Dmitra flass
{{Character|
fgcolor=#fff|
bgcolor=#000|
| image=|
| name=Dmitra Flass
| aliases=Dmitra Flass (it is Flass#law of dissolution|illegal] to refer to her by this name)
| gender=Female
| dob=8 Mirtul, the Year of the Blazing Brand, 1334 DR
| dod=Mirtul, The Year of Shadows, 1358 DR (age at death: 24)
| pob=Ghanisi, Flassrin, Eltabbar, Thay
| occupation=Red Wizard
| affiliations=The Red Wizards of Thay
| spouse=None
| children=None
| class=Illusionist
| alignment=Lawful Evil
}}
Dmitra Flass was a Red Wizardess of minimal accomplishment, born of a prominent noble family of Thaymount. Several years after passing the Trial By Fire and becoming a Red Wizard, she died, on an excursion to Rashemen with friend and companion Zahl Fe'rya and her slave Winter.
Her life would have meant little in the annals of Thayan history; however, upon Dmitra's death, her friend Zahl decided to assume her identity. Zahl, of Rashemi blood and common birth, had no prospects in politics, even within the Collegia of the Red Wizards, despite being significantly more cunning and magically talented than Dmitra.
In her guise as Dmitra Flass, Zahl would rise to become Tharchioness of Eltabbar, and ultimately the first Empress of Thay.
Early Life
Dmitra Flass was born in Ghanisi to her mother Dahlzi and father Mejhar Flass. She is the middle child of three, all daughters. Mejhar fathered a bastard son about her age, but the boy was killed by servants acting on Dahlzi's orders.
She manifested magical abilities at the age of 4, and was taken away within the year. She was given to the Red Wizard Amalia Bahrat, an enchanter who specialized in nurturing magical abilities in young children. She was one of a half dozen children in Bahrat's school. She learned little of practical value in her 6 years there; Bahrat focused on arousing magical ability in different emotional states. She credits this training with increasing the amount of magical energy she can safely harness, increasing her overall potential. Bahrat was later murdered by a mad ex-student who claimed to have been sexually harassed as part of his studies. Whether this "training" was applied to The Tharchioness is unknown.
At the age of 10, she became apprenticed to Thar'del Gazh, an elderly master of the school of Illusion. A tenured and well-respect mage, she considered it an honor to be his student. It is rumored that a reference from Mythrell'aa earned her the apprenticeship, though The Tharchioness denies any knowledge of this. Under Thar'del, she learned a great deal about the Art and the magic of illusions.
A Red Wizardess
At the age of 16, she passed the Trial by Fire and was declared a Red Wizard of the school of Illusion. She began a thesis on Phantasms, which she later completed at age 20. She took her first professorship in child's studies, and assisted Zahl Fe'rya, a professor of the school of Divination, in an experimental training program in Eltabbar, along with 2 other assistant professors. Together, they trained 32 students between the ages of 6 and 12, who were thought to be, for various reasons, unsuitable for eventual apprenticeship. Though the program was ultimately a success, The Tharchioness herself withdrew from it after less than a year, citing difficulty dealing with the students. One of the two other assistants reported to Zahl that several students had complained about uncomfortable feelings when working with Dmitra. Both of the assistants disappeared as rumors began to spread.
Dmitra conducted independent research for the next few years while living in her family's home of Ghanisi. Her sisters had already been married off, leaving the house quiet with only herself and her parents. Both were cordial and deferential to her, given her station, but left her out of any serious discussions about the family's activities.
Troubles At Home
During her stay, she was a frequent visitor to the town of Falan in Flassrin, where she would arrange trysts with increasingly disreputable folk. Her mother was gravely insulted by her daughter's indignity, and the presence of commoners in her home, but she was restrained in voicing her outrage by her husband. The couple endured the sights and sounds of raucous behavior night on night, until one evening when Dahlzi lost her temper and shocked her daughter with the full extent of her opinion.
Horrified at the truth of her words, but too embarassed to face it, The Tharchioness instead compelled her mother to silence. Her spell overreached itself; a phantasmal force burrowed into the mind of not only her mother, but all ten of the men and women attending her "soirée", permanently damaging their mental fortitude. The family quietly disposed of the revelers, but her mother was left irreparably dim.
Mejhar, knowing the risk of such an action, demanded that she exile herself from the household or be accused publicly of her crimes. Though it is true that she wished to avoid to lawyering and politicking necessary to escape prosecution, and certainly wished not to tarnish her young reputation with such debauchery, she chose to exile herself more because of the horror she felt at her own behavior.
She decided to return to Eltabbar, to pursue private study in the absence of family or politics. As it would turn out, she found both.
Academic Career
From the age of 20 and onward for the next few years, The Tharchioness withdrew into herself. Purchasing a small but comfortable townhome in Eltabbar, she surrounded herself with magical studies. Occasionally she would consort with her peers in the College of Illusion, but only for brief periods. When she was seen on campus, she was reportedly animated, vivacious, and bluntly assertive. She was an aggressive and charismatic force, making both friends and enemies quickly. She was often flirtatious with attractive men, but would cut off such talk abruptly, having an almost pathological aversion to matters of romance and sexuality.
Those who visited her in her home were more often turned away than accepted. Those guests she did entertain described her as sullen, disdainful, and self-degrading. She would often complain about her lack of progress in her studies, her loneliness, and her fear of failure in academic and romantic life. When it was suggested she more often visit the campus and fraternize more with her social peers, she would acknowledge the wisdom, but not act upon it.
Despite her complaints, her thesis was soon finished, and, in seeking further academic aspirations, she became reacquainted with Zahl Fe'rya. Zahl, being only six years older than Dmitra, and just as single, was a kindred spirit. She had earned respect for her successes in child studies, and was experimenting with new techniques of classroom-based instruction. She coerced her friend to join her more often at the Collegia. Slowly, she began to spend more and more time outside of her home.
She pursued her studies with renewed vigor, in partnership with Zahl. After seeing the successes of Zahl's teaching methods on students thought to be without sufficient magical talent, Dmitra posited that such methods might even be applied to those with no measurable talent whatsoever, when combined with a form of mental stimulation.
She took on three subjects, a Rashemi slave, a unemployed Mulan commoner, and a gnoll soldier. To each, she applied the same methods. She would teach the rhetoric of basic magical practice, until the subjects could recite magical incantations of simple spells perfectly. Then, and this would be the key, she would use her own magic to alter their minds, to convince them that they were actually working magic. The goal was to get them to believe strongly in their own ability, to create a fantasy that they were actually magicians. Her magic confirmed their beliefs, simulating effective spellcasting.
She continued this process for some time, then tested them without the aid of magic to see if they could somehow still cast simple spells. The initial tests were unsuccessful; the subjects had no more magical ability than they had prior to the training. She did not give up, however; further tests showed that, with limited assistance from her, the subjects were, in fact, able to work magic. The effect of their "spells" was greater than it would be with only her simulations. It was as if they were making her illusions more real.
Intrigued by the implications of her study, the Zulkir Mythrell'aa offered her a substantial research grant. Dmitra pursued her study in seclusion in a compound built expressly for that purpose. For a year, she experimented on an unknown number of subjects. Whatever she may have found, no further results of the study were ever published. In the end, she left the study behind to seek a new patron.
The Tharchioness Rises
In 1358, Dmitra took up a quest for Szass Tam. He wanted someone to infiltrate the Wychlaran for a mission of dire importance, which could mean the future of Thay. She took up his challenge, and, accompanied by Zahl and an elven slave named Winter, she set out for Rashemen.
The details of her quest are not known. What is known is that she earned the full support of the Zulkir for her accomplishments, including a vast sum of wealth and magical artifacts, and that Zahl never returned from the fateful mission. In fact, it was Dmitra who died on this journey; the "Dmitra" who returned was, in fact, Zahl, who would use her friend's identity to assume great power in Thayan politics.