Miirym

Miirym, known as the Sentinel Wyrm, was a silver dragon, and the most peculiar guardian of Candlekeep.

Description
In life, Miirym was a silver dragon, but when she died, powerful magic gone awry kept her bound to the material plane, at which point she became a unique type of ghost dragon known as an incorporeal sentinel. According to the wizard Elminster Aumar, she appeared as a floating spectral pair of jaws that shuddered with magical power.

Personality
Miirym loved green, growing things and, even after 1500 years in captivity under Candlekeep, had a vivid memory of many plants, the geography of much of the Sword Coast, and the lightning storms that she used to enjoy flying through.

She was a very lonely being and her main aspiration was to finally fly again in the blue sky. She was cynical of people that promised to help her, as she had seen too many fail in her long existence. Her sanity was not strong, however, and if someone tried to trick or ambush her she unleashed all her fury upon them.

Activities
Miirym passed her endless days patrolling the tunnels and passages under Candlekeep, searching for possible intruders. She desperately wanted to chat with someone, and when she met intruders she first tried speaking to them in order to understand their intentions. She always wanted to know what was happening in Faerun. However, if visitors had books with them, she insisted that they give the books to her so she could put in their "rightful" place in Candlekeep—in her mind all books belonged to Candlekeep. Sometimes, as an especially cruel and unusual punishment, a monk was sent to spent some time with Miirym.

History
Miirym once laired in a lone dark pillar just offshore from Ulgoth's Beard, a lair that had been used by her family since around 2 DR and her domain covered the coastal lands between the High Moor and the Sea of Swords (as far offshore as Mintarn), south as far as the Cloud Peaks, and north to Mount Helimbrar.

However, Miirym once laired temporarily near Candlekeep and during a hunt she devoured some scholars and destroyed a score of irreplaceable books. As punishment, the powerful archsorcerer Torth bound her in service to the keep, which she had to protect for twenty years. However, fifteen years later Torth died, and his spell was so powerful that nobody was able to break the magic binding Miirym to Candlekeep.

Thus Miirym was trapped in her servitude, and although she kept to the letter of her terms, over time she became more savage in protecting the fortress, slaying intruders with no remorse, and Candlekeep gained its reputation of utter impregnability.

She was eventually worn down through age and the constant attacks on the keep, and after elaborate spell attacks made by a band of Calishite wizards in the Year of the Shieldtree, 1181 DR and the Year of the Tomb, 1182 DR, Miirym died.

However, even as her flesh sloughed away and her bones turned to dust, Torth's powerful magic kept her bound still, animated and sentient, but now undead and somewhat less than sane. What remained was a malevolent but diligent, invisible guardian force. Afraid of their own guardian, the monks hired mages to destroy her, but they were also unable to undo Torth's magic; however, they did manage to bind her within closer proximity to Torth's casket. It was only by the sacrifice of a group of monks that the casket was moved down into the labyrinthine complex of caverns and passages beneath Candlekeep, where Miirym remained, guarding the keep from below against would-be intruders.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Anauroch: The Empire of Shade • Candlekeep Mysteries
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * When the Lights Went Out in Candlekeep
 * Card Games