Palarandusk

Palarandusk (the Unseen Protector, previously the Sun Dragon) is a male gold dragon who lives in the Sword Mountains on the Sword Coast North. He is a great wyrm. Each time he kills, he weeps. He watches over the village of Ieirithymbul, regarding its gnome inhabitants as his children. He has prevented the invasion of the Forgebar dwarves three times. He prefers to use an invisible and inaudible form so that he cannot be detected, but spends his time watching the gnomes and making sure they come to no harm. He is particularly interested in eavesdropping if gnomes are talking about their personal views or opinions.

Appearance
Palarandusk still has bright eyes, but his scales are cracked with age and his jaw has turned white.

Combat
Palarandusk will only reveal himself when it is absolutely necessary. He cannot attack or use magic in his invisible form, but this is only a semi-solid state and if he passes through any living creature, it will cause him damage, and the creature will experience a nauseous effect. He is able to wield powerful magic and because of his age, he knows many spells from thousands of years ago which have been largely forgotten as of 1374 DR.

Personality
Although he keeps himself hidden wherever possible, for fear of being hunted, Palarandusk would like to be able to live an unmasked existence and yearns to be respected as a major power on the Sword Coast North, as he once was. He has no interest in accruing a huge personal wealth, but has collected some treasures, mostly those holding aesthetic value, but some useful for trade with humanoids, and has stashed them in remote caves in the Sword Mountains.

He has an interest in philosophy and morality and has collected a number of writings on the subjects. He used to enjoy speaking to elves and dwarves about their outlooks and personal views. He has developed a system of personal beliefs during his long life, and is slow to change them. He believes that the natural environment should be protected from harm, and that prey should be killed only for food, not for enjoyment.

Background
Palarandusk was on Faerûn before the founding of Netheril, circa -3800 DR, and hunted wyverns on the Sword Coast North. He was enslaved by the Netherese sorcerer Mileirigath in Netheril's early history, and used as a test subject for the spells of Mileirigath and his apprentices. He remained in captivity until the fall of Netheril in -339 DR, when he seized as many spellbooks as he could before fleeing.

In 940 DR, Palarandusk prevented the orcs from the Sword Mountains from attacking Waterdeep. He has been keen to keep his identity concealed, but there have been a few wizards who have sought him out in order to trade magic. He has generally given them only a brief audience, but one wizard from Neverwinter gave him a magical rod whose powers he could drain to boost his own. He has long since drained all the magic from the rod.