Tavelia

Tavelia was a member of the Kargat. She resided in Martira Bay and posed as a cleric at the Temple of the Overseer, using High Cleric Derakoth as a figurehead.

Appointed as leader of the Kargat in Martira Bay in 640 BC, Tavelia had established a power base of agents loyal more to her than to Azalin well before 750 BC. It was a wonder why Azalin did not put a stop to her operations.

"S" notes that Tavelia may have, after the Requiem, tried to hatch a plot to bring him back has her thrall. As the Shrouded Years were wrapping up, she exhibited strange and unpredictable behavior, such as talking bout marrying some well-established gentleman whom she would not specify the identity of.

Following the Requiem, she attempted to revive and take control of Azalin, but failed. Her plan was to marry Azalin and rule as queen.

After her failed takeover of Darkon, Tavelia resurfaced on Liffe, where she assumed a false identity as Baroness Liae Tva Kolsson, wife of Baron Rognavold Kolsson.Like with Azalin, Tavelia conspired to take over the baron's as a demilord. However, she discovered after their wedding that she was cursed to obedient subservience to the baron as his ideal wife. The Mists had claimed her as a Demilord of Liffe.

Tavelia appears on one of the TSR Trading Cards, with some contradictions to her later appearances. According to that source, she is a rather young vampire, having been transformed into one by a powerful curse. Tavelia broke the heart of a young man she cared nothing about, and he threw himself from the church tower in misery. His mother in her grief and rage cursed Tavelia with undeath. While Gazetteer II describes her as Lawful Evil and an Expert, the card says she is Chaotic Evil and and a wizard. Bleak House lists her as Neutral Evil.

Stats

• 2nd Edition
  • wizard, Chaotic Evil
  • Female human mature nosferatu vampire; HD 9; Neutral Evil
• 3rd Edition
  • female human mature nosferatu vampire expert 9; Lawful Evil

Chronology

• 595 BC Malamere turns Tavelia into a vampire. Tavelia is enslaved by Malamere, but her contributions speed her up the ranks. Eventually at some later date, she received her freedom for her efforts, and Azalin eliminates Malamere.
• 640 BC Azalin appoints Tavelia as Kargat leader in Matira Bay.
• 650 BC The Kargat establish the Faith of the Overseer in Darkon. Tavelia is the one most responsible for its creation, having woven the dogma of the church from bits of various outlander religions and stuck them into the Doctrinae.
• 744 BC Lady Kazandra is sent to Matira Bay. Through her, the Kargat achieve more of a hold on criminal activity within the Bay. Tavelia keeps the Faith of the Overseer from getting mixed up in Kazandra's affairs.
• 747 BC Alanik Ray becomes Chief Constable of Martira Bay. His actions within the City Constabulary prove a thorn in Tavelia's (and the Kargat's) side.
• 750 BC (Or shortly before) Prior to the Requiem, Tavelia tries to dispatch Lady Kazandra and Alanik Ray by sending Kazandra to dispatch Ray. The effort fails, and Ray flees Darkon. However, Kazandra fails to take notice of Tavelia's traitorous plan against Azalin.
• 750 BC Tavelia has built (and continues to build) a large Kargat network of agents loyal to her first.
• 755 BCSummer Tavelia hatches her plans to enslave Azalin.
• 755 BC Tavelia's plans to take control of Azalin fail with his restoration to power. Following Tavelia's fall from grace, Kazandra becomes leader of the Kargat in Matira Bay.
• Sometime between 755 BC and 760 BC Tavelia resurfaces on Liffe under the guise of Baroness Liae Tva Kolsson, wife of Baron Rognavold Kolsson. Becoming a Demilord of Liffe hinders her schemes both there and in Darkon.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Bleak House
		Bleak House:Heroes, Monsters, and Settings - p31
		Bleak House:Heroes, Monsters, and Settings - p29