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#Post#: 1138--------------------------------------------------
Fistandantilus The Dark One
By: Dungeon Master Date: May 14, 2025, 6:58 am
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[center]Fistandantilus[/center]
[center]The Dark One[/center]
Fistandantilus (? PC - 39 AC), also known as the "Dark One,"
always wore his plain, midnight black robes in plain sight, and
was the most powerful Black Robe of his time. Fistandantilus
owned a castle, but would stay at his personal apartments in the
Tower of Wayreth. He never claimed a friend other than his
magic, but was a very good player at Khas. At the height of his
power in Istar, he knew every language, custom, and lore of all
known races on Krynn.
The archmage was able to travel anywhere on Krynn in the blink
of an eye and was used as a bogeyman by parents to scare their
children. However, unlike most bogeyman tales, his powers were
all very much real.
The early part of Fistandantilus' life is mostly unknown. One
thing that is known is that he discovered magic, and through its
use was able to keep himself alive when he was young. It is also
known that when he took his Test, he chose to become a Red Robe
wizard. He stayed a follower of neutrality until he realized
that he would not live forever. He approached Gilean about
extending his life, but the god responded that the mage should
accept his humanity. This did not please Fistandantilus, and he
decided to forsake neutrality. He took the Black Robes and
approached Takhisis in the Abyss about allowing him to live
forever. She readily accepted him and gave him what would later
be known as the Bloodstone of Fistandantilus.
In the reign of Highmage Gadrella, Fistandantilus had become a
trusted agent of the ruler of the Conclave and aided Gadrella in
convincing the local lords around Ansalon to sanction the
construction of four more Towers of High Sorcery. The young
black-robed mage continued to grow in power, and it is around
this time that it is suspected that he constructed Ulgaard, a
hidden lair in the Garnet Mountains, where he developed over
half of his spells.
Centuries later, in 2018 PC, he assisted his colleagues within
the Conclave in destroying the renegade mage Malock and then
convinced the archmages not to destroy Malock’s fortress of
Zhaman, as it held a wealth of knowledge on war magic, which
could only help the Wizards of High Sorcery. The wizards agreed
and allowed Fistandantilus to become the new master of Zhaman.
The archmage continued to dwell in his fortress of Zhaman until
the close of the Third Dragon War in 1018 PC, when he migrated
to another lair.
When Fistandantilus would take an apprentice, he would choose
one from those who had already passed their Test of High
Sorcery. He would see who among his apprentices were the
strongest, and he would use his Bloodstone in order to take the
younger wizard's soul to keep himself strong. For a time, he was
the head of the Tower of Palanthas.
Fistandantilus arrived in Istar sometime around 100 PC, and
would continue his dark works as a mage, while at the same time
keeping an eye on the Kingpriest while a member of the Istaran
court. When he saw his chance to assist Kurnos in his rise to
power, he gave Kurnos a magical ring that contained the means to
kill Symeon IV.
At first, Fistandantilus worked to keep Kurnos in power, meeting
with the Kingpriest and advising him. Fistandantilus used this
time to learn about the Lightbringer. Learning about the
prophecy, he then charmed Denubis into allowing him into the
chancery where he was able to read the prophecy.
As Fistandantilus helped Kurnos’s mind slip further into
confusion, he began to hear rumors of the coming of Beldyn.
Believing that Beldyn would be the cleric he needed to open the
portal, Fistandantilus tested the young man. Even though Beldyn
overcame all of Fistandantilus’s tests, he still proved to be
too impure to be of any use to Fistandantilus’s overall goal of
obtaining godhood. Fistandantilus understood that with Kurnos in
power that his chance of finding a pure cleric of light and
corrupting him would be difficult. At the end of his brief
reign, Kurnos had slipped into madness and suspicion of all
others believing them to be threats to his rule. Rather than
leaving this mad tyrant in control, Fistandantilus instead
allowed Beldyn to defeat Kurnos.
Kurnos would be imprisoned below the temple, and before he had a
chance to indicate Fistandantilus’s guilt, he was killed by the
mage. Following the death of Kurnos, Fistandantilus would become
a loyal subject to the new Kingpriest Beldinas. While disliked
by much of the Kingpriest’s court, the mage was allowed to
practice his magic in secret below the temple. He would
eventually create his own laboratory under the Temple of Istar.
This laboratory would remain a secret to all but a select few
chosen apprentices, most of whom did not live to tell of the
place.
Years later, he would give Beldinas the means to defeat the
groves around the Towers of High Sorcery prior to the Lost
Battles. For this though, Fistandantilus asked a price for the
seeds that he would be the personal advisor to the Kingpriest.
This action accomplished two goals for Fistandantilus, one that
he could now direct the Kingpriest, and secondly he would be
allowed to study a Portal to the Abyss secretly.
In the years to follow, Fistandantilus became whispered about in
the shadows of the temple. People in the city referred to
Fistandantilus as ‘Fistandantilus the Dark’ and wondered why the
Kingpriest would keep an evil mage so close. Fistandantilus
during this time came to the understanding that the Kingpriest
would never be the cleric he needed to open the portal.
Also, during the years prior to the Cataclysm, Fistandantilus
selected a black robe mage named Andras Rannoch to be his new
apprentice. Using Andras as his puppet, he attacked the Knights
of the Divine Hammer to rid himself of their annoying leader,
Cathan MarServin, and to divide their leadership. Andras was
nearly captured in an assassination attempt on the leadership of
the Divine Hammer. Fearful that Andras would give away his part
in the attacks, Fistandantilus locked his apprentice in his
laboratory.
Following the Lost Battles, Fistandantilus sent Andras to the
Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas. Using Andras, he had his
apprentice jump to his death to seal the gates until the Master
of Past and Present opened them. With this, Fistandantilus
believed he would prevent the wizards from moving the Portal to
the Abyss. Unknown to Fistandantilus, the portal was already
moved to the fortress of Zhaman. Somewhere around this time, the
archmage took a new apprentice in the form of the mage Akar.
In 963 IA (1 PC), Fistandantilus realized that the Cataclysm was
near and prepared to time travel to the future. Knowing that the
Cataclysm was going to create great political upheaval,
Fistandantilus purchased a gladiator, Pheragas, who would be
able to protect him.
In the days prior to the Cataclysm, Fistandantilus reached out
to the one true cleric left in the world. Denubis nearly
finishing his copying of the Disks of Mishakal decided to
accompany Fistandantilus. Fistandantilus in the moments prior to
the Cataclysm time traveled to the future with Denubis and
Pheragas.
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