Sword Coast Shenanigans

<Prev

Next>

Uh... Astarion, that's maybe not a good idea. 🫣

(And someone convinced me to set up a Ko-Fi account if any of you want to buy my dog some snacks 😘)

<Prev

Next>

<Prev

Next>

<Prev

Next>

<Prev

Next>

<Prev

Next>

<Prev

Next>

<Prev

Next>

One half of Ishta's heritage is Xindite (homebrew race) on her mother's side and Sun Elf on her father's.

Xindite's are a race of enhanced elves created by a clandestine eugenics experiment during one of the many wars against the Necromancer's of Thay. They were bred and arcanely engineered to be immune to all forms of necrotic energy and undeath. This race of enslaved 'super soldiers' never made it to the front lines though, as they were liberated by a human Rogue named Xin. Over time, Xindites spread across Faerûn and seamlessly integrated themselves into other elven cultures. However, many found themselves wandering the planes in search of the battles they were bred for. As a result, most Xindite's naturally become hired mercenaries, soldiers, monster hunters or adventurers.

Ishta initially wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a Paladin of Lathander when she grew up. However, she abandoned this idea after discovering there were - in her opinion- far too many rules to remember. She turned instead to a monster hunting and general adventurer-for-hire career.

As was the case with many Xindites, Ishta had a partucular talent for undead slaying. Unfortunately, her reputation and dogged determination soon landed her in the sights of a powerful Vampire Lord known as Haro'kon Vale. At age 61, Ishta was captured by Haro'kon's coven who wanted to unlock the secrets of Xindite immunity to undeath.

(Spoilers ahead for my fanfic)

Haro'kon was obsessed with creating the first Xindite vampire and brutally experimented on Ishta for months. Eventually, he succeeded and Ishta was transformed via arcane means into a new breed of hybrid vampire.

Haro'kon did not live long enough to celebrate his victory though, as Ishta's creation bypassed the 'spawn' phase entirely and birthed a monster unlike anything he could have prepared for. Driven half-mad by pain and the horror of what she had become, Ishta slaughtered the entire coven in a single night.

Vampiric Form:

Ishta is unique among vampires, in that she can 'turn' her vampirism on and off at will. In normal form, she is undetectable to other vampires. During a partial transformation her eyes glow red, her fingernails elongate into claws and her strength, speed and arcane powers are enhanced. During a full transformation, Ishta gains the ability to manipulate blood and shape it into weapons or even wings.

For the next century, Ishta embarked on a blood-soaked rampage across Aglarond and beyond, killing hundreds of vampires - Lord and Spawn alike - in a merciless campaign of vengeance.

She became known as the Blood Huntress of the East - though no-one knew her secret and why she was so effective at killing vampires.

Eventually, the hatred dimmed to a point where she was no longer obsessed with eradicating every vampire in Faerûn - which is fortunate for everyone's favourite silver-haired spawn.

At the time of the Nautiloid abduction, Ishta had been living a fairly quiet life after spending a few decades in seclusion to focus on healing her mind and body. She travelled to Baldur's Gate to look for a missing friend and ended up being kidnapped by mindflayers.

When Ishta first discovered Astarion was a vampire, she attempted to kill him while he slept. However, upon seeing he was having a nightmare, her curiosity got the better of her and she used the tadpole to peer into his mind. What she witnessed shook her to her core, and challenged her long-held beliefs.

For the first time in her life, she felt empathy for a vampire.

Over time, this empathy paved the foundations for a chaotic friendship between two broken souls who love nothing better than to drive each other insane.