Basalt Darkeye (? AC - ? AC) was a male Theiwar Dwarf who was a powerful Wizard of the Black Robes and a favored servant of Nuitari. Basalt was one of the two caretakers of the Tower of the Blood Sea. The dwarf was an albino who had stark white skin and hair, and pinkish eyes that were tinged with red. Basalt was short and stocky like most dwarves, but uncommonly slender, yet still had the gruff demeanour of his kind.
Basalt was born in the early years of the Age of Despair, and studied magic, becoming a fearsome magic-user amongst the Theiwar clan, but also seeing the wisdom in working with others of his order. The young dwarf journeyed to the Tower of Wayreth to take the Test of High Sorcery in 298 AC, during which he was forced to choose between his clan and life in Thorbardin, over gaining power through magic. Basalt chose power over his people, passed the Test and claimed the black robes of Nuitari.
During the War of the Lance, Basalt sided with the Dragonarmies and was present in the Temple of Neraka during the final crumbling parts of the war. However shortly before the final fighting broke out, Basalt thought to make a name for himself by murdering the young mage Raistlin Majere, however the dwarf soon realised he was no match for Raistlin, and fled from Neraka for fear of losing his life. This flight actually saved his life, as otherwise he would have likely perished when the Whitestone Forces descended upon Neraka.
The emergence of the Knights of the Thorn sent outrage through Basalt, who willingly entered combat against the Thorn Knights with his fellow brothers and sisters of High Sorcery. He later joined the fight against the minions of Chaos during the Chaos War and spent a year recovering from his injuries at the end of the fighting. With the loss of the gods after the war, Basalt refused to acknowledge sorcery or mysticism, believing that the only true magic was that they came from the moons. He spent the next few decades in a half-mad state, wandering all over Ansalon.
When the gods returned in 421 AC, Basalt was one of the first magic-users to realise it, crying out in praise to Nuitari. The god of dark magic appeared before Basalt, offering him a position as caretaker of the Tower of the Blood Sea as a reward for his faith. In 422 AC, Basalt cast a complex illusion spell with Caele to convince the god Chemosh, that his lover Mina was dead. However in a short time, Chemosh realised that the spirit of Mina plaguing him was merely an illusion. Nuitari left the tower to converse with his fellow gods of magic, and Caele and Basalt decided to murder Mina. However during their attempt on her life, Zeboim arrived at the tower and distracted the pair. Mina was then able to wrest Caele's knife from him, and then called upon Chemosh for aid, who made two sarcophagi appear which the two wizards were forced into. When the god of black magic returned a short while later, he released Caele and Basalt so they could serve him once more.
Nuitari told Caele and Basalt to prepare the tower for guests, as the Conclave of Wizards had decided to split the three remaining Towers of High Sorcery between the orders, with the Tower of the Blood Sea become the abode of the black robed wizards. The pair were surprised however when Mina used magic to raise the tower from beneath the waves and leave it on a small island near Castle Beloved. The mages were further surprised when the Beloved overran the island, and sealed themselves inside the tower. However soon after Mina (in the guise of a six year old girl), Rhys Mason, Nightshade Pricklypear and Atta entered the tower and spoke to the mages. Mina then went down the tower towards the Solio Febalas, only to find the path to it destroyed. However she used her magic to transport herself, Rhys, Atta and Nightshade through to it, whilst the two mages trailed them. In Solio Febalas, Mina claimed several magical artifacts and used her magic to disable Caele and Basalt when they tried to kill the adventurers. Nuitari appeared, apologised to Rhys and Mina for his wizards and magically secreted them away for good.
References[]
- Amber and Ashes, p. 353-356
- Amber and Iron, p. 52-62, 136-144, 163-165, 338-342
- Amber and Blood, p. 76-107