Jander Sunstar

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Jander Sunstar, also known as Rathandal[1], is an gold elf Nosferatu, originally from Faerun who has managed to preserve his goodness while struggling with the darkness.[2][3] On Faerun, he was hunted by a vampire hunter named The Shark.[4][5] Upon spending time in Barovia, and inspiring the creation of the Cult of the Morninglord, he became the enemy of Count Strahd von Zarovich. He attempted to destroy Strahd with the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and then commit suicide by letting the sun destroy him,[6] but the Mists denied him death and spirited him away.[7][8]

Beyond Strahd, Jander has had no shortage of enemies in the Land of Mists. He has ran afoul of the Falkovnian military and several nests of vampyres. One of his greater vampyre nemeses is Nira Delamane.[9]

History

Life on Faerun

Born in the elven island of Evermeet far to the west, Jandar Sunstar traveled east to Faerun looking to become an adventurer.[10] He joined the adventurer band known as the Silver Six and, with them, killed the red dragon of the Dales. Afterward, the group settled down for a celebration at the Swan's Song Inn in what was then known as Merrydale. However, their victory was short-lived, as a legion of vampires fell upon and devastated the town.[11]

Two of Jander's companions perished overnight even before the true threat was understood. Jander Sunstar had to personally put down Alinora Malina after she rose as undead. Jander's good friend, Gideon of Waterdeep, disappeared, but Jander and the other two survivors were exiled from Merrydale before they could find their missing friend. After reaching the next town, Jander and his companions went their separate ways[11]

Transition to Undeath

Later, Jander unexpectedly encountered his long lost friend Gideon. Gideon claimed his survival was a miracle from Ilmater. In truth, Gideon had been transformed into a vampire by Cassiar. Gideon captured Jander and brought him back to Cassiar, where Jander was turned into one of the undead.[12] Jander languished in Cassiar's service for ten decades before he was able to destroy his master. Jander went to Lyria "the Lovely" for a cure to vampirism, but she deemed it impossible.[13] Eventually in his wanderering, Jander ran afoul of Shakira "the Shark" Khazaar.[3]

For a time Jander resided near Waterdeep[3], preying mostly upon animals. He partook of human blood only as necessary and used shallow feeding to leave his victims mostly alive. While he suffered from the condition of undeath and often desired an end to it, he dared not commit suicide due to the possibility that slain vampires were forced to return as crimson deaths. In 1067 DR, Jander met and fell in love with a young woman named Anna at an asylum in Waterdeep. She was serene and kind, if mostly mute. On occasion, she would fly into a horrible frenzy to escape her confinement.[14] (Jander would later learn she was what Barovians know as a Lost One)[15] Whatever her exact mental state, her malady was apparently caused by magic, as she hand languished in the asylum for a hundred years. All Jander knew was her affliction had something to do with Barovia.[14]

In the middle of winter some thirty years later[16] (1098 by Dale Reckoning[3]), Anna fell under a seemingly incurable disease connected to her magical nature. Jander tried to turn her into one of his kind, but she instinctively refused and pushed him away. Following her death, Jander flew into a horrible rage and murdered every person in the asylum. He vowed to the gods that he would find the cause of her suffering and make him pay. The Mists descended upon Waterdeep and enveloped him.[17] The Dark Powers had responded to his vow by delivering him to the Land of Mists.[3]

Arrival in Barovia

Jander entered the Demiplane of Dread in April of 475 BC.[18] After he emerged from the Mists, Jander came upon the Village of Barovia, where he saved Anastasia Petrovich and her Vistani lover Petya from the wrath of her father, Burgomaster Kartov, and the townspeople. After the crowd was scared away and the couple bid farewell to each other, Petya brought Jander to the Tser Camp. There, Jander learned more about the land and received a reading of the tarokka deck from Maruschka. However, [{Madame Eva]] detected Jander's tainted nature and banished him from the camp, declaring him a foe of the Vistani in future interactions.[19]

In the following days, cryptic dreams of Anna began to haunt Jander, calling him to avenge her madness. Meanwhile, in the waking world, Count Strahd von Zarovich received word from Eva about Jander's presence in Barovia. Strahd dispatched a summons for Jander to come to Castle Ravenloft. Jander complied.[20]

In the Company of Strahd

Bound by common condition more than common cause, Jander resided in Castle Ravenloft with Strahd for a time. Jander found that in Barovia, he could only feed on human blood, not that of animals. Driven by blood thirst, Jander joined Strahd and his vampire slaves on the hunt for blood. On one such outing in 475 BC, the vampiric entourage came upon a camp of outlanders from Faerun. Upon Jander's insistence, the group spared a young boy named Martyn Pelkar.[21] The boy interpreted Jander's intervention as the work of Lathander Morninglord, albeit slightly tainted by the darkness of the land.[22]

Although relations between Strahd and Jander were often precarious, Jander's time at Castle Ravenloft was not one of complete misery. With time, Jander developed a sense of esteem for Strahd[23] Jander mentored Strahd in the use of his vampire powers in exchange for access to Strahd's library to find out Anna's connection to Barovia.[24]

In 485 BC, Jander accompanied Strahd and his vampire slaves to the cottage of the Kartova Family. For Burgomaster Kartov's embezzlement, the entire family would die, including Anastasia, to whom he earlier promised never to hurt. Jander protested, but ultimately did not intervene. He drank the blood of Ludmilla Kartova, leaver her the only present at the time of attack to survive. At Jander's behest, they set the cottage ablaze before departing. Away at the time, Sasha Petrovich later arrived on the scene. With the help of the now grown Martyn Pelkar, dispose of the bodies and rescue Ludmilla.[25]

Vengeance Against Strahd

In 500 BC, Jander Sunstar discovered the truth about Anna. She was Tatyana Federovna, or rather, an incomplete piece of her tormented soul that had escaped the Mists to be reincarnated in Faerun. Jandar contacted Sasha about the elimination of Strahd von Zarovich, outing the count as both vampire and the murderer of Sasha's family.[26] Subsequently, Jander, Sasha, and Liesl journeyed into Castle Ravenloft to retrieve the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and destroy Strahd. After putting to rest the undead spirit of Sergei von Zarovich] and retrieving the Icon, the trio were ambushed by Strahd and his forces. Katya's treachery was revealed, and she badly injured Leisl. However, Katrina was put to flight, and Strahd's minions routed or killed. Strahd suffered the holy wrath of the Symbol, but he escaped total destruction with a spell.[27]

Death and Resurrection

Although still standing, Jander and his compatriots' victory was a Pyrrhic one. They had failed in their mission to permanently rid the Land of Mists of Strahd. Leisl was most likely infected with lycanthropy. In a moment of revelation, Jandar realized his fight against Strahd was simply following the machinations of the Dark Powers. He let himself be consumed by the dawning sun whereas Sasha and Leisl went into hiding[28]

Despite Jander's sacrifice, the Dark Powers denied him final death. The Mists enveloped him and him away.The exact specifics of what happened to in the Mists vary. In Children of the Night: Vampires, the Mists enveloped him, and he wandered the Mists for a time.[29] However, in Champions of Darkness, they secreted him away, letting him heal through a restful slumber for two centuries.[30]Either way, he emerged in the domain of Forlorn[29][30][31]

Current Sketch

In the wake of his discovery of Anna's nature, Jander lacks a single, concrete goal. He may ultimately seek to escape the Lands of Mists, and he may at some point pick up the battle against Strahd.[31] in the meantime, Jander has vowed to wipe out vampirism in whatever shapes in may take.[29] Beyond that, Jander hunts other creatures of evil. Jander restricts his targets to those corrupted totally past the pale. He seems to view his crusade as a war against the very Dark Powers themselves.[30]

Despite not being of the elven vampire strain, Jander Sunstar bears the curse of the Black Thumb[32][33][34]

Statistics

TSR Collector Card

Jander's TSR 1992 Collector Card number is 293.

References

  1. Children of the Night: Vampires p.9
  2. Realms of Valor: One Last Drink
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Forgotten Realms Villain's Lorebook - p36
  4. Realms of Infamy: Blood Sport
  5. Realms of Magic: The Quiet Place
  6. Vampire of the Mists
  7. Children of the Night: Vampires
  8. Champions of Darkness
  9. Children of the Night: Vampires p.7-12
  10. Forgotten Realms Villain's Lorebook - p35
  11. 11.0 11.1 VotM p. 149-157
  12. VotM p. 230-234
  13. VotM p. 188-192
  14. 14.0 14.1 VotM p. 1-16
  15. VotM p. 176
  16. VotM p. 16
  17. VotM p. 16-27
  18. VotM p. 266-267
  19. VotM p. 26-67
  20. VotM p. 70-77
  21. VotM p. 89-101
  22. VotM p. 169-170, 207
  23. Champions of Darkness p. 79
  24. VotM p. 112-113
  25. VotM p. 140-170
  26. VotM p. 268-277, p. 268 has 500 BC as the last journal entry he reads before hatching his plan.
  27. VotM p. 303-333
  28. VotM p. 333-341
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 CotN:V p. 7
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 Champions of Darkness p. 80
  31. 31.0 31.1 Villain's Lorebook p. 37
  32. 32.0 32.1 CotN:V p. 6
  33. 33.0 33.1 Forgotten Realms Villain's Lorebook p. 35
  34. 34.0 34.1 Champions of Darkness p. 78

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

Vampire of the Mists
Children of the Night: Vampires

Forgotten Realms Villain's Lorebook - p35
Children of the Night: Vampires - pp6,11

Forgotten Realms Villain's Lorebook - p35
Children of the Night: Vampires - p6

Vampire of the Mists - throughout
Forgotten Realms Villain's Lorebook - pp35-36
Realms of Infamy: Blood Sport
Children of the Night: Vampires - pp6-12

Rathandal