View source for Alathene Moonstar

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moonstar, Alathene}}
{{Person
| image          = Alathene Moonstar-VgtW-196.png
| caption        = Lady Alathene watches over her festhall.
| name           = Alathene Moonstar
| alt_spelling   = 
| titles         = Lady
| aliases        = 
| nicknames      = 
| true name      = 
| home           = The [[Blushing Mermaid (Waterdeep)|Blushing Mermaid]] festhall, [[Waterdeep]]
| formerhomes    = 
| sex            = Female
| gender         = 
| race           = [[Human]]
| ethnicity      = [[Illuskan]]
| occupation     = Proprietress
| age            = 
| patron deity   = [[Selûne]]
| languages      = 
| basicrefs      = <ref name="VGtW-194">{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to Waterdeep|194}}</ref><ref name="PP-157">{{Cite book/Powers & Pantheons|157}}</ref><ref name="CoS.W-p62">{{Cite book/City of Splendors: Waterdeep|62}}</ref>
| reckoning      = 
| dob            = 1083
| dobnotes       = <ref name="Alathene" group="note">This assumes she reached adulthood in 1099 DR at the age of 16 as stated in [[Powers & Pantheons]] on page 156.</ref>
| turned         = 1195
| turnednotes    = became an [[archlich]]
| death          = 
| deathnotes     = 
| destroyed      = 
| destroyednotes = 
| daterefs       = <ref name="PP-156">{{Cite book/Powers & Pantheons|156}}</ref>
| parents        = [[Andvarran Moonstar]] (father)
| spouses        = 
| siblings       = Lord [[Vanrak Moonstar]] (twin brother)
| children       = 
| familyrefs     = <ref name="PP-156" />
| dynasty        = 
| start of reign = 
| end of reign   = 
| predecessor    = 
| successor      = 
| successionrefs = 
| alignment1e    = 
| class1e        = 
| refs1e         = 
| alignment2e    = [[Chaotic good]]
| class2e        = {{Class table|edition=2e|[[Wizard]]|19}}
| refs2e         = <ref name="VGtW-214">{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to Waterdeep|214}}</ref>
| alignment3e    = 
| challenge3e    = 
| class3e        = 
| refs3e         = 
| alignment35    = [[Chaotic good]]
| challenge35    = 
| class35        = {{Class table|edition=3e|[[Wizard]]|15|[[Arcane devotee]]|5}}
| refs35         = <ref name="CoS.W-p62" />
| alignment4e    = 
| class4e        = 
| refs4e         = 
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}}
'''Alathene Moonstar''' was the proprietress of the [[Blushing Mermaid (Waterdeep)|Blushing Mermaid]] inn, tavern, and festhall in Waterdeep ''circa'' the {{YearlinkName|1372}}.<ref name="CoS.W-p62" /> She was also an [[archlich]], the leader of the [[Maids of the Midnight Moon]], and a former matriarch of House [[Moonstar (family)|Moonstar]].<ref name="PP-156" />

==Description==
Lady Alathene was very old but maintained her stunning good looks by magical means. She always dressed in the formal style with long, elaborately decorated gowns, [[corset]]s that accentuated her bust, and veils on her head.<ref name="VGtW-194" /><ref name="PP-157" /> She had an aristocratic bearing and manner of speaking that gave the impression of royalty.<ref name="CoS.W-p62" /> When interacting with her staff or clients of the Blushing Mermaid, she usually donned the same black metal mask and face veil as her employees wore.<ref name="VGtW-194" />

==Personality==
Lady Alathene was always a devout worshiper of [[Selûne]] and a staunch supporter of her [[Church of Selûne|church]]. When her twin brother [[Vanrak Moonstar|Vanrak]] turned to [[Shar]], it began a family conflict that lasted for centuries. Alathene became obsessed with bringing her wayward brother to justice, even to the point of embracing [[undeath]] to carry on the quest for as long as it took.<ref name="PP-157" /> She was a [[wizard]] of great accomplishment and did not hesitate to use her powers when defending her home and her staff at the Blushing Mermaid.<ref name="VGtW-195">{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to Waterdeep|195}}</ref> She found joy and amusement watching young people enjoy the festivities in her establishment and monitored it closely for any signs of trouble.<ref name="VGtW-196">{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to Waterdeep|196}}</ref> She had few close friends and was always on the lookout for people she could trust with important tasks.<ref name="PP-157" /><ref name="VGtW-214" />

==Abilities==
She was a master of wizardry, able to cast spells from any [[school of magic]].<ref name="PP-157" /><ref name="VGtW-214" /> She was an [[arcane devotee]] of Selûne<ref name="CoS.W-p62" /> and created [[Arcane magic|arcane]] versions of many of the [[Divine magic|divine]] spells granted only to [[Specialty priest|favored priests]] of the Moonmaiden,<ref name="PP-157" /> such as ''[[moon blade]]'', ''[[wall of moonlight]]'', ''[[moon path]]'', and ''[[moonweb]]''.<ref name="FA-137-138">{{Cite book/Faiths & Avatars|137-138}}</ref>

Lady Alathene could control her undead powers, switching them on or off at will. She was immune to being [[Turn undead|turned]] by [[cleric]]s.<ref name="PP-157" /><ref name="VGtW-214" />

==Activities==
As of 1372 DR, Lady Alathene was the proprietress of the Blushing Mermaid and on a personal quest to rid the world of her evil brother Vanrak or at least bring him to face justice for his many crimes. When she was not at the festhall, she could usually be found in the [[Vault of Stars]], an underground chamber that was all that remained of the [[High House of Stars]] after it was destroyed by forces loyal to Vanrak. She used it as her personal laboratory for spell research and to continue the search for her brother.<ref name="PP-156" /><ref name="CoSW-120">{{Cite book/City of Splendors: Waterdeep|120}}</ref>

The spells and enchantments that made her an archlich were flawed in some way and she was forced to maintain her unlife by absorbing the life force of two or three individuals per year. She usually picked evil patrons of her festhall or people she strongly disliked, and applied ''[[energy drain]]'' spells until they were dead.<ref name="PP-157" /><ref name="VGtW-214" /><ref name="VGtW-196" />

Lady Alathene took it upon herself to train any young Moonstars that exhibited a talent for the Art. She also protected certain family treasures and things that the family preferred not to become public.<ref name="VGtW-196" />

==Relationships==
Alathene Moonstar was the fully human granddaughter of the [[half-elf]] [[Lunaven Moonstar]],<ref name="PP-156" /> an accomplished wizard as well as a cleric of Selûne.<ref name="PP-154">{{Cite book/Powers & Pantheons|154}}</ref> She had a twin brother, Vanrak, whom she considered an enemy after he renounced Selûne for Shar. She had many descendants that followed in her footsteps, becoming accomplished priests, wizards, and [[ranger]]s. Her first grandson, [[Hormuk Moonstar]], became the patriarch of the family after she stepped down.<ref name="PP-156" />

After her death was announced (and she secretly became an archlich), only her family, the [[Lords of Waterdeep]], and a few close associates were aware of her transformation. The ruling Lords tolerated her existence on balance as a force for good, and she occasionally informed Lord [[Piergeiron the Paladinson|Piergeiron]] of criminal plots and deal details she overheard at the Blushing Mermaid.<ref name="VGtW-196" />

{{Fq|text=&hellip;in hopes that its members might be more worthy of the name than some relations of mine.|source=Lady Alathene Moonstar, upon granting the Tel'Teukiira permission to call themselves the Moonstars.<ref name="CD-31" />}}
Lady Alathene was a trusted advisor to [[Naneatha Suaril]], the Priestess of High Moonlight at the [[House of the Moon]].<ref name="PP-157" /> After the [[Time of Troubles]], the heroic [[Kyriani Agrivar]] secretly became one of Alathene's pupils and, being a quick study, gained a much greater grasp of her power as a mage.<ref name="PP-157" /><ref name="CoSW-87">{{Cite book/City of Splendors: Waterdeep|87}}</ref>

She was also a strong supporter of the [[Tel'Teukiira]], the group formed by [[Khelben Arunsun|Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun]] after a falling-out with the [[Harpers]]. She gave them permission to call themselves "the Moonstars" in common parlance.<ref name="CD-31">{{Cite book/Cloak & Dagger|31}}</ref>

==History==
Alathene and Vanrak Moonstar were born to Lord [[Andvarran Moonstar]] and his consort in the {{YearlinkName|1083}}.<ref name="Alathene" group="note" /> Her first act after reaching adulthood was to form an organization of female spellcasters called the [[Maids of the Midnight Moon]], dedicated to the service of Selûne, in the {{YearlinkName|1099}}.<ref name="PP-156" /> Five years later, in the {{YearlinkName|1104}}, her twin brother Vanrak returned from exploring the [[Black Jungles]] on the [[Chultan Peninsula]] and was visibly shaken by his experiences there. A few [[tenday]]s after he arrived in Waterdeep, their father died of a mysterious magic-resistant disease that caused him to waste away despite the best efforts of all the healers that attempted to cure him. Vanrak became the family patriarch and immediately denounced the priests of the High House of Stars for failing to save their father. In his grief, he turned to the Lady of Loss and broke with the church of Selûne.<ref name="PP-156" /><ref name="V-2">{{Cite web enhancement/Vanrakdoom|2}}</ref><ref name="DotMM-231">{{Cite book/Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage|231}}</ref> Those that followed him remained in the family villa on [[Net Street (south)|Net Street]] while those that remained faithful to Selûne soon took refuge with Lady Alathene in the High House of Stars.<ref name="PP-156" />

By the {{YearlinkName|1130}}, the Moonstar clan was openly feuding as Lord Vanrak and his Sharran mercenaries built a shady empire that infiltrated much of the city's harbor business. On [[Flamerule 1|{{Format FR date|1 Flamerule|the|nth|of|commonName}}]] of that year,<ref group="note">It took place on the "seventh full moon of the year" which was 1 Flamerule if one counts the moon on [[Nightal 30|30 Nightal]] [[1129 DR|1129]] to still be full on [[Hammer 1|1 Hammer]] 1130. If not, then the seventh full moon falls on [[Midsummer]], which is a major holiday and not a likely date for court to be in session.</ref> Lady Alathene appeared before the Lords of Waterdeep and presented evidence of her brother's criminal behavior—including slave trafficking, arson, theft, and murder—and pleaded with them to banish her brother and revoke his noble title. The Lords sent the [[City Watch (Waterdeep)|City Watch]] to arrest Vanrak, but when they broke into the villa, he and his followers had already fled into [[Undermountain]].<ref name="PP-156" /><ref name="V-2" /><ref name="DotMM-231" /> Lady Alathene became the officially recognized matriarch of the Moonstar clan, and during the next fifty-two years she turned the family businesses around, greatly improved House Moonstar's reputation, and increased their fortune.<ref name="PP-156" />

She and her Maids of the Midnight Moon searched and [[Scrying|scryed]] unsuccessfully for decades, trying to locate where Vanrak and his followers had gone. In the {{YearlinkName|1182}}, the High House of Stars was attacked from below, allegedly by followers of [[Bane]]. Many Selûnites were slaughtered and the template was gutted by magic-resistant fire. Lady Alathene stepped down as matriarch of the family and let her grandson Hormuk take over so she could focus on rebuilding the razed temple at a new location. She never stopped searching for her brother but she discovered that he was behind the pogrom, not Banites as people were meant to believe. Six years later, in the {{YearlinkName|1188}}, the House of the Moon was completed,<ref name="PP-156" /> and Lady Alathene, being over one hundred years old, withdrew from all her public duties, activities, and family functions and ensconced herself in the Vault of Stars—a subterranean chamber that survived the destruction of the High House of Stars. There, she began her transformation into an archlich in order to continue the campaign against Vanrak,<ref name="CoSW-120" /> who had used the treasure plundered from the High House of Stars to finance his transformation into a [[death knight]].<ref name="V-2" /><ref name="DotMM-231" />

Lord Hormuk announced Lady Alathene's death in the {{YearlinkName|1195}}, but the family and the Lords of Waterdeep knew that she continued to exist and tirelessly pursued her quest. With her new powers and strength, she searched the depths of Undermountain for signs of her brother for decades. During this period, she met some [[drow]] followers of [[Eilistraee]] led by [[Qilué Veladorn]]. As a former head of a major noble house and a high-ranking member of the House of the Moon, Lady Alathene was uniquely positioned to forge a secret alliance between the church of Selûne and the [[church of Eilistraee]] that withstood the test of time.<ref name="PP-156" />

In the {{YearlinkName|1256}}, the Moonstar family built a new villa over the ruins of the High House of Stars (directly above the Vault of Stars) with the permission from the high priestess of the House of the Moon. The old villa on Net Street was kept under family control (through a series of proxies), and given to Lady Alathene to manage. She soon turned it into the Blushing Mermaid inn, tavern, and festhall.<ref name="PP-156" />

==Rumors & Legends==
After the destruction of the High House of Stars, the church of Selûne declared the site to be desecrated ground and announced that no followers of Our Lady of Silver should enter the area. This was a pretense intended to keep people away from the Vault of Stars where Lady Alathene eventually took up residence. She also spread rumors of [[ghost]]s to help ensure her privacy.<ref name="PP-156" /> She used the city sewers to travel the short distance between the Vault of Stars and the House of the Moon and was rarely observed rising or descending through the access shaft located in the alley known as [[Sharra's Flight]] where it intersected with the [[Street of Whispers]].<ref name="VGtW-76">{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to Waterdeep|76}}</ref><ref name="CoSW-122">{{Cite book/City of Splendors: Waterdeep|122}}</ref> The other end of this short, wide alley connected with [[Moonstar Alley]] which (after it was built in 1256 DR) surrounded the Moonstar Villa on three sides.<ref name="CoSW-120" /><ref name="VGtW-69-70">{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to Waterdeep|69-70}}</ref> This gave a certain authenticity to the legend that the alley was haunted by a ghost.<ref name="PP-157" />

People told stories of individuals disappearing from the Blushing Mermaid festhall from time to time. The macabre bone-covered staircase in the main dining hall usually figured prominently in these tales. Some of these stories were based in fact, as Lady Alathene had to consume the life force of two or three beings a year in order to maintain her unlife. Many of the bones on the staircase did indeed belong to her victims.<ref name="VGtW-196" />

==Appendix==
===Notes===
{{Notes}}
===References===
{{Refs}}
[[Category:Innkeeps]]
[[Category:Wizards]]
[[Category:Arcane devotees]]
[[Category:Archliches]]
[[Category:Liches]]
[[Category:Illuskans]]
[[Category:Humans]]
[[Category:Worshipers of Selûne]]
[[Category:Members of the Moonstar family]]
[[Category:Members of the Maids of the Midnight Moon]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of the Blushing Mermaid (Waterdeep)]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of Moonstar Villa]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of the Sea Ward of Waterdeep]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of Waterdeep]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of the Sword Coast North]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of Northwest Faerûn]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of Faerûn]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of Toril]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of chaotic good alignment]]