Elaith Craulnober
Once captain of Evermeet's royal guard, the moon elf Elaith
Craulnober is now a crime lord whose empire is centered in Waterdeep. His
early life was full of promise, despite the tragedy that befell his family when
he was infant: the Craulnober family was slain by raiders, the ancestral
keep burned to a shell. (Story told in Evermeet) Elaith was adopted by Queen Amlaruil and raised as
a ward of the royal court. Betrothed to Princess Amnestria and heir to the
Craulnober moonblade, Elaith was certain of a bright future. But the
sentient sword refused to accept him, and Elaith, stunned by this rejection,
left Evermeet. He found his way to Waterdeep and fell in with a band of unsavory adventurers.
(See "The More Things Change," a short story in the anthology Realms of
Infamy.)
Elaith quickly embraced this new life, which gave him the opportunity to use his many talents, and provided an occasional outlet for the rage that simmers just beneath the surface. Elaith's polished demeanor and wry sense of humor tend to disarm those who are unaware of his dark reputation, but he has a streak of cruelty that's deeply rooted in self-loathing. He considers anger preferable to despair, but prefers to project an image of coolly smiling detachment. This persona, coupled with his swift strike, earned him the nickname "Serpent."
The moon elf considers himself to be a lost soul, and he goes about his business accordingly. Yet he retains a certain honor and a strong sense of duty to the royalty of Evermeet. He privately considers Arilyn Moonblade, the half-elven daughter of his lost love Amnestria, to be "his" princess; he treats her with the deference due a liege lady, and he is strongly inclined to slay anyone who troubles her. (See Elfshadow, and also "The Great Hunt," a short story in Dragon Magazine, Issue #246, reprinted in The Best of the Realms Book III: The Stories of Elaine Cunningham.) This inclination once extended to Danilo Thann, a human bard, whom Elaith named elf-friend (albeit with great reluctance) after Danilo defended Elaith against a false accusation of murder. (See the short story "Speaking with the Dead" in the anthology Realms of Mystery, and "Stolen Dreams," a short story in Dragon Magazine, Issue #259.) Both the bard and the elf are keenly aware of the irony inherent in any notion of Elaith's "innocence," and their friendship, though increasingly genuine, remains somewhat wary.
Elaith went to considerable effort to have his family moonblade restored to power. He holds it in trust for his daughter Azariah, the child of his gold elf mistress. (See Elfsong, and also the short story "Games of Chance" in Dragon Magazine Issue # 335, reprinted in The Best of the Realms Book III: The Stories of Elaine Cunningham.) He also has a son by Amnestria, but the princess bore her firstborn in secrecy and Elaith remains unaware of his son's existence. (The story of the hidden prince has not yet been told.)
Elaith's business in Waterdeep underwent considerable expansion during the year 1368, when he formed a partnership with a powerful merchant family (Dream Spheres.) He also returned to his roots, assuming command of a disparate band of elves gathered to fight a human mage who'd corrupted an elven artifact. The elves of the Wealdath, also known as the Forest of Tethir, recruit his assistance when Ferret, a forest elf assassin, inadvertently draws her people into the conflict of Tethyr's War of Reclamation. (This tale was begun in "Redemption," a short story in Realms of War.)
By the summer of 1371, Elaith was back in Waterdeep, (The City of Splendors: A Novel of Waterdeep), and started taking his lordly duties perhaps a little too seriously.
Bibliography:
Novels:
The City of Splendors (co-written with Ed Greenwood)
Silverfire (by Ed Greenwood)
Short stories:
Realms of Infamy: "The More Things Change"
Realms of Mystery: "Speaking with the Dead"
DRAGON Magazine Issue # 246: "The Great Hunt"
DRAGON Magazine Issue # 259: "Stolen Dreams"
DRAGON Magazine Issue # 335: "Games of Chance"
Realms of War: "Redemption"
D&D Game Products
Waterdeep and the North (FR1, 2nd edition) by Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms Boxed Campaign set (2nd edition) by Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb
Villains Lorebook (2nd edition) by Dale Donovan
City of Splendors (2nd edition boxed set)
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3rd edition) by WotC staff
City of Splendors (3rd edition hardcover book) by Eric L. Boyd
Video Games
Neverwinter Nights
Game Stats
For Elaith's third edition game stats, see the hardcover game accessory Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.
Art Gallery
Same book, three versions of Elaith. The first cover design was rough art done for the catalogue, the second was the original cover. The third, which shows Elaith (or possibly John Malkovich....) sulking in the campfire shadows, was added when my books in the Harpers series were reprinted as the "Songs & Swords" series.
The illustration at the top of this page is the cover art for Dragon Magazine #335, by Matt Dixon. The sketch to the rights side of Elaith's bibliography comes from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book.
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT: All artwork pertaining to TSR/Wizards of the Coast products is copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast, and should not be used except with permission from the holder of copyright, and then only for promotional purposes.
The computer rendering below was done by Neven, and is posted here with her permission, along with the flash fiction it inspired.
Flash Fiction: " Seaward"
The villa in the Sea Ward
was a good investment. An elf of means, Elaith knew
such things. Waterdeep was his city, and he could name the value of any property
of note within its walls.
This villa had been a bargain--a toss of the dice, a spell that facilitated the separation of foolish humans from their treasures, and he'd added a seaside villa to his collection of homes and hideaways. The transaction was undoubtedly theft, but what of it? The open, wind-swept rooms were pleasant, and the view stunning enough to tempt even one such as he to linger and dream.
Ah, but therein lay a subtle danger. In Elaith's observation, dreaming was always a mistake. At best, dreams made one yearn for things best forgotten; at worse, they strayed too damnably close to the realms of nightmare. But even nightmares, which no doubt he had earned, were preferable to memories.
He'd seen sunsets like this before, as a young elf racing his favorite steed along the western shores of Evermeet. When the sun set during the days of the harvest moon, the sea was wont to turn to gold and the sky to blaze in leafy hues of amber and scarlet. Elaith had never seen such colors anywhere else. Nor did he wish to.
So he would do as he had done every day since his self-imposed exile began: turn to the east when the sun sets, to the west when it rises. Study the sky when starflowers bloom underfoot; give stern and careful study to the mud when starlight beckons. Elaith had no problems taking anything he wanted, but he only gave himself that which he deserved.
Many thanks to Neven for permission to post her rendition of Elaith.