Dregaul Matrell was one of the three siblings, the second generation of House Matrell, a noble mercantile family of Arrabar and the family's head as of 1362 DR.[4][1]
History[]
Dregaul Matrell was born on the 2nd of Eleint, the Year of the Watching Cold, 1320 DR. Growing up, Dregaul, along with his three siblings Hesta, Obril, and Xaphira Matrell were ostracized by nobles of Arrabar for being a young merchant house with no social weight behind their name. In his lifetime, however, House Matrell gained prominence and success due to the leadership of Dregaul's parents, Hetta Debrinne, and Obiron Matrell I.[1][3]
In the Year of the Helm, 1362 DR, Dregaul, along with members of his family, attended the Night of Ghosts festival hosted by Eles Wianar, the Lord of Arrabar. Dregaul's young nephew, Vambran Matrell, was playing around with a bejeweled crossbow, a gift from his uncle Kovrim Matrell. Shooting plantains off a tree, Vambran unleashed a stray bolt that lodged itself in a stranger's chest, killing him. The victim was Rodolpho Wianar, a cousin of the Lord of Arrabar. Dregaul and his younger sister Xaphira knew that this accidental murder meant ruin for House Matrell. Desperate to see her nephew unharmed, Xaphira took the blame. She masqueraded as an assassin and fled Arrabar, likely to never be able to return again.[5][1]
In the years that followed, Dregaul never forgave Vambran for his foolish crime, bringing the family so close to destruction and being the cause of his sister's disappearance from Arrabar.[1] By the Year of Rogue Dragons, 1373 DR Dregaul was fully in control of House Matrell mercantile dealings and spent most of his time working through bills of lading, receipts, and ledgers, helped by the oldest of Obril's children - Evester Matrell, who shared his business-inclined mind.[6]
Over the years that followed, Dregaul Matrell lost his morals and solely focused on enriching his family and gaining status in the eyes of Arrabarran society. Dregaul entered a dark money cabal along with Houses Talricci, Pharaboldi, and the corrupt Grand Tabard Lavant of the Temple of Waukeen. The families entered hidden and social agreements and invested a sizable amount of coin into mercenary army to provoke a war and enrich themselves through strife and suffering of others. Dregaul Matrell's nephew Evester Matrell was a willing and eager participant and planner who orchestrated the arranged marriage between his teenage sister Emriana Matrell, and cruel scion of house Pharaboldi – Denrick Pharaboldi. To ensure the alliance between the families, the cabal murdered Denrick's consort and maid of his House, Jithelle Skolotti, who was also pregnant with Denrick's bastard child at the time.[7][8]
The assassination was witnessed by Emriana and her brother Vambran on Tarsakh 10 of the Year of Rogue Dragons, 1373 DR. The siblings investigated the young woman's death and eventually uncovered the cabal's sneak coin conspiracy. The plot was forcefully unraveled on Tarsakh 13, Emriana's sixteenth birthday celebration. During the event, Dregaul publicly announced the engagement between his unwilling niece to her utter horror. The cabal's alliance became public knowledge while Dregaul and Evester left Emriana for Denrick, who attempted to take the young woman by force. With Vambran's arrival, Emriana was freed, and the young Lord Pharaboldi fled.[9]
Meanwhile, Dregaul Matrell was finalizing the mercenary army agreements. His mother, Hetta Matrell, stormed into the room and unsuccessfully attempted to reclaim the leadership of the House Matrell, but she was too late, and the troops had already been deployed. Angered by being unable to claim what he thought to be rightfully his, Denrick stormed into the cabal's meeting place and tried to take control of the alliance, murdering his mother and Dregaul Matrell. Eventually, Denrick faced off against Vambran one last time as Evester held his sister hostage. With unexpected help from Xaphira Matrell, both Evester and Denrick fell off the mansion's high balcony to their deaths.[10]
After Dregaul Matrell's death, Hetta revealed that she saw her son lose his morals and dignity and waited for an opportunity and a just cause to strip the man of the leadership role. Secretly from Dregaul, Hetta controlled her own part of family businesses growing the family's wealth ten times over what Dregaul thought House Matrell had and what he spent on the cabal's war effort.[11]
Despite the deaths of several cabal members, the conspiracy was much deeper-rooted than Vambran realized. The war became surely inevitable.[12]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
- Novels
- The Sapphire Crescent
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Character Profile: Vambran Matrell. (12-21-2021). Retrieved on 12-21-2021.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 14, p. 289. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent (House Matrell Family Tree). (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 1–20. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 1, pp. 26–27. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 8, p. 169–177. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 9, p. 193. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 14, p. 276. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 15, p. 302. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2003). The Sapphire Crescent. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 15, p. 304. ISBN 0-7869-3027-6.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid (November 2004). The Ruby Guardian. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 1, pp. 25–26. ISBN 0-7689-3382-8.