Sir Skaden Mallar is the Knight-Commander of Blacksun Keep, the second-northernmost outpost of "The King's Right Hand," a group of five keeps built to protect Sundholde's people from the bandits and strange creatures lurking in the desolate wastes of The Scar. Skaden Mallar is perhaps the most controversial member of the current Knight-Commanders, having served as a Vornheim battlemage over twenty years ago. His extensive dossier also includes a brief stint as a Helmand spy, over six years as a pirate captain, 3 years as a slave-smuggler, and five years as an inquisitor of Kalibrand, a god whose worship is now forbidden due to rumors of kidnapping and human sacrifice. But even so, his experience makes him a valuable asset to the king, both in matters military and otherwise. He is the only royal council member who is allowed as much time alone with the king as High Councilor Azemar (a fact that irritates the High Councilor to no end). As a leader, he is a stern man of few words, prone to spending long stretches of time in his quarters alone. But these times are matched in equal number by the times he can be seen wandering his keep, greeting his soldiers and offering words of mirth and encouragement. "A strange man," his men often say, "But a good one, I think." Instinct: to protect Tarsis

• Spring a trap
• Teleport a foe or himself
• Cast spells of destruction
• Call upon a dark god
• Call upon his men