Lady Lord Yanseldara was a fighter and mage, a former adventurer, and the ruler of the city of Elversult on the Dragon Coast in the mid–14th century DR. Her consort was Lady Constable Vaerana Hawklyn, head of law enforcement.[1][2][5][3][4]
Personality[]
Yanseldara was careful and always planned ahead, while contemplating the outcomes of actions, both hers and those of others. However, she could also be shy.[1]
History[]
Yanseldara and Vaerana were originally adventuring companions.[1][3][4]
Some time in the mid-1300s DR, Yanseldara skillfully led a popular uprising against the necromantic regime that had oppressed Elversult for centuries. They deposed the old order and took power themselves, with Yanseldara ruling the city and Vaerana standing beside her overseeing law enforcement.[3][4]
However, the old crime and corruption that had once infested the city went underground, so the two now worked to combat and quash it, as they did through the late 1350s, 1360s DR, and early 1370s DR.[1][3][4]
At some point in her adventuring career, Yanseldara once slew the black dragon Cypress the Black.[5]
In the Year of the Wave, 1364 DR,[6] Cypress returned to the Realms thanks to the help offered him by the Dragon Cult cell in Elversult he had taken over.[7] The dracolich used his psionic powers to contact Yanseldara,[5] then poisoned her body into some sort of catatonic state,[8] and trapped her spirit alongside his in the spirit gem embedded within her magical staff.[9]
The dracolich formed some sort of obsessive love with the Lady Lord,[10] striving to merge their souls together so they could exist as one being. Cypress sought to make their connection permanent by utilizing the spirit gem and a love potion made from ylang blossoms[11] formulated by Lady Feng, the wu jen noblewoman he abducted from the Ginger Palace outside of Elversult.[12] While Vaerana lent her strength to Yanseldara's spirit,[13] Prince Kao Chou Tang of the Ginger Palace set out to rescue Lady Feng and shatter the spirit gem,[14] while the novice Harpers agent Ruha and the Maces of Elversult fought a great battle in the city to destroy the dracolich's body once more.[15] In the end, Lady Yanseldara's spirit was restored to her body and she was reunited with Vaerana and her new allies.[16]
By 1372 DR, Yanseldara had officially made Vaerana her consort.[4]
Activities[]
Yanseldara ruled the city of Elversult,[1][3][4] though she left law enforcement as in the care of Vaerana.[4] In this capacity, Vaerana aided Yanseldara in the city's governance.[1] Yanseldara worked to improve and promote the city's reformed reputation.[3]
Relationships[]
Yanseldara's consort was Vaerana,[4] who was her trusted confidant and strong right arm in the governing of the city.[1] Once companions in adventure,[1][3][4] they became best friends[3][5] and lovers.[4]
Possessions[]
Lady Yanseldara bore a magical staff within which was set a glowing topaz spirit gem.[9] After her staff was destroyed during her abduction by the dracolich Cypress,[14] Yanseldara was gifted a long oaken staff inset with a ruby by Prince Tang as a gesture of friendship.[16]
Home[]
Yanseldara and Vaerana lived together in Moonstorm House, nicknamed the "Ladytowers" by the Elversians. This mansion of slender towers stood on Moonstorm Lane, on the eastern side of the westernmost hill in Elversult, in the so-called "Ladytowers' Lands".[2][18]
Appendix[]
Background[]
After being "best friends" and "adventuring companions" in previous sources, Yanseldara and Vaerana hold the distinction of being the first known gay couple, as well as the first effectively married one, in the Forgotten Realms setting, having been confirmed in canon via the description "her consort" (a common term for unions of nobles and rulers) in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition in 2000.
Notes[]
- ↑ While Forgotten Realms Adventures and the 2nd-edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting make Yanseldara a half-elf, the 3rd-edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting makes her human. It is unclear if this is an error or a retcon.
Appearances[]
- Novels
- The Veiled Dragon
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 Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 86. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 70. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 80. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 143. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 35. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd, Ed Greenwood, Steven E. Schend (2000). Presenting...Seven Millennia of Realms Fiction. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2003-06-21. Retrieved on 2015-08-12.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 125. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 79. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), pp. 296–297. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 163. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 182. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 183. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 295. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 302. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), pp. 304–307. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 309. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ Troy Denning (April 1996). The Veiled Dragon (Paperback, 1996). (TSR, Inc), p. 75. ISBN 0-7869-0482-8.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 87. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.