- the Eberron novels.
Xu'sasar is a drow scorpion wraith from Xen'drik, and the last living member of the Jalaq Qaltiar drow.[1][2]
Description[]
Xu'sasar, like many other drow, has pale hair and dark skin, although adorned with intricate white tattoos, while her eyes are completely silver. She wears simple clothes and is barely armored, being focused on agility and speed.[1][2]
Personality[]
Xu'sasar is a serious and determined woman, who acts without fear following the morals that have been instilled in her. While her behavior can be abrupt at times and she has a ruthless attitude, she is not cruel, and her decisions are based on what she believes is best. Under her carefree warrior mask, she fears the uncertainty of being alone and far from other Qaltiar, and after creating her own bonds with outsiders, she is fiercely loyal to them, seeing them as her new family.[1][2]
History[]
Early Life[]
Xu'sasar was born in the Jalaq Qaltiar tribe as the daughter of Shen'kar, a scorpion wraith, and another warrior drow. Her mother carried her during her childhood, and fought giants with the little girl still riding her back. When Xu'sasar was still young, she visited the City of Tears, despite the warnings of the Teller of Tales of her tribe. She grew up to become a fearless warrior like both of her parents, inheriting from her mother a pair of long daggers that had belonged to her own mother (Xu'sasar's grandmother), and becoming a scorpion wraith like her father, joining his squad along with Kulikoor and Uul'she.[2]
Xu'sasar and her tribe followed their traditions, fighting both giants and Sulatar drow, as well as the outsiders they found.[1]
Battles in the Jungle[]
In Lharvion of 997 YK, they met a group of ex-Cyran soldiers led by Daine Halar Deneith. After a conflict during which he wounded Xu'sasar, they decided to become allies to fight against the Sulatar and their plot involving the Promise of Fire. Kulikoor and Uul'she died during one of the fights, but Xu'sasar and her father survived and joined Daine and his friends.[1]
However, shortly after, a group of warforged wanting to take control of the docent found in the ruins appeared, and one of them, Harmattan, killed Shen'kar and left his daughter badly wounded. After Daine and his team discovered that their ally Lakashtai was actually an agent of the Dreaming Dark that had manipulated them in order to reach Dal Quor, they decided to use one of the devices in the ruins, repaired by Lei d'Cannith, to flee to Thelanis, taking Xu'sasar with them.[1]
Through the Fey Wilds[]
Although she was healed by the outsiders, Xu'sasar was initially wary of them, even trying to kill them as soon as she woke up. Fortunately, Pierce managed to calm her down. When they finally arrived at their destination (the Faerie Court), Xu'sasar was convinced that they were in the Qaltiar afterlife, and that they had all died and traveled there thanks to her good deeds. After explaining they had to go through different tests, she decided to accompany them.[2]
Xu'sasar helped them defeat the Huntsman, the archfey of the Hunter's Moon region of Thelanis, even though the drow herself admitted they hadn't killed him permanently. When a scorpion appeared before them, Xu'sasar immediately showed reverence, believing it to be Vulkoor himself. The creature, however, explained it was merely a servant, and after telling her that she wasn't dead, gave her the mission of protecting Daine no matter what, as they traveled to the domain of Dusk. Xu'sasar accepted the task. When they fought against Colchyn, a magic boar, she was fierce despite being unarmed. The monster even swallowed her at one point, but she was immediately freed when Daine killed it. This transported them all to the Deepwood Moon region, but the human captain was injured in the process.[2]
The drow used her medical knowledge to treat most of his wounds, and although she was cautious around Lei d'Cannith (believing her magic would send Daine to Dolurrh), she allowed her to heal him, revealing his new aberrant dragonmark (Xu initially thought it was a tattoo like hers). They kept traveling through that layer, and at one point Xu'sasar had an encounter with the Wanderer, from whom she received a boon in the form of the Tooth of the Wanderer, a venomous magical weapon made of bone that was able to change form to adapt to her needs. When they reached a river in which the only bridge was a giant, two-headed serpent, Xu'sasar explained to them that it was Ko'molaq, one of the Qaltiar spirits, and encouraged them to follow its rules to cross. When Lei fell into the water, Xu prevented Daine from touching the river to rescue her, but let Pierce help instead. Although Daine was furious, the drow explained the dangers of that liquid, and how its effects had put their artificer friend in a coma.[2]
Looking for a safe place, Xu'sasar noticed that a crow was spying on them and broke its wing. The creature, named Huwen, convinced them that they could rest together at the Inn of the Crooked Tree. However, when they arrived, Xu, being unfamiliar with the concept of inns, was suspicious, and even more so when the owner, Ferric, made a deal with Daine and magically kept his voice during their stay. Since she didn't need to sleep, Xu'sasar watched over the humans in the group while they rested. She was mildly curious when both Lei and Daine woke up and started kissing, not noticing she was still in the room, and wondered out loud if they wanted some privacy. As they left the inn, Ferric tricked Daine into getting a voice different than his own, but Xu'sasar solved the problem by cutting his throat with her new magic weapon, allowing the captain to regain what was his.[2]
They kept moving, and after fighting thorns and the Woodsman himself, they finally reached Dusk. There, Xu'sasar presented her apologies to Daine and his friends, for thinking they were weak for sparing her, and declaring that since her family was gone, they were her people now. After they talked to the local archfey, the Queen of Dusk and Shadows, they were given the mission of stopping Lakashtai and the Dreaming Dark. They were also given gifts: Xu'sasar's was a silver locket-like amulet that contained a a piece of a scorpion's shell, which made the drow's skin magically stronger.[2]
Arriving in Sarlona[]
They were guided by Kin, a changeling, back to Eberron and arrived in Corvagura in Sarlona. There, they had to fight some enemies to access a monolith connected to Dal Quor. During the fight, Xu'sasar quickly killed the enemy Daine had designated and then focused on a blue giant. She was surprised to learn it had regeneration, and thus was thankful when Pierce's flaming weapon helped defeat it.[2]
When they reached Riedra, Xu'sasar was unable to accompany them into the Region of Dreams because she didn't sleep and thus didn't dream. Instead, she was left with the task of watching over their unconscious bodies, and before they all fell asleep, she begged them to return safely so as not to leave her alone. During the mission, however, Xu was knocked unconscious and Kin left them, with Daine's own body surrounded by a summoning circle and with the Bier of the Sleeper, a scabbard gifted him by Dusk.[2]
In Sharn[]
After they all woke up, Daine (possessed by the spirit of an ancestor of his) left the group and Xu'sasar accompanied him, since she had been warned by the Wanderer about the human's eventual transformation. She was still determined to protect him, and effectively acted as an agent of House Tarkanan during the following months in which he became their leader as the Son of Khyber. She helped in the fight against Vorlintar, the Keeper of Hopes, but got injured in the process, so, at Daine's request, she stayed behind to recover as he, Thorn, and Drego Sarhain continued with their mission.[3]
Abilities[]
Xu'sasar is a scorpion wraith, and thus an extraordinary martial fighter, very agile, and capable of defending herself with and without weapons. She is competent in several of them, although her preference is for the long daggers of her maternal grandmother until she lost them. However, the Tooth of the Wanderer can turn into whatever weapon she needs. The drow, like others of her kind, has magical abilities and is able to weave darkness to blind her opponents and move unseen. She also has basic medical knowledge, being able to provide first aid.[1][2]
Relationships[]
She traveled and worked with her squad in Xen'drik, who were the last members of her tribe. She behaved professionally around them, even around Shen'kar, who was her father.[1]
In Thelanis, Xu'sasar became an adventuring companion of Daine Halar Deneith, Pierce, and Lei d'Cannith. She didn't trust them at first and saw them as enemies, and found it annoying that they preferred to call her Xu instead of using her full name. Over time, though, she started being more comfortable around them, acknowledging their skills until she considered them friends. She became particularly close to Daine, since the spirits themselves had ordered her to protect him, and at several points she showed gestures of closeness and vulnerability with him (sometimes without noticing that it caused jealousy in Lei).[1][2]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Keith Baker (2006). The Shattered Land. (Wizards of the Coast), p. ?. ISBN 0-7869-3821-8.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Keith Baker (2006). The Gates of Night. (Wizards of the Coast), p. ?. ISBN 0-7869-4013-1.
- ↑ Keith Baker (November 2009). Son of Khyber. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 166, 218, 226. ISBN 0-7869-5234-2.