Salendaius Moonstrike

An elven priest and one of the five original Gift Bearers, Salendaius Moonstrike wielded the Blue Gift during the Korvak War. She made her final stand against the Korvaks at the valley where Demonmount would later rise, holding off their last undefeated army long enough for the city's population to escape and sealing a demonic rift that threatened to unleash thousands of demons upon the world.

Overview

Salendaius Moonstrike was an elf and an elven priest who was chosen by Demmazon to wield the Blue Gift during the Korvak War.

The Blue Gift's true magical profile was Transformation, encompassing Conjuration and Transmutation. Historical accounts, however, commonly emphasized its Conjuration capabilities. This was particularly evident during Salendaius's final battle, when she used the Gift both to summon enormous hordes and to counter a supernatural rift created by the Korvaks.

Salendaius was one of the original Gift Bearers who died during the Korvak War. Her death also caused the Blue Gift to be lost, and it remained missing for many years before eventually being recovered by Marstalbin.

The Blue Gift

Salendaius was chosen as the original bearer of the Blue Gift, one of the five artifacts created by Demmazon to help the mortal races survive the Korvak invasion.

The Blue Gift was one of the four Gifts deliberately given a narrower focus than the White Gift. Its true specialization was:

Profile: Transformation
Schools: Conjuration and Transmutation

The Gift's Conjuration capabilities were particularly prominent in historical accounts of Salendaius. She was capable of summoning enormous numbers of creatures and other beings through its power.

The historical association of the Blue Gift primarily with Conjuration was reinforced by later misinformation surrounding the Green Gift. Thorn deliberately allowed the world to believe that the Green Gift was the Transmutation Gift, making it difficult for later historians to recognize that Transmutation was also part of the Blue Gift's true specialization.

The Stand at Demonmount

Late in the Korvak War, the Korvaks' last undefeated army emerged from the mountains and swept across the valley where Demonmount would later stand.

The army was advancing toward a city that was relatively undefended. Much of the city's military had been drawn away by a Korvak feint from the east.

Salendaius stood alone between the advancing army and the city, accompanied only by the enormous hordes she summoned through the Blue Gift.

The Korvak leader and his allies confronted her with immense magical power. During the battle, they opened a rift through which demons began entering the world. The rift threatened to unleash thousands of demons into the world.

Because of the Blue Gift's power over summoning, Salendaius was able to use the Gift to counter the magical forces involved in the rift. She succeeded in sealing the gate.

She then used the Gift's power to create the volcano now known as Demonmount, entombing the sealed rift within the newly formed mountain and preventing it from being reopened.

Salendaius was eventually killed during the battle.

Although she could not survive the confrontation, she broke the strength of the Korvak army sufficiently to give the city's inhabitants time to flee before the remaining Korvak forces reached the city.

Loss of the Blue Gift

The Blue Gift was lost when Salendaius died.

The other Gift Bearers and their allies searched extensively for it, but were unable to recover it. For many years, its location remained unknown.

The Gift was eventually discovered secretly by Marstalbin, a surviving Korvak who had been living in disguise as a human. Marstalbin could not use the Gift himself because Korvak magic was incompatible with the magic of the mortal world.

He eventually gave the Blue Gift to Correries as part of his manipulation of Correries and his larger effort to prepare the way for the eventual return of the Korvaks.

Correries later divided the power of the Blue Gift between Milaynee and Ulanthar, raising both to godhood.

Legacy

Salendaius is remembered primarily for her final stand during the Korvak War.

Her actions at Demonmount accomplished three critical things:

She broke the strength of the Korvaks' last undefeated army.
She gave the population of the threatened city time to escape.
She sealed the demonic rift opened by the Korvaks and permanently contained it within Demonmount.

Her death also resulted in the disappearance of the Blue Gift, beginning the long and ultimately convoluted history that eventually led to the ascension of Milaynee and Ulanthar.

Known Information

Race: Elf
Role: Elven priest
Gift: Blue Gift
Gift Profile: Transformation
Gift Schools: Conjuration and Transmutation
Era: Korvak War
Fate: Killed during her final stand at Demonmount

Uncertain Information

The surviving material does not establish:

Salendaius's age.
Her life before becoming a Gift Bearer.
Her exact religious position among the elves.
Her class or game statistics.
Her personality beyond what can be inferred from her actions during the Korvak War.
The exact circumstances by which the Blue Gift became separated from her remains after her death.