Dryca of Ghostwall is a gnome who lived in the Ghostlands of Xhorhas as late as the early 840s PD.[fn 1]
Description[]
Appearance[]
Dryca is a male nether gnome with a stocky build, a bald head, and purplish grey skin marked with angular tattoos on his arms, torso, and neck. He wore simple clothing: a white shirt and dark pants.[2]
Personality[]
Dryca is a mysterious and secretive individual, and also cold-minded, able to make difficult decisions in order to protect his people. He also was somewhat loyal to the Bright Queen, even if not very devoutly.[2][3]
Biography[]
Dryca was part of a nether gnome community in the Ghostlands. At some point in the last three centuries he met one of the last members of a lineage of champions of Kord that warded a passage to the Dreadnest, Lolth's layer in the Abyss. After the extinction of that line of trusted heros, Dryca became the only one with knowledge of said passage.[3]
Between 836 PD and the early 840s PD, a Luxon beacon was found by the forces of the Spider Queen, who used it as bait to attract and slaughter Kryn forces. She forced the cooperation of Dryca for that purpose, threatening to harm the nether gnomes if he refused. The gnome met Dusk Captain Quana Kryn and her armed escort in the Ghostlands, where a group of draegloths ambushed them, killing Quana's soldiers and abducting her. Leylas Kryn used magic to travel fast to the Ghostlands, but she was unable to save Quana.[2]
Dryca with the Stormlord's Heart, by CoupleOfKooks and Cris Peter from The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #2.[art 2]
Dryca tried to travel to Bazzoxan to fix his mistake, but he was captured, beaten and brought before the Bright Queen, who wanted to kill him, but the deep gnome revealed that he knew a way of reaching Quana in the Abyss: a secret passage in the Temple of the Betrayer Gods in Bazzoxan. Leylas agreed to his plan and traveled there accompanied by Roshan and two other soldiers, to keep an eye on the gnome, whom they did not consider trustworthy. In the temple, Dryca followed the steps of the ritual, giving the Bright Queen the Stormlord's Heart, as well as making sure she understood the cost of the rescue mission, for the object could only allow the return of one individual. Leylas, who was in fact a dunamantic echo of herself, rescued Quana and the beacon they had been looking for, and after the Dusk Captain was again in Exandria, she, Dryca, and Roshan returned to Rosohna.[3]
Dryca's final moments, by CoupleOfKooks and Cris Peter from The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #4.[art 3]
Dryca spent a significant amount of time in the Dungeons of Penance in Rosohna, but he was secretly freed by order of Quana, and left behind a waterfall in the Vermaloc Wildwood, in the place where her daughter Caelestis, corrupted by the Spider Queen, had to be executed, beyond the reach of the Luxon beacons. Quana sent Roshan and the Watch away, and went to meet Dryca, entrusting him with the mission of running away with Caelestis and taking care of her until her mother could find a way of curing her curse. The nether gnome tried to flee with the Bright Child while Quana prepared to defend them, engaging with Roshan and the Watch, but the stress of the situation made Caelestis transform into a monster and kill Dryca and then the soldiers, before she was slain by Quana.[4]
Appearances and mentions[]
Quotations[]
- Dryca: "So that's me, I suppose. Dryca, mortal champion. Purveyor of the Stormlord's Heart."
Trivia[]
- In his second appearance there's a mistake in two panels, where he's missing his tattoos, although they reappear afterwards.[5]
References[]
- ↑ Gnomes are considered adults by age 25. See D&D: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, 5th ed., p. 113.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 See The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen, Issue #1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 See The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen, Issue #2.
- ↑ See The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen, Issue #4.
- ↑ See The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen, Issue #2.
Art:
- ↑ Dryca, by CoupleOfKooks and Cris Peter from The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #1. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Dryca with the Stormlord's Heart, by CoupleOfKooks and Cris Peter from The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #2. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Dryca's final moments, by CoupleOfKooks and Cris Peter from The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #4. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
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