People: Shardorn M'baton
- "The moon is elusive, but ever present. Have faith."
Shardorn M'baton (CR 102 Que 27 – 481 Tor 25 / AO -364 Plu 22 – 15 Cop 4) was a goblin priest of Rashida, with an unusually extensive past. She went under many assumed names across her life in an attempt to avoid unwanted attention, but this article will use her birth name, which she has also used as an alias, throughout.
History
Shardorn participated in a number of events, but generally tended to try to fade into the backdrop, fulfilling her and her patron's goals without seeking fame or glory.
Early Life
Shardorn was born in CR 102 in a tribal village on the southern half of the Lost Isle. Mentally quick, she rapidly developed a respectable degree of psionic talent, and was well-respected in her tribe from a young age.
However, in CR 116, Kotrit Wayveri came to the Tower of Illusions on the northern half of the isle, and in a display of his power and force of will, utilized Epic magics to raise the continent of Lotharien, as well as attempt to shatter the Force of Psionics. While he failed in the latter task, his abilities struck the Force a powerful blow, lessening it considerably and leeching wielders of psionics of their power, with the gems of the earth soaking up the lost abilities.
Finding herself suddenly lost, as her psionics had been her only gift, Shardorn became despondent and shut herself away from her tribe. In a dream, the Saint Rashida came to her in a vision, and told her that not all was lost: if she were to take up the priest's robes and place her faith in the Lunar Maiden, she would be able to participate in many great works to come. Having lost all else, Shardorn followed the instructions from her dream, and became a priestess in short order.
The War of the Illusionist
Following visions from her patron, Shardorn boarded a ship and headed east, journeying by faith and faith alone. Arriving in Chaliraz, she followed her intuition to the city of Sharlyik. Through a chance encounter with a man calling himself Kevaan, she accompanied him to a meeting with Tarian, where she joined Kalrios Dilark, among others, becoming one of The Nine. While many of the group doubted her abilities, due to her apparent age and their own unfamiliarity with goblins as a people, Tarian was not so dismissive, and seemed to understand the despondent priest's position that, even if Kotrit were to be defeated, her kind - and users of Psionics everywhere - would still suffer from the aftermath of the necromancer's magics. Of the Nine, Shardorn found it easiest to relate to Ratheqar, a githyanki, who understood that something had happened to his psionic abilities but was uncertain as to the specifics.
Shardorn fought alongside the Nine until Kotrit's defeat in CR 118, using the powers granted to her by her patron to great effect against the undead minions of the necromancer. Within the Tower of Illusion, Shardorn came across the Psionicle, a powerful Psionic artifact that had been the focus for Kotrit's attempt to destroy Psionics, but now was that Force's focal point in the world. Following the intuition granted her by her patron, Shardorn took the artifact and hid it amongst her belongings, knowing of the githyanki enmity towards illithids and sensing that, given a chance, Ratheqar would certainly destroy it without bothering to learn of its significance.
Shardorn understood that the artifact she held was somehow incomplete, and in the Nine's search of the Tower of Illusions, found Kotrit's notes pertaining to the gemstones that had been removed from it and been secreted across the continent after it had been raised. Knowing she would be unable to attain the gems herself, she petitioned Rashida for advice, and received only one word in reply: "Patience."
Her task with the Nine complete, Shardorn went into the wilderness of Lotharien, becoming a nomad. As time passed, she realized she was no longer aging, and took this as an indication that her patron still had use for her: and thus, she waited, moving from town to town so as not to arouse suspicion, as well as changing her name several times to avoid being found out and attracting unwanted attention. In her travels, she quietly and discretely sought out knowledge regarding where the gemstones for the Psionicle had been hidden, preparing herself for the time when she would be called upon to act.
The Diaclo Revolution
To be continued...
