be an unneeded fuss. He thought it more fun to steal something than have it given to him.

History
Onyx descended from Placidor, a hero of the Battle of Twelvesuns. He was born in Eartheart in the Great Rift, one of the last great dwarven realms, around 1322 DR.

As a young dwarf, he set out to become an adventurer, and early on fell in with a centaur named Timoth Eyesbright.

Gathering of Heroes
In the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR, Onyx was traveling with Timoth when they came across an elven maid being kidnapped by chasme. Looking for battle, Onyx joined Timoth in battling the winged creatures, and together they rescued Cybriana. Grudgingly, Onyx accompanied Timoth in escorting Cybriana to Waterdeep, though it was twenty leagues out of their way. There, they helped Cybriana search for the paladin Priam Agrivar, finally arriving at the Selûne's Smile tavern. The proprietress Luna introduced them to Vajra Valmeyjar, who led them to Priam—the drunken, crippled beggar outside, whom they rescued from thugs.

Onyx believed that the famed smith Jogaoh, a dwarf whose forge it was said could create works of magic, could help restore strength to Priam's arms. However, Onyx doubted it would be any good against Priam's continuing drunkenness and self-pity, but Cybriana had faith in him. Together, the heroes journeyed into the wilderness to seek Jogaoh. On the way, they were lured into a trap and attacked by a dustdigger—in truth a pet of Jogaoh named Ulala. Jogaoh agreed to help, provided the companions retrieved something from atop nearby Stoner's Needle. Onyx saw Priam as a burden, and thought killing him would be kinder—for the rest of them. After battling ghoul warriors in the night, of which Onyx slew one, Vajra, Priam, and Jogaoh ascended the rocky tower, where Priam was restored, Jogaoh was freed of a curse, and a basilisk was slain. However, Priam had frozen in fear. Ashamed, still a drunk, and thanks to Onyx's words, Priam left. Shortly after, bounty seekers of Manshaka ambushed the group, Onyx was grabbed, and they were captured.

Regaining his courage, Priam intercepted the bounty seekers, and launched an ambush. Onyx throttled the lead bounty seeker with his chain, then stole the key to their manacles. The companions fought their way free, overpowered the bounty seekers, and left them tied up in a net dangling from a tree, before continuing on their way. Onyx took a cut to the arm in the battle, which Cybriana treated.

Later, the group heard chasme pursuing new victims and raced to the rescue; Onyx hit one with his dart. That night, Cybriana's dark twin Kilili lured the party close to the tower of Imgig Zu, master of the chasme. Imgig's gargoyles attacked the party, snatching up Onyx and all bar Timoth. Onyx, Vajra, and Priam, escaped the gargoyles onto the top of the tower, and got inside. But Imgig collapsed his own tower on them to cover his flight. The heroes escaped into the base of the tower, where Onyx was reunited with Timoth. However, Vajra was badly battered in the collapse. Timoth urged Priam to use his healing powers, and Onyx guilted him over the basilisk. Successful, resolved, Priam used his powers to heal Vajra's injuries.

Onyx found a set of cobblestones he could press in a certain order to open a passage to the caverns below; he'd seen the like before. Entering the caverns, the heroes battled through Imgig's ogre minions, following a trail of flowers conjured by Cybriana to where she was held. Here, Imgig Zu announced he would use the combined powers of Cybriana and Kilili to open the Selûne's Eye and release his long-imprisoned people to overrun and conquer the Realms. But, too late, Imgig's people escaped, and still the ogres subdued the heroes. An exultant Imgig taunted Priam and threatened to kill him. But, just then, the roof of the cavern tore open and the brilliant light of the full moon shone through, blinding the ogres. Priam slew Imgig Zu and Cybriana merged with Kilili to form the living key to Selûne's Eye, drawing all of Imgig's people back within, saving the Realms from devastation at the cost of her unique identity. She became Kyriani.

The heroes returned to Selûne's Smile where Luna rewarded them. However, Onyx felt it better to snoop and searched inside a cabinet, which turned out to be trapped with a spell that sent him to sleep.

Further Adventures
In the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, when Kyriani received an urgent message plate from Priam and left Waterdeep, Onyx tagged along, insisting the city had been dull of late and that Luna had cut off his bar tab again, not to protect Kyriani. But the message was false; they'd been lured to the Great Door by the mage Parwyyd Hanifar. A belligerent Onyx misunderstood Parwyyd's talk of "the blood of Agrivar", and tangled with his assistant Dunstanny, before falling afoul of his fire shield and a web spell. Parwyyd needed Kyriani to control the Door, but a flock of kenkus emerged. Onyx fended them off, briefly falling through the Door and seeing a vision of the Hells. The Door then fired a bolt of magic that split Kyriani back into Cybriana and Kilili. Kilili cast bind on Onyx to stop his complaining; when he broke loose, he tried to resolve the problem shoving her into Cybriana—it did not have the desired effect of merging them again. Ultimately, Cybriana willed the merger and became a new Kyriani, and she and Parwyyd closed the Door.

Walking through Waterdeep one evening during the Time of Troubles, Onyx came across worshipers being called by a purported avatar of Selûne. He returned to the Selûne's Smile and told the others, only to find that he was the last to know that Luna was really the goddess, not that he'd let on. Luna was later defeated and captured by the false avatar. While Kyriani investigated her disappearance when attending a party at Castle Waterdeep where the avatar was guest of honor, Onyx and the others waited at the inn, but he argued with Vajra as an outlet for their worry. When Kyriani returned with news, the heroes vowed to rescue Luna from the House of the Moon.

A dozen days after Luna's capture, Onyx and Timoth went to infiltrate the temple of Selûne. The dwarf snuck in through a secret hole and a grating, and let the centaur through the door, and they overcame the temple guards. After stealing their priestly robes, the pair tried to pass themselves off as new converts to Uton and another priest. They found the room where Luna had been held, but she was gone. They were then confronted by High Priestess Naneatha Suaril and the priests, and she left hell hounds to deal with the intruders instead. Onyx and Timoth fought them off and escaped. Continuing on, they eavesdropped on Naneatha and the avatar, before they ambushed by the Lunatics, elite but insane temple defenders. A Lunatic spellcaster dragged them out of the temple with telekinesis and dropped them in a forcecage, then waylaid Onyx with a dig spell. Finally, Kyriani and Vajra arrived and rescued them. They unmasked one of Lunatics, expecting the dark goddess Shar but finding instead a brainwashed Luna! The maddened Luna briefly got away, before Vajra tackled her and convinced her of the truth, realizing that the false Selûne was in fact Shar. They escaped Shar and the temple, found the streets wrecked, tangled with night riders, and observed the Celestial Stairway rising from Mount Waterdeep. Returning to Selûne's Smile, they found the inn in ruins and were ambushed by the avatar of Shar, armed with the Rod of Oblivion, determined to revenge herself on the heroes and slay Selûne. Powerless, Luna fell victim to the rod. Kyriani valiantly held Shar off while Onyx, Timoth, and Vajra struggled to open the dimensional doorway to Luna's inner room, where her godly power was stored, and released Selûne's godly power to Luna. She transformed into the true avatar of Selûne and with her light blasted away Shar's darkness. Shar vanished, and Selûne became Luna once more. The companions reunited, and Luna vowed to rebuild her inn.

After the Smile's brief destruction, Onyx went drinking at other taverns, once drinking five human warriors under the table. Afterward, Drusilla and her friend flattered and flirted with him, distracting him so an old woman could get his autograph—on a marriage contract. Fleeing, he ran into a trio of lawyers, as well as Khelben Arunsun, and was caught up in the Blackstaff's scheme to drive them out of the city. In the Lord's Court, the lawyers got Lord Piergeiron to rule the contract valid and the marriage official. On Onyx's unhappy wedding night, Khelben arrived with the lead lawyer, claiming Onyx had to fulfill a dwarf marriage custom, the "Bedchamber Trek", or else the marriage would be invalid. The lawyer had to escort Onyx to the bed to enforce the ruling. However, Khelben created illusions of caverns and fiery pits, filled with trolls, giant spiders, and strange bird-like monsters to harass Onyx and the lawyer. The terrified lawyer fled in horror, abandoning Onyx and thus reneging on the lawyers' contract with the city, rendering it void. Khelben had planned all this, and the old woman revealed herself to be Kyriani in disguise, with Onyx an unwitting patsy. However, the two were now apparently officially married.

On the hottest day of summer, 1358 DR, Vajra and Timoth arm-wrestled in the Smile as Onyx collected bets. Little did they know that their contest was magically enhanced, releasing Aviss and Fellandar from their extra-dimensional prison to wreak a path of destruction in the city. Onyx and Kyriani pursued and fought them; a stoneskin-protected Onyx was hurled through the Smile's wall. Finally, Khelben Arunsun hurled the villains back into their prison. Vajra and Timoth broke off, leaving the winner unknown, an argument breaking out, and Onyx struggling to pay back his bets.

Reclamation Wars of Tethyr
Onyx played an important role in the civil war in Tethyr. Upon the recommendation of Khelben Arunsun, Onyx, with his companions Vajra and Timoth, joined the army of Haedrak Rhindaun III in 1368 DR.

During the Second Siege of Myratma, King Haedrak sent Onyx on a mission of sabotage within the city of Myratma. He, along with Vajra, Perendra Raslemtar, and Ondul Jarduth, was teleported into the slave pens of the city. The group of four freed the slaves and began causing havoc in the city. It was Onyx who came up with the idea of clogging the city's wells with animal corpses to help end the siege.

Possessions
Onyx carried a battleaxe, a dagger he named "Pollux", and a blowgun that he used in battle with steel-tipped darts. He wore leather armor.

Abilities
In battle, Onyx and Timoth made a unique fighting combination, with the dwarf often riding on the centaur's back. The pair both benefited from the arrangement, with Onyx given swiftness, maneuverability, and height, often using his blow-darts on the hoof, while Timoth had a trusted ally protecting his back and flanks.

Relationships
Onyx and Timoth were an odd pair, but fast friends. Onyx didn't understand Timoth's unwavering optimism, while Timoth thought Onyx was only so gruff to avoid being nice to folk bigger than him.

Onyx met Minder shortly before 1358 DR. She was a dwarven adventurer whose spirit possessed the body of an iron golem, and it was said the two felt each other were soulmates.

Minder was not Onyx's only love, however. When he attended a ball at Faerntarn in Darromar in 1370 DR, he met a dwarven woman named Kiira Ghalmrin. The two fell fast in love, yet she was engaged to another. Her father, Arduke Obar Ghalmrin vehemently opposed their relationship. Onyx had himself transferred from Darromar to newly defected Riatavin to avoid the pain of being in the presence of one forbidden to him. It was not known what became of their relationship, and he may have resumed (or perhaps continued) courting Minder during this time.

Appearances

 * Comics:
 * Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic series
 * vol. 1, issue 1: "The Gathering"
 * vol. 1, issue 2: "The Bounty Seekers Of Manshaka"
 * vol. 1, issue 3: "The Secret of Selûne's Eye"
 * vol. 1, issue 4: "Sorcerer's Moon"
 * vol. 1, issue 5: "The Spirit of Myrrth: Part 1 of 4"
 * vol. 2, issue 16: Spell Games, Part 4: "The Last Betrayal" (appearance only)
 * vol. 3, issue 23: "Lawyers!"
 * vol. 2, issue 18: "Day of the Darkening"
 * vol. 3, issue 19: "Selune Rising"
 * vol. 4, issue 33: "Summer in the City"


 * Novels:
 * War in Tethyr