Acraban

Acraban is a magician from the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star. He holds the rank of Magemaster — one of the most senior ranks — in the Brotherhood, although his mastery of magic is not as refined as Banedon's.

Appearance

An illustration of Acraban is available in Mydnight's Hero, §165.

Acraban has ginger hair. He ressembles his brother, Melchar.

Biography

Rescuing Prince Karvas

Acraban is a member of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star. In MS 5083, during the events of Mydnight's Hero, he was dispatched by the Brotherhood on his ship Starstrider to Mydnight to meet with Grand Master; there, the two embarked on a quest to find and extract Prince Karvas, to put him back on the throne of Siyen instead of Baron Sadanzo, rumoured to be an agent of Naar. Acraban and Grand Master succeeded in finding Prince Karvas in Mydnight, but while flying to Siyen, the Starstrider encountered an electrical storm near the Kelderwood Forest, causing it to crash. Grand Master was forced to travel the remainder of the journey with Prince Karvas on foot, leaving Acraban, bo'sun Gora, and the rest of his crew behind to repair the Starstrider. Here, the crew were attacked by a squadron of Bhanarian soldiers, and many of his crew were abducted. Acraban was forced to bargain for their lives with the Zhakka commander: To retrieve a Power Crystal from the Temple of Ghazam, to enslave a tribe of Agarashi. Acraban encountered many horrors during his trek across the Kelderwastes, confronting its horrors, and powerful sorcery in the Temple. After this, his crew were let go, and Acraban succeeded in repairing the Starstrider and returning to Sommerlund.

Investigating the Naarvakim plot

In MS 5103, during the events of The Dusk of Eternal Night, Acraban was one of the magicians from the Brotherhood who fought in the Battle of the Ruanon Homelands, retrieving Grand Master from the battlefield, to drop him off closer to his forces. He was later tasked by the Brotherhood to transport Grey Star, Grand Master and Blazer to Southern Magnamund to unravel and foil the plans of the Naarvakim to bring back Agarash the Damned. After Grey Star teleported the Starstrider close to Chai, Acraban steered the ship close to the Tkukoma Vale, where the Crypt of Agarash stood, and was believed to be a meeting point for the Naarvakim.

After Grand Master and Blazer infiltrated the Crypt, rescuing Oriah in the process, they told the crew of the Naarvakim's plans, and that the Heart of Agarash was not required for their ritual. Grey Star proposed three locations that might contain information on how to open a Gate of Doom:

• The tomb of Scaldar, located in the Kelderwood Forest
• The lair of Shasarak
• The palace of Autarch Sejanoz

At the mention of the Kelderwood Forest, this brought back bad memories for Acraban. He revealed to Grand Master that after giving the Power Crystal away to the Zhakka captain years ago, he severed the link to the Illusion Crystal of Ghazam, retrieved previously by Banedon. This caused them to disintegrate, potentially robbing the Brotherhood of vital information about the Naarvakim that would have been useful here. He later mentioned to Grand Master that the Starstrider lacked defences against the aerial threats of the Naarvakim.

Depending on the choice of the player, Acraban sailed towards one of the three locations to look for information. Here, Grand Master and Blazer discovered the Naarvakim's plans in full: To cause an explosion in Naaros to open a Gate of Doom. Acraban made haste towards Naaros. There, they came under siege by the Naarvakim, including an army of Krakalla. Grey Star was forced to attempt to teleport the crew closer to Naaros — a risky proposition as Grey Star had never set foot in Naaros before — but only succeeded in transporting himself and Blazer. Acraban was forced to attempt the same spell too; however, he had not mastered the spell, making this even riskier than Grey Star's attempt. However, after encouragement by Grand Master and Oriah, he succeeded, and was able to drop off Grand Master in Naaros, before attempting to escape the Naarvakim.

Acraban and the Starstrider succeeded in escaping Naaros, and made their way to the Isle of Lorn, despite extensive damage.

In the gamebooks

Acraban is encountered in Mydnight's Hero and The Dusk of Eternal Night. In the former, he is a companion of Grand Master in the first arc of the book, dispatched to find Prince Karvas together, but they are forced to separate after the Starstrider, his ship, crashes due to an electrical storm.

He is reunited with Grand Master in The Dusk of Eternal Night, retrieving Grand Master from the battlefield during the Battle of the Ruanon Homelands. He is later dispatched by the Brotherhood to help Grey Star, Grand Master and Blazer to uncover and foil the plans of the Naarvakim.

During this book, Grand Master has two opportunities to talk to Acraban on the Starstrider. Both opportunities serve to add some background lore about Acraban and his brother Melchar (especially if the player has read Mydnight's Hero); however, they also provide two key opportunities for Grand Master to give Acraban various powerful magical artifacts found on their quest to reinforce the Starstrider, which is ill-equipped for aerial combat.

The first time the player speaks with Acraban, the following items can be given to him:

• Jigidanak
• Kurzazuk
• Grey Crystal Ring
• Illusion Crystal

The second time the player speaks with Acraban, these items can be given instead:

• Scarlet Fire Rod
• Sun-stone Shard
• Bronin Steam-spear

Without these items, Grand Master faces a potential instant death scenario (without a Turquoise Pearl), or combat encounters. The second set of items in particular is useful to avoid an extremely difficult fight against a Reborn Krakalla Flying Fortress (and Naarvakim crew), which has rolls of death every round of combat without specific items or skills.

At the end of the book, Acraban and Oriah are revealed to have successfully escaped Naaros, and travel to the Isle of Lorn.