Tall Ones

The Tall Ones, otherwise known simply as the Aerasumé,^[2] were a group of twelve half-elven brothers, all born to Alustriel Silverhand and an unknown elven lord during their mother's tenure as the High Lady of Silverymoon.^[1]

Activities[]

The Tall Ones, though they acted in the name of Silverymoon, spent most of their days outside their home city, traveling on their pegasi as part of the missions assigned to them by Alustriel. In certain, rare cases, these involved the Tall Ones' direct interference in current events or the pursuit and arrest of people who attempted to escape Silverymoon's justice. Most frequently, however, the their duties were simply representative, acting in the name of the Silvaeren leader while ensuring that Alustriel was well-informed of anything occurring in the North that might demand her attention.^[1] To relay the particulars of this information, the Tall Ones, whether as individuals or as a group, would meet with their mother in Silverymoon's High Palace at dawn, alongside her other agents and advisors.^[3]

After the establishment of the Silver Marches in the Year of the Unstrung Harp, 1371 DR,^[4] the brothers' duties widened in scope as they focused on the eradication of any dangerous monsters they might find roaming the North. Even so, they preferred not to go boldly into combat. The Tall Ones attempted first to scare away any threat they might find, only fighting if their enemy chose to dismiss their warnings.^[5]

Tactics[]

The Tall Ones were all talented and highly competent in both physical combat and spellcasting, each one carrying himself with poise and quiet speech,^[1] though some favored one over the other, such as Methrammar and his martial leanings.^[6] They were all powerful enough to be entrusted with important duties throughout the North by Alustriel herself.^[1]

Base of Operations[]

Given that it was their place of birth and the headquarters of their High Lady, the Tall Ones operated in the areas surrounding Silverymoon, but the nature of their missions often took them beyond the city's walls and across the whole of the North.^[1]

Possessions[]

As part of their equipment as agents of the High Lady of Silverymoon, the Tall Ones had access to certain special magical items. Notably, they each rode pegasi during their missions and they all carried ample amounts of spellstars,^[1] which were gemstones or star-shaped steel emblems within which the Tall Ones could store additional spells.^[7] The brothers were also capable of contacting each other and their mother using magical anklets through which they could cast sending, which was directed at anyone else wearing such an anklet.^[1] These were not Alustriel's creations, instead being of possibly elven origin,^[8] but they served the Tall Ones well, as they could communicate through them every hour. Their mother was also known to share these with certain trusted Harper agents, such as High Lady Cylyria Dragonbreast of Berdusk and Sharanralee of Everlund^[1] or even adventurers^[8] for use in any emergency situations,^[1] though this last one was only due to the strange events of the Time of Troubles.^[8] In turn, through these anklets, Alustriel could communicate with the Tall Ones at will, either individually or all together at the same time. Her anklet was special in that she could also allow the targeted person to see and hear her surroundings or, vice versa, to experience theirs, as well as enabling her to speak to them telepathically to replace or supplement any verbal conversation.^[1]

Relationships[]

Given the awe inspired by their mother's renown and incredible abilities, the Tall Ones faced high expectations from the moment they were born.^[6] Although for some years it was only rumor that they were Alustriel's sons, the Tall Ones all looked alike and had inherited their mother's looks, both in their height^[1] and their silver hair.^[6] Though little was known about their father, they did share an elven half-brother through him, Tyresia, who was closest to Methrammar.^[6]

Rather than take the name of their mother or father directly, the twelve brothers chose their surname, Aerasumé, themselves. This was part of an elven tradition wherein those foregoing a previous family name, or lacking one entirely, instead bore a surname that matched their home or birthplace. In the instance of the Tall Ones, Aerasumé was from an ancient Elven language of the North and translated to "silver-moon", referring to the moon in the evening. This was a decision that only tied them closer to Alustriel, given that most largely attributed Silverymoon's greatness to her leadership.^[1]

Despite his ties to the Harpers, the Tall Ones did not care for Khelben Arunsun and tolerated him purely for his relationship with their mother. The only exception to this rule was Boesild, who became part of his information-gathering network in the North.^[9]

Members[]

The Tall Ones consisted of the twelve brothers Aerasumé and were named, in alphabetical order: Andelver, Boesild, Dolthauvin, Elinthalar, Ghaelryss, Inthylyn, Lilinthar, Methrammar, Naerond, Raérilarr, Tarthilmor, and Uoundeld.^[1]

Appendix[]

Appearances[]

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