Vangerdahast

Vangerdahast is a character in the fictional fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms is perhaps the greatest mage to have ever taken up the mantle of Mage Royal. For decades he controlled the Kingdom of Cormyr, in fact if not in title. While the king would fight the wars and sit on the throne, Vangerdahast would keep the court in order and keep control of the various factions who wished to dethrone the King. He was the overall leader of the defences of Cormyr and only the king could command him. His title of Mage Royal allowed him control over the two main military factions of Cormyr, the knights known as the Purple Dragons and the mages and wizards of the War Wizards. He could also to a large extent control the Harpers who reside in the kingdom. He was trained by Elminster and therefore knows spells and magics far beyond the average wizard.

Elminster's Daughter
In the book Elminster's Daughter He had retired from being Mage Royal and has retreated into a hidden Sanctum so that he could devise a new ultimate defence for the kingdom (Apparently at one time there had been some defence that old heroes would rise up to defend the country but were defeated or something like that someone come in and correct it will you! :P), for he wanted the kingdom to be truly safe long after he had passed away. The only solution he could come up with that would not be a purely magical defence (which some mages would try too find out/steal how to make it and other mages would constantly want to test themselves against it.) was the binding of Dragons who would slumber in stasis until they were needed, at which point they could be summoned using key words/phrases and certain gestures using certain objects (it was never told exactly how >.<) that only the reigning monarchs and Elminster would know.

When a Song Dragon named Joyce (Can't remember her name >.< it was Joyce something tho so I'll put that) found out about the Dragon binding spell being made, she considered it too risky to allow anyone to develop the spell on the off chance that it be stolen and used to enslave the whole of the Dragon race. She confronted Vangerdahast who swiftly defeated her and could have killed her but chose not to since he felt he had done too much killing in his life already. When a rogue War Wizard blasted Vangerdahast with a powerful spell it momentarily shook Vangerdahast, allowing the dragon to break free. Joyce proceeded to ask why the wizard had not slain her and when he explained why her heart softened. But still realising the risk she chose to flee to gather fully a dozen other Song dragons to kill the wizard.

At the same time, word had leaked of his experimentation and a Master Red Wizard of Thay named Darkspell had gathered a small army of other Red Wizards and had launched an attack on the kingdom in hopes of distracting the War Wizards and Purple Dragons while Darkspell stole the spells of binding. Hearing about Vangerdahast's plan a group of revolutionaries had launched an assault on the Castle Cormyr and the Royal family in the hopes of slaying them, further adding to the confusion.

When the Dragon host arrived and saw the Red Wizards they realised that those Wizards might be able to figure out the spells and proceeded to eat, burn and crush the Red Wizards who, after losing most of their force, proceeded to run screaming from the battlefield that was Cormyr.

The Dragons then went to Vangerdahast's Sanctum and confronted him, who informed them that he had realised the risk involved in the binding spell and had chained the spells to himself so that when he died the spells and all his notes would be instantly destroyed. Seing this Joyce told the other dragons to go off and divide her hoard amongst them and that she would take care of the problem. She revealed that she had talked to Vangerdahast's old mentor Elminster and he had a solution. That Vangerdahast become a dragon himself to help defend the realm and then Joyce proceeded to say that she would be his Consort and that they would wait in stasis together. Through Elminsters magic (with the aid of Mystra of course) Vangerdahast was turned into a dragon (unknown type or scale colour) and the two dragons were bound to the kingdom, awaiting in stasis to be called back to defend the Kingdom of Cormyr.