Clariburnus Tanthul

Clariburnus Tanthul was one of the twelve Princes of Shade who led Netheril. In charge of Shadovar operations in Neverwinter, Clariburnus led the Netherese in the restoration of Xinlenal to Toril, along with the first new mythallar formed in ages.

"Netheril ruled for thousands of years. Wrapped tight in a second womb of shadow, we have learned from our past mistakes for over a thousand more. How foolish for any mortal to even imagine standing gainst us now."

- Clariburnus Tanthul

Description
He was a massive individual, roughty the size of a bugbear. He had eyes that gleamed like polished bronze.

Personality
Never showing emotion in his flat, whispering voice or unlined skin, Clariburnus could don a facade of charm to mask his dead soul. He had tremendous ambition, but was merciless and without honor, viewing cheating as a resourceful tactic. He would even exploit the missteps of his own brothers if it meant raising his own statue in the eyes of his father.

Despite this, Clairburnus had attained more humanity than any of the other twelve princes of Shade.

Possessions
Clariburnus often sported a magical +3 glaive of wounding, that appeared to be formed from some type of black glass rather than metal.

Abilities
Despite the hyperbole that came with being one of the Princes of Shade, Clariburnus was recognised by those closest to him as a skilled warrior and tactical commander.

Activities
Free of the Shadowfell, Clariburnus longed to see the expansion of Netheril. One of his main goals was always to restore power to the First Enclave Xinlenal.

Relationships
He was the second-youngest of the twelve Princes of Shade, and the oldest to survive his peoples' return to Faerûn.

Early life
One of the Twelve Princes of Shade, Clariburnus held power in Netheril since before the fall of the First Empire. He soon gained notoriety as the youngest captain in the military of Thultanthar.

Return of the Archwizards
In the, Clariburnus and his brothers returned to the Realms on the eve of the Return. His first destination, along with Escanor and Aglarel, was the Marsh of Chelimber where the trio slew a group of phaerimm. There they encountered Lady Laeral Silverhand of Waterdeep, and after some verbal fumbling, make poor work of their first act of diplomacy back in the Realms.

Clariburnus enjoyed success however, when he and Brennus enlisted the aid of the witch Ruha, traveled to the lair of the blue dracolich Malygris and killed its Dragon Cultist oppressor. The pair forged a new alliance that proved quite valuable during the emerging conflict between the Princes and the rest of the Realms.

The second-youngest prince then joined with Lamorak and made a second appeal to Laeral Silverhand, newly-appointed commander of the Army of the North. The pair offered to help them destory the phaerimm in the Shaeradim surrounding the elven city of Evereska. Clariburnus, Lamorak led the Shadovar alongside Laeral and her army through the shadowshell and the Deadwall surrounding the Shaeradim, and hunted down every phaerimm they encountered in the Vine Vale. Their victory was short lived however, as Clariburnus and his brother abandoned the Army of the North and allowed the phaerimm army to descend upon them it was most convenient.

Time in The North
"What care have we for the feuding rabble that grubs about these lands? When fallen Xinlenal regains its rightful place in the skies, all the fractured fations of the North will be nothing more than cowering dogs in our shadow."

- Clariburnus Tanthul

Circa the mid–15 century DR, Clariburnus often communicated with Netherese Lord Draygo Quick about operations in the failing city of Neverwinter. As catastrophic events that would led the city into disarray, Clariburnus sent Shadovar agents into Neverwinter Wood in order to secure the area and find Xinlenal. When the eruption of Mount Hotenow occurred in the, Clariburnus demanded that the Shadovar secure the rebuilding city of Neverwinter instead.

Although Herzgo Alegni held the city for a short time, his heir to the operations Effron refused to hold the city. This resulted in Clariburnus' efforts in the area to fail. Fed up with the loss, Clariburnus took control of operations himself. By this time though, Dagult Neverember had began the movement of New Neverwinter and the Shadovar-Thay War was in full motion. Waterdeep then forced Clariburnus to have the Netherese retreat from the city to once again secure the forest.

Shadovar-Thay War
Clariburnus would successfully retreat, resulting in few knowing of Netherese presence in the North and even fewer knowing their purpose. Clariburnus, since taking over has commenced a search for Ioulaum, believing the mage to be alive. Upon arriving, Prince Clariburnus would almost immediately strike an alliance with the Gray Wolf Tribe, even though he had secretly plundered Morgur's Mound for magical relics.

Upon finding the ruined enclave, Clairburnus immediately set upon repairing it, putting hundreds of shades, humans, shadar-kai, undead and constructs at work to uncover and repair the enclave. Knowing the mythallar would put Netheril at an advantage against Thay, Clariburnus sought magical relics and items to create residuum in order to feed the enclave's mythallar. The prince placed the Sharran priest Orthinos Eln in charge of overseeing the excavation.

Although Clariburnus sought items from ruins, he often resorted to attacking Thay for them as well. The prince soon became aware that he would eventually have to extend into New Neverwinter to complete his search, as the legion of items he already amassed were enough. Clariburnus often attacked Valindra Shadowmantle and her Thayan forces using the Gray Wolf warriors as the front line. He wished to close the Shadowfell portal inside the Dread Ring all the while keeping the Thayans reeling. In order to do this, he has directed the enclave of Kolthunral to invade the Thayan city of Surcross to end Thayan presence in Shadowfell.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Return of the Archwizards (The Summoning, The Siege)