Akila was the Red Wizard khazark of the Thayan enclave in Neverwinter after the Shadow War of 1374 DR.[1]
Description[]
During his station in Neverwinter, Akila was an older man. Like other Red Wizards, his scalp was clean-shaven and decorated with Thayan tattoos. However, uncharacteristically for a Red Wizard, Akila had a kind face.[1]
Personality[]
Akila was atypical among the Red Wizards. He was not intentionally cruel and showed no interest in conquest nor control, and only cared about scholarly endeavors, advancement, and study of the Art. Unlike his peers, Akila paid little interest to power and titles.[1]
History[]
Following the Shadow War of the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR and with the war with Luskan just two years prior, the economy and trade on the Sword Coast North were in shambled. Desperate to boost the commerce in the Jewel of the North, Nasher Alagondar opened the gates, conditionally, to a Thayan enclave. It was built on the Tyr's Eye plaza in Neverwinter, and aged Red Wizard Akila was appointed as its khazark. The offered Thayan goods for trade, and Akila's enclave was staffed and guarded by gnolls. A blade golem was used as a groundskeeper for the enclave, while Akila focused his arcane research on a recently emerged phenomenon – arcane nexuses. The Red Wizard enjoyed the autonomy that the Thayan enclave in Neverwinter brought. He was performing an ambassadorial role with the crown of Neverwinter, but the business between Thay and the North was light.[1]s
To no surprise, locals mistrusted the Red Wizard trade outpost. One individual from Neverwinter attempted to break in for some nefarious season but ended up trapped in the enclave's defensive contraptions. Even though the invader was freed by the Thayan gnoll named Mugen, the man fled from the plaza in utter terror.[1]
As the north began its recovery, Neverwinter allowed crown-sponsored mercantile firms to operate in the region. The enclave and one of the coasters began dealing with the Mercantile House of Samarach led by a merchant princess Sa'Sani. Her business partners agreed to help Akila in studying the arcane nexuses that recently popped up across Faerûn. The Thayan believed that they clumped energies of the Weave, knots in the Weave of sorts. Akila was unable to leave the enclave but tasked the adventurers with gathering data from nexuses in the region as well as in the faraway nation of Samarach using the device called the arcane attenuator – a slender enchanted wand that acted as a magical scribe, collecting residual energy from the anomalies. The adventurers began with the arcane nexuses right there, within the Thayan enclave. With the collection of more readings, Akila could pinpoint the planar origin of these nexuses. Each collected date set granted a reward for the adventurers.[1]
After Akila collected all the reading he needed, the wizard tracked the planar energies to a hidden temple on the opposite side of the Sanrach Mountains from Samarach. The temple looked distinctly alien and ancient, with no similar architecture across all Chult. The temple's exterior showed signs of maintenance and activity. Inside, the adventurers discovered a glowing gate and a shadowy protector of the passage. The Champion of Shade was a ghostly humanoid shade creature adorned in distinctly Netherese armor. Once defeated, the shade gate was free to enter. The adventurers stepped through only to be greeted by hostile Netherese arcanist in yet another ancient structure. The portal connected two Nethrese temples, one in Samarach and another in the Neverwinter Wood. The investigation revealed little apart from the fact that the Nethrese Shadovar were involved. Akila was informed of the Netherese gates but was lost in their purpose but theorized that the arcane nexuses were caused by the spillover from the recently returned City of Shade and its damaging effect on the Weave. Akila suspected that the Shadovar would soon leave their mark on the Realms one way or another.[1]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Video Games
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Obsidian Entertainment (November 2008). Designed by Tony Evans. Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir. Atari.