NPC's Vajra Safahr Vajra Safahr  ( pronounced: /ˈ v ɑː dʒ r ɑː   s ɑː ˈ f ɑːr /  VAJ-rah sah-FAR [ 6 ] ) was the seventh  Blackstaff  of  Waterdeep , a title she ascended to in  1479 DR  when her mentor and lover,  Samark Dhanzscul , was killed. [ 2 ]  She was quite young when she became the Blackstaff, [ 4 ] [ 7 ]  and was the youngest Blackstaff in Waterdeep's history. [ 8 ]   Description Vajra was diminutive, standing under 5 feet (150 centimeters), [ 9 ]  with olive skin, short black hair, and brown eyes. [ 4 ] [ 7 ]  However, for a time, she had the ability to change her eye color, and the color switched depending on which of the six previous Blackstaffs controlled her body at any given time. [ 9 ] Personality Vajra loved an intriguing  arcane  challenge. She was patient and known to pursue multiple plans at once, often requiring her to get her rivals to act in her best interests instead of their own. [ 8 ]  Although she was prone to self-doubt when she first assumed the role of the Blackstaff, [ 10 ]  she soon learned to ignore those doubts and to dismiss the envies of those who were skeptical of her role. [ 8 ] Activities She was focused on turning Waterdeep, and specifically her  Blackstaff Academy , into the center of  magical  study in  Faerûn . She would wander the libraries and laboratories of  Blackstaff Tower  under magical silence so as not to disturb the other wizards, save for when she made a sudden appearance to aid them in their studies. She allowed her best students access to her own personal  spellbook , and was said to even allow some of them to add their own creations to it. [ 8 ] Abilities Though having become the Blackstaff at a young age, Vajra was a skilled wizard, even capable of casting a lone spell while entirely  paralyzed , and thus incapable of performing verbal incantations or hand-gestures. The effect of this spell was to fire forth a few rays of amber-colored energy from her eyes. [ 2 ] Possessions Vajra's signature spellbook. Vajra wielded the fabled  Blackstaff , which was silver shod and towered over her head by several feet. [ 1 ] She was known to carry with her a wide array of magic items, including a  brooch of shielding , a  ring of mind shielding , a  quill of memory , a  crown of scholarship , and—when she needed them—a  rod of rulership , a  staff of power , a  tentacle rod , and a  graystaff . She wore a pair of  enchanted  boots of her own design known as the  Pillars of Knowledge . She was also said to possess a  badge of the Watch , which she would use to send the  City Watch  to interrupt potential crises before they turned into emergencies. [ 8 ] During  Laeral Silverhand 's tenure as  Open Lord  of Waterdeep, the senior wizard was said to have bestowed upon Vajra two unique items of her own creation: the  rod of favorable inclination  and the  seal of insight . [ 8 ] History Early years Vajra was born in  Tethyr  to  paladin   Tamik yn Tamik al Safahr  and  Parama yr Manshaka . She had several older siblings, but she was the only one born with  sorcerous  talent. [ 3 ]  She grew up at  Sheshyr House  in Tethyr, the family home. [ 11 ] When Vajra was fourteen, her father and her aunt died in defense of  Darromar , which was attacked by assassins. She turned away from sorcery and towards wizardry, since it was what was able to save Queen  Cyriana  and King  Errilam . She was apprenticed to  Mynda Gyrfalcon-Thann  and Princess  Zandra , Court Vizeras of her homeland. [ 12 ] She came to Waterdeep in order to learn foreign magic for a brief time (a requirement for her course of study) around  1476 DR . However, she fell in love with  Samark Dhanzscul , the Blackstaff, and remained in the city much longer than planned. [ 12 ] Blackstaff Vajra Safahr and her  Blackstaff Samark made Vajra the heir to the Blackstaff, but he was killed by  Khondar  and  Centiv Naomal  in  1479 DR  before she was fully prepared to assume the role of Blackstaff. Much of the power of the Blackstaff flowed into Vajra on Samark's death, but because she hadn't undergone the proper preparation, she was left semi-conscious and delusional. [ 2 ] Khondar took Vajra to a secret lair beneath a house he had bought from the Open Lord  Dagult Neverember  and attempted to torture the secrets of the Blackstaff out of her. While traveling through the sewers on an unrelated task,  Laraelra Harsard  and  Meloon Wardragon  passed close to Khondar's hideout and heard Vajra's screams. Laraelra tracked down ownership of the house to  Renaer Neverember  and confronted him about the noises she had heard in the basement. Larealra, Meloon, Renaer, and several of his friends entered the residence and poked around in the basement, finding nothing unusual. While they were inside the house, Khondar and his son, in the guise of Samark, entered and confronted Renaer, showing him the deed to the home and kicking the group out of the residence. Laraelra knew something strange was going on, because "Samark" and Khondar were acting like old friends even though they were known to hate each other. [ 2 ] Renaer and friends returned through the sewers and found the secret sublevel dungeon in which Vajra was imprisoned. They rescued Vajra and took her back to the Neverember mansion. When Khondar realized that Renaer had helped Vajra to escape, he framed Renaer and associates for Vajra's "murder". The  City Watch  tracked Renaer and crew to the Neverember estate, and the group used a secret rooftop gate to travel to an old family mansion called  Varadras  outside Waterdeep. Vajra was still only occasionally lucid, as the consciousnesses of previous Blackstaffs fought for control of her mind. After a few days, they returned to Waterdeep and entered  Blackstaff Tower . [ 2 ] In the tower, she was tested by the previous Blackstaffs and was allowed to officially assume the role of Blackstaff. Vajra, now fully in control of her abilities, sent  spectral hounds  to stop Khondar from entering the tower. The hounds rent Khondar to shreds, and his animated  skeleton  was left as a warning to anyone foolish enough to attempt entry. [ 2 ] After Khondar was defeated, Vajra consented to Renaer's plan to revive a group to replace the  Moonstars  with the stipulation that the group serve as her friends, not her servants. [ 13 ] Vajra Safahr, holding the  Blackstaff , a  spellbook , and wearing her arcane  robes . Later, in the  Year of the Scarlet Witch, 1491 DR , Vajra was increasingly worried. The  Lords of Waterdeep  had just elected Laeral Silverhand as the new Open Lord, and Laeral's reputation and mere presence stirred up feelings of inadequacy in Vajra. She had also underestimated the  Cult of the Dragon 's threat and power, and  Tiamat 's near triumph in her schemes. In an effort to prove herself, Vajra began to seek the meaning of the current year's name, the reason that  giants  were becoming alarmingly more active in  Faerûn , and what was causing many  Underdark  races to seek refuge in  Skullport . [ 14 ] Relationships Samark Dhanzscul Samark Dhanzscul , the sixth Blackstaff, was both Vajra's mentor and lover, despite his age relative to hers. [ 4 ] Laraelra Harsard After their experiences together, Vajra asked fledgling sorcerer  Laraelra Harsard  to be the Blackstaff's Heir. This enabled Vajra's power to be projected through any Blackstaff held by Laraelra and aided in Khondar's defeat. [ 15 ] Gray Hands Around  1492 DR  the  Gray Hands  were under the control of Vajra Safahr. [ 16 ] Ed of the Greenwood Much like Khelben before her, Vajra had some interactions with the  Earthling  known as  Ed of the Greenwood . In these interactions she was introduced to a unique Earth pastry known as  butter tarts , which Vajra found herself to be rather fond of. [ 17 ] Family Vajra's father Tamik was born to  Vajra Gyrfalcon  (who was her namesake) and  Tamik el Safahr . [ citation needed ]  Vajra Gyrfalcon's parents were  Lara Idogyr  and  Arn Gyrfalcon . [ citation needed ]  Lara's father  Gamalon Idogyr  was the great-grandson of the original Blackstaff,  Khelben Arunsun . Vajra's paternal aunt was Mynda Gyrfalcon-Thann. [ citation needed ]