Valamaradace, "The Dragon Queen"

Valamaradace is an Ancient Gold Dragon and a living legend of the North. The Dragon Queen of Silverymoon is seldom seen (in her own shape, at least) by humans, but many have felt the warmth and aid of her power and decrees. With her consort Deszeldaryndun Silverwing, the Guardian Worm of Everlund, Valamaradace reigns over a domain as absolutely as any human ruler. Thankfully for the future of civilization in the North, she's chosen to further Alustriel of Silverymoon's dream of the Silver Marches by allowing that realm to take in her own domain. 

That's not to say the Dragon Queen has renounced her self-appointed duties of guardianship over her domain or become a lackey of the Silver Marches. Instead, Valamaradace has dedicated herself not only to maintaining her personal standards over conditions in her domain, but also to continually testing the fledgling realm of the Silver Marches, ferreting out deceit and treachery among its rulers and agents. For such work, the ancient female gold dragon takes on many guises. Her favored form when making one of her rare forays into cities is that of Targarda, an agile, diminutive female human possessed of "elfin" looks and a little magic; only the Chosen of Mystra and a few Harpers know that this beautiful mageling is in truth the Dragon Queen. 

When in disguise, Valamaradace considers herself "on holiday" so far as surface inclinations and manners are concerned. Though she clings always to her goals and views of how the world should be, she'll act out a chosen role to the hilt, straying far from her true nature in words and apparent actions if need be. When appearing as herself, however, she reverts to her own gentle, soft-spoken ways. The Dragon Queen quietly and calmly thwarts violence, stops cruelty, and rebukes pride and arrogance whenever she encounters it. Often she is forced to remind "good" beings that they cheapen themselves when they adopt the fierceness, bad graces, and attitudes of the creatures they struggle against. 

Valamaradace did not confer a title on herself; rather, it was given to her sometime around 826 DR by the dying Dragon Queen Mairogra, a red dragon who'd ruled a domain centered roughly on Everlund but hunted vigorously elsewhere. Mairogra was laid low in the end by the concerted attacks of many adventurers. Valamaradace came upon the mortally wounded Queen and cast the only spell she had that could help Mairogra: a painquench magic that made the red dragon's last hours easier. Many sages suspect she agreed to act as a monarch because nurturing an area of countryside to be "the way she wanted it" is the task she most wanted to do, and the way she wanted to spend her life.

The keys to Valamaradace's character are her kindness, empathy, and desire to understand the beings she encounters and cater to their needs as long as she doesn't harm other living creatures. She finds the concepts of traps, vandalism, and wanton destruction abhorrent, and she is a foe of arsonists, orc hordes, and others who visit destruction upon a whim or for their own pleasure. Prudence for the maintenance of her own reputation (and therefore, that of her territories) leads her to engage in snooping or fighting in disguise, rather than openly as the Dragon Queen. She and her consort are working to give the impression that many other dragons besides themselves patrol their domain, attacking predators and aiding others in Valamaradace's name. They often do this by assuming other forms, and the Dragon Queen in particular has become an accomplished mimic. Valamaradace loves acting, and her subtle sense of humor comes through when she's "being someone else" more than it does when she's playing the role of the gently regal Dragon Queen. 

Valamaradace knows more about the doings of humans, humanoids, and other civilized creatures than almost all other dragons. Her desire to understand other beings leads her to converse with them and really listen to what they say, remembering almost all of it without the distortion wrought by the egos of most dragons. 

Her relationships with other wyrms have been, in the words of the human sage Velsaert of Baldur's Gate, "A series of avoidances while in dragon form and careful observance from disguise". Trust comes slowly to the Dragon Queen -- the sole exception is Deszeldaryndun Silverwing, now her consort. 

The Deeds of Valamaradace:

The Dragon Queen gathers, grows, and markets (in Everlund and Silverymoon) many sorts of food crops, herbs, and their seeds in her domain. She maintains several "root cellar" storage caverns (their temperature modified by control weather spells) in the wilds west of Everlund. A resident colony of sprites guards them against depredations by rodents and more intelligent foragers. 

Valamaradace treats her entire domain as a gigantic garden, patrolling its borders and planning how best to tend its growing things. Her consort Deszeldaryndun deals with most intruders and "civilized" beings within the territory, while Valamaradace sees to removing diseased trees and plants, planting new ones, balancing light and shade, marsh and dry land, altering drainage, and so on to create as lush and stable a land of plenty as she can. She's constantly busy "adjusting the balance" of living things and refining her spells to give her greater control over the domain. Neutral-aligned beings are tolerated as travelers in her territory, but not as settlers; evil beings are destroyed or driven out when detected (which has led some Harpers and other Good-aligned beings to dub the domain "the Haven"). Good creatures discover that though temples and abbeys are few and far between, many hermit-priests and other healers dwell in the Dragon Queen's domain, and that it's largely free of strife. Wounded and sick beings often tarry in the Haven to recover.

Valamaradace uses her skills and gifts for the benefit of all so that none might go hungry or needy in the Haven. Beings who misuse her bounty, however, to laze away their days in her domain expecting free food and handouts are visited by superiors, creditors, or their agents (sent by the Dragon Queen), to be "sent back to productive tasks."

A Gold Dragon’s Lair

The Dragon Queen and her consort Deszeldaryndun dwell in the Floating Mountain. This gigantic, hollow, oval rock is kept aloft by the Dragon Queen's magic, which also enshrouds it in mists, and directs it wherever she desires. Usually it hovers low over the woods due west of Everlund, or south of there on the verges of the High Forest. The dragon couple refers to it as "Softwing."

Today, the Floating Mountain looks like a large, mottled gray potato riddled with gaping holes. Inside are a series of tunnels and chambers with silky smooth walls. Spells concealing "cupboard" holes are set high in the caverns, where some treasure -- including magic items -- is kept. (In particular, the Dragon Queen seems to delight in collecting two sorts of trophies from foes who battle her: magic armor and any magic items carried by wizards.) Other spells are known to warn the draconic couple from afar if intruders have entered the lair and to awaken the equivalent of long-range arcane eye spells that can transmit what they see to Valamaradace no matter how distant from her lair she might be. 

The Dragon Queen keeps no servitor creatures at her lair and rarely invites anyone into it, but enemies seeking to sneak in and steal have sometimes met Harpers and others waiting to meet Valamaradace. These guests vigorously defended the Floating Mountain against intrusion.

Valamarada's domain: 

The Dragon Queen determines the borders of her domain. In recent years its boundaries have changed little. They take in the entire Moonwood to the north, running southeast to Sundabar and back southwest along the River Rauvin to Turlangtor (westernmost of the rocky heights that run south of the river and east to Turnstone Pass). From there her domain extends southwest through the Woods of Turlang to the Lost Peaks, then west along the Dessarin to a point south of Flint Rock. At this point, her border turns to run due north across the Evermoors to the River Surbrin, then along its banks back to the northern tip of the Moonwood again. 

Within this area, Valamaradace tries to change the bounty of the land and activities of inhabitants and visitors to her will; she and her consort patrol often and watch diligently over unfolding events -- and all intrusions. She knows that her work has made this area even more attractive to predators (orc hordes, for instance), and she is always warily looking for the approach of raiding forces. 

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• The dragon glimpses the future, so it has advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws until initiative count 20 on the next round.
• One creature the dragon can see within 120 feet of it must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be banished to a dream plane, a different plane of existence the dragon has imagined into being. To escape, the creature must use its action to make a Charisma check contested by the dragon’s. If the creature wins, it escapes the dream plane. Otherwise, the effect ends on initiative count 20 on the next round. When the effect ends, the creature reappears in the space it left or in the nearest unoccupied space if that one is occupied.

Regional Effects

The region containing a legendary gold dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Whenever a creature that can understand a language sleeps or enters a state of trance or reverie within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair, the dragon can establish telepathic contact with that creature and converse with it in its dreams. The creature remembers its conversation with the dragon upon waking.
• Banks of beautiful, opalescent mist manifest within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair. The mist doesn’t obscure anything. It assumes haunting forms when evil creatures are near the dragon or other non-evil creatures in the mist, warning such creatures of the danger.
• Gems and pearls within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair sparkle and gleam, shedding dim light in a 5-foot radius. 
• Valamaradace casts Alarm on her lair. When the spell is triggered by intruders, both she and Deszeldaryndun are notified. When triggered the equivalent of a long-range Arcane Eye spells are activated. Giving Valamaradace the ability to see and hear the roundabouts of the intruders in her lair, no mater how distant from her lair she might be. Although the exact distance at which the dragon couple receives the Alarm is unknown, There are stories that mention the report was able to notify them across multiple seas or even oceans. 

If the dragon dies, these effects end immediately.

*based upon Forgoton Realms's  Wyrms of the North: Valamaradace, "the Dragon Queen"