That's So Raven

Type: Netherese remnant — the High Elves of Netheril, trapped in the Shadowfell for generations after the empire's fall; have since spread out from the Shadowfell but still exist within it as a faction Doctrine: Recover what was lost. Possibly seeking a new home; possibly trying to resurrect their old city; possibly hunting forbidden magic to do either or both. Aligned to neither the Raven Queen nor the Shadar-Kai — separate Shadowfell-exile lineage. Distinguishing marks: Red-and-grey robes; whispery voice; very-old-money composure; high-class Netherese-Wizard-class power Status (latest): Three mages killed; cell partially defeated. The four-mage ambush cell in the Church of Sorrow was broken in session 037: Echelon (cell leader) and two others were killed; one escaped invisibly through a broken window. The Shadovar know the party defeated four of their mages in an open fight inside the Shadowfell. Escalation is likely. The escaped mage is unaccounted for. First On-Screen: Session 034

Description

The Shadowvar are what remained of Netheril's High Elves after the empire's catastrophic fall. They were trapped in the Shadowfell for generations. Many have since spread out from the Shadowfell, but the order still exists within it as a coherent faction. They are Netherese-Wizard-class powerful and very-old-money in worldly capital.

They are distinct from the Shadar-Kai — not aligned with the Raven Queen, not part of her court. They are another faction of the Shadowfell — the Netherese-aristocratic exile lineage, in contrast with the Raven-Queen-aligned Shadar-Kai (Ubys's people).

Their doctrinal aim per their auction-floor representative Greyden: to understand and to recover. They want forbidden magic. They want to know how a whole world was destroyed and why its souls did not pass through Letherna (see Bedegar Keep). They are willing to pay great sums for that kind of intelligence.

What the Party Knows (Session 037)

• Their goal with Falkor: the Shadovar believe Falkor is a Godspark conduit — capable of serving as a vessel for Bahamut's restoration. They possess a Godspark taken from a halfling cleric of Tamara (a draconic goddess of healing and life). They wanted to implant it in Falkor via a "test."
• Their stated rationale: "Until Bahamut is restored, there will be no more dragons." They want the Bahamut-restoration prophecy fulfilled — but in their chosen direction, not left to fate.
• The Shadovar were involved in early iterations of the Cult of the Dragon. (Surfaced via Insight/Arcana checks by Moist and Crowley; Mazros had spoken of fighting the Cult before.)
• They have been collecting Godsparks. Echelon's phrasing — "she was the first one we found" — implies an active, ongoing collection program. The Tamara-cleric's spark was the first; others have followed.
• Three mages are dead. Echelon executed by Ubys (soul marked for the Raven Queen). Two others killed in combat. One unknown mage escaped.

What the Party Knows (Session 036)

• Four Shadovar mages are confirmed as the pursuers Ravi warned about at the Dread Ring — "closest to Crowley, but not the same kind." They had been tracking the party since the ruined keep.
• They used the Temple of Shar's portal, arranged by the Dark Mother, to reach the Church of Sorrow in the Shadowfell ahead of the party. They were waiting in the cathedral's atrium when Ubys crossed through.
• They are Shadowfell-capable — they traversed a Sharran transit point and waited in a Shadowfell location without apparent difficulty.
• Their identity and specific objectives remain unknown. Do they want the Dragon Egg? Falkor? Crowley? The Godspark?

What the Party Knows (Session 034)

• Hosted the Heiress's auction (co-hosted with the Heiress of Orcus herself; they ran the floor, she had the venue). They contracted the Society of the Veil for security and contracted Chain-Devil patrols for the perimeter.
• Bid on everything — running the prices up as the auction-house cut. Per Lessie's perception-23 read, they were seller-side mark-up agents, not genuinely competing.
• Their real interest at the auction: the Dragon Egg — which did not arrive. (KeYs and Falkor have it; the Shadowvar do not know.) They pivoted to bidding on the Whispering Reed and were outbid by Mythrades the Nagpa at >150,000 GP.
• One Shadowvar in red-and-grey robes intervened when Alondriel the Empty King drew the adamantium long-sword to demonstrate it on a goblin — "My Lord — remember the pact." Alondriel relented. (Per the in-game observation, the Shadowvar and Alondriel are bound by a pact — terms unspecified.)
• Greyden, the auction's main-floor Shadowvar representative, identified the Heiress's medallion as a Knock-class key, possibly the key to the bindings of Ser Vindictus in the Tomb of Orcus.
• Greyden volunteered the Bedegar Keep / Letherna riddle — "How a whole culture, a whole world, was destroyed, and not one of its souls passed through your mistress." Standing offer: very-high-sum payment for an answer.
• Greyden's posture toward Ubys's Raven-Queen tradition: not adversarial, not deferential, informed. He spoke knowledgably about Letherna; did not raise mention of Crowley (KeYs did not bring it up).