The Red Wizards of Thay
Council of Zulkirs
The Council of Zulkirs, also known as the Zulkir Council, are the ruling body of Red Wizards that held ultimate power and authority over all of Thay. There are always eight members – one for each school of magic. They rule for life but each member is elected by their College to represent them and are almost always the most powerful master of their respective school. Since a Zulkir’s reign is so long, when elections happen they can be brutal and bloody affairs.
The Zulkir’s certainly scheme and maneuver against one another but the quickest way to get them all to work together is to show proof of an external or internal threat to their control over Thay. That balance of power shifted about a century ago when Szass Tam manufactured a successful civil war to grab power that placed him in control over most of the country. Since then, Thay has settled into an uneasy acceptance of his rulership and necromantic proliferation. Considering Thay offers a higher standard of living for its citizens than many countries, civil unrest remains tempered. Even though your average citizen is less than comfortable with the proliferation of necromancy and undead within the Empire. Any formal unrest is kept quiet and hidden, lest those individuals wish to be paid a visit by The Probity Corps.
In recent years, Szass Tam has sought to expand the criteria for becoming a Zulkir largely due to his realization that populating these roles with undead only results in creating an echo chamber for his own plots and machinations. To promote Thay, Szass Tam seeks to recruit arcanists that are loyal to him, devoted to Thay, and wholly dedicated to the support and defense of the nation.
Zulkirs
Abjuration - Sirikhan
A woman known only as Sirikhan has taken the position of Zulkir of Abjuration as her own. She is a human of Shou descent and busies herself with matters east and south of Thay along the Golden Way, the main trade road that connects the western lands with the lands of Kara-Tur far to the east. Szass Tam has so far been impressed with both her ability to accomplish the tasks that he sets before her but also her willingness to speak her mind, even when her opinions do not match those of the ancient lich.
Conjuration - Saj Amog
Saj Amog is a Thayan lich and a staunch ally of Valindra Shadowmantle, the Zulkir of necromancy. Prior to his return to Thaymount, Saj was stationed in Neverwinter and worked to quell the rebel uprisings. He was later tasked by Szass Tam to capture a dread ring, a heinously evil creation that Szass desired for his own purposes. While it is true that Saj Amog is a lich, he is not under Szass’s complete control like Samas Kul the Zulkir of transmutation is, and he often wonders what Szass Tam’s endgame really is for the nation of Thay.
Divination - Yaphyll
Yaphyll, a ruthless and cruel human Mulan woman, served as the Zulkir of divination for just over a hundred years until she died while performing a complex, powerful ritual at Szass Tam’s command. Though he knew that she had previously worked against his position as the one true ruler of Thay, he knew that her command of divination magic marked her as an extremely powerful member of the Council of Zulkirs, and as such he desired to raise her from the dead. Unfortunately, the ritual that ultimately took her life bound her with a small piece of the blue flame known generally as the Spellplague, and he was unable to raise her.
In an unexpected turn of events, though, she clawed her way out of her tomb when Valindra Shadowmantle returned from Chult; the exact reason is uncertain, but it has piqued Szass’s interest. She is not undead but she appears to be frozen in age in her early forties. Despite his best efforts and much to her delight, Szass Tam is unable to use telepathy or divination magic to spy upon her.
Enchantment - Vacant
This position was previously held by a Red Wizard named Lauzoril. Lauzoril arranged and conducted a massive insurrection, even going so far as to motivate most of his fellow zulkirs to strike out at Szass Tam and his armies. Although Szass retaliated, Lauzoril seemingly escaped and has not yet been discovered. The position is currently vacant and undergoing the process of replacement by the College of Enchantment, with Szass Tam’s approval.
Evocation - M'weru
M’Weru is a human woman from Rashemen. She uses her knowledge of the Wychlaran to her significant advantage in her post as the Zulkir of evocation. She controls her magic to such an extent that her power is at once terrifying and intoxicatingly beautiful to behold, as she can reportedly shape those magics in previously impossible ways. Szass Tam recruited her after she decimated a pair of Red Wizards and disintegrated their guards without breaking from her ongoing conversation with a harbormaster in Alaor— all without damaging the docks or causing additional casualties.
Illusion - Hlarkus Baltreyo
Hlarkus Baltreyo is a male human lich that rarely, if ever, saw cause to leave Thay. He has been a long-time supporter of Valindra Shadowmantle and threw a massive celebration upon Szass Tam’s announcement of her promotion to the role of Zulkir of necromancy. A devilishly skilled illusionist, he delights in crafting images and experiences are so lifelike that they pass for being alive themselves. He was exceptionally fond of creating illusory forms of the friends and family of his foes. Due to circumstances outside of his control, Szass Tam can exert complete control of Hlarkus if he desires to, even going so far as to treat Hlarkus as a familiar should he desire to.
Necromancy - Valindra Shadowmantle
As a reward for her efforts in uncovering the mysteries of the Soulmonger in the jungles of Chult, Szass Tam promoted the reckless moon elf lich Valindra Shadowmantle to the position of Zulkir of necromancy. A resourceful and vicious creature, Valindra both relishes her new role and chafes at the restrictions that it imposes upon her activities. She longs to shed the mantle of leadership and return to the world beyond Thay’s borders so that she can strike down those that would stand against her beloved homeland.
Transmutation - Samas Kul
Samas Kul served as the Zulkir of transmutation under Szass Tam for nearly a century until his gruesome assassination. However, Szass Tam found him to be a serviceable ally and worked to return the tall, morbidly obese wizard to Thay. Samas is now an undead creature under Szass Tam’s control, and while he possesses a small spark of personality he is largely, as with the other undead zulkirs, an extension of Szass Tam’s will and ideology.
Ranks of the Red Wizards
Voskirs
Voskirs are the best alchemists and innovators, and it is no coincidence they are just below the Zulkirs in authority. They are in charge of experimenting with new spells, reagents, techniques, and crafting. They usually focus on the larger projects with empire-wide ramifications. They supervise operations and advise their Zulkir. Most of them spend their time in the major centers in Delhumide, Eltabbar or Thaymount.
Ulokirs
Ulokirs are managers and the last gatekeepers of the hierarchy. While technically below Voskirs in rank, they rarely deal with the same areas of power, They plan and staff special assignments in the enclaves, Thay itself, or anywhere else the empire has outposts. They schedule rotating groups to maintain the spells controlling the weather in Thay. They often have a hand in any and all assignments within the Red Wizard ranks below them.
Thraskirs
Below Ulokirs are Thraskirs, who are the judges. They handle problems with lower ranks or non-wizards (higher ranked wizards are at the mercy of the Zulkirs). They also consider and recommend wizards for nomination into the Red Wizards’ ranks, though the Zulkirs have the final say. They are often fully educated in Thayan Law and have memorized them inside and out. They are the most common judges in Thayan territory, when a ruling is called for.
Nishkirs
Named after the magic-eating Nishruu, Nishkirs are the monster hunters of the Red Wizards. Their mission ‘to uncover the ways that creatures interact with mystical energies’ is all the excuse they need to track, capture, or kill anything they wish. They study whatever moves, whether it has magical abilities of its own or not, and whether it’s living, undead, or something else. They experiment to see if spells interact with creatures in new ways, or if they can emulate unique abilities, or if they can barter or steal original spells. They also figure out which of a creature’s pieces can be used as spell components or for magic items. Their job is to put other beings to use for the Red Wizards and maybe for Thay.
Draxkirs
Draxkirs are masters of logistics. They ensure that the Red Wizards have what they need to function, whether that’s components, sacrifices, or other, more rare and valuable things. They coordinate with noble houses, guilds, and whoever else they need to because they catch all the hells for delays or failures. Recently they’ve also been getting reports from the enclaves and researching areas where we should set up future enclaves.
Barakirs
Barakirs are the scholars, and they are plentiful. Many Red Wizards find themselves unable to climb the brutal ranks and settle for the cushy role of magical and historical research. They study not just Thay but every land for any new discoveries but they are mainly concerned about the past. Countless secrets have been lost to the Ages and it is their goal to uncover anything that can help Thay.
Alakirs
Lastly, Alakirs are the novices. They have gone through their initiation and earned their place in the ranks, but that is about it. They are at the beck and call of any Red Wizard above them in rank that demands it. They could be sent anywhere at any time. Rarely are they put in any real danger or sent to leave Thay, though. Even a novice Red Wizard is more valuable than a hundred soldiers and crossing any Red wizard, even an Alakir, is punishable by death.