#DescentIntoAvernus. Jander Sunstar.

I was double-checking the name of Sunstar's introductory novel (Christie Golden's Vampire of the Mists) to reference it in relation to my revised continuity of the Charge of the Hellriders when I noticed something that BLEW EVERYTHING UP.

Jared Sunstar's membership in the Hellriders, which I thought had been invented for #DescentIntoAvernus, had actually been established in his original appearance.

( #Spoilers for Vampire in the Mists ahead.)

Quote: "He and Gideon had been friends for over ten years. Jander's mind went back to the days when the two had been Hell Riders of Elturel and had fought Tiamat in her own lair. "

(Lay aside the reference to Tiamat. Suggestive as it is that the Hellriders fought Tiamat during their famous charge into Hell, it would create a DIFFERENT set of problems.)

That scene takes place no later than 796 DR, which means that the Hellriders were already known as the Hellriders no later than 786 DR.

Despite this, #DescentIntoAvernus not only places the Charge that gave the Hellriders their name in 1354 DR, but has Jander serving in it.

Ignore the dates. Jander's continuity is:
- Serves in the Hellriders with Gideon.
- Gets turned into a vampire by Gideon.
- Goes to Ravenloft.
- Signs up with Zariel and, as a vampire, goes on the Charge that creates the Hellriders.

Having already pushed the Charge of the Hellriders back the 10th century, I considered pushing it back even farther to the 8th century so that Gideon and Jander could have met during the Charge.

But the continuity still doesn't really line up. So I think the way this is going to work (insofar as it matters), is that Jander's experiences with Zariel will take place between the time when he left the Dales and when he went to Waterdeep.

In some ways this works better: Instead of attempting suicide at the end of Vampire of the Mists, not having it work out (for unspecified reasons), and then later committing suicide again...

...this revised continuity can work with the suicide referenced in #DescentIntoAvernus being the same one seen at the end of the novel.

And one will simply have to assume that Jander and Gideon met while serving in some other military force in the 8th century.

(Ironically, having started this whole thing by double-checking to make sure I didn't screw up Vampire of the Mists vs. Vampire in the Mists, I promptly made that very mistake in this thread.)