Ulvak Thirkuira d'Phiarlan's page

About Ulvak Thirkuira d'Phiarlan

House Phiarlan has long been known as the source of secrets, hidden lore and information of all kinds. As with any commodity, some knowledge is harder to obtain than others. And when House Phiarlan needs to get their hands on the most sensitive, secretive, closely guarded pieces of information, they turn to the members of the Thirkuira family.

During the War of the Mark, the Houses were made aware of documents that would help turn the tide in their favor. However, they were closely guarded, and nearly impossible for the normal operatives of House Phiarlan to obtain. The leaders of the House were at an impasse: if they could get their hands on these plans, the War would begin going the way of Houses. However, none of their agents could even get close to them. Finally the patriarch of the Thirkuira family came up with a highly risky, dangerous plan that if it was successful, could greatly enhance the chances of obtaining the hard to get documents. The idea was to magickally introduce Rakshasa blood into him and his children. By combing the supernaturally deceptive, shapechanging powers of these fiends with the shadowy, stealthy abilities inherent in the members of House Phiarlan, the members of the Thirkuira were able to infiltrate the stronghold these War changing plans were secreted in and escape without notice. Deemed a total success, the process was used several more times on the descendents of Lymal, until these skills and abilities bred true.

A few decades later, a young man was born into the Thirkuira family, his Dragonmark apparent at birth, which was an extreme rarity. However, beyond that, it seemed the power of the Mark of Shadow suffused his very being. His skin, normally supposed to be a pale, light color, was dark and oily, almost but not quite like the Drow. As he got older, it turned purple-black in color. His parents named him Ulvak which means Shadowed One, and by the time he was 50 he had well earned that name. His magickal powers had grown tremendously, and they had a very dark edge to them. Shadows leapt to his command, shaped to his whim and even his basic, common spells had a shadowy taint to them. As he grew in mystical might, however, he began becoming increasingly dangerous as his young body was unable to contain the energies that coursed through it. Wells of shadow would suddenly open and suck anything or person nearby, beasts of dark illusion often sprang up out of nowhere and go on a rampage, then wink out of existence.

Finally, one of the heads of House Phiarlan decided something had to be done to stop the young man, before he accidentally swallowed a town or worse. Turning to the powerful artificers of House Cannith, he implored them to find a way to help contain the threat Ulvak represented, without resorting to killing him. After all, if he could one day control them, he would be a mighty agent for his House. The heads of the Artificers agreed, knowing that not only would Phiarlan owe them a favor, but Ulvak would be personally indebted to them. Weeks passed, and they came up with their first device: a belt that had to be worn at all times that would slowly drain off the excess and dangerous energies. It worked, for about a month before the power within Ulvak shorted it out. Several more attempts were made, all ending in failure. Finally, at their wits end, the two Houses reached out to House Kundarak, hoping that the Warders would be able to work in conjunction with the best artificers to build something that could contain Ulvak's power. The youth himself was very compliant, doing what he could to try and contain or direct the energies flooding through him. He met with mild success, but it helped buy time.

A year after House Phiarlan went to House Cannith, the artificers believed they had found success. Together with their allies from House Kundarak, they created a Stasis chamber, which would lock Ulvak in a timeless, invincible cocoon, but allowing his body to age slowly in a controlled fashion. It would also siphon off all of the spillover shadow energy, collect and store it, for later use. The process to age him safely was an incredibly slow undertaking, lasting centuries.

As Ulvak was semi-aware, members of House Sivis were paid a good deal by members of his family to come every decade or three to recount what transpired in the world. Eventually, around 978YK, Ulvak was able to be released, though it took another year under the intense care of several healers of House Jorasco until he was finally able to re-enter the world. Over the last 19 year the young man, now fully able to control his powers, has wandered Khorviere, taking on assignments for his House, building up relations with those House to whom he owed his life and honing his skill to a razor's edge. Centuries spent in the Stasis Chamber have left him a little rattled mentally, and he sometimes talks to the shadows around him, even his own. While this is unsettling to some, he's a very competent juggler and spy, and thus his House doesn't care if he's somewhat off.

Ulvak has a few goals, the first and foremost being to solidify an alliance between all the Dragonmarked Houses, as were it not for them, he would have died, and possibly killed a great many people as well. He intends to this by helping rebuild The Twelve, whose members were so very vital to his existence all those centuries ago. He also seeks to repair the rift between the Shadow Houses, as he sees that as such a waste. While he isn't sure if he can bring them back under one roof, Ulvak refuses to let them war with each other.

To this end, he has made a few peaceful contacts among House Thuranni and so far things seem to be heading in a decent direction. Where these talks may go is anybody's guess, but those in higher up in both Shadow Houses hope the young man can at the least keep them from each others throats, as the Bloody Shadows are becoming an increasing threat.

Finally, the Shadow Gems that were used to collect and store the vast energy he gave off while he was in Stasis, have mysteriously disappeared. If he could ever get his hands on them, he and his House would have a powerful weapon indeed.