Elves who choose a path of Realms-bound duty beyond death can be turned into baelnorn, and these undead defenders unswervingly protect their clan and its holdings for centuries. The majority of baelnorn were spellcasters, and they maintain their mental and magical abilities in this state, though exceptions occur.
Basics
The method of becoming a baelnorn is a High Magic or divine ritual. Actually they do not need to use phylacteries as their undeath is gifted to them by the Seldarine. Alas this process is uncommon, a baelnorn also might storing its soul in a magical receptacle called a phylactery. Unlike most other forms of undead creatures, the baelnorn retains all of the memories, personality, and abilities that it possessed in life - but it has a virtual eternity to hone its skills and inevitably becomes very powerful. Like other powerful forms of undead (such as a vampire or mummy), a baelnorn has unnatural powers owing to his state. For example, he can put mortals in a paralyzed state of hibernation with a touch, making them seem dead to others, and can, through their typically powerful magical spells, summon other lesser undead to protect him. Unlike liches, baelnorn do not radiate an aura of horror which can send weak-willed would-be foes to flight. The baelnorn is capable of sustaining tremendous physical damage, and is immune to disease, poison, fatigue and other effects that affect only the living. However, despite all his undead "gifts", a lich's most valuable resources are his vast intellect, his supreme mastery of wizardry and limitless time to research, plot and scheme.
The Baelnorn's Phylactery
Some baelnorn do not use actually a phylactery, as their undeath can be also gifted to them by the Seldarine. These baelnorn can use clones of itself to avoid destruction. Its soul wanders to an unharmed mortal shell when killed.
Some baelnorn's soul is mystically tied to its phylactery, in that chase destroying its body will not kill it. Rather, its soul will return to the phylactery, and its body will be recreated by the power keeping it immortal. Thus the only way to permanently destroy a baelnorn is to destroy the phylactery as well. Therefore, the baelnorn will generally be extremely protective of the priceless item. The phylactery, which can be of virtually any form (usually appears as a valuable amulet or gemstone), will often be hidden in a secret place and protected by powerful spells, charms, monsters and/or other servants; the phylactery itself is usually of magical nature, meaning its destruction will generally be little easier than attaining it.
Ecology
The choice to embrce undead are allowed and considered only on rare occasions, when a clan or settlement has need of lorekeepers or defenders beyond the norm. Even if an elf truly wants to become a baelnorn for his clan's benefit, the Coronal, the High Mages, and the elders of the particular clan must all be of one mind to allow this sacrifice to be made. To the surprise of some elves, these transformations have occurred a few times in the past five millennia at the will of the Seldarine. Baelnorn, the willing undead elves, are the elven equivalent of liches, though they are hardly as disturbingly 'wrong' as the corrupt undead and they do not project the fearsome aura of those wicked creatures. Sustained by magic and granted life of a sort beyond nature, baelnorn appear largely as they did in life, though an immediate clue as to baelnorn is the existence of shriveled and wrinkled skin turning slightly translucent over time. Some of the oldest of baelnorn seem little more than the hint of body, hair, and skin around their skeletons. Unlike liches, this is the extent of their degeneration, and they do not fall into loose piles of bones; of course, elven unlife is similar to their lifespans, and as human liches live for centuries, no witnesses have ever reported a millennia-old baelnorn...
Roles
Some choose to identity baelnorn by their motivations and occupations chosen in undeath.
- Watchnorns (for lurking observers and lesser guardians of public places or family lands, especially Castle Cormanthor)
- Lorenorns (for those choosing to act as tutors, librarians, or merely students of Art beyond their normal span of years)
- Guardnorns or Wardnorns (for powerful guardians of crypts and other secret places or as the sole protector of particularly powerful items).
In truth, the baelnorn are all capable of as much action and activity as a live elf, though their personal attitudes and motivations (and the social unease over the continued public presence of baelnorn) limits them to particular activities. In her time as a baelnorn, the Srinshee had acted as Wardnorn of the Vault of Ages and as the Lorenorn for the armathors and Court Magi, a great amount of activity despite her relatively hidden existence.
While the demilich type exists among liches, there is no equivalent type among baelnorn. Though some revolutionary changes are recorded in the history. (See below in the instances at the Srinshee entry.)
Alignment
A baelnorn can be of any non evil (mainly Lawfull Good) alignment, retaining whatever alignment it had in life.
Instances for Baelnorn
- In the novel Elminster in Hell, Elminster consults with a number of baelnorns beneath the ruins of Myth Drannor.
- In the Pool of Radiance novel and game, the protector baelnorn Miroden Silverblade is kidnapped by a cult.
- The Forgotten Realms novels The Siege and The Lost Library of Cormanthyr both include guardian baelnorn characters.
- Tordynnar Rhaevaern is detailed in the supplement Lords of Darkness as a baelnorn archmage who has become evil and shows hatred for humans.
- The Srinshee (also mentioned above) is no doubt the most famous baelnorn of all time. She was the Senior Cor'Seku'Taar, Wardnorn of the Vault of Ages and as the Lorenorn for the armathors and Court Magi. She helped raise the Mythal over the now lost elven capital, Myth Drannor in 261 DR. At that time she has revived herself as an elfmaid of 300 winters. This process was unseen even in the elven history, but was seemingly repeated actually by her former apprentice Lady Arcana Elestar.
References
Official Material
- Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves (zip)
- Realmslore: Safeholds (Part Three)
- Realmslore: Storm Silverhand's Quieter Days, Part Four