Jefir al-Daradinis is a phasar from the Elemental Plane of Air. The offspring of a a human mother and a genie father who abandoned him at birth in spite of a propitious birthmark in the shape of an eagle. Jefir was raised on an aerolith, a free-floating rock city at the borders of the Air Plane. He grew up in a menial life as a tavernhand, which did little to cultivate his natural elemental and psionic powers.

Possessed of a freakish feathered appearance and disdained as a third-class mongrel by the inhabitants of the realm, Jefir enlisted in the military, serving with the forces of the archmage Etienne d'Amberville in the campaign against the evil ruler of the Elemental Air plane. During an operation against earth elementals that left him with an overwhelming fear of being buried alive, Jefir came to the attention of the wizard Bastion, who provided him with training and encouragement.

During this time his interest in the Air religion grew and he developed an intuitive understanding of the faith, though his theological training advanced slowly because he was unable to read most writing. During his time he also found that he had an fascination for darker, more sorcerous abilities - his innate curiosity has led him to "Seven Evil Principalities", a discourse on diabolism. Managing to conceal his forbidden knowledge, Jefir became a Templar of the Air religion, a position in which he has faithfully served for several years.

The increasingly violent War of the Elements recently caused the destruction of Jefir's home aerolith. He was flung off the Air Plane and onto the Prime, where, swearing to end the War of the Elements, he joined the Silver Knot under the name Cardinal.

Cardinal in a quiet moment with his mentor and friend, Urtaan the Sage

Even though he frequently seems to be outclassed by his more physically capable team mates, Cardinal has carved out a place for himself in the Silver Knot as a wise and insightful counsel, an insatiable scholar (despite his illiteracy) and a fearful master of the Air. He has surprised more than one enemy who judged him on his appearance and badly underestimated him!

Though he has been on the Prime for only a short time, Cardinal has lived a busy life, surviving encounters in the treacherous sewers and back streets of lawless Seacomber, Azulin's Arcade of Death and the Temple of Elemental Evil. He has fought alongside the Silver Knot against the villains of the War of the Elements, from Tarrasquo Liontooth and Andish the Ghoul-Lord to Azulin and the Avatar of the Nameless One, Ghaun'a'Daur. In that final deadly battle to close the gate to the Nameless One, Cardinal's right arm was burned off by a green slime vomited by the repellent avatar (though the genius armourer Vanguard has since fashioned a clockwork replacement). Cardinal's my current character in the campaign. He's a bit of an eclectic freak, both physically - the colour scheme in the picture is more or less accurate - and in terms of abilities - he has psychic abilities, innate elemental powers from the ability to generate gusts of wind to a destructive sonic screech, arcane and divine spells, the blessings of the god Ion the Prime, the unique ability to store large numbers of mundane objects within his suit of coin-covered armour and retrieve them with a word, and now he has a mechanical arm. I like him a lot though - he's overcome some real limitations and several close brushes with certain death to get where he is. He just needs to get some safer friends than the Silver Knot.

ROCCO SEZ: Here's what the heroic Captain Rock has to say about his feathery comrade-at-arms!
"Cardinal is a valued member of the Silver Knot. Not only on a tactical level where he uses the powers that grant him the title 'Air Lord' to enhance the teams overall capability, but also for his background gifts him with an insight many do not have - an insight we have been grateful to be able to tap. But the Silver Knot is as much a family as it is a team, and Cardinal's inclusion in that team is deserved. His powers themselves? Don't let his appearance fool you for Cardinal the Air Lord is no walk-over. Remember the name: 'Air Lord'. Have a look at the air. Not much to see huh? But set the right conditions, and you'll soon see there is very little that can stand against the power of the air itself."

Page last updated: 11 July 2002