Esvele Greycastle

Esvele Greycastle was a human cleric of Shar and shadow adept. She was determined to fulfill her role as an exemplary worshiper of Shar. She was assigned to a secret temple in Urmlaspyr where she attempted to recruit new members of the church from the merchants of Sembia. Of more note were her later attempts to create Dead-magic zones in Cormyr and Shadowdale.

Appearance
Esvele was of slim build and average height for her kind. She had curly brown hair down to her waist and amber eyes. She kept her emotions well guarded and only displayed those on her face that she wished to be known.

Class
In Lords of Darkness (3rd edition, 2001), Esvele is written as having 8 levels of cleric of Shar and 5 levels of shadow adept. However, in Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land (3.5 edition, 2007), she is written as having 13 levels of cleric of Shar alone.

Early Years
Esvele was the middle daughter of a merchant family in Chondath. When her parents slumped into poverty after some poor trading decisions, they were approached by the clergy of the Church of Shar who offered them a substantial sum in gold for the purchase of thirteen-year-old Esvele. Her parents accepted this offer and she was then raised to adulthood in the church.

Tearing the Weave
In 1374 DR Esvele was placed in charge of an attempt to create a dead-magic zone over the Vast Swamp. She trained a shadar-kai sorcerer in the use of the Shadow Weave in the hopes that he would train more of his kind. She also instructed the mutant black dragon Despayr as to what Shar's plans were so that he could fulfil them while she moved on to a new project.

Scouring of Shadowdale
Later in the year, Esvele introduced Alokkair the wizard-king to an emissary of Telamont Tanthul, named Nayiiara Darhoun. In exchange for the Netherese knowledge Nayiiara bestowed Alokkair, the Lich allowed Esvele to create a temple to Shar beneath his lair. It was in this lair that Esvele completed a ritual which created an expanding area of dead magic over the entire dale. Her Zhentarim allies who had conquered the dale had mixed feelings though, as the ritual prevented the Chosen of Mystra from interfering in their occupation of Shadowdale but also impaired their own spellcasting unless they took up the Shadow Weave. Regardless, the adventurers who would later go on to free Shadowdale from the occupying army first slew Esvele and then reversed the ritual, making magic function normally in the dale once more and cutting short the career of a promising young priestess.

Equipment
Esvele wears magical +2 studded leather shadow armor and carries a +1 returning chakram and a +1 sickle. She wears a ring of mind shielding and also possesses a staff of charming.