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Laeral Silverhand
Laeral Silverhand (pronounced: /ˈlɛərɔːl/ LAIR-awl), born Anamanué Silverhand and formerly known as the Witch-Queen of the North and later the Lady Mage of Waterdeep, is one of the Seven Sisters, a Chosen of Mystra, and the Open Lord of Waterdeep.
Anamanué Laeral Silverhand was born in the Year of the Cowl (765 DR), the fifth of seven daughters of the goddess Mystra. Each of the Seven Sisters is a powerful and ageless beauty with a penchant for arcane magic.
Long ago, Laeral ruled a kingdom called Stornanter and held the title of Witch-Queen of the North. After that, she led a band of adventurers called the Nine. She met and married Khelben Arunsun, who would later become the Blackstaff, the Lord Mage of Waterdeep. After Khelben died, Laeral retired from public life. She resurfaced after the Spellplague and the Sundering, weakened by Mystra's death, rebirth, and withdrawal from the world.
A few years ago, Dagult Neverember was ousted as Open Lord of Waterdeep. Laeral reluctantly stepped into the vacancy at the request of the Masked Lords, and has served as Waterdeep's Open Lord ever since. She has settled nicely into her new role. She seems to be using her magic sparingly and relies on trusted advisors and deputies.
Laeral's relationship with Vajra Safahr, the current Blackstaff, has its challenges. For one thing, Laeral is much older, much wiser, and much more powerful than Vajra. In addition, Vajra wields the Blackstaff, which has Khelben Arunsun's soul and the souls of all the other Blackstaffs bound inside it. Laeral covets the staff, because it contains all that's left of her husband. Not surprisingly, the two mages avoid each other as much as possible.