Palar the Darkhearted

An truly evil man who betrayed Nassim and Arteus (among others) by deserting them before the march on Zhentil Keep, Palar first appeared as an NPC in the Path of the Tome. Palar would make later appearances briefly in Shrouded Wings and be a key player in a side plot in Vindication of the Merchant Nation.

Description
Palar is a tall and brooding man, rarely seen with anything but a neutral expression on his plain face. His hair is usually unkept and greasy, and recently he has been seen always wearing a patch over one of his eyes. He displays his holy symbol of Loviatar openly on his dark armor, and a large bastard sword is always at his side.

Personality
Those who know Palar now know him to be an impatient, aggressive, and very evil man. He enjoys being in control, but has always seemed to lurk in the shadow of someone else. He enjoys the torment of those weaker than him, and has an intense hatred of optimists, especially those who follow the "blasted Triad."

Early Years
Palar was by all accounts a devout and accomplised Paladin of Ilmater. He served his deity without question, and was very knowledgeable about Ilmatian dogma. He had served as part of an adventuring group that had halted the plans of many an evil mastermind. He had fought bravely to protect religious sites and artifacts important to his faith and the faiths of other good people of Faerun. Indeed, he was elated when in 1374, a paladin named Nassim Molrin recruited him to join a league of paladins who were to march on and finally destroy the Zhentarim. Nassim, seeing the strength in the veteran paladin, put him in charge of a whole company.

The Fall to Darkness
It was about 1 week before the march on Zhentil Keep that Palar's life changed. He was visited in the night by what could only be called a messenger of a god - in this case, the God of Loviatar. Palar himself does not remember much of the visit - only what seemed to be a years worth of intense suffering dealt to his consciousness in mere minutes. Two more nights of these visits happened, despite the precautions he made against them. No one else saw this messenger of pain; and he was left with no external scars.

On the fourth night, the messenger left him with a message: that the plans of Nassim will due more harm than good, will bring more suffering than relief. Even in winning, good will lose. Faerun will suffer, and I will reap the benefits...

... and then she was gone. The presence of the pain continued to linger in Palar, and when the next night came without a visit, he felt almost incomplete. For the next two days, he felt like he was in a living dream, a dream that he had to escape. It was on the 6th night, the night before the march on Zhentil Keep, that something finally caused Palar to snap. A young Paladin of Ilmater named Arteus came to see him, accompanyied by one of his men named Alhaanon. Arteus was interested on finding some knowledge on an amulet he had found, and many people had recommended Palar due to his study of ancient Ilmatian lore. As Arteus held up the amulet, Palar knew that what the messenger had told him had to be true - it was the Amulet of Tears, and he had read much about it.. or them, to be more precise, for he knew there were three. The amulet itself promised intense suffering, or so he had read, and this was something he could not take. Making excuses, he left the camp in the middle of the night, heading south.

For the next year, he roamed Faerun, his personality becoming more sour and indifferent. Eventually, he found himself heading toward a group of mountains, and finally into a small cave - a temple to Loviatar was inside. He dropped to his knees, and quickly lost consciousness. Palar remembers little of what happened during the week or so he spent in the small temple, although one thing was clear: he had a new master and rolemodel, a mysterious man named Raz, and a new goddess. He also knew he was not alone - Raz and his goddess had succeeded in turning more than one of Nassim's League.

When he left the mountains, he felt stronger than he ever had before, a symbol of Loviatar adorning his new black armor. The news of the death of Nassim only heightened this feeling: he had known it was a fool's mission... Nassim deserved his fate. For the rest of 1375, Palar roamed Faerun, interfering where he could in the deeds of those who opposed his new goddess. Eventually, he made his way all the way to Waterdeep, where he was eventually approached by a very pale man named Vega Jericho.

A Devious Plan
Jericho told him he needed help in a mission: a mission to bring back his god and strike down all that is good in Faerun. Palar immediately signed on. For much of 1376, Palar assited Jericho in helping to find the Scepter of the Neutral Spirit and the wearer of the Crown of Horns, Nhyris D'Hothek. Palar was there when Jericho struck a deal with Eric Frost - a new ally in return for help in attacking Kossuth's enemies. Palar was the man who personally killed Trenom Rundeen in Calimport, and the one who burned down the Black Jungle Inn in Tashluta.

When he learned of Arteus' death in the Blood Marshes, and that his sister, Anly, was part of the group trying to stop Jericho's plans, he laughed heartily. But the escape of the group from the barracks in Hlondeth angered Jericho, and when the battle between his master, Xenon, and Frost against Anly's group was turning badly, he decided that it was high time to flee. Knowing that the crypt had a teleportation device inside it, he endeavored to escape. He was halted when Mozariq imprisoned him inside a force cage. See also: The Path of the Tome

At first, it was believed that the blast and resulting earthquake from the immense battle between the Myrkul incarnate and the powers of the Tome would have left no survivors. However, the last battle had left Palar imprisoned in a forcecage, so the matter was left unresolved. In the aftermath of the Circle's Path, Mozariq would attempt to scry for the location of the Darkhearted. His efforts were thwarted by force of will ... indicating that Palar was still alive, at the time. Alysta Starshin would later confirm this, adding that the "bad man with the eyepatch" was in "a lot of pain."

Revenge in the North
Palar's eventual escape would lead to quest for personal revenge. He sought to kill those who had left him for dead. Palar primarily looked to enact his revenge against the Starshin family in the North. His efforts proved unsuccessful when it was clear that he was incapable of amassing a force to enact his revenge.

While searching for forces of the same faith to tie his duties with personal gain, he was able to find a group of people from the church of Loviatar. This group had a leader who did not reveal himself and had a peculiar direction. The group was said to attack Silverdale down south. This was supposedly a movement to lore out the Sharran forces that stay within Searloon. Palar knew of the rivalry, but was interested in why someone who believed and led followers of Loviatar would take these kinds of actions. Palar joined the group in curiosity to see who or what drove this group for real.

As time passed, it became clear that something was amiss. The group became hunted by a group called the Neo-Zhentarim that existed in a similar area. Despite the group's secrecy, rumors have popped out saying that the group of Loviatar followers was another sect of the Neo-Zhentarim calling themselves the New Zhentarim. This caused intrigue in the group since no one in the group identified themselves as members of the Zhentarim, and Palar had prayed for their deaths with the Legion of Light in the Battle at the Citadel of the Raven.

Manshoon's Prophecy and Plan
Palar was able to learn the leader of the group and his plans shortly after the attack on Silverdale. The resistance at the temple of Lathander before the attacks implied that the clerics knew the attack was coming. The clerics with only minor help from the guards were able to hold off the siege until there was a mysterious magical attack from outside the group. The leader had acted and Silverdale fell to the group. Since the neither the military or the Silver Ravens would get involved, there was no force to stop the group that took over Silverdale.

Kendrick Selkirk's emergence into this caused a change of spirits in Sembia and caused a reaction. Actions that took place in Vindication of the Merchant Nation describe the events of the night where Silverdale was reclaimed by Sembia and Manshoon's planned were foiled. Palar had left with the book with most of the forces that he was able to defect with his reasonable suspicion of the groups objectives.

Battle for the Manifesto
Perseus Von Eshkabel was livid after he failed to take back his Manifesto. Palar had learned the significance of the Manifesto. The Manifesto was a prophecy that was born when Cyric first became of a deity of his great war on the world. Some would interpret this was at the Troubled Times, other the Battle at the Citadel of the Raven, but the truth was that the event had not occurred. Eshkabel's master Malshus was seen as a mad man who believed that this war could change the world permanently. There were many truths and prophecies mentioned, and one of Malshus's answers was to become a lich. Palar's first task was to copy everything written in the book since the book itself was not magical and was only valuable for its contents. The second command was to separate several of the key pages for the solution to the upcoming spell plague.

Eshkabel's efforts to find Palar were successful. A stand off resulted when Eshkabel arrived with the support of Ballaric and other Sharran forces. Palar was sensible and knew that it would be beneficial if there was no combat. A continuous game of cat and mouse arose as both Eshkabel and Palar placed traps and tricks on each other. Eshkabel arose as the victor and managed to gain his book, but Palar knew that he still had the context of the book.

Vinnrick's arrival on the scene caused Eshkabel to retreat. Palar spoke with Vinnrick and little is known about the words they exchanged. All that is known is that Vinnrick did not attack Palar's forces.

Current Activities/Whereabouts
As of late 1378, Palar's whereabouts and plans are unknown. Palar is an evil man, with evil motives and the intelligence and strength of will to carry them out. Those working for the cause of Right and Good have not yet seen the last of this man.