Aribeth

From NWNWiki

  

• Neverwinter Nights: plot NPC
• Hordes of the Underdark: potential henchman
• Race: half-elf
• Class: paladin (good), blackguard (evil)

Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande is an elven paladin of Tyr, the Blind God of Justice. She is said to have been born in Thundertree, a town in the Neverwinter Woods of uncertain parentage; some say a union between half-elves, others a moon elf and a human. The village was wiped out in an orc raid leaving her the sole survivor of the massacre. Vowing vengeance, she hunted down the perpetrators and slew them all, but, unsatisfied, continued to hunt and kill orcs in an obsessive quest until she was trapped in a sudden blizzard and rescued by a one-armed man she believed an avatar of the god Tyr, who took her to a monastery of Ilmater. Recovering her health there, she learned to be a paladin, gaining such fame that when she moved to Neverwinter, she was named to the elite bodyguard of Lord Nasher Alagondar, being the first woman and first non-human to be so honored. There she met and became engaged to Fenthick Moss, cleric of Tyr in that temple.

In the original campaign, Lady Aribeth is chosen by Nasher Alagondar to be in charge of the investigations surrounding the Wailing Death. She begins training adventurers at an academy to combat the forces who are behind the plague, and after the Waterdhavian creatures become scattered throughout the city, the hero, who was an exceptional student at the academy, is placed by Aribeth in charge of tracking them down. After her lover, Fenthick Moss, is found guilty by association and is hanged for trusting Desther, a false Helmite and agent of Maugrim who was actually in charge of spreading the plague, Aribeth views Neverwinter as having betrayed Fenthick and needing to atone for his death. It is revealed also that Morag appears to Aribeth in her dreams and tempts her to join Maugrim's cult with promises of revenge. Aribeth initially continues to lead Neverwinter's effort to find the cult as they search outside and around Port Llast, but eventually disappears. Upon reaching the Luskan's Host Tower, the hero learns that Aribeth has become a blackguard in the service of Morag and has agreed to lead Maugrim's Luskan army in their impending assault on Neverwinter. At the climax of this assault, the hero confronts Aribeth and defeats her in combat. The hero may then either persuade Aribeth to surrender and return to Lord Nasher to face judgement or be forced to fight her to the death.

In Hordes of the Underdark, Aribeth is revealed to have died. According to accounts of her given by Sharwyn, Daelan Red Tiger, Tomi Undergallows, and Linu La'ernal, Aribeth tragically died sometime after Morag's defeat. Upon encountering her spirit in Cania, the hero finds her distraught with her betrayal of Neverwinter. The hero can either persuade her to return to the service of Tyr, or accept the evil path that she has chosen; either way, she will be made available to join the hero in his/her quest.

While joined with the hero, Aribeth herself says that she died violently, though her memories were somewhat hazy. Presumably, the hero of Neverwinter attempted to defend Aribeth while she was tried for her crimes. The hero would have been heavily outvoted, since the majority of Neverwinter called for Aribeth's execution. Lord Nasher complied with the city's request and as a result, the hero of Neverwinter's friendship with Lord Nasher ended, and he (the hero is revealed to have been male) left Neverwinter, never to be heard from again. Because of the hero's falling out of favor with Lord Nasher, Nasher had revisionists play down his role in saving Faerun from destruction.

Aribeth is also one of the romance options available to the hero in Hordes of the Underdark. She reveals that she never really loved Fenthick, describing her feeling to be more like an innocent passion. Upon facing Mehistopheles, he tries to lure Aribeth to his side and the hero can make a persuade check declaring to love her, if successful, Aribeth will stay true to her vows to fight for the hero. It is said in the epilogue that Aribeth and the hero became lovers, that she (being a ghost) remained unchanged, while the hero grew old and gray and they remain together until the day he died. In his dying moments, the hero promised to meet her in the other life and so her spirit fades from the mortal realm to meet him and continue the rest of their existence together.