Kaless Ilhar



"Balance, that's the most important thing. Light defines the shadows, death makes life all that more important to live. So try not to force your views on me."

- Kaless on her beliefs

Kaless Ilhar is a drider cleric that follows a goddess known only as "the blade". As such, she strives for balance, "on the razor's edge", a task that has proven to be a lifelong endeavor. During her travels, she found herself joining the crew of the Unlawful Entry, where she made use of her skills as a healer. Despite appearances, and the history of the drider species, she was never cursed to recieve her current form, but rather blessed in order to better carry out her duties.

Early Life
Like all driders, Kaless began life as a drow, daughter of the matron of Llarnbuss Qu'ellar d'Kathix'ur, or third house of Kathix'ur, House Ilhar. As the youngest of five females, Kaless was born at a disadvantage in the contest to win her mother's favor, a high priestess to Velve, the blade, at the time. This position would urge Kaless to study all she could in the ways of medicine, a field of study neglected by her sisters.

Kaless studied under another priestess, one who followed some sort of surface deity of healing, rather than Lloth or Velve. Despite this uncommon following, Sha Ruun, was an accomplished healer, and was permitted to travel freely as such. Kaless' lessons under her master would try her patience again and again, as Sha's methods were somewhat unconventional. One such lesson required the young drow to fetch several rare items from within a Lloth temple's walls, without speaking. Despite such difficult tests, Kaless managed to grow into level-headed young woman, and a balanced healer.

She would never truly get a chance to earn her mother's approval, as attacks on the subterranean city would take the high priestess' life. The third house was then taken over by the oldest sister, Kovetu, a warrior and tactician. Because of the nature of the Stelanian drow, a different breed than those of Toril and Gaia, the city of Kathix'ur was then bound together in order to fight off the sand wurms that had invaded.

During what would become known as the Sand War, Kaless spent much of her time on the front lines as a battle medic. She proved herself again and again against the giant reptilian beasts, not by destroying them like her sisters, but by providing a balance and healing her allies. By the time the wurms were driven off, Kaless had earned the favor of Velve, something that would change her life from the path that she had pursued.

After the "Gift"
Worn out by constant battle, and little sleep, Kaless retreated to her personal room in the third fortress. It would be here that she was confronted by a servant of her goddess, the Blade. Appearing as a beautiful six armed drow, the handmaiden of Velve gave Kaless a choice: to give up her life in the name of balance, or to continue struggling for the approval of others. Kaless couldn't turn down the offer, freely giving her will over to the goddess, and her goals. In return, she was gifted with a body that would give her many abilities beyond those of normal drow: the body of a drider.

It was then, that Kaless was instructed to set off, to leave the city, and her sisters, behind. She traveled to the surface, where the sun was harsh and burning, and the people were less than welcoming of the spider creature. This never stopped her, however, as she continued her travels to the ocean, picking up an enchantment to adjust her vision to the light along the way.

But her path lied not on the land, but across the unforgiving waves. And so Kaless was forced to scavenge, work, and trade until she had her own boat. A small fishing boat, unfit for going far from land, but it was her way to her goddess's direction. Days passed, and Kaless became hopelessly lost in a thick mist that had come from seemingly nowhere.

The Unlawful Entry
Days turned into weeks, and the weeks melted together until Kaless no longer knew where she was. It was then, that a ship appeared from the mist, and picked up the nearly dead cleric. It didn't take much to get her back in full health, but now she owed her life to the ship's captain, Cayce Urriah. She didn't mind, however, as this must have been her goddess' intent, a way to travel from her home to other lands, lands that were far different from her own.

Kaless then joined the crew as the ship's doctor, where she seemed to fit in well with the motley crew. It was long before she considered the group her own personal family, and became quite protective. As testiment to this fact, she was fully exausted in an attempt to protect her crewmate, Girchik Krizzfl, during a battle with a dracobeast that had attacked Mystara.

Personality and Traits
Kaless Ilhar had always been very patient and even-tempered, likely a result of having grown up in a very ordered home. This changed very little as she grew older, though her views became somewhat less orthodox during her apprenticeship to Sha Ruun, due to the healer's somewhat eccentric teaching methods. As a young acolyte, Kaless was cynical, though wise beyond her years. Her humble and soft-spoken demeanor belied her tactical prowess, and her often perfectionist tenancies drove her to train continuously. Her later skills of being able to bind injuries quickly saved several lives, and helped greatly in the war against the wurms.

Kaless became very attatched to the crew of the Unlawful Entry often putting their safety and wellbeing before her own. Despite this, she often feels lonely, as most people only see her spider half, and immeadiately judge her as a monster. This is kept internalized, however, as she strives for balance, further disreguarding herself.

Powers and Abilities
Kaless is a cleric of the blade, a defensive role, despite the name. She is actually quite poor at combat, and is somewhat fragile, though she is skilled in healing and protection magic. What offensive magic she knows is nonleathal, consisting of binding and hindering spells. As a divine caster, she doesn't need material components for her spells, though she requires a strong focus. Pefected in combat, Kaless excels at concentraition, and is hard to shake, even with physical injury and exaustion.

In addition to her spell casting abilities, Kaless is hightly skilled at silk weaving, and has a nearly unlimited supply of tough spider silk. She spends much of her time weaving rope, cloth, clothing, and other silk items, which are sometimes traded for other goods.

Her healing abilities are not limited to magic, with extensive training in trama surgery, first aid, and various medicines. She also has minor alchemical skill, and uses this to craft potions and medicines.

Behind the Scenes
Kaless was originally a cleric played in a tabletop game of Dungeons and Dragons, where the party were all evil races turned good. The world setting was custom, and included drow as orderly, but brutally so, with a society closely resembling the Roman Empire.