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Valerios Theokillos - Balanor - 02-02-2013
Tharchion Valerios Theokillos
Source: Dreams of the Red Wizards (AD&D), circa 1357 DR
The Mediocros: This family gained its position two hundred years ago when their progenitor became Tharchion of Eltabbar. Now, the leading member of the family is Valerios Theokillos, Tharchion of Pyarados. The family maintains its seat in that border city and attempt to sponge off their scion, but he has little time for them. He would much rather deal with his old adventuring friends and they are the ones who have reaped most of the benefits of his largesse.
The Tharch of Pyarados: Pyarados is the gateway to the Sunrise Mountains, and tends to have a large population of adventurers. The Tharchion is Valerios Theokillos, a neutral evil 10th level fighter-adventurer who is said to have slain the avatar of one of the god-kings of Mulhorand. Now he is a man in his sixties, and retired into the rule of this easternmost of Thayan cities.
Adventurers wishing to enter the Sunrise Mountains must either carry gear for many miles through Thay, risking pilferage, or buy it in Pyarados. Valerios owns a part of every outfitting shop in the city. Prices for standard adventuring gear are high, often twice what is found in the Players Handbook and DMG. Every shop has the same price for the same goods. The one cutrate shop sells used and shoddy goods with a good chance of failure at critical moments.
Valerios, of course, also keeps an eye on returning adventurers, with the intent of taxing them of useful items and loot. He does not take the best of the items (unless they would either be (a) useful to him or (b) dangerous to him or Thay in general), but he has a large hoard of minor magical items, which he sometimes uses as gifts to his aides to keep them loyal.
Certain of the Red Wizards are well aware of this scheme of taxation and visit Valerios frequently to gain the “gifts” he knows he has to give them to keep them from supplanting him with someone else.
Source: Spellbound (AD&D), circa 1368 DR
Tharch of Pyarados. Though Pyarados is a small tharch, it is important since it controls access to the Sunrise Mountains. The tharch reaps income from the mountains’ rich mineral deposits and from the motley crowds of adventurers who use Pyarados as their jumping-off place. The current tharchioness, Nymia Focar, was chosen after the removal of the realm’s former ruler, Valerios Theokillos, in the wake of the destruction of Thay’s Griffon Legion during the Tuigan invasion. Focar carries on Valerios’ policies, charging adventurers small fortunes for the most basic equipment, and raking in huge amounts of gold from taxes on mining operations in the Sunrise Mountains.
As Focar derives considerable personal wealth from the Thayan system as it stands, she opposes Szass Tam but takes little active role in the struggle.
Coordinated action by the various Thayan legions is rare save in times of threat to the entire nation. The Tuigan invasion of 1359-60, for example, forced some degree of cooperation on rival Thayan factions, but even the defense against this dire threat was not without problems and petty squabbles. Though nominally under the command of Valerios Theokillos, tharchion of Pyarados, the numerous units of the Thayan defense force were all overseen by their various sponsors, all of whom felt they had some say in tactics to be used against the nomads. Although Valerios managed to retain command of his army in the face of such rivalry, he was still blamed for the virtual destruction of the proud Griffon Legion. Though the legion’s name survived and it was later rebuilt to its original strength, Valerios himself was removed from office in disgrace.