The Stork Family

The Stork family is a noble lineage of the Sword Coast, with deep historical ties to the region of Phandalin—their bloodline’s original ancestral home—and a modern seat located at Stork’s Rest in the Moonshae Islands.

Origin, Exile, and Bloodline

Generations ago, the Storks did not reside on Stork’s Rest. Their lineage is descended from Lady Tanager Alagondar, the legendary dragonslayer hero of Neverwinter. During the original war against the chromatic dragons three centuries ago, Lady Alagondar stood alongside a legendary band of heroes—including Elminster Aumar, Hrothgar Hillsfar (who would later become Farwald), Esfaloth Nightbreeze, Gorion of Candlekeep, Kiara Shadowbreaker, and Uther Vendrock—to defend the North. She famously sacrificed her life to slay the green dragon Virethas, the Jade Queen, driving her sword through the beast’s heart as its claw pierced her chest.

Because of this illustrious bloodline, the family was spared execution generations later when Gilmore’s great-grandfather defied the High King of the Moonshaes by marrying a woman tied to coastal raiders and pirate clans. Such a marriage threatened the delicate alliances the Crown used to maintain unity. Instead of death, the High King banished the entire house to the far western edges of the Moonshae Isles, hoping the storms, raiders, and wild magic of the region would keep them permanently occupied.

This exile ultimately worked to the Storks’ advantage. The local pirate clans respected the family for marrying into their kin, leading to lighter raids on their territory. Over three generations, the Storks forged alliances with these scattered clans, building significant influence across the Outer Isles. Despite this rise in local power, the family remains deeply bitter about their banishment, believing their rightful place is at the High King’s side rather than on a salt-scoured rock.

Stork’s Rest and the Glimmering Deep

The island of Stork’s Rest sits on the rugged western edge of the Moonshae Isles, characterized by storm beaches, wind-torn bluffs, and a dense, magical forest covering its northern half known as the Glimmering Deep. This ancient wood is feared by locals due to its property of swallowing memories, names, and time itself. The Stork family maintains that the forest once housed a portal to an older realm, possibly tied to the ancient druidic powers of Gwynneth.

The Storks have avoided the Glimmering Deep since Gilmore’s grandfather was mortally mauled by a Harthwyld—a monstrous half-bear, half-stag guardian of the forest with bone-white antlers. Though the grandfather managed to slay the beast and drag its grotesque head back to hang over the family hearth, he died of his wounds that same night. The island is settled into three main communities:

Ancestral Traditions, Oaths, and Festivals

Stork children are raised under an ancient family oath:

“To the High King, to Order and Civilization, against the Chaos of the Sea and the Magic of the Forest.”

Despite this oath, Gilmore always felt a pull toward the wild. He loved the sea—despite becoming violently seasick on ferry crossings—and was fascinated by the terrifying forest.

Every summer solstice, the island hosts the Great Oyster Dive, where youths dive for magical oysters that absorb the strange energies of the Glimmering Deep. These oysters occasionally produce glowing, humming pearls that grant whimsical blessings or improbable luck, which are sold to merchants from Waterdeep. Gilmore famously won this contest three years in a row, beating local fishermen and farm boys, much to the chagrin of his father, who viewed it as a peasant pastime.

Additionally, the family is bound by a strict funerary tradition: if an heir or elder sibling dies before ascending to power, the next in line must embark on a journey to retrieve their remains and ensure their proper passage to the afterlife. Only after completing this duty can they claim the family’s seat of power. Sildar Hallwinter, a trusted friend of the family, assisted Gilmore during the onset of this quest.

Connection to the Tristans

The Stork lineage is closely related to the Tristans, the noble family who owns Tristan Manor in Phandalin. This ancestral connection became highly significant when Tristan Manor was overrun by undead and occupied by the Redbrand bandits under the command of the wizard Glasstaff. Learning of these troubles, Gilmore felt a strong personal obligation to reclaim the manor and resolve the crisis, citing his family’s historical ties to the Tristans as his primary motivation. The party eventually reclaimed the manor, and the surviving Tristans bequeathed the property to Gilmore and his companions, who made it their base of operations.

The Quest for Elire’s Soul and the Raven Queen

This ancestral tradition was forced upon Gilmore following the abduction and murder of his sister, Elire. Gilmore traveled to the Sword Coast and sought the aid of the gods in Silverymoon. At the temple of the Raven Queen (the Matron of Ravens, goddess of fate and death), Gilmore fully immersed himself in a pool of dark liquid—which he realized was blood—and received a vision of the goddess weaving golden threads of fate. She entwined his destiny with her own, and Gilmore awoke fully armored on a moonlit road, where he dispatched two dragon-masked cultists.

On the body of one of the cultists, Gilmore recovered his sister’s soul, which had been trapped inside a purple soulstone on a golden chain. Family traditions dictated that Gilmore must lay her soul to rest by melting the soulstone within the molten metals of Gond’s Smelter inside Wave Echo Cave. However, upon activating the ancient smelter with the help of his companions, Gilmore chose to break with tradition and refused the rite, asserting his own free will over his family’s obligations.

Later, during a harrowing battle inside the Hand of Sehanine, Gilmore’s companion Farwald was killed by the mad baelnorn Larellion. During the resurrection ritual, Gilmore asked Elire’s soul for assistance through the soulstone. Elire agreed to aid in anchoring Farwald’s soul, but demanded in return that Gilmore visit Dragon Barrow as soon as possible to seek “revenge”—a request that was secretly a trap.

The Folly of Dragon Barrow and the Warning Sent Home

A few nights before traveling to the Dragon Barrow, Gilmore experienced a horrific, prophetic nightmare. In the dream, he ran carefree through his family’s lands, only to watch Elire fall from her tower into endless darkness. In the courtyard, her broken, distorted body was surrounded by black ravens cawing “The Undying Queen.” A monstrous, winged draconic worm emerged from her left eye socket, while her other eye flashed with a cold blue light. She smiled with a bloody mouth as an infernal voice warned Gilmore: “You cannot save her. She will be mine soon. Undying. Undying. Undying.”

This premonition manifested as a tragic trap inside the depths of the Dragon Barrow. Upon entering the ancient tomb, Gilmore drew the legendary greatsword Dragon Slayer from Lady Tanager Alagondar’s resting place. However, he realized too late that the sword had been powering a magical ward preventing the resurrection of the green dragon. Pulling the blade shattered the seal.

Sidorna, the Green Wyrmspeaker, seized Elire’s soulstone and utilized the spilled blood of Gilmore—the true heir of Alagondar—to trigger the reincarnation of the Jade Queen, Villathas. Fused with Elire’s soul and powered by the Green Dragon Mask, the green dragon awoke. Though the ritual was disrupted by Gilmore and his companions, leaving Villathas in a weakened adult state rather than her ancient form, the beast successfully broke free of the barrow and took to the skies.

Recognizing the imminent danger to his family, Gilmore dispatched a swift courier letter to his parents on Stork’s Rest for 50 gold. In it, he warned Thalorian and Selene that Elire’s soul is not at rest, that she has been reborn as the dragon, and that he was the hand that drew the sword. He commanded them to: “take stock of who has had your ear in the past months, and who has gone quiet, and who should not have. Bar the gates, trust no envoy.”

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