The eldest of his kin, Shan Lian Doresh is the archfey warlord who led his people’s crusade against the giants thousands of years ago. Arrogant even for an immortal ghaele, he is nevertheless as powerful as the image he projects, commanding not only the martial prowess of the Fading Dream but also the power of nightmares. Brooding in his tower, he studies the world beyond his cloistered city through the dreams of the innocent and unwitting. When it pleases him to do so, he destroys the minds of the weak with terrible visions only a creature of nightmare can endure.
Vengeance Undying: Shan Doresh seeks revenge against the fey lords who abandoned his people to their fate long ago. Most of those lords have long since faded, so he seeks to punish their descendants—the eladrin and other peoples of the feyspires. He does not desire their destruction, only well-deserved torment, and he will manipulate heroes, villains, or entire nations toward this end. The characters are more likely to become unknowing tools of Shan Doresh’s revenge than targets of his wrath. Elves, gnomes, and especially other eladrin—all of whom can trace their ancestry to Thelanis—are sure to be snared within his intricate plots.
Unswerving Terror: An order of loyal warriors, the Knights of Terror, attend Shan Doresh on all military matters and sow fear among his enemies. Each of the seven embodies a primal fear of the mortal world: death, failure, isolation, pain, vulnerability, remorse, or the unknown. The Knights usually remain in their lord’s court, but some ride on errands across Khorvaire, leaving calamities in their wake. The characters might catch wind of the Fading Dream through the actions of one of these dread cavaliers.