Tashara’s abilities are certainly unique to her and come out of her childhood experience with the Wyrm. At the same time, one must assume that there are some things she didn’t tell the crew of the Starfinder.

Tashara’s ability to “see” even without the use of her eyes was at least partly the result of her obsession, which became so powerful and overwhelming that she brought from within herself certain mystic powers. These included an ability to read minds, though it was somewhat imperfect. Thus she knew about Ayshe and about the dwarves the band met in the Mountains of the Moons without their telling her.

The captain knew that to rule her crew effectively and to drive them along with her in the path of the White Wyrm, she would have to use every ounce of charisma she possessed. Therefore, she tended to make many things more mysterious than they might have seemed, had she told anyone of her abilities.

All of this made her obsession more dangerous, as Harfang came to realize.

Before she met Harfang, Tashara acquired other powers. Some of these were through study and some through innate ability. Malshaunt, in the early stages of his association helped her gain some of these abilities, so it came as no surprise to him when she used magic at the gate to the Dreamchamber in the Mountains of the Moons.

Where and how the captain acquired the dragon’s eye remains a mystery that no even Malshaunt knew the answer to, since Tashara was often away from him for long periods. His devotion to her was such that he never questioned her absences, though he suspected that she had studied with Red Robes for a time. Certainly she never took the Test and never acquired Malshaunt’s facility with magic.

Better than Harfang, Malshaunt understood Tashara’s need to keep many things to herself. He himself was a Black Robe with great bitterness toward the people of Ansalon, especially humans, whom he held responsible for the fall of Qualinesti and Silvanesti. His love for Tashara was matched by a growing jealousy of Harfang as the latter rose to a position of authority among the crew of the Starfinder. Malshaunt was blind to the fact that Tashara used both Harfang and Malshaunt himself as tools in her search for the Wyrm. She had no more personal attachment to either of them than to any other member of the crew.

In short, Tashara is a mysterious and frightening person whose mind became consumed with one thing, and one thing only. As the fire of her passion burned, it illuminated those around it, but it also destroyed them.

Originally posted on DragonlanceForums.com on October 4, 2007.