Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco, or Mist for short, was the ancient red dragon famous for killing the Abomination of Moander at the cost of her own life in 1357 DR.[5]
Description[]
Mistinarperadnacles was an ancient dragon with an appropriate size of almost 300 feet (91 meters) from head to tail's end. Her scales were rust-colored, muted, washed out with age. The hue gradually darkened to almost purple color closer toward's her belly that was typically covered in gold and gems. Her age could be easily detected by the number of scarred, purple, and violet scales accumulated through centuries. Her maw housed terrifying sword-sized teeth, and large reptilian golden[7] eyes instilled terror into anyone unlucky enough to meet their leer. Her mouth was decorated with fleshy whiskers growing all around its jaw especially on the chin, a casual observer could compare them to that of a cat.[3][8]
Personality[]
Mist's personality was not typical for a red dragon. Though she ate living creatures and kept a hoard of a treasure that she coveted like any other red dragon, she didn't enjoy killing just for the sake of killing or the joy of inspiring terror. She found evil acts for the sake of terror, like razing a village, to be extremely dull and unappealing. She also valued entertainment, music, and stories, more than her gold, gems, and magic.[3]
In some ways, her outlook on life was naive and simple. She respected the ancient draconic code of conduct and traditions, such as the Feint of Honor, even though she had no problem with cheating. She also cared deeply about her reputation and keeping up appearances, especially among other dragons. She would cheat but she would be sure to eat any witnesses.[3][9]
Abilities[]
Mist's ancient hide was impervious to normal missiles and as a red dragon, she was immune to fire damage. Like other dragons, Mist possessed a 40 feet (12 meters) aura of fear that sent her opponents fleeing.[3]
She was truly a terrifying opponent. Her fire breath had a 90 feet (27 meters) reach with the spread of 30 feet (9.1 meters). Mist's teeth and claws were deadly in close combat, and she had access to a wide variety of spells to cast on her opponents, including charm person, wizard lock, hold person, and animal friendship. She also had spell-like abilities due to her ancient age: affect normal fires, pyrotechnics, heat metal, suggestion, hypnotism, and detect gems that could tell her the number and type of precious stones in a 100 feet (30 meters) radius.[3]
Lair[]
Mist's lair overlooking the road between Waymoot and Suzail.
Mist's lair was located in the Storm Horns Mountains of Cormyr. The lair was a huge natural cave with its entrance overlooking the road between Waymoot and Suzail. In the ages past the cave was used as a temple and it had a spacious domed ceiling, ceiling vent holes, and an altar. The cave also had a back door of sorts, a narrow passageway that was created by a stream of water that ran into the cave and culminated in a small waterfall. The "backdoor" passageway had a constriction point about 50 feet (15 meters) in, forcing anyone brave enough to surprise the lair's dweller track through ice-cold waters.[10]
The cave itself was spacious enough for an ancient red dragon, 500 feet (150 meters) across. Mist's sizable treasure hoard filled one side of the lair and her victims' bones - the other.[10]
The cave was also home to a flock of ravens. Mist used her animal friendship spell on them to have the birds act as her feathered sentries.[3]
History[]
Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco high on top of the Storm Horns.
Mistinarperadnacles was already several hundred years old when her first appearance in history was recorded. She also accompanied Thauglor to The Passing of Power in −205 DR.[11] She fled in terror when Thauglor's throat exploded.[12]
In 1356 DR, Mist was a part of the Flight of Dragons that ravaged Yulash and Shadowdale. Though she didn't have anything to do with the Witch of Shadowdale, Syluné Silverhand's death personally, Mistinarperadnacles witnessed the destruction Syluné caused stopping the Flight. Witch of Shadowdale broke her staff of power causing a magical explosion that obliterated the area of her last stand against the dragons.[3]
Mist learned that destruction on such a scale was not the way she liked to do things.[3] After leaving the Flight, she found a new home in the Storm Horns, west of Cormyr. The lair belonged to a young red dragon, whom Mist fought in a deadly battle high in the sky. The young red dragon dealt her a close-to-deadly blow, but Mist managed to rip his wings to shreds, sending her opponent plummeting to the ground. Mistinarperadnacles took over the lair and the young dragon's treasure hoard. From that base, she launched attacks on merchants heading from Suzail to Waymoot for food and treasure for her hoard.[5]
In 1357 DR, one of these raided caravans was the caravan of Akabar Bel Akash who was delivering goods to Dimswart, the Sage of Suzail. A halfling bard named Olive Ruskettle was traveling with the caravan to the same destination. Mistinarperadnacles did not eat the bard, instead, she kept Olive as entertainment in her lair. The word of the Dragon's activities reached at least one of the adventuring parties that were brave enough to confront the beast. The would-be heroes barely escaped and needed full attention of clerics of Tyr in Suzail.[5]
Ruskettle was eventually rescued by a swordswoman called Alias. The swordswoman possessed knowledge of the ancient draconic tradition of honorable combat called the Feint of Honor and she issued the challenge to the red dragon. Mist agreed to the Feint and narrowly lost to Alias, because of the swordswoman's talent, and freed Olive's wit and bluff. Both Alias and Olive managed to escape the furious dragon and Akabar Bel Akash trapped Mist inside her lair by casting the wall of stone stell. Mist vowed to kill Alias despite the rules of the challenge.[5]
Mistinarperadnacles did not have a clue on how to find the swordswoman, until a few days later she heard a familiar song coming from the trade road outside of her lair. The young nobleman Giogioni Wyvernspur was singing one of Olive's songs. Mist swooped down on the young man, and after devouring his mare Daisyeye scared Giogi into telling her all he knew about Alias. That information led to Giogi negotiating on behalf of Mist with King Azoun Obarskyr IV, mist promised to leave the outskirts of Suzail in exchange for the information on where to find Alias.[13]
Subsequently, Mist caught up with her prey just outside of the town of Yulash. Alias was nowhere to be seen, but halfling Olive Ruskettle was there. Luckily for the bard, a saurial paladin named Dragonbait came to her rescue. He challenged Mist to another Feint of Honor. In an intense battle, the red dragon was downed by Dragonbait's fighting abilities and Olive's quick thinking. When the halfling noticed the saurial was in trouble, she used her ring of magic detection to cause Dragonbait's azure bonds to explode with light, blinding the dragon. Dragonbait landed a sword strike on the dragon, and olive threw a vial of poisonous peranox into Mist's maw. The red dragon was defeated once more, but her anger was gone when Dragonbait used his divine magic to heal Mist's many wounds. The price of defeat was Mist's aid in battling the Abomination of Moander that recently was awoken in Yulash and was plowing its way through Cormanthor with Alias imprisoned inside.[5]
After a few attempts to rescue the swordswoman, the heroes rode Mist through a gate created by the avatar of the Rotting God. Westgate stood on the gate's other end. It was there in the skies over Westgate Mistinarperadnacles faced with the Abomination in deadly combat. Moander had taken the form of a huge mass of rotting vegetation and Mist had been badly beaten by the deity. She used her fire breath on the Abomination, igniting the flammable gases given off by his rotting body. The blast killed Mist and destroyed Moander's avatar.[5]
Mist's animated skull was later used by Victor Dhostar of the Night Masks as a scrying device and adviser. However, it seems that later it was also destroyed.[5]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
- Novels
- Azure Bonds • Cormyr: A Novel • Masquerades
- Video Games
- Referenced only
- Curse of the Azure Bonds
References[]
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 19, p. 234. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 20, p. 241. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Dale Donovan (July 1998). Villains' Lorebook. (TSR, Inc), p. 76. ISBN 0-7869-1236-7.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 24, p. 288. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Dale Donovan (July 1998). Villains' Lorebook. (TSR, Inc), p. 77. ISBN 0-7869-1236-7.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), p. 51. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 5, p. 50. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 4, p. 48. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 5, p. 55. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), p. 120. ISBN 978-0880388573.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb (April 1998). Cormyr: A Novel. (TSR, Inc.), p. 30. ISBN 0-7869-0710-X.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb (April 1998). Cormyr: A Novel. (TSR, Inc.), p. 39. ISBN 0-7869-0710-X.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak (October 1988). Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), p. 118. ISBN 0-88038-612-6.