Artwork by Andrew Ryan
A former soldier from Cormyr, Lysander was a farmboy with the Gift who was recruited when the Goblin Wars began. Though he did not have the time to acquire official sponsorship as an actual War Wizard, he distinguished himself in the field as a battlemage, fighting first alongside Raxam Kelastro during the siege of Arabel, and then in the Cormyrian Special Forces, or "Greencloaks." He lost his left arm and eye during the siege of the Tower of Eveningstar by greenskin and gnoll forces, as a consequence of leaping into a disintegrate spell meant for Lady Lord Tessaril Winter. In repayment for his dedication, the young man was awarded numerous medals and implanted with mithral grafts to replace the lost body parts.

Following the war, Lysander followed many survivors south in search of peace and quiet, and was one of the founding settlers of Freehold. Though he refused to put his own name on the ballot, he was nonetheless elected to the First Freehold Council, and later drafted the Founding Laws. Following his leadership of the expedition to the iron mines northeast of Aerilpar Forest, Councilor Nitis Nochan commented that Lysander was in truth the de facto leader of Freehold, a position the battlemage humbly continues to demur.

Considering himself to be a simple farmer and sometime animal trainer, Lysander lives in an isolated cottage in the western woodlands. He is, as yet, the only Freeholder to brave the Aerilpar Forest and return, and also the originator of the proposed Freehold border guard or "rangers' guild," which Raxam Kelastro insists upon calling the Greencloaks. During the Ghauwffhwar siege of Freehold, Lysander killed more gnolls than any of the other defenders, though Nitis Nochan, without question, held the most ground. Likewise, when the First Freehold Council made the grim decision to assassinate Ghauwffhwa leader Kejujuhwa, Lysander was instrumental in spearheading the task force and formulating the infiltration and assault strategies that won the day. Bitter at being pressured into resuming his previous profession as a "threat removal specialist," the young man demonstrated a surprising alternate personality during the mission whose cold lethality was an unsettling departure from his normal, quiet mien.

This phenomenon was made more apparent when the Liontongue River was poisoned by kobolds not long after. Lysander led the expedition to find and eliminate the source of the pollution, mercilessly slaughtering dozens of enemies after diplomacy failed, and it was revealed that the kobolds were well aware of the effects their mining operation was having on the village, above. When the task-force confronted the enemy leader, it was Lysander who engaged one-on-one, dueling the vile spellcaster in the lightning-filled heart of the ruins; severely poisoned by blightburn, he collapsed and had to be carried the many miles back to Freehold, where he nearly died despite the intervention of his lover Trendal Kingshand. He was committed to long-term care at the Kingshand Clinic and Infirmary, where he suffered several unpleasant episodes that seemed to recall the war in Cormyr before he regained his composure and returned to serving on the First Freehold Council.

Lysander is usually accompanied by his familiar, the blood hawk Karou, who served alongside him as a Private Arcane in the Cormyrian Special Forces.

Services
Lysander offers the following services at the rates listed below. All prices are firm, but he usually prefers their equivalent value in barter goods, services, or labor exchange to actual currency.

Animal Training: Lysander can use his wild empathy class feature and/or Handle Animal skill to train and rear creatures for other characters. The price is the same for teaching tricks, training for a specific purpose, or rearing domestic animals (see below). He can train creatures for combat (including Armor Proficiency feats), but charges double.

Rate: 1sp/day per creature, up to 3 animals simultaneously
2sp/day per creature for combat training
Double final rate for wild/unusual creatures (such as hippogriffs, etc.) or magical beasts

Herb/Plant Collection: Lysander can use his Heal, Knowledge [nature], and Survival skills to locate and harvest useful plants for other characters, most notably healing herbs, "food" plants, and spices. However, he recognizes the dangers of the nearby woods, especially since few other characters will venture there, and charges accordingly.

Rate: 1sp/hour in most locations
1gp/hour in the western woodlands (or similarly known dangerous locales)

Identification: Generally, Lysander will offer to identify magical items for free, or in return for a small favor, as he considers it an incidental service. He also points others to the more magically-skilled Shara and Nitis if he cannot identify their items.