 |
| The North |
Some might think that they were lesser than those who came after them, because, were they all that powerful, surely they would still rule all of the Flanaess, surely they would have brushed aside the martial fury of the Oeridians. They would have had they been interested in worldly affairs. They were not. They were concerned with extending life. With immortality. They were concerned with attaining power not seen since eldritch times.
Were the Ur-Flan wiped out? Those lesser ones, yes. But not all. No, not all. There were many who survived the coming of the Kingdom of Aedy.
We should hope that we never draw their attention ever again.
 |
| Keraptis |
There, among other treasures of ancient sorcery, he found the archetypal iceblade Frostrazor and an enigmatic statuette. Keraptis used the figurine’s power to pronounce a heinous curse that laid waste to distant Tostenhca, thus exacting his revenge at last. Thereafter, Keraptis focused all of his vast faculties on the problem of death. He embarked on a dozen separate research efforts, all aimed at achieving eternal life without the need for constant magical maintenance and healing. It was one such project, empowered by the four enchanted implements he had obtained, that eventually allowed Keraptis to step forth from the Prime Material Plane into a distant shadowy realm where, he hoped, he would leave behind the constraints of mortality forever. Keraptis quit the volcano some five hundred years past. No one knows whether he achieved his ultimate goal or still pursues it in some far, dim dimension. Whatever his fate, Keraptis never came to White Plume Mountain again. [Return to While Plume Mountain - 3,4]
Masterless, the company of gnomes loyal to Keraptis continued to abide within the active volcano, living off the gargantuan fungal gardens that the wizard had magically grown inside the caverns. Generations were born, only to live out stale, sunless lives and finally die within the mount a in. At last, some one hundred years ago, an invasion fractured the placid flow of days beneath White Plume. Lured by tales of treasure, several powerful heroes calling themselves the Brotherhood of the Tome burrowed into the sealed-off chambers of the volcano and stole the wizard’s four implements of power: Wave, Blackrazor, Whelm, and Frostrazor. The theft of these weapons trapped Keraptis in his shadowy realm, preventing his return to the Prime Material Plane. The residents of White Plume realized that more attacks might follow now that outsiders knew about the complex inside the mountain. Seeking protection, the gnomes opened the sealed caverns wherein Keraptis had conducted his research. Though they uncovered many wonders, it was the discovery of Keraptis-imprints that changed life under White Plume Mountain forever. As part of his research into immortality, Keraptis had tried for some time to embody himself as a being of pure thought in the matrix of a certain kind of spell. In that way, he reasoned, he could live forever in the minds of others. Though he ultimately abandoned this idea, the fruit of his research—several variant copies of the spell on scrolls — still remained. Each of these dweomers (called Keraptis-imprints or K-imprints) incorporated a full or partial copy of the wizard’s persona and knowledge, though all were in some way damaged or incomplete. Upon finding these scrolls in an opened chamber, an over-eager gnome immediately memorized one of them, thereby installing a copy of the absent wizard‘s consciousness in his own mind. Believing himself to be Keraptis, he rose up and began to gather back the stolen weapons of power that the ancient wizard had owned. [RtWPM - 4]
Historical Development of Keraptis: Erik Mona, Lisa Stevens, Steve Wilson
c. -800 CY
 |
| Thingizzard, Witch of the Fens |
Thingizzard was already living in the Great Swamp when Keraptis
descended on White Plume Mountain some thirteen hundred years ago. Though the
wizard thought nothing of attacking the volcano’s Elder druid guardian, he
chose not to trifle with the Witch of the Fens. It may well be that Keraptis
thought her insignificant, but it is more likely that he left her alone because
of his phobia concerning undead. Though she is not human, Thingizzard appears
as an old woman with pure white hair. She doesn’t know her own origins and
doesn’t care to learn them; her only interest is maintaining the peculiar” ecology”
of the Great Swamp. In fact, regular infusions of Thingizzard’s necromantic
potions have made this place what it is. The witch pours these concoctions into
the water regularly to nurture her ”children” — the bog mummies. She can call these creatures to
her defense at any time [….] Not only is the Witch of the Fens very strong
[…]), she [can] also […]: animate dead, […] control weather, curse, dream, [and
affect the minds of any within her sight.] In addition, her knowledge of
herbalism and potion brewing rivals that of the most respected mages in the
land. [RtWPM - 15]
-563 CY
 |
| Tharizdun Heretic |
The Temple was built in a previous age, a secret place of worship to Tharizdun,
He of Eternal Darkness. It drew the most wicked persons to it, and the cult
flourished for generations, sending out its minions from time to time to enact
some horrible deed upon the lands around. However, a great battle eventually
took place between Tharizdun and those opposed to his evil. Unable to destroy
him, they were strong enough to over- come his power and imprison him
somewhere, by means none have ever been able to discover. Thus Tharizdun
disappeared from the face of the earth, and from all of the other known planes,
and has not been seen again since. [WG4 - 3]
A temple to Tharizdun is
located near the Realm of the Highfolk, it is cleared, but a mystic force keeps
it from being destroyed. [OJ1] (4957 SD/1588 FT)
After a time his servants returned again to the Temple, deserted as it
was of any manifestation of their deity. Amongst these wicked folk were many
powerful magic-users and clerics. All sought with utmost endeavor to discern
what had happened to Tharizdun, so that he could be freed and returned to rule
over them once again. All attempts were in vain, although the divinations and
seekings did reveal to these servants of Eternal Darkness that a “Black Cyst”
existed below the Temple. By physical work and magical means they delved
downward to reach the Black Cyst. What they discovered there dismayed and
disheartened them. In the hemisphere of black needlerock (floating as if by
levitation) a huge form could be seen. Was this the physical manifestation of
Tharizdun? None could tell. The misty form was black and indistinct and
enclosed in vaporous purple energy as well. No ritual, no spell, no magic could
pierce the enigma. As time passed, the seekers ritualized their attempts to
determine if this was their imprisoned deity. An altar of black needlerock was
constructed directly under the 12’ long form so that it seemed to rest upon the
stone. As generations passed, various other things necessary to survival in the
Black Cyst were formalized into a paeon of lament and worship for Tharizdun,
and endless services to awaken the being were conducted by route. Then, as time
continued to pass, even this ritual grew stale and meaningless. The clerics of
Tharizdun began to pilfer the hoard of beautiful gems sacrificed to him by
earlier servants – 333 gems of utmost value [….] Replacing these jewels with
stones of much less value, the former servants of this deity slipped away with
their great wealth to serve other gods and wreak evil elsewhere.
In the end only a handful of faithful clerics remained to repeat the
daily ritual of attempted awakening. Some of this handful were slain by
monsters, others eventually grew old and died. The last High Priest [Wongas],
alone, wandered off into the place reserved for his remains in the dungeon, for
alone he was unable to take his proper place in the Undertemple. Thus, a
century ago, [Wongas] died, and the Temple was without inhabitant of human
sort. [WG4 - 3]
Black Cyst
“You have dared all and descended the spiralling purple steps formed by
the strange column of gray smoke, lilac light, and jet black. This swirling,
pulsing column of radiation has opened a means of entrance to somewhere far
beneath the surface of the earth - or perhaps to some place not of this earth.
All of you feel the press of time, a sense of urgency. How long will this
strange gate remain open? You all hope not to learn the hard way as you hurry
down a seemingly endless flight of “steps” made of the purple radiance. Ten
minutes seems more like ten hours, but at last you have come to what must be
your final goal, for the stairs of light give way to more mundane ones of black
stone…. [WG4 - 29]
-458 CY
The
people of Oerid had been freed of the oppressive Suel. Their queen Johydee
tricked them into teaching her their magic, and into moulding a most singular
mask, whose clay had been secretly infused with her very lifeblood. And once
free, they chose to leave their homeland west of the Barrier Peaks, for they
knew the nature of the Suel.
About the year 180 OR, the council of [headmen] of this Oeridian tribal
confederation, heeding the advice of their shamans, chose to lead the Oeridians
out of their ancestral homeland and make them a migrant folk. Some of their
gods had said the Oeridians were destined for unsurpassed greatness as a
people, and the source of their power lay in the east. [TAB - 55]
Abandoning their lands to the Baklunish and pursued by humanoid
marauders who cared for nothing but looting and murder, the Oeridians headed
for the great pass between the Barrier Peaks and Yatil Mountains. They crossed
through the Tuflik Valley (now Ket) in 187 OR and began their generations-long
trek to glory across the Flanaess. [TAB - 55]
The fierce Oeridian tribes likewise moved east, thrusting aside Flan
and Suloise in their path. The Oerid migrations were similar in cause to those
of the Suel, in that the Baklunish-Suloise Wars, and the hordes of Euroz and
associated humanoid groups used as mercenaries by both sides, tended to pillage
northwards and eastwards, driving the Oerids before them. [Folio - 5]
-448 CY
 |
| A Vision of Doom |
Seven different prophets foretell of the destruction of the Suel
Empire within 30 years. The Emperor, Yellax-ad-Zol has all seven
drawn and quartered, even though one of the prophets is a High Priest of
Beltar. [OJ11] (196 OR/ 5068 SD/1703 FT)
-447 CY
Not all were deaf to the prophets’ warnings.
The Emperor’s son, Zellifar, took heed, for, if seven prophets should face
certain death to warn of impending disaster, who was he dispute them. Small
wonder: Zellifar knew more than most. He heeded their warnings because he’d
read the Lament for Lost Tharizdun,
that foul scripture penned by that mad priest Wongas, who’d vanished mysteriously
into the East a century earlier. And he’d seen with his own eyes what that dark
lord demanded at His worship, when it had been fashionable to be seen to attend
such things, and knew what that Chained God desired even if those other
revellers did not.
Zellifar-ad-Zol, son of the Emperor, mage/high priest of Beltar,
breaks with his father and takes over 8,000 Suloise loyal to himself, and
flees the kingdom, eastward. The ferocity and magical might of the
movement scatters the Oerdians in its path, causing the remainder of the
Oerdian to migrate. Slerotin, called “the Last High Mage” causes a huge
tunnel to be bored into the Crystalmists, through which the
Zolite Suel flee. He then seals the tunnel closed at both
ends, trapping one lesser branch of the family, the Lerara, inside.
The Zolites continue eastward heading toward the southeast as well as to
Hepmonoland. [OJ11] (197 OR/ 5069 SD/1704 FT)
The Suloise Migration soon
followed. Not all were as powerful or as cruel and depraved as their ruling
houses, and they soon learned that those not as powerful or as cruel were as
dispensable as slaves. They were thrown into the war with the Bakluni, and they
died in that war while their high Houses looked on, not risking their own sons.
And so, they fled. And they brought their own cruelty and depravity with them. (5069 SD)
The Oeridians were not alone in their drive eastward. Suloise refugees
fled in many directions from the cruelties of their tyrannical and war-ravaged
empire. Many Suloise crossed the Crystalmists through the Kendem Pass, which
they called the Harsh Pass, braving every sort of monster and privation to seek
the fabled security of the uncivilized lands beyond. [TAB - 55]
-446 CY
The Emperor
was not pleased! Traitor, he screamed, when he heard of his son’s betrayal. His
advisors and courtiers bowed and slunk away from their emperor’s wrath, for
they knew it all too well, and feared their being heir to it in his son’s
absence.
The
emperor commands that the Houses Schnai, Cruskii and Fruztii move [and] bring his
son, and the "Unloyal" back to face justice. [OJ1] (198 OR/ 5070
SD/1705 FT)
-445 to -423
CY
The Zolite scatter the Flanae before
them, and move south to the Tilvanot Peninsula. The three pursuing houses,
unable to find the magical tunnel, turn north, where they are met by regrouped
Oeridians and fearful Flanae who harry and drive these Suel Houses south. (5071
to 199 to 221 OR/ 5093 SD/ 1706 to 1728 FT/ 2216 to 2238 BH)
-423 CY
Zellifar was not the saviour his followers had
imagined; indeed, his reading the Lament for Lost Tharizdun had twisted
him and he proved as much a tyrant as his father, so, soon after taking flight,
there were those among them who saw that they had traded one cruel emperor for
another, and they began to steal away in the chaos he fostered as they were
driven further east.
One of Zellifar’s minions, the High Priest Pellipardus, slips away
from the Zolites and takes his family. Zellifar does not pursue, fearing
that this will take his attention away from the Three Houses
of Pursuit: the Schnai, the Fruztii, and the Cruski. [OJ11] (223 OR/
5093 SD/1728 FT)
-422 CY
Zellifar
parleys with the Houses of Pursuit. His Archmage, Slerotin, unleashes a
mass enfeeblement on the mages of the three Houses, and a mass
suggestion upon the other members of the Houses. Slerotin is blasted by
magical energies upon the casting of these mighty spells, leaving the
Rift Canyon as the only physical remains of this energy. The remnants
of the Three Pursuing Houses flee northeastward.
The Houses of Pursuit have been mind-swept. They have no purpose
and no direction and no mages whatsoever after they are hit by these
spells. They do not know why they are searching or what they
are searching for. They have two binders but do not realize it! As
they move aimlessly, they begin to seek a homeland. They do not remember
where they came from. The memories of their gods are virtually
blotted out.
The three houses that eventually settle in the Barbarian States
lose almost all contact with the more ‘civilized’ and good gods of their
people. As they begin to multiply and prosper Kord and Llerg become
major gods to them but Fortubo, Lendor, Lydia and Jascar
are forgotten.
Farther south in Ratik a slightly different mix of peoples
assembles. Gods like Phaulkon, Norebo and Phyton are still remembered. [OJ11] (224 OR/ 5094 SD/ 1729 FT)
Invoked
Devastation and Rain of Colourless Fire Strike
 |
| Rain of Colourless Fire |
These were joined after the Rain of Colorless Fire by a flood of weary
survivors who walked through the Crystalmists by way of the Passage of
Slerotin. This magically engineered tunnel, which was recently rediscovered and
is now being exited at the border of present-day Yeomanry. Though the new land
they entered was green and fertile, most Suloise pressed eastward, eager to put
as much distance between themselves and their decaying empire as possible.
[TAB - 55]
 |
| Zellifar enters the Griff Mountains alone |
-419 CY
Zellifar
enters the Griff Mountains alone. None know where he goes or what he does
there. [OJ11] (225 OR/ 5097 SD/1732 FT)
-417 CY
Yellax-ad-Zol was enraged by his son’s betrayal and had sent out three of his most
loyal Houses to slaughter his son’s followers and to drag his son back in
chains. They had only just left when the Colourless Fire burned their homeland;
they had seen the fire fall beyond the Crystalmists; they had seen the
Hellfurnaces open up and spit their own molten rain into the sky. And though
they continued their pursuit, as they were bid, they knew that they would never
return.
The Three Houses of Pursuit move into the Thillonrian Peninsula.
They turn to the gods they deem to be strong in the face of the harsh
climate; Kord and Llerg. Magic is not practiced, and only
priests, wise men and skalds may use it without fear. Witches are not
uncommon, but are forced away from “normal” men. The skalds and priests
develop a runic alphabet that carries mystic powers.
They do not know where they have come from. Their skalds do not
know of the Suel Empire. They have retained memory of their more primitive
gods such as Kord and Llerg. Some others like Phaulkon are
still remembered but the more civilized gods (Lydia, for example),
are forgotten! [OJ11] (227 OR/ 5099 SD/1734 FT)
-416 CY
Zellifar,
last scion of Emperors, teleports from the Griff Mountains back to the
remains of the Suloise Empire. He is destroyed by the
lingering magics and final throes of conflict in the area. Thus ends
the Suloise Empire, mightiest and longest lived of Empires on Oerth, and
its reckoning (although some skalds of the Northern Barbarians, and the
Scarlet Brotherhood still use it to keep records). [OJ11] (228 OR/ 5100
SD/1735 FT)
Stories tell of a
barbarian empire created by the warriors of Vatun, the "Great God of the
North." The empire, if it existed at all, lasted only for the lifetime of
the first fasstal of the Suelii. Some say Vatun was betrayed by a companion
deity, but others blame a rival Oeridian god (Telchur) and his clerics; a few
even say that the barbarians proved unworthy, being unable to sustain a mighty
god's presence. Regardless, as recorded history dawned in the north, the
barbarians' empire was only a tale of old. [LGG]
Their skalds sang epic tales of that time. They said that
were the “Five Blades of Curusk” united, Vatun shall be freed from his
imprisonment and work his revenge against Telchur and the Oerids. But those
were mere tales of fancy. Everyone knew as much. Had Vatun existed, no mere
southern god could have displaced him with such ease. But the old songs dwelt
deep in their hearts. They’d been sang to them since they’d lain a-cradle. And
so they raided the southern seas and the southern coasts, awaiting Vatun’s
triumphant return. For that was what Vatun had commanded them to do.
And Vatun punished those tribes that did not, sending quakes and high seas and fierce winds until they set sail south once again.
And Vatun punished those tribes that did not, sending quakes and high seas and fierce winds until they set sail south once again.
 |
| The Spikey Forest |
The Schnai settled the land between the Corusk Mountains and the wide Grendep Bay, with only the Spikey Forest separating them with the Fruztii. Despite their identical climes, the landscape of the Schnai is more rugged than the Fruztii’s, though not so rough as the Cruski’s. The same could be said of the people, who are more factious than the Fruztii, but more united than the Cruski. It was these differences that inevitably brought their kin under their dominion.
They may not have always been the most powerful of the Suel barbarians, but they never come under the rule of either of their cousin states. Perhaps this is due to the superior seamanship of these barbarians, for they have never been attacked by land. [LGG - 106]
The Cruski settled further east upon Rhizia, the Thellonrian Peninsula, than any of their kin. Theirs is the coldest and most severe of the Suel barbarian kingdoms. Fiercely independent, they hunted and fished and whaled from their seaside towns and their mountain steadings. And like all of their kin, they built longships, for it was and is their way to raid south, and prey upon those plying their trade at sea.
The Cruski themselves are a people of pure Suel race, speaking the Cold Tongue as their native language. Though they have always been the least numerous of the Suel barbarians, their royal lineage is the oldest. The king of Cruski holds the title "Fasstal of all the Suelii," indicating his preeminence among the nobles of the Suel race and giving him the right to pronounce judgment on any of them. Politically, this has little real importance, for he has no power to enforce his judgments. However, it is said by some that the god Vatun granted this authority to the fasstal of the Suelii; if Vatun awoke, the full authority of the office would return to the fasstal, and a new barbarian empire would emerge under his leadership. [LGG - 54]
Post Devastation:
Centuries ago
Vecna rose. And Vecna fell. Epic sagas could and have been sung of his dark
deeds and exploits. His Occluded Empire lingered long after his passing, as
have the cursed tomes he studied and laid down. But none have endured as did
his Hand and his Eye, for they were a part of him, and still are.
The Eye and Hand of Vecna
Over the years, a cult of worshippers has
arisen to venerate the vile Lord Vecna and work to pave the way for his return.
For this cult, the Eye and the Hand are powerful relics worth obtaining at any
cost. Their servants are always watchful for any reappearance of the Eye or
Hand, eager to track down and snatch them up from whomever possesses them.
The most recent of these reappearances
occurred only a few years past, just prior to the great wars that engulfed the
Flanaess, when both the Eye and Hand fell into the clutches of the cult. This
event was marked by foreboding failures of magic and evil omens across the
land. Fortunately by all accounts, the Eye and Hand were cast through the
dimensional portal of Tovag Baragu on the Dry Steppes and lost in some
unrecorded void of the outer planes. [Book of Artifacts - 35]
The Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar
This pair of holy relics were given by the
gods of the Paynims to their most exalted high priest of lawful [and] good [temperament]
in the days following the Invoked Devastation. It was lost to demihuman raiders
and was last rumored to be somewhere in the Southeastern portion of the Bandit
Kingdoms. The Cup is made of hammered gold, chased with silver filigree, and
set with 12 great gems in electrum setting [….] [DMG 1e - 157]
Unfortunately, the miraculous powers of the
Cup and Talisman did not bring happiness to the people or peace to the temple.
When travelers returned to their distant homelands with
tales of these two wonders, emperors, kings, and warlords coveted the items.
Driven by greed and fear, they marched their armies and sent their agents, to
seize the treasures. Just what battles occurred and who won them is an answer
lost with the names of those who warred for the artifacts. Perhaps one rose
victorious over the others only to have the two treasures seized from him.
Perhaps they were stolen by bandits in the chaos of war. All that is known is
that when the wars finally ceased, the Cup and Talisman had disappeared
forever. Even today, though, the legend of their miraculous power lives on in
expressions such as "cured by the cup" for any miraculous healing or
"By the star of Akbar," an oath to ward off disease. [Book of Artifacts - 30]
c. -400 CY
Once they were on the move, it was only a matter of time before the Oerdian and
Suloise settlers arrived in the Flanaess.
The inhabitants of this region have always
been fiercely independent. During the Migrations, the warlike Flan tribes of
the Yatil Mountains absorbed most of the Oeridian, Suloise, and Baklunish
invaders flooding the great Yatils pass called the Wyrm's Tail, though several
Flan tribes were driven from the lowlands by Oeridians who established
freeholds for their own clans. [LGG - 85]
-366 CY
Not all Flan kingdoms were
as formidable as the Ur-Flan were. And in the wake of those wizard-priests,
they had settled into as far more peaceful and pastoral existence. And so, the
coming of the Aerdy tribes incited panic among the citizens of Veralos, for it
was only a city of artisans, highly skilled in creating the wonders of ages
past, magical tablets and statuary and ensorcelled jewelry, even weaponry that
was coveted by all the lords of Sulm, Itar, Ahlissa, and Nuria; but alas, they
were not skilled in those arms. Legends say that an Ur-Flan prophet came to
that ancient citadel of Veralos, and reaping their fear, he persuaded them to
seek the succor of an ancient and sinister force. [Dragon #293 - 90,91] (278 OR/ 5150 SD/ 1785
FT)
-365 CY
Veralos committed the Dark
Rites bid them, and the sleeping power rose up from the depths of the Rift
Canyon and the city of Veralos was no more.
When the
Aerdy came upon the Rift Valley, all they found were steep cliffs, howling
winds, undulant grasses, and dust-devils. They said the dust-devils swooned and
wailed. They said their dreams were plagued by visions of untold horrors. And
they quit the cliffs of the Rift Canyon before too long, having never raised a
single palisade to defend the howling plains or the twisted forests that
surrounded it. [Dragon #293 - 90,91] (279 OR/ 5151 SD/ 1786 FT)
The Oeridians swept the Flan aside with ease. They were
fierce. They were relentless. And they’d come prepared. They had learned from
their former masters, and remembered those lessons well. They studied those
Suel books and artifacts they’d taken with them. They tinkered. They failed at
first to comprehend what they studied, and then one day they didn’t. Great
magics were revealed to them. And the art of artifice. Leuk-O was particularly
adept at such studies. And he was a wonderful tinkerer. He recreated those
marvelous machines the Suel had used against them with such deadly effect. And
he used them well. [D82, D299]
Restless and driven, great pre-Aerdy commanders of warfare such as
Andorann, Leuk-O, with his massive magical juggernaut, and Tuerny the Merciless
conquered vast swathes of land because this was what they had to do. No matter
how rich and fertile any particular land might be, there was always an
imperative to expand further, to head beyond, to conquer the vastness of the
Flanaess and gain the longed-for glory of triumph and rulership. [Ivid - 6]
The Oeridians brought a handful of magical artifacts of extraordinary
antiquity with them. Until its rumored destruction by the earth elementals of
Al-Fasrallah, the Mighty Servant of Leuk-O—a huge war machine/juggernaut
resistant to damage from weapons and magic—and the similar machine of Lum the
Mad wreaked havoc on opposing armies. Orbs of dragonkind were used to capture
dragons from the Griff-Corusk Mountains and press them into service. The
effects of a squadron of dragons creating magical fear in a wide swathe was
decisive in many a battle. Of course, such artifacts as these and the crystal
of the ebon flame and Johydee's mask are well known to sages and students of
history. Other artifacts of equal power of non-Oeridian origin are known to
them also. But the timing of the use of the artifacts the Oeridians possessed,
and the employ of planar travel and teleportation to move them from one site of
battle to another with great speed, made the artifacts devastating in the hands
of Oeridian combat mages. [Ivid - 7]
Orb of Dragonkind:
It is written that when
certain of the good deities conspired to devise means to easily control the
evil dragons plaguing mankind, demon servants of evil changed the magical
forces involved so as to include all of dragonkind and then caused the Orbs
fashioned to have inimical properties as well. In all, [eight] globes of carven
white jade were made, [one] each for each age in a dragon's life span. The
smallest is but [three] inches in diameter, the largest is about [ten] inches
across. Each is covered with bas reliefs of entwined dragons of all sorts, the
whole being of incredible hardness, and somehow imprisoning the very essence of
all dragons. [DMG, 1e - 159]
-217 CY
In time, the Aerdy conquered all the lands east
of the Nyr Dyv; indeed, most of the Flanaess was theirs, save the Sheldomar
Valley, the Thillonrian Peninsula, and the Tilvenot Peninsula.
The strongest tribe of the
Oeridians, the Aerdi, settled the rich fields east of the Nyr Dyv and there
founded the Kingdom of Aerdy, eventually to be renamed the Great Kingdom.
[Folio - 5]
-110 CY
Battle of a Fortnight's Length
After several decades of
increasing growth, power, and prestige, Aerdy embarked upon a series of
conquests, the greatest of which was the defeat of the Nyrondal cavalry
squadrons at the Battle of a Fortnight's Length. [Folio] (534 OR/ 5406 SD/ 2041 FT)
Theirs was no longer just the Kingdom
of Aerdy. In their hubris, they named their domain The Great Kingdom, for
theirs was the greatest in their memory, surpassing even the breadth of that
once vast Suloise Empire.
Thereafter, Aerdy was known
as the Great Kingdom, whose monarch held sway from the Sundi swamplands in the
south, westwards along the shores of the Telfic Gulf and the Sea of Yar, to the
Nyr Dyv and from thence northwards through the Shield Lands and beyond the
Tenh. [Folio - 5]
After the Battle of a Fortnight’s Length, the Duke of Tenh pledged fealty to
the King of Aerdy, giving the Aerdian monarch authority over the duke and his
personal holdings in Tenh and the Coltens, thus ending Flan dominion over the
Flanaess.
Not all nobles and officials of
Tenh bent the knee to the King of Aerdy, maintaining Tenh’s independence, but
without support and armies to field, their declaration was tantamount to
posturing. They were living in the Great Kingdom now, regardless their
delusions of the supposed continuance of a bygone age.
The duchy joined in a short-lived alliance with the Nyrondal princes
until the Battle of a Fortnight's Length. In the wake of that defeat, the duke
of Tenh pledged fealty to the king of Aerdy, giving that monarch authority over
the duke and his personal holdings in Tenh and the Cohens. Neither the
Convocation of Knights and Marshals, nor any of the other nobles or
landholders, ever endorsed the duke's pledge. They considered Tenh to be an
independent realm, though they chose not to test the Great Kingdom's claim on
the field of battle, effectively bowing to Aerdy for over four centuries. [LGG - 112,113]
1 CY
With his Declaration of Universal Peace,
the first Overking was crowned in Rauxes.
The first Overking was Nasran from the House of Cranden. Proclaiming
universal peace, Nasran saw defeated Suloise, Flan and rebellious humanoid
rabbles of no consequence and no threat to the vast might of Aerdy. [Ivid - 3]
But for all his well-meaning
words, all power was to be his, and all Houses were to bend the knee to his
magnificence.However, it quickly became clear to all the noble houses of the Aerdi
that power in the Great Kingdom was being centralized in the hands of the
rulers of Rauxes, and that the fortunes of the Great Kingdom would now rest
with them. The needs and intrigues of the Celestial Houses would soon become
subordinate to the politics of the Malachite Throne. [LGG - 23]
c. 100 CY
The fell sword Druniazth, servant of Tharizdun, had
passed from hand to hand in its quest to release its master. Those who wielded
it were themselves wielded, used and discarded as each in turn were found
wanting, until, centuries after being lost by Baron Lum the Mad at the Battle
of the Bonewood, it came to one who would not be so used, and it was cast into
the Rift Canyon as she sought to rid herself of its influence.
108 CY
Overking Manshen desired to secure his
northern border. The Fruztii Barbarians were a constant threat, and he meant to
pacify the North once and for all.
In the spring of 108 CY, Aerdi forces massed in the frontier town of
Knurl. With Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom in the vanguard, the force
swept northeast, between the Rakers and the Blemu Hills, in a march to the sea.
By autumn, after having been met with relatively light resistance, the Aerdi
succeeded in uprooting most Fruztii encampments, and the foundations of a great
stronghold were laid at Spinecastle. The Aerdi freed Johnsport in a pitched
battle with the barbarians before the onset of winter. Sensing that this would
be only the first phase of a long struggle, Aerdi commanders summoned thousands
of contingents from North Province over the objections of the herzog, a
Hextorian who had wanted to lead the forces into battle himself.
With the defeat of the Fruztii at Johnsport, the call went out that
winter, and thousands of their kinsmen poured south along the Timberway the
next year. Marching through passes in the Rakers, they assembled and attacked
the works underway at Spinecastle, focusing their assault on the heart of the
Aerdi fortifications. The defenders, including the bulk of the elite Aerdi
infantry, were quickly outflanked and surrounded. A young Knight Protector of
the Great Kingdom, Caldni Vir, a Heironean cavalier from Edgefield, commanded a
large cavalry force patrolling the hills when the barbarian force struck. As
part of the contingent led by the herzog into the north, he pivoted and headed
back to Spinecastle while anticipating orders from his liege to counterattack.
When the courier of the herzog delivered orders for Vir to pull back to the
south in retreat, he spat in disgust and ordered the standard of the Naelax
prince to be trampled in the mud. He then raised the standard of the Imperial
Orb and charged.
Approaching the site of the battle from the north, he descended upon
the barbarians from higher ground, and they were unprepared for the hundreds of
heavy horse and lance that bore down on them in the next hour. Their lines were
quickly broken, and the Imperial Army was rescued to eventually take the day in
what would be called the Battle of the
Shamblefield. The Aerdi drove the surviving barbarians out of the hills,
controlling the land all the way to the Loftwood by the following spring.
Overking Manshen recognized the courage of the young knight Vir, and raised him
as the first marquis of Bone March. The land was so named for the high price
paid for its taking, as the fallen imperial regulars numbered into the
thousands. [LGG - 36]
Thus the Overking named Vir the
first Marquis of the Bone March. And thus were the Fruztii broken.
It is said that the blood of
those thousands of unsanctified and unburied Barbarian and Imperial corpses was
pressed into the mortar of Spinecastle. It is also said that the Fruztii laid a
curse on its unfinished walls.
113 CY
 |
| The Hanging Glacier of Alisedran |
The Ice-Shard Tome
Finally, the book contains an
accurate map to the Hanging Glacier of Alisedran, with notation in no language
known in the Flanaess, either current or ancient. [Dragon #243 - 89]
Another sight believed to be a
holy place for Telchur and for over 450 years, is the Hanging Glacier of
Alisedran. This structure, found in 113 CY by the explorer after whom it is
named, supposedly lies somewhere in the Corusk Mountains. Though the priests of
Telchur still search for it, the barbarians of the Thillonrian Peninsula bear
them no great love and have made the search a fruitless one to date. [Dragon #265 - 58]
122 CY
Further buffer was required if the new lands
were to be protected from further incursions by the Barbarians. The Fruztii
were broken, and the Overking wished to capitalize on their weakness. General
Sir Pelgrave Ratik of Winetha was commanded to lead an expeditionary force to
push the Aerdian frontier back to the foothills of the Griff Mountains.
Ratik and his forces inaugurated their expedition by crossing Kalmar
Pass, taking the town of Bresht in a blustery winter campaign that cost the
Fruztii dearly. After brokering an alliance with the dwarven lords of the
eastern Rakers, Ratik proceeded to force a retreat of the Fruztii up the narrow
coast and into the northern fastness of the Timberway. He wisely refused to
follow them into an obvious trap and instead broke off the pursuit and
fortified his gains. He was immediately hailed a hero in the south and his
legend grew quickly. [LGG - 89,90]
He established a fort
overlooking Grendep Bay at Onsager Point that he named Marner, and used it as a
base to solidify his gains. He fostered an alliance with the dwerfolk, with the
gnomes. And he was also fair with those Fruztii who remained on their
freeholds, so long as they declared fealty to the Overking.
128 CY
The Fruztii and Schnai pooled their strength
to launch a concentrated naval attack on Marner. They almost defeated Ratik and
his forces, for theirs were far greater in number than his. But Sir Percival
Ratik knew that he could never defeat such a force in the field, so he set the
approaches to Marner aflame, forcing the Barbarians into a narrow salient where
they were cut to pieces by the siege engines of his fort and a squadron of the
Imperial Navy. Bruised, the Barbarians retreat, only to find their longships
ablaze.
130 CY
The Overking was pleased and elevated Pelgrave
to Baron, and gifted him the Timberway as his personal fief. His doing so was a
small thing, it cost him nothing. And the Timberway was hardly secure and he
and Sir Percival knew it; but Percival was pleased, too, nonetheless, and he
campaigned hard to defeat what resistance remained there. And so, again, the
Overking was pleased. The walled town of Bresht was renamed Ratikhill in honour
of Sir Percival’s victory. That too was another small thing, and that too cost
the Overking nothing.
The overking was sufficiently impressed with the victory that in 130 CY
he elevated Pelgrave Ratik to the aristocracy, granting him the title of baron
and the new lands as a personal fief. The family of Ratik gained the status of
a minor noble house within the Great Kingdom, The walled town of Bresht was
renamed Ratikhill in honor of the new baron, and it quickly prospered from
trade with Spinecastle passing through Kalmar Pass. [LGG - 90]
167 CY
 |
| Monduiz |
c. 187 CY
As a member of the Knights
Protector, Monduiz Dephaar distinguished himself defending against the seasonal
Barbarian raids, fighting alongside such heroes as Lord Kargoth. He fought with
a fierceness that was frightening to behold, and in time, as his reputation
spread up and down the coast, his name came to be known and then feared by the
Barbarians. His atrocities were overlooked, initially; but eventually they
could not be ignored. The Knights censured him, but he carried on unabated,
then shunned; and in his fury, he left, and settled for a while among the
Schnai, where his sword was welcomed, and where he could continue to raid and
vent his rage upon the Fruztii.
198 CY
The Sage Selvor the Younger proclaimed a
coming time of strife and living death for the Great Kingdom. Those in power
had no ears for such words in their time of unprecedented contentment.
200 CY
Leukish
founded.
Leukish began as a trading
post between Ferrond and Nyrondal. Later the Duchy of Urnst's own treasures,
precious metals and stones, were discovered, and the city flourished as the
duchy's size and wealth grew. [WG8 - 58]
213 CY
Royal Astrologers at Rel Astra proclaimed the
coming of the Age of Sorrow, vindicating the disgraced Sage Selvor the Younger.
The new Overking Zelcor began to
distance himself from the Knights Protector, for public opinion had swayed
against them and their favour.
233 CY
The
fell sword Druniazth, servant of
Tharizdun, was discovered in the Rift Canyon “by a group of illithids, who traded it to drow merchants in 233 CY.
Their caravan, however, was attacked and destroyed somewhere in the Underdark
between the Rift Canyon and the Crystalmists and the blade passed out of living
memory.” [Dragon #294 - 96]
254 CY
Far from the influence of the Malachite
Throne, the Viceroyalty of Ferrond declared independence from the Great
Kingdom, and was thereafter called Furyondy. This marks the beginning of the
dissolution of the Great Kingdom. Never again would their influence reach as
far. In truth, its influence had not swayed Ferrond for some time.
Thrommel I crowned in the city
of Dyvers.
The heir to Viceroy Stinvri
(the Viceroyalty had become hereditary some years previously) was crowned in
Dyvers as Thrommel I, King of Furyondy, Prince of Veluna, Provost of the
Northern Reaches, Warden General of the Vesve Forest, Marshall of the Shield Lands,
Lord of Dyvers, etc. [Folio - 10]
The migration of Pholtusians
from the Great Kingdom increased with the independence of Furyondy, citing
religious persecution. The people there had turned away from the Flan gods,
remembering the time of the Ur-Flan and Occluded Empire, and having embraced
the gods of Oerid, they no longer wished to be reminded of those times and of
Pholtus’ failure. Most travel through Nyrond and settle in the western valleys
of the Rakers among the Flan in a semi-independent Flannae state.
[Their message] is simple: "There is now only one hope of
salvation, Pholtus of the Blinding Light. Only those blinded to iniquity and
its lures can hope to prevail in these terrible times. Look at how the rich
live while you travail to pay their taxes; is this right? But this is how
Nyrond is. Hence, Nyrond must be changed, and we're the men to do it, just as
we are the men to root out the evil within these lands which matches the evils
of Iuz and Aerdi outside." [WGR4 The Marklands - 66]
Tenh, still independent of mind,
wished a return to their own dominion. They had heard of the Great Kingdom’s
fall into depravity and despotism, and encouraged by the its attention being
drawn increasingly inward as the Death Knights ran amok and its provinces gradually
sought their own council, they declared independence. They prepared for what
response might come. And waited.
283-288 CY
 |
| Chendl |
[S]everal decades after
Furyondy as such was formed, the king, Thrommel III, decided he needed a new
capital. Thus, a new Chendl was built: a beautiful wealthy, clean, and peaceful
city, a city of wide canals and graceful temples. It took five years for the
city to progress from plans to reality, and thereafter it has remained
unchanging . . . perfect. [WG8 - 83]
One must always give credit where credit is due. This History is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable. Thanks to Steven Wilson for his GREYCHRONDEX and to Keith Horsfield for his “Chronological History of Eastern Oerik.”
Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.
The Art:
P-E-A-C-E by huseyinkara
Keraptis, by Wayne Reynolds, Return to White Plume Mountain, 1999
Keraptis, by Wayne Reynolds, Return to White Plume Mountain, 1999
Rain of Colourless Fire, by Erol Otus, World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
Glacier by mndcntrl
Hand and Eye of Vecna, from Book of Artifacts, 1993
Forbidden-Tome by 1157981433Glacier by mndcntrl
Monduiz Dephaar, by Adam Rex, from Dragon #291, 2002
Bastion by oliverbeck
Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9399 WGR 5, Iuz the Evil, 1993
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon Magazine
OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
Bastion by oliverbeck
Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9399 WGR 5, Iuz the Evil, 1993
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon Magazine
OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
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