Ilen Derelest

Ilen Derelest   is a well known mage in Impiltur who defended a town from dragons during The Rage and later saved Lyrabar from utter destruction by forming a band of heroes called the Wyrm Marshals. He lost much to The Rage, but even more with the Spellplague. Curiously, the Blue Fire has kept him from aging but his newfound immortality has left him an eternity to deal with his demons.

Appearance
Ilen is a human male who appears to be in his early thirties. He has long black hair that goes an inch past his shoulders and emerald green eyes. He wears green traveling robes that aren't as long as traditional wizard robes. He is quite muscular and toned for a spellcaster and he is considered to have a pensive look most of the time.

Weapons and Magical Abilities
Ilen possesses the Staff of the Elder as a ceremonial duty to his former office as town elder. He relinquished his position after he and his friend, Mirren, slayed the black wyrm Orugonith along with Gammen the Blacksmith. As a gift for saving the town, the council let Ilen keep the staff.

The staff's original magic was lost when the Spellplague occured. Ilen longs to restore the staff to its original power, but has failed to find a good lead on how to accomplish this. Even though the unique powers of the staff are lost, it still channels and enhances the strength of Ilen's spells.

When the Blue Fire consumed the realms, Ilen was physically untouched; however, the Spellplague left him ageless. He cannot pass the age of thirty-two and after all of the things he has seen he considers this a curse.

Personality
Ilen is a good natured man and an honest one. He tries to save those in need and does not make rash decisions when others are counting on him. These traits made him a good leader and a down to earth hero. Although his wife and friend Mirren are long gone, he retains his sense of heroism and honor even though Faerun is riddled with darkness.

History
Not much is known about Ilen's childhood, aside that he was born into a middle class human family and when he was old enough, he was taken to Cormyr to study with the wizards. He learned much in the way of the Weave and with that training he returned to Impiltur to make a difference. Living in a modest town near the Earthspur Mountains, he practiced his art and served the town council. In his mid-twenties, he met Mirren and together they rid the area of bandits, orcs, kobolds and other threats. The townsfolk started calling them heroes due to their deeds and soon enough Ilen was invited to sit on the council. Once he turned thirty, the elder in the council was murdered by an assassin. Ilen led the investigation to uncover the conspiracy which took him and Mirren all the way to Baldur's Gate to uncover the truth. There they found that the Shadovar were involved and that one of the council members conspired with them to assassinate the elder. Ilen returned to his hometown and discovered that the traitor, Porivius Cantar, had arrived sooner and with his new Shadovar allies. Mirren and Ilen presented the evidence against them and although the townsfolk agreed with the testimony, the elder had them sentenced to be executed. This started a riot and the battle of Earthspur began. Ilen and his allies managed to defeat the elder and the shades. As a result of this act, Ilen was appointed town elder and given the staff of his office.

Not even a year passed and The Rage came. The black dragon Orugonith destroyed most of the town of Earthspur. Ilen and Mirren draw swords once more to slay the beast and after nearly perishing in the fight, they manage to kill the wyrm. Ilen realized that his homeland might be safe, but the region would not be and so he formed The Wyrm Marshals, a group of elite dragon slayers bound by oath and honor to save the innocent and to protect the Realms from the Rage.

The Marshals made their way south after hearing that dragons had been sited near the city of Lyrabar. Twenty men including their leaders Ilen and Mirren hoped to end the growing threat. A massive battle was fought in Lyrabar between the city's army as well as the Marshals against the dragons and their minions. Although the battle for the city was won, the leader of the dragon pack fled into a cave a few miles away from the city. Ilen and his men tracked it confident they would easily take the wyrm. However, it was a trap and when the Marshals pursued inside the cave, the cave collapsed, trapping them inside. The red dragon unleashed its breath and burned all of them alive... all except Ilen who was not in the carnage. He was trapped on the other side when it happened. He tried to get the debris cleared, but he failed to even get a hole made. To this day, Ilen feels regret and sadness for their loss.

Losing everything he had, he decided to return to the town of Earthspur in Northern Impiltur only to find the town ransacked and burned. He found only one survivor, a boy, who claimed men made of shadow did this. Ilen knew this was the work of the Shadovar. He took the boy with him and managed to find a distant relative who would raise him in Airspur. After finding the boy a new home, he headed for Selgaunt, the seat of Shadovar power in Sembia. He knew not how to get revenge on them, but he knew he couldn't do it alone.

Recent Activity
While his companions went to Zhentil Keep, Ilen returned to Cormyr to consult a former mentor on the subject of mythallars. It was his hope to find a way to disable to Netherese floating cities through magic and free Faerun from the growing threat. In order to make sense of the answers, he resumed his training as a War Wizard and swore fealty to the crown of Cormyr. Once his research was complete, he informed King Azoun V that he would be reuniting with his companions to end the Netherese threat.