Ludinus Da'leth

Martinet Ludinus Da'leth is an elven mage and the current leader of the Cerberus Assembly having been alive at the time of its founding. As an NPC, Ludinus Da'leth is played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
Ludinus Da'leth is an older Elven man with pale skin and long white hair. The Archmage wears deep blue robes.

Personality
A reserved, wise, and calculating individual, De'leth maintained a generally stoic demeanor during the events of Campaign Two, though Jester Lavorre was able to pull genuine confusion from him during one of their exchanges.

Vess DeRogna believed his ultimate goal was to quietly maintain and grow his personal power above the reach of the Cerberus Assembly and King Dwendal himself.

Da’leth holds a deep hatred for the Kryn Dynasty, though he hides the true depths of his animosity. He has expressed his suspicion and mistrust of their worship of the Luxon beacon and their escape from the cycle of death through it along with citing a thirty-year period of violent skirmishes prior to 836 PD. As Archmage of Domestic Protections, Da’leth is charged with restructuring the Dwendalian military, as well as construction and maintenance of the garrisons along the Xhorhasian border, and spares no effort gathering intelligence on the neighboring enemy nation. He spends a majority of his time developing arcane weaponry, shoring up military might, and quietly undermining the leadership of his military counterpart in the King’s retinue, Crown Marshal Damurag.

Background
Da'leth is one of the mages who survived the destruction of Molaesmyr in 585 PD and fled to Bysaes Tyl, but saw the opportunity to achieve greatness within the empire and left his culture behind to continue his arcane pursuits, joining the Empire's then-young Cerberus Assembly.

Da'leth is the eldest member of the Cerberus Assembly and one of its founders. He now acts as the organization's leader, assuming the title of Archmage of Domestic Protections.

Like a majority of the Cerberus Assembly, Da’leth has a vested interest in Aeor and Pre-Calamity artifacts. During his earlier years, his home, Molaesmyr, was destroyed and the surrounding Savalirwood corrupted from experiments on Aeorian artifacts gone awry. During his tenure as leader of the Assembly, excavations at Shattengrod began and the Balenpost outpost in Eiselcross was established to study the Aeor crash site. In 835 PD, he hired Dagen Underthorn as a guide to escort him on his trip through Eiselcross to oversee the initial discovery of one of the Aeorian crash sites, A2. The A2 site seemed largely to be an biological experimentation complex and notably contained an arboretum full of corrupted trees that mirrored the corruption of the Savalirwood surrounding Molaeysmr. In 836 PD, the Mighty Nein encountered the recent remains of his apprentice, Zana Deelio, within the ruins, suggesting Da’leth’s continued interest in the site.

The party saw Ludinus Da'leth teleport into Felderwin and meet Vess DeRogna there.

In the Mighty Nein's new quest to find the second stolen beacon, the head of the Cerberus Assembly was one of many people they theorized would know more about its whereabouts. When Jester asked Dairon about the mysterious man they'd dubbed 'Blondie' that was involved with the fiendish portals, they recognized him as resembling Vence Nuthaleus, the Annex to Martinet Ludinus Da'leth. Dairon advised the Nein against a confrontation with Ludinus as he was "quite capable".

The Martinet was meeting with Lord Dezran Thain and Lord Athesius Uludan aboard the Cerberus Assembly ship Wind of Aeons when the Mighty Nein arrived in Nicodranas prior to the peace negotiations with the Kryn Dynasty. Frumpkin later eavesdropped on him having a secret conversation with Lord Thain, who was revealed to be Essek Thelyss. When confronted by the Mighty Nein, Essek confessed to stealing the Luxon beacons and handing them over to Ludinus and Trent Ikithon for research, with Vess DeRogna helming a period of this research.

Caleb and Beau encountered Da'leth aboard the Wind of Aeons during the voyage to the peace negotiations when they flew there to inspect the Luxon beacon. Da'leth seemed surprised that Vess DeRogna had been to their ship and that she had offered them work in the north once the negotiations were completed.

Vence Nuthaleus
Vence is Da'leth's annex (assistant) and currently the character most closely connected to him. However, the exact details of their relationship and how much they know about the plots of the other is currently unclear. Vence's involvement in many shady goings on leave many questions about whether Da'leth is pulling the strings or if Vence is operating alone.

Vess DeRogna
Despite a mutual interest in Aeor, Da'leth deeply disliked Vess DeRogna, and the two shared a mutual distrust. He put a notable amount of pressure on her and her work with Yeza Brenatto during the experiments with the stolen Luxon beacon, and they were witnessed arguing in Felderwin.

Their tension persisted regarding the research and excavation of Aeor. DeRogna strove to keep the details of her last expedition secret from him, and he was displeased when he learned of her planned trip.

3rd-Level

 * Sending

5th-Level

 * Telekinesis

7th-Level

 * Teleport

Unknown Level

 * Unknown, possibly Antimagic Field

Quotations
Ludinus: Your teacher's a disappointment to many others. He has his uses, but... Ah. People are complicated, are they not?
 * To Jester: It's entirely off-putting how disarmingly charming you are. I genuinely do not know how to react. Take that as a compliment.
 * Caleb: Well, I am a disappointment to my teacher, I am sure. As well as many of my peers.

Trivia

 * The term martinet both refers to a multi-tail whip used as a punitive device, and a person who is a strict disciplinarian.
 * Da'leth is of northern Elven descent, and much of that bloodline is from elves who once inhabited Molaesmyr.