Szuszalan, known as the Warrior Maid, was a veteran former adventurer and later advisor in the settlement of Goldenfields in the Dessarin Valley in the 14th century DR.[1][2]
History[]
In her youth, she was a member of the Circle of Steel, a famous all-female adventuring company. They dared to explore the ruins of Myth Drannor and, most impressively, lived to tell the tale.[1][2] Szuszalan won her first handful of gold from the adventure.[1]
She later founded another adventuring band, The Company of the Fiery Fane.[1][2]
In her time, Szuszalan slew an evil dragon and destroyed a vile lich, and she won much treasure over her life. But eventually the gems lost their allure and the gold lost its gleam, and her victories grew dull. In time, she retired from the adventuring life.[1]
In her old age, Szuszalan settled in the Chauntean abbey-town of Goldenfields.[1][2] She wrote her biography, Walking on a Swordblade, in the Year of the Dragon, 1352 DR.[1][2][3] In it, she reflected that it was the companionship and sense of having what was truly hers that she remembered most fondly.[1]
She still lived as of 1372 DR, though at her age few recognized her or linked her to her past exploits.[2]
Relationships[]
She was both advisor and friend to Tolgar Anuvien, the cleric of Chauntea and leader of Goldenfields.[1][2]
Description[]
By 1357 DR, Szuszalan was elderly, and even considered a crone.[1]
Works[]
- Walking on a Swordblade, written 1352 DR.[1][2][3]
It was a thrill, my first handful of gold. More coin than most men ever see in a lifetime of toil! Beautiful, gleaming gold, worked in delicate designs of lost Myth Drannor! Heavy and soft in my fingers as I turned them over and over... it was a joy, that night! And I had won all this with the strength of my own wits and swordarm!
The next gold gave me a brief pleasure—I'd done it again! Soon, though, the gold, the silver, even the gems failed to excite. I began to understand the hunger of older warriors after magic. At least it carried its own dangers, its own living, waiting thrill.
For me, adventure grew stale. When I look back now, 'tis not the great triumphs I recall, not the evil dragon dying under my blade, or the lich crumbling to dust as we fought—'tis the laughter of friends around a campfire, and the feel of my first gold in my fingers. Not because they were gold, but because they were MINE.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 Ed Greenwood (March 1991). “The Everwinking Eye: Adventures in Maskyr's Eye”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #58 (TSR, Inc.), p. 25.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Eric L. Boyd (2006-05-03). Environs of Waterdeep (Zipped PDF). Web Enhancement for City of Splendors: Waterdeep. Wizards of the Coast. p. 9. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved on 2009-10-07.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Steven E. Schend (2000-11-29). The Candlekeep Collection. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved on 2017-09-25.