Aribeth de Tylmarande

Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande was a half-elf paladin of Tyr, the Blind God of Justice, and a member of the Tylmarande family.

Early Life
Aribeth was born in Thundertree, a town in the Neverwinter Woods, of uncertain parentage; some say a union between half-elves, others a moon elf and a human. The village's population was wiped out in an orc raid leaving her the sole survivor of the massacre. Vowing vengeance, she hunted down the perpetrators and slew them all. Unsatisfied, she continued to hunt and kill orcs in an obsessive quest until she was trapped in a sudden blizzard and rescued by a one-armed man she believed to be an avatar of the god Tyr, who took her to a monastery of Ilmater. Recovering her health there, she learned to be a paladin, gaining such fame that when she moved to Neverwinter, she was named to the elite bodyguard of Lord Nasher Alagondar, being the first woman and first non-human to be so honored. There she met and became engaged to Fenthick Moss, a cleric of Tyr in the Hall of Justice.

The Wailing Death
Lady Aribeth was chosen by Nasher Alagondar to be in charge of the investigations surrounding the Wailing Death that afflicted Neverwinter in 1372 DR. She began training adventurers at an academy to combat the forces behind the plague. However, after the Waterdhavian creatures needed for a magical cure became scattered throughout the city, a student at the academy (who later became the Hero of Neverwinter), was placed by Aribeth in charge of tracking them down.

After her lover, Fenthick Moss, was found guilty by association and was hanged for trusting Desther Indelayne, a false Helmite and agent of Maugrim Korothir, Morag appeared to Aribeth in her dreams and tempted her to join Maugrim's cult with promises of revenge against the city that unjustly murdered Fenthick. Aribeth initially continued to lead Neverwinter's effort to find the cult in and around Port Llast, but eventually disappeared. When agents reached Luskan's Host Tower of the Arcane, they learned that Aribeth had become a blackguard in the service of Morag and had agreed to lead Maugrim's Luskite army in their impending assault on Neverwinter. At the climax of this assault, the Hero of Neverwinter confronted Aribeth and defeated her in combat. Aribeth was persuaded to surrender and return to Lord Nasher to face judgment where she was eventually executed for her crimes.

Afterlife
Aribeth died not long after the forces of Morag were repelled. Upon encountering her spirit in Cania, Drogan's Pupil found her distraught with her betrayal of Neverwinter due to her realization that she never truly loved Fenthick; her betrayal therefore was not motivated by her love of Fenthick as she had thought and was consequently much less justified. The hero could either persuade her to return to the service of Tyr, or accept the evil path that she had chosen; either way, she could join the hero in his/her quest. Aribeth herself said that she died violently, though her memories were somewhat hazy. Presumably, the hero of Neverwinter attempted to defend Aribeth while she was tried for her crimes. The hero would have been heavily outvoted, since the majority of Neverwinter called for Aribeth's execution. Lord Nasher complied with the city's request and as a result, the hero of Neverwinter's friendship with Lord Nasher ended, and he/she (the hero is revealed to have been the sex of your character) left Neverwinter, never to be heard from again. Because of the hero's falling out of favor with Lord Nasher, Nasher had revisionists play down his role in saving Faerûn from destruction.

If Aribeth was at the protagonist's side in the confrontation with Mephistopheles, the archdevil would use his considerable charisma to play on her uncertainties and turn her to his side unless the player character could be even more persuasive.

After beating Mephistopheles and if she had been redeemed as a paladin once again (and the player ordered the reaper to allow the dead to haunt the living), she returned as a spirit to Neverwinter, aiding the sick and wounded and ended up finding redemption and going to heaven (Lunia). Or if she was redeemed as a paladin and the protagonist was male they could fall in love. If this happened and Aribeth did not join Mephistopheles the epilogue revealed that they became lovers and Aribeth stayed with the protagonist until his death where he promised to "meet her on the other side." After he died Aribeth's spirit faded from the mortal realm and she went on to spend the rest of her existence with him.

In Neverwinter Nights 2, Fenthick's spirit appears within the Tomb of Betrayers in Neverwinter. Despite Fenthick's appearance, there is no mention of Aribeth in the entire game. It is implied that the citizens of Neverwinter, including Nasher, have chosen to forget Aribeth rather than acknowledge their own role in her betrayal and death. To them, Aribeth was an unwanted, ugly reminder of the selfishness and evil that they were all capable of.

Legacy
The Tylmarande family remained in Neverwinter after Aribeth's death and were some of those who refused to leave when Mount Hotenow erupted. Aribeth's great-great niece Seldra Tylmarande spent much of her life trying to restore the name of her family to a respectable status.

Possessions
Aribeth wore a magic ring that granted her resistance to spells. Although a family heirloom, after Aribeth's death the ring was lost and was known as Aribeth's ring.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights • Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark


 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures


 * Lost Crown of Neverwinter