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Akkabar Shoon was a mighty wizard, the Pasha of Calimshan and the man ultimately behind the rise of the Shoon Imperium.[1]
Description[]
By all accounts, Akkabar was considered a "prodigy" in regards to the use of magic.[3] He was the first wizard ruler of Calimshan in hundreds of years, and he used magic to extend his lifespan well beyond what was natural for a human. His understanding of the workings of magic allowed him to outwit his rivals, easily scrying through whatever weak magical protections they had.[1]
Personality[]
Akkabar was described as both ever-ambitious and avaricious, seeking power above all else and by any means.[1]
Possessions[]
Akkabar was in possession of the first of the so-called Qysari Rings, his battletide ring, which he had crafted for him early in his rise to power.[4] With a command word, the ring would fly off his finger and form into a circle of blades, much like the effects of the blade barrier spell.[4][5]
Activities[]
Akkabar saw to the construction and development of Shoonach as the capital of his empire. He also established magical gates connecting various locations in Calimport to the new city, which were completed in 5 DR.[6]
Family[]
Akkabar el Shoon was born of his father's favorite harem girl[3] and had at least three brothers.[1] His father was the third[1] sabbalad of Memnon,[1][3] a member of a minor clan of Calishites.[1]
He married his first wife as a young man and had at least one son by her.[1] He married Munaa yr Shunnari el Tarshaj, his second wife, at the age of 32 years.[3]
He had at least three grandchildren by his oldest son. The eldest grandson was also named Akkabar, in honor of his grandfather, and was heir to his grandfather's throne.[1] Akkabar the Elder's youngest granddaughter was named Arhymeria, though whether she had older sisters or cousins is unclear. She would became queen of Tethyr. Akkabar the Elder also had another grandson by his first son, who was younger than Arhymeria, named Amahl.[1][2]
Akkabar the Elder was a colleague and former student of Princess and later Regent of Tethyr Rhynda Ithal.[1]
History[]
Early Life[]
Akkabar el Shoon was born in the city of Myratma in Tethyr in the Year of Shadowed Glances, −110 DR. That same year, he and his parents returned to Memnon, where his father served as mayor of one of the city districts. He was a bastard child, the son of one of his father's jhasinnar, but even in his early age he had developed a reputation as a magical genius.[3]
In −94 DR, while visiting in Myratma, 16-year-old Akkabar met Princess Rhynda Ithal. Rhynda recognized the quest for power in the young man, and hoped that teaching him to use the arcane arts more methodically would teach him patience and perhaps change him. Her plan did not work, and Akkabar left her instruction in −88 DR,[3] after seven years, moving back to Memnon.[1][3]
Rise to Power[]
Akkabar at first acted as a sort of magical mercenary, selling his magical talents to whoever would pay him the most,[3] but he had much higher aspirations. Over the next four years,[3] he began integrating himself into the society of Calimport.[1]
In −78 DR,[7][1][3] he married his second wife,[1] Munaa,[3] who was the fifth daughter of the syl-pasha,[1][3] Kadar el Tarshaj.[3] As a marriage gift,[3] Kadar appointed Akkabar the syl-vizar of Memnon.[1][3]
Akkabar protected his new wife at their home in Memnon. Next, he waited for political intrigue to remove most of the members of Kadar's family.[1] Then, only seven months after his wedding,[1] by Midsummer of the Year of Flaming Stones, −77 DR,[3] Akkabar secretly and carefully arranged for[1] or carried out on his own,[7] the assassinations of all the others of el Tarshaj family, including the syl-pasha himself. (He used his magic battletide ring to perform many of these murders.[4]) He then took the throne of Calimshan as the new pasha of Calimport.[7]
Rise of the Shoon Imperium[]
When King Garynor Ithal of Tethyr died in −75 DR, Akkabar went against his advisors and agreed to the marriage of his granddaughter to Nishan Ithal II, the grandson of his former tutor Princess Rhynda.[7][3] They were against such political backing of the Tethyrian government,[7] but Akkabar had a sinister idea to use the arrangement to finally reabsorb the kingdom of Tethyr under Calishite (and his) rule.[1] While Rhynda knew better than to trust her former student's motives, she saw no better way to strengthen ties between the two countries.[7]
The young couple were married in Ches[7] of −64 DR,[7][3] which filled Akkabar with happiness. However, over the coming decades, he grew more distant from his granddaughter, as the new Queen Arhymeria found more in common with her new family and new country, and she failed to steal magical secrets from Rhynda, as he had hoped she would. So Akkabar waited.[7]
In −6 DR, the elderly king and queen of Tethyr were slain during what appeared to be a pirate raid during Nishan's birthday celebration.[7] In fact, the whole ordeal had been orchestrated by Akkabar. (He tried to also blame the murders on the Rundeen, but that plan of his failed.)[6] Akkabar had also been magically tracking his grandson, Amahl, Queen Arhymeria's brother, and knew that he was on his way to visit his sister and did not know of her tragic death. Thus, when Amahl arrived in Tethyr early in the Year of Feuds, −5 DR,[6] he was surprised to find that his grandfather had sent an entire garrison of Calishite troops, along with five advisors, "to help restore stability to the clans and the country of Tethyr, and to protect [his] grandson." Once again, while no one believed Akkabar's motives, the Tethyrian nobles could not refuse Akkabar's offer for assistance without provoking a war. The five advisors sent by Akkabar also presented a fraudulent letter, the Confessions of King Nishan, supposedly written by King Nishan, which claimed that Nishan II wanted his brother-in-law to succeed him on the throne.[7] By the end of the year, Amahl I was crowned the new king of Tethyr.[7][6]
Akkabar was furious, however, when his grandson, like his granddaughter, had no intention of following his evil schemes. Instead, Amahl I did everything he could to resist paying tribute to Calimshan. Instead, he spent the kingdom's monies on restoring the ancient capital of Mir, what would later become Shoonach. Akkabar decided not to resist this, planning to use the new construction to his own advantage at a later date.[7]
Since Amahl I was so uncooperative, Akkabar turned instead to his great-grandson Amahl II, son of Akkabar's oldest grandchild and Amahl I's brother, Akkabar the Younger. Akkabar sent Amahl II to Amahl I's court in Tethyr to become Amahl I's heir. Since Amahl I was a bachelor with no heir of his own, he had little choice but to accept this arrangement.[7]
Unsurprisingly, in −3 DR,[6] Akkabar had Amahl II assassinate his uncle (by poison[6]) shortly after his arrival.[7][6]
As the new king of Tethyr, Amahl II wasted no time in swearing fealty to his great-grandfather. On Greengrass of the Year of Gruesome Streams, −2 DR,[6] Akkabar the Elder was the ruler of both Calimshan and Tethyr at last.[7]
Over a five year period, control of Tethyr continued to pass into Akkabar's hands,[7] as Akkabar, his grandson Akkabar the Younger, and Amahl II plotted.[1] Soon, most of the clans and territory were fully in Akkabar's power or the power of his or his great-grandson's friends.[7]
Akkabar continued the restoration of the ruined capital of Mir and even had Ithmong razed in −1 DR[6] so that Clan Ithal would have no ideas about returning to power. The stones from Ithmong were used in construction, and the people of Ithmong were carted away as slaves. After ten years of construction, the city was complete, and Akkabar named it Shoonach. The Shoon Imperium, Akkabar's dream, had begun.[7][6]
He did not live to see the full extent of his plans, however; first, his heir in Calimshan, his grandson Akkabar the Younger was assassinated that same year,[1][6] by Tethyrian clans seeking revenge.[6] Next, Amahl II died in 15 DR from disease, and his only son, Amahl Shoon III, became the next king of Tethyr. Akkabar kept Amahl III close by in Shoonach to protect and control him for twelve years. Then, in 27 DR, an accident occurred while he was crafting magical items, and Akkabar Shoon finally died at the age of 137 years. Amahl III took the thrones of Calimshan and Tethyr.[1][6]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 23–24. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Three: Erlkazar & Folk of Intrigue”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 29. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 Steven E. Schend (October 1998). Calimport. (TSR, Inc), p. 19. ISBN 0-7869-1238-3.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Steven E. Schend (October 1998). Calimport. (TSR, Inc), pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7869-1238-3.
- ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 122. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 Steven E. Schend (October 1998). Calimport. (TSR, Inc), p. 20. ISBN 0-7869-1238-3.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 22. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
Connections[]
Shoon III • Amahl Shoon IV • Amahl Shoon V • Amahl Shoon VI • Shoon IV • Shoon V • Shoon VI • Shoon VII • Shaani • Amahl Shoon VII