| “ | You are an overwizard of the Hosttower of the Arcane. And yet, I could break your neck with a thought. Consider your power, Valindra, and lose not your confidence that its considerable. And while you are remembering who you are, while you consider your power and present predicament, let that remind you who I am. | „ |
| ~ Greeth threatening his apprentice Valindra. |
| “ | Not just run away. Nay, my friend, we're going to inflict such pain on Luskan this day that they will long remember it, and while they may call it my abdication a victory, that notion will prove short-lived when the winter blows in mercilessly on the many households missing a father or mother. And their victory will not claim the most coveted prize, rest assured, for I have long anticipated this eventuality, and long prepared. | „ |
| ~ Greeth revealing his plans for after he retreats from the Hosttower. |
Arklem Greeth is a major antagonist in the Forgotten Realms.
He was a very powerful lich, who was an archmage of The Arcane Brotherhood, the head of the Hosttower of the Arcane and the de facto ruler of Luskan. From there, he sought to gain influence over all of the Sword Coast. Eventually, a coup was led against him by pirate-hunting Captain Deudermont, during which Greeth resorted to destroying the city. He was the former mentor and lover of Valindra Shadowmantle, and the archnemesis of Robillard.
Appearance[]
When pretending to be alive for the public, Greeth resembled a large round man with a bushy beard who wore a gray cloak and was once described as "jolly". However, in reality Greeth looked very different thanks to being undead, being a skeleton with hardly any remaining skin.
Personality[]
| “ | People are so fickle. It comes with living such short, miserable lives. | „ |
| ~ Arklem Greeth |
Arklem Greeth two defining traits were his sadism and egotism. He very much thought himself to be better than everyone else, particularly the living, and was condescending to almost everyone he met. Because superiority complex, Greeth was unable to take any other person or threat seriously, and because he did not believe that he could ever be defeated or killed. He seemed to think of life as nothing but a low stakes game, where he caused as much pain and suffering as he could wherever he was.
During her apprenticeship to him, Valindra Shadowmantle learned the true madness and depravity of Arklem Greeth. He truly was incredibly knowledgeable and could plan far in advance. However, he didn't truly care about anything other than his own ego and causing pain, and only wanted an apprentice in order to feel superior and have somebody to abuse. Gradually, Valindra discovered two disturbing truths about Greeth; the first being that he didn't care about power or his position in Luskan and would just as soon give it up for the opportunity to hurt more people, and second, he felt an incredibly twisted affection for her, panicking when he feared she would die but enjoying it when she felt emotional or physical pain, no matter how severe.
After spending centuries trapped inside his phylactery, Greeth went even more insane than before and was barely able to speak or think anymore.
Biography[]
Life[]
In life, Arklem Greeth was a powerful wizard who sought the secrets to immortality, searching the lands of Mulhorand, Thay, Zakhara and Kara-Tur for the answers. During this time, founded of the Arcane Brotherhood and became archmage and head of the Hosttower. However, a coup was led against him by Edulac and Valkebar, which forced him to flee his tower.
Upon his escape, he met Nyphithys, an erinye who offered him the secret to lichdom in exchange for having the Arcane brotherhood attack the Siver Marcher. Greeth happily agreed and attacked the Hosttower with his new allies. He killed Edulac and Valkebar and reasserted his control over the Hosttower and Luskan at large.
Undeath[]
At some point, Arklem Greeth died and came back as a lich.
As ruler of Luskan, Greeth instated the Prisoner's Carnival, where prisoners are publicly tortured and killed in the most gruesome ways possible. He also sponsored the different pirates who operated from his city. At some point, he took on Valindra Shadowmantle as his apprentice.
However, Arklem Greeth's reign was ended when Captain Deudermont, a pirate hunter and hero of Luskan, led a rebellion against him. As this rebellion began to gain more steam, Greeth unleashed an army of ghouls on his city to butcher his people. However, after thousands were eaten, the entire city turned against him and attacked his tower. After killing Lord Brambleberry of Waterdeep and trapping Deudermont's ally, Drizzt Do'Urden, in the Abyss during the battle, Deudermont abandoned Valindra and retreated from the Hosttower, but not before blowing it up, once again killing thousands of the rebels.
After the fall of the Hosttower, Greeth retreated to a pocket dimension in the Luskan Graveyards and began to work with a dark figure who helped him bring Valindra back as a lich and then keep her relatively sane despite what a traumatic experience being forcibly turned in a lich is. He then made an alliance with high captain Kurth, planning to retake control through him.
Arklem Greeth decided that he would have vengeance on two of his enemies; Arabeth Raurym, who betrayed the Hosttower to help Deudermont, and Robillard, an old colleague of Greeth's and Deudermont's right hand man. So, Greeth destroyed The Sea Sprit, Deudermont and Robillard's ship, in an attempt to kill Robillard. However, after a long battle Robillard killed Greeth.
Greeth returned to his phylactery, which was in the pocket dimension with Valindra. However, insane and angry with Greeth, Valindra never let her old mentor free, leaving him to go insane after spending centuries trapped inside his phylactery.
Powers and Abilities[]
Greeth was an incredibly powerful mage, who could take out massive groups of enemies in an instant with his magical prowess. He was especially good at necromancy, being able to stay alive as a lich and create hundreds of ghouls to unleash them on his city.
He was also an adept planner. He prepared for every eventuality and set up different plans to deal with them. He was able to prepare for the Hosttower being taken by rigging it to blow up when he wanted it too.
Trivia[]
- In his disguised form, Greeth bears an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus, both being round, jolly men with big beards.
External Links[]
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 Villains
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Arklem and Valindra's Agents
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The Legend of Drizzt Villains | ||
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Pirates of Luskan Calimport Underworld Sentient Artifacts Demons Dragons Drows Many-Arrows Shadowvar Red Wizards of Thay Others | ||