Sildonis, the Wizard of the Wood

[aldarron]

hock: must go wash eyes....

[Rafael]

Go watch it. Better fantasy for children was never on TV, and that series is as D&D as it could be.

[Redsonia]

Havard:

Here is the link mentioning Uther staying with the Wizard of the Wood. http://web.me.com/robjn/Site/Blog/Entrie...esses.html

I'd like a little more info about this episode - if it exists. And info about the twin girls, as well. I'm trying to develop a backstory for my PC. Thanks!

[RobJN]

Havard:

Here is the link mentioning Uther staying with the Wizard of the Wood. http://web.me.com/robjn/Site/Blog/Entrie...esses.html

I'd like a little more info about this episode - if it exists. And info about the twin girls, as well. I'm trying to develop a backstory for my PC. Thanks!

Bear with me, as I am accessing from work, away from my notes.

Uther's exile, from what I have been able to find, has been left blank in Blackmoor canon. His seclusion with Sildonis and the advent of the twins was a creation of my own, as a major plot link to events going on in "my" version of Mystara, as is being revealed in the serialized Thorn's Chronicle storyline at the Piazza forums. It is not detailed by Dave Arneson, to my knowledge, and I have not been able to determine for certain whether or not Uther ever did have any children.

So I gave him a couple.

The twins, Rowena and Leansethar, may or may not be Uther's true offspring, and their mother is said to have been the Queen of the Fey of the Wizard's Wood. She may have been the Empress of the Twilight Empire at the time, as well.

Regardless, at the risk of giving too much away, here is what is known of the twins:

• They are identical in every respect, with the exception of their eyes. Rowena's are sapphire blue, and Leansethar's are emerald green. They currently appear to be eleven or twelve in human years, with silvery-gold hair and very fair complexion. Their ears come to points, not as pronounced as an elf's, but moreso than those of halflings.
  
• They are half High Sidhe. While they are not immortal, they age very very slowly. They are highly resistant to poisons, they can breathe water as easily as air, and have a limited ability to become completely undetectable. They only take half damage from normal weapons, except those of cold iron. Red Steel is poisonous to them, inflicting double damage, which cannot be regenerated.
  
• Their personalities are as different as the moon and the sun. Rowena inherited her father's thirst for knowledge and knack for military tactics, while Leansethar takes more after her mother, with a fiery temper and a will harder than the black stone on which Blackmoor Castle is built. The first expedition to the City of the Gods was rumored to have been at Uther's behest, against the wishes of the Council of Regents, to drag the twins back to the castle after they decided to 'just look around'

[Redsonia]

Thanks, Rob. That helps a lot. Definitely clears up a few things.

[RobJN]

Not too disappointing, I hope! :oops:

[Havard]

Around what time would you place this in the timeline Rob?

From the DA modules we learn that Uther did spend some time in hiding with the Regent of the Mines, probably somewhere between 1014-1019.

Sildonis became the Wizard of the Woods in 1005, the same year that Uther became Baron. If he spent time there in his youth it would have been under the tutelage of the original wizard, but if it was during Uther's conflict with Thonia it would have been Sildonis.

Pete strikes me as a much better teacher than Sildonis though...

-Havard

[RobJN]

Pete had dealings with Uther's father, introducing a young Uther to the fey queen when he was bu a lad of about ten. I'd imagine he spent some tome with Pete and various members of the Twilight Court until he left for Mohacs. From the fey, I think Uther learned quite a bit about diplomacy, and tactics (even if he didn't know it at the time).

His exile/ hiding would have been around 1015 UC, culminating in the clash with Thonian forces at the Battle of the Root a year or so later. DA1 mentions Uther constantly evading Thonian forces over those months-- I'm thinking he spent some of that time with Morgana, and the rest traveling with the twins. At that point in time, being as close to Blackmoor as they were, the twins could easily manipulate the magical distortion field to their advantage, using it to confuse the Thonians, or cloak Uther form enemy detection.

Wern I to begin transcribing Rowena's Crystal Chronicles, 1015/1016 would be right about where she would begin her narrative, I think......

[Havard]

These ideas make alot of sense Rob. As you say, Uther spent alot of time in hiding during these years. Also, one of his main characteristics is his ability to get along with other races. Although Uberstar, Lortz and Menander are all fairly open minded individuals, I am not so sure they would have been able to convince their peoples to support another human leader.

-Havard

[Redsonia]

Do you think it likely that Uther may have become friends with some of the Cumasti elves? Perhaps through his dealings with the Wizard of the Wood during that time period?