“Blood was the mortar that cemented the kingdom”
― The Gilded Mirror:
Constantinople
 |
| Keoland: The Greatest Kingdom |
But there are cracks in the mortar of both arguments,
should any look to see.
Was not the Great Kingdom’s crown in turmoil? And had it
not always been? Its borders were under assault, by pirates and barbarians
alike. Nyrond and the Pale had declined to continue basking in its perpetual
light. So too had Onnwal when Ivid imprisoned, tortured, and executed its
emissaries. Idee and Irongate were
soon to follow.
Hextor had gained ascendancy alongside Ivid. And
Heironeous had all but abandoned Aerdy for Ferrond, it would seem. Had not Keoland beat its drum for a time? To its
detriment? Empires rise. Empires fall. It is the way of things. Nothing lasts forever.
Nor should it.
448 CY
Why did the Lordship of the Isles join the Iron League? Because
Ivid left them little choice in the matter.
Ivid I of House Naelax brought pressure on the
southern princes to fall into line, but the outrages committed by the new
herzog of South Province, which included seizing Lordship vessels anchored in
Prymp Town, drove the lords of the isles to declare independence along with the
other states. The prince of the Isles joined the Iron League in 448 CY,
providing naval support and conveyance for traffic between Irongate, Onnwal,
and their allies in Nyrond. In so doing, the lord of Diren was forced to deal
more plainly with his fellow lords on the other islands, sharing additional
power and ceding more local autonomy to them over the ensuing years. [LGG –
71]
Ivid was incensed. The defection of the Lordship brought
his dominion over the southern seas to an end. He tasked the Sea Barons to
regain his control over it. War had come to the southern seas.
In 448 CY, the Sea Barons suddenly gained sole authority
over naval pursuits in the eastern Great Kingdom, following the affiliation of the
Lordship of the Isles with the Iron League. Overnight, the prince of Sulward
and the baron of Asperdi became nemeses instead of rivals, with the Aerdi Sea
as their field of battle. [LGG – 100]
Of all the provinces, the See of Medegia became the most independent.
It had also been one of the Kingdom’s most progressive and benevolent. Once. It
had since become a hot bed of greed and political intrigue since the departure
of the clergy of Pholtus.
The faith of Hextor became the most prominent in the
realm, and it laid claim to the See of Medegia, wresting it from the Zilchans
who had held it for nearly two centuries after they had supplanted the
Pholtans. [LGG – 24]
This fief of the Great Kingdom became so strong as to
be virtually independent when the Malachite Throne went into decline. The Holy
Censor still remains one of the chief advisors of the Overking. [Folio – 12]
Ivid had to accept the [autonomy] as part of the
bargain for accepting his ascension to the throne. While North Province was
ruled by the House of Naelax, Medegia in particular became increasingly
independent and often failed to support the more aggressive schemes of later
overkings. But the independence of these sub-states could only delay the final
fate of the Aerdi. [Ivid – 4]
450 CY
Keoland had begun to learn that ambition and empire came
at a cost.
Prince Lushan Sellark VI dies in the Battle of Gorna [LGJ #1 – 14]
As the ambition of the Keoish kings grew great, the
councils of the grand duke urged their leader to distance himself from the
philosophy of the Wealsun Proclamation, which announced manifest destiny upon
the entire Sheldomar Valley. Though the dukes of Geoff did not openly oppose
the measure, Duke Arnod II failed to supply any troops for the king during the
Small War with Veluna, claiming that the royal messenger bearing the mustering
order (a minor Keoish noble named Dartun Dasco) had never arrived. Thereafter,
relations between the court of the Duke Arnod and King Tavish III grew cold.
The discovery by a Keoish spy of a desiccated,
poisoned corpse beneath the grounds of Eagle Peak (the duke's castle) in 450 CY
triggered a series of events that would end in war between Geoff and Keoland.
When divinations revealed the body to be that of the
missing knight, Dasco, the king ordered his armies across the Stark Mounds,
intent to teach Geoff the price of ignoring Keoish edicts. The result of this
was the bloody Battle of Gorna, which saw the defeat of the Keoish force. Some
claim that powerful magic employed on behalf of the duke by the archmage
Vargalian had a dire origin; many of the slain Keoish warriors remain in the
Stark Mounds as undead swordwraiths to this day. The defeat was profound, and
it resulted in great humiliation for King Tavish III. [LGG – 48]
453 CY
Tavish’s dreams of empire had failed.
 |
| In the Amedio |
Troubles for the Throne of the Lion continued unabated
in the south. In 433 CY, Tavish Ill's errant younger brother and the heir to
the duchy of Gradsul disappeared, and reports placed the duke as lost in the
Amedio, the victim of pirates or other foul play. The old king attempted to
salvage some dignity in a doomed expedition to reclaim the south, culminating
in the Siege of Westkeep, 453 CY. In a prolonged battle against the insurgents,
King Tavish III was himself slain. [LGG – 65]
“Prolonged” is a matter of opinion. The Sea Princes tell
another tale….
The Siege of Westkeep, as it would soon be known,
lasted a pathetic 70 minutes. Tavish himself was slain in battle, and the
forces of the Sea Princes celebrated that night under the standard of the
crowned caravel. [LGG – 101]
453 – 488 CY
Whether it was the outcome of the Siege of Westkeep, or
pressure from the noble houses, Tavish IV did not have the same stomach for war
his predecessor had.
Tavish IV of House Rhola (The Weary) [LGJ #1 – 14]
The king's surviving son was crowned Tavish IV,
assuming the throne immediately following the death of his father on the
battlefield. Recognizing the disastrous policy that had propelled the
dependencies of the kingdom to fly apart and resulted in the death of his
brothers and father, young Tavish IV reversed the course of the nation. He
recalled and disbanded expeditionary forces from the frontiers, sending home
men who had not worked their ancestral lands for their entire lives. [LGG –
65,66]
455 CY
The good people of County of Sunndi could no longer abide
the tyranny of the Malachite Throne. Aware that they could never stand alone
against its might, they too joined the Iron League.
The Iron League was quickly joined by the Lordship of
the Isles in 448, and eventually the county of Sunndi in 455. [LGG – 58]
The County was once a fief within a fief, being
granted to a loyal peer of the Overking's Herzog of the South Province. After a
long period of oppressive taxation, maltreatment by royal troops and those of
the Herzog as well, the nobles of human and non-human folk in the area joined
the general uprising against Aerdian rule, and became a part of the Iron
League. [Folio – 16]
Within a decade of the formation of the Iron League,
human, dwarf, elf, and other nobles of the Pawluck Valley, Hestmark Highlands,
Rieuwood, and Glorioles Mountains rose up against the occupiers, liberating
Sunndi in a short but brutal uprising still remembered with bitterness in
Ahlissa. In 455 CY, Sunndi officially joined the Iron League.
With the Aerdy nobility dead, fled, or in revolt
against the overking, the people of Sunndi turned to the gray elves of the
forests for guidance. Turentel Esparithen, a count under the occupied
government and a hero in the fighting against the Aerdi, established a government
based upon mutual respect for all peoples. [LGG – 110,111]
Ivid never tired in his desire to return these
belligerent provinces back to the fold; and neither did they in their continued
desire to remain free.
The Iron League became very successful at keeping its
enemies in the Great Kingdom at bay, using spies and subterfuge to resist the
efforts of all herzogs to reclaim it [.] [LGG – 58]
461 CY
Despite Tavish IV recalling Keoland’s troops, the damage
had been done. The Ulek states had no wish to remain under the rule of Niole Dra.
Ulek States secede from the Throne of the Lion [LGJ #1 –
14]
 |
| The Ulek Rebellion |
The elven duke and his subjects, including humans and
gnomes, turned away from the Keoish throne then, and evicted the king's
garrisons. The Ulek Rebellion was successful, due in large part to the
cooperation of the three Uleks, but also because of the distractions caused by
other rebellions in the kingdom. The policies of Keoland eventually became less
aggressive; after lengthy negotiations, the Duchy of Ulek was granted full
autonomy. [LGG – 118]
It was no secret that Prince Corond, alone among the
Ulek lords, was an enthusiastic supporter of the Keoish throne and its imperial
ambitions. When Corond refused to disavow the Wealsun Proclamation of Tavish
II, his relationship with the other Ulek states soured. This state continued
until the incompetence of Tavish's successors forced him to acknowledge the
collapse of the empire and withdraw his support. [LGG – 121]
[The Viscounty of Nume Eor]
This region, located southwest of the Dreadwood
between the river Javan and the Hool Marshes, has changed hands frequently […],
being at times part of the Kingdom of Keoland and at times the Yeomanry. It
served primarily as hinterlands to both nations, until a treaty in 461 CY
established the Yeoman border officially at the eastern banks of the Javan. [LGJ
#1 – 17]
463 CY
In 461 CY, the realms of Ulek and Celene severed
formal ties with Keoland, the former gaining complete autonomy. Two years
later, seeing their opportunity, minor Suel nobles in the Pomarj forswore their
fealty to the prince of Ulek and took Highport as their capital. [LGG – 6]
[The] power of the Keoish Throne waned after years of
conflict. The barons of the Pomarj had no voice in the Royal Council at Niole
Dra, instead they were subjects of the prince of Ulek. The latter withdrew from
the kingdom to gain palatinate status from Keoland in 461 CY, and the barons of
the Pomarj broke with the prince of Havenhill two years later to declare their
own independence. They took the city of Highport as their capital and
ejected the dwarven garrisons to begin ruling their petty states largely
independently, even from each other. Some took the title of archbaron, duke, or
prince, one going so far as to call himself the king of the Drachensgrabs.
[LGG – 88]
This act went unchallenged in Niole Dra, which was
tired of war. [LGG – 6]
464 CY
One should never think that Tavish IV had no stomach for
battle despite his recalling his troops from the fields of battle, despite his
bowing to the secession of the Ulek States. He had no patience for piracy. Nor
should one think that he forgot that his brother and father had perished at the
had of the Sea Princes. Because he most certainly did not.
If only he had he succeeded in his endeavour....
 |
| The Battle of Jetsom Island |
488 – 510 CY
Nyhan IV of House Nehili (The Listless) [LGJ #1 –
14]
In 488 CY, a prematurely aged Tavish IV died without
issue, a lonely and broken monarch. The Throne of the Lion fell to an heir of
the House Neheli the next year, who promptly turned a blind eye to foreign
affairs. Keoland soon reverted to the more peaceful, even complacent state from
which it had departed for nearly two centuries. [LGG – 66]
489 CY
What of the Tilvanot Peninsula? It had been quiet of
late. One would be wrong to believe so, for in truth, the Kingdom of Shar was
not so quiet as patient, distrustful, and reclusive. Paranoid. Cautious. And
scheming. They had fled the Flanaess, but they were not cowering upon their
barren and rocky plateau; they were biding their time.
In 5831 SD [315 CY] relations were established with
the Suel tribes of Schnai, Fruztii and Cruskii in the northern Lands. The
people of the Thillonrian peninsula had adapted to their original culture for
their cold new homes, and the representative of the Kingdom of Shar […] took
some getting used to. The southerners’ gifts of exotic woods and fine weapons eventually
won over the barbarian kings. Culturally primitive by Brotherhood standards,
the northern barbarians were beautiful examples of unpolluted Suel bloodlines,
and many specimens were lured to Shar as “emissaries,” with the intent of
improving the southern stock. In exchange for siring or bearing children, these
barbarians lived luxuriously in the south, learning the original Suel tongue
and continuing to train in the arts of war with Brotherhood soldiers. [SB –
4]
Those arts of war were about to change, and
that change would bring about the collapse of the old order. It all began when
a portal opened on the Tilvanot Plateau.
The complacency of the Suel society was shaken to its
very roots. Suddenly the southern provinces were invaded by strange monsters
and by small bands of an entirely alien people who bore a disturbing
resemblance to the Bakluni. Only one element of the old order survived the
impact, the Scarlet Brotherhood.
 |
| The Arrival |
Only one element of the old order survived the impact.
Irith Van, the head of the Scarlet Brotherhood, sent out scouts to investigate
and met secretly with certain elements among the strangers. It developed that
these folk had entered the plateau via a magic portal, created by a great mage
to allow them to escape enemies yet more powerful than themselves. […] The
portal closed behind them, and they had no way to return. Irith Van noted the
strange but effective skills of the intruders, whom he called “monks” because
of their ascetic doctrines. He proposed an alliance. […]
[The’ Scarlet Brotherhood was hammered into a new
form. The alliance with the monks was secret to all but those of the highest
circle, [and soon those skills were taught to the newest disciples.] [WG8
Fate of Istus – 105]
The entire episode of the foreign intrusion has since
been expunged from history, and the existence of the descendants of the monks
[became] a carefully maintained secret. [WG8 – 105]
490’s CY
One never knows where, or when, the Red Death will
strike. It has for centuries, always without warning.
Plague
wipes out almost ¼ of the population of the Viscounty of Salimoor. [LGJ#15 –
16]
c. 490’s CY
The Suel had always believed in their manifest destiny.
They were destined to rise above all the peoples of the Oerth, and rule as they
were intended to. Some believed in that destiny more than others. Some believed
that the others needed a little convincing. Huro, of the Scarlet Brotherhood,
was one such, and in doing so, he wrote "Millennial Prophecies," the
manifesto that he believed would bring about that destiny. Did Huro believe his
own prophecy, or was it just propaganda? Either way, Huro wrote that the
Brotherhood had been reborn, a sign that it was time for the Suel to rise to
their rightful place.
The Millenialists
believe in a prophesy by a Brotherhood member maned Hero, who wrote […] that
“at the millennium of the Foundation a great miracle will occur, which will be
the beginning of a purified and strengthened Scarlet Brotherhood.”
[It was] assumed
that the Foundation referred to the inception of the Brotherhood in 5091 SD,
and thus the millennium date would be 6091 SD, or 576 CY. [SB – 17]
492 CY
The
Brotherhood had been reborn, and Hesuel Ilshar was raised to commemorate its
new order.
In 6006 SD, Irith Van, the head of the Scarlet
Brotherhood, ordered the building of a new headquarters and fortress at the
site of the [strange monks’] entry into the Flanaess: Hesuel Ilshar, Breedhome
of the Suloise. [WG8 – 105]
[Its purpose? To] produce a newer and “purer” Suel
race, trained in all the deadliest arts, fit to conquer a continent. [WG8 – 105]
Hesuel Ilshar is a grim and martial city. While its
inhabitants regard it as the epitome of Suel culture, it has been heavily
influenced by the monks with whom Irith Van formed his alliance. Ironically,
the vigorous and rejuvenated expression of Suel “superiority” is a hybrid. [WG8
– 105]
495 CY
Why, one wonders, do wizards do what they do? Few can say
why, sure that they have seen things few can imagine. So, one wonders, why
might a town, or a city, allow one to settle within their walls? Mayhap because
there are those who know that having a wizard around can be handy. And because
they always seem to have a princely sum of coin at hand to buy what they wish.
And who, I ask you, can resist a princely sum of coin?
Cantona was originally a fishing village founded about
200 years ago. It had grown to nearly six hundred residents by the time a
Suloise mage named Valterra settled here in the year 495 CY. Being rather
paranoid, he bought several buildings in the middle of town, then had them torn
down and rebuilt to unique specifications. The buildings were asymmetrical,
used strange angles, and were decorated with enchanted woods, ensorcelled
paints, and magical mortars. The result was that the buildings were immune to
scrying, teleportation, evocation spells, the entry of summoned creatures, and
other sorts of envasive magic. Over the decades, this magic degraded, and when
Valterra died, the spells went totally awry and infected the entire town. [Slavers
– 53]
498 CY
Sometimes, the death of a certain person brings a
collective sigh of relief.
Ivid ruled for 48 years and, though he never regained
control of his lost provinces, he bound the rest of Aerdi to him through fear
and debauched reward. [Wars – 5]
But once that sigh is expended, the resulting inhalation
will invariably quaver, drawing a certain unease with it.
Unstable before his coronation, Ivid II quickly lapsed
into raving dementia upon assuming the full regalia of office. [Wars – 5]
Exhausted, the Great Kingdom could not stem the flow of
desertion.
After many decades of his absence, Greyhawk was
proclaimed a free and independent city in 498 CY, slicing all political ties
(which were nearly nonexistent by now anyway) with the Great Kingdom. [LGG
– 52]
498 – 513 CY
Hateful Wars begin (Last for 12 years)
 |
| The Hateful Wars |
[C]onflict broke out in the Lortmils between the
elves, dwarves, and men of the region and the orcs and goblins. This was the
beginning of the Hateful Wars, and the prince of Ulek appealed to the former
baronies of the Pomarj to join the alliance for the strength derived from
mutual defense and greater numbers. The Pomarj lords met in Highport the
following year to discuss their response, but they saw little reason to involve
themselves in what they considered an internecine conflict between essentially
nohumans. Further, they feared being reabsorbed into the Principality of
Ulek, distrusting the motives of the prince and so turned their backs on the
alliance. [LGG – 88]
Greyhawk aided the demihumans with money and goods,
not wishing to lose the trade in precious gems the dwur and noniz supplied.
[TAB – 59]
Not all nations of the Sheldomar participated in the
purge.
[The] Keoish monarch refused to engage in the Hateful
Wars that raged between the Ulek States and the nonhumans of the Lortmils and
Suss Forest. [LGG – 66]
500 CY
Freedom has its price, as the now Free City of Greyhawk
discovered. Few of its till then vassal territories wished to bow to its continued
administration.
Greyhawk lost its authority over much of the
associated territory after 500 CY, most notably the Wild Coast and Hardby. In
Hardby, the female wizards, knights, and nobles restored the sovereignty of the
gynarchy, though by tradition the title of gynarch belonged to House Yragerne.
Therefore, the women of Hardby named their new ruler the despotrix, ruling over
a domain extending from the lower Selintan to the Abbor-Alz. [LGG – 52]
501 CY
Or is he Iuz, sowing chaos and strife in the sweltering
swamps of the south, much as he has in the frigid and windswept north? Their
methods are similar, their prejudices and hatreds identical, and their
disappearances uncannily timely. (SD 6016)
Granted, Iuz was imprisoned by Zagig in 505 CY, but
seeing that Wastri lived in the depths of the Vast Swamp and killed almost all
who stumbled upon him, who can say when Wastri truly went missing?
Strengthened by its new ties [with the Suel tribes in
the northern lands], the Kingdom of Shar prospered over the [past] two
centuries, complacent in its inevitable progression toward domination of the
Flanaess. Wastri’s disappearance in 6016 SD was interpreted alternately as a
positive sign (the demigod was harassing others elsewhere on Oerth) and a
negative one (he was mustering power to attack his southern neighbours). When
he did not reappear after a decade, concern declined, and the Brotherhood
turned its attention to the political turmoil in the Great Kingdom. [SB –
4]
504 CY
Ivid II […] survived only three years on the
fiend-seeing throne. [Wars – 5]
506 CY
The Euroz and Jebli spilled out of the Lortmils and those
Forces of Weal sought to anniolate them once and for all. They fled north into
the Yatils, and south into the Pomarj. So too west, out onto the rich and
fertile planes of Ulek.
Keoland took note. But its only reaction was to march its
armies closer to Ulek. In case Ulek’s expected triumph over the humanoid rabble
should not end as expected.
The Sea Princes took note of Keoland’s preoccupation with
its border with Ulek. As they might, always mindful of Keoland’s desire to end
the princes’ self-determination. One should always be prepared to capitalise
and strike a blow against its one-time oppressor.
A brief siege of the city by refugee goblins and orcs
in 506 CY, at the height of the Hateful Wars, and some successive attacks by
the Sea Princes sailing up the Kewl at the nadir of Keoish seapower have had
little lasting effect beyond the construction of watchtowers along the river
and higher city walls. [WG8 – 8]
510 CY
In 510 CY the last of the Euroz and Jebli tribes were
driven forth from the Lortmil Mountains. [GA – 97]
In 510 CY, the Hateful Wars ended with the demihumans
triumphant Great celebrations were held for days in Greyhawk by local dwarves,
gnomes, and their human supporters. [TAB – 60]
With the defeat of the orc and goblin armies at the
hands of the hosts of Ulek and Celene at the end of the war in 510 CY, the
inevitable came to pass. With nowhere else left to retreat, the angry and
beaten survivors fell back in the only direction not fortified against them.
[LGG – 88]
510 – 539 CY
Senestal II of House Neheli (The Dilettante) [LGJ
#1 – 14]
513 CY
[In] 513 CY, the “Poor March” peninsula, governed by
petty human lords, fell to the forces of the orcs, goblins, and other humanoids
driven from the Lortmils. [TAB – 60]
Humanoids take Pomarj from the "petty human
lords." Kingdom of Drachensgrab overrun; the skull of King Olarek becomes
the banner of the humanoid armies. [Slavers – 120]
(11
Planting)
Having been driven from the Lortmils in the Hateful
Wars just a few years before by the combined armies of the Ulek States, Veluna,
and the demihumans of the Kron Hills, many of the humanoids fled southward into
the Pomarj. On the 11th of Planting [of 513 CY], the humanoids
attacked Highport. […] Five times the orcish armies were repulsed from the
city, but on the sixth assault the gates were sundered as the hour approached
midnight and the invaders entered the city. Large portions were set afire, and
any defenders who were caught were slaughtered, their bodies impaled on any
sharp objects available and left on the city wall. Those who escaped dubbed it
the Night of the Bloody Spear, and the tale they tell has remained a testimonial
to the savagery and determination of the humanoids of the Pomarj.
 |
| The Fall of Highport |
The town was ruled by a coalition of tribes, split by
factional disagreements and blood feuds, with fighting breaking out between
rival groups at least once a month. Justice was unknown, as right was
determined by whoever had the faster sword arm. Pirates based here harried
shipping all along Woolly Bay and even into the Azure Sea. [Slavers – 89]
Keoland continued its policy of isolationism.
When the Suel barons of the Pomarj suffered a crushing
invasion at the end of the conflict, their pleas for assistance [from Keoland] fell
upon a suddenly oblivious bureaucracy. [LGG – 66]
513-563 CY
Highport maintains several corrupt governments including
humanoid tribal governments and at least two human and half-orc-controlled
administrations.
This pirate problem grew worse after the Pomarj fell
to orc invaders in 513 CY. Highport and, to a lesser extent, Blue became safe
havens for the worst sorts of buccaneers and slavetakers. These pirates often
operated along the coast of the Bright Desert, far from civilized shores, where
their deeds remained unknown to the world. [Slavers – 38]
After the Hateful Wars, merchants fleeing from the Pomarj
to Hardby ultimately wrest control of the city from the city militia. They eventually formed the Hardby Merchant’s
Alliance and maintained control of the city for nearly 70 years.
The alliance of merchants that ruled Hardby prior to
the Greyhawk Wars[.] [LGJ#1 – 26]
514 CY
It may be of interest that the dwur of the Iron League
(and the Principality of Ulek, as well, for that matter) appeard to take little
interest in the birth of the Pomarj. Dwarves being what they are were distracted
by a prediction of great wealth; and we all know that dwarves cannot resist the
lure of precious metals.
 |
| Jemrek Longsight |
Dwarves are not the only ones seduced by the promise of
wealth, it would seem.
Longsight’s announcements resulted in a flurry of
activity on the part of all the political interests in the region. All over the
Iron League there was a ferment of alliance, misalliance, and reliance between
the dwarvish clans and other groups preparing expeditions. The Herzog of South
Province sent forth a large group of warriors and prospectors, reportedly with
orders to return with news of the deposit or not at all. The Principality of
Ulek took an interest, as did Almor, Nyrond, and the Duchy of Urnst, and
trading houses from the Wild Coast and even Greyhawk and Dyvers. Even the
rulers of the Pomarj, then new to their power, sent an ill-prepared company of
orcs, goblins, and ogres. As these varied forces converged on the area
delineated by Longsight, chilling tales of murder, treachery, and bloody
massacre began to make their way back to the outside world. Soon the weaker
forces turned back for lack of supplies or manpower. The Pomarjis were
slaughtered by a temporary alliance of dwarvish interests. Nyrond and Urnst
were unexpectedly impeded by the inhabitants of Celadon Forest, who did not
desire such activity near their lands. The Herzog’s troops disappeared into the
Bright Desert and were never seen again. All parties were harassed by the
natives of the Abbor-Alz, who as always resented intrusion, and by the Sea
Princes, who were attracted to the supply ships. [GA – 91]
*CY 198, the Great Kingdom was astounded by a ball of
fire which appeared over the Oljatt Sea [GA – 91]
515 CY
Where have all the sea fey gone, one wonders. The Sea
Barons surely do, having rarely seen sight of them for a time. Indeed, the
whole of the Spindrifts have grown quiet over the decades, ever more than
before, one might say. For they have always kept to their selves.
 |
| Sahuagin |
The Sea Barons almost never encounter sea elves now.
In the past, the adventurous members of sea-elf tribes would sometimes trade
and barter with the Barons on a fairly ad hoc basis, but they have not appeared
in Asperdi for several years. The elves are said to have retreated to the
waters around the transformed Lendore Isles. Lastly, there are persistent tales
of an aquatic race of brownie-like creatures or sea sprites, not nixies or
their kin, on the eastern shore of Oakenisle. These little folk are extremely
elusive, but seem to be spying on the island and sometimes acting as sentinels
or guards. What they are watching for, or watching over, is a mystery. [Dragon
#206 – 40]
Sinking of
Duxchaner ship with a cargo of pearls and ingots worth 40,000gp.
 |
| Yendrenn Harquil |
Pamdarn’s Admiral
of the Squadrons, Yendrenn Harquil, is a dashing and charismatic figure about
town. His galleon, the Seawolf, bears Harquil’s
own symbol (a seawolf, unsurprisingly) on its sails rather than the sea serpent
that almost all other Sea Barons’ vessels
display. With his sallow-faced mage Rhennen aboard to give aid with airy water;
telekinesis, and other such spells, Harquil specializes in the discovery and
looting of sunken wrecks, several of which lie south of Fairisle and on the
eastern seaboards of all the islands.
Harquil is always eager to learn of such wrecks, if a
diviner, bard, or sage knows of any—and Harquil shares the booty recovered with
his source. Though chaotic, he always keeps his word in such dealings, and his
recent recovery of nearly 40,000 gp worth of pearls and ingots of precious
metal from the hulk of a Duxchan ship sunk in 515 CY has brought him fame.
[Dragon #206 – 38,40]
c.
519 CY
After half a decade of struggle, the house of
Highforge, one of the more prominent dwarvish clans in Irongate, emerged as
discoverer and holder of the starstone’s wealth. A port was established on the
waterless coasts where the Abbor Alz touches the Bright Desert, and a secret
trail was established leading inland. Highforge and its allies maintained
thorough secrecy, and for good reason: iron, platinum, gold, mithral, and
adamantite began to pour out into the world at large through the carefully
guarded harbor. Few have reported concerning the mine inland, but from peripheral
comments it appears that the dwarves discovered a broad depression of fused and
shocked rock marking the landing point of their prize and established
themselves in a nearby mesa from which they coordinated a wellplanned mining
operation. They dug deep artesian wells and established cisterns. The mine and
settlement they called Azak-Zil, or Pureheart. [GA – 91]
c. 524 CY
For five years Highforge swelled with wealth; there
were disruptions in metal markets as far away as Rauxes. Then, abruptly, the flow
was cut off. The port city of Zarak remained, but communications with the mines
ceased and probes into the interior found the roads to be erased and the dust
storms to be intolerable. Members of a powerful expeditionary force disappeared
suddenly and silently at night, even from guarded tents. Clan Highforge, after
expending much of its considerable fortune in an attempt to refind and retake
the mines, took heed of unfavorable auguries and abandoned the effort. Zarak
was abandoned. [GA – 91]
“With the guards of Magog, swarming around,
The Pied Piper takes his children underground.
Dragons coming out of the sea,
Shimmering silver head of wisdom looking at me.
He brings down the fire from the skies,
You can tell he's doing well by the look in human eyes.”
―
Tony Banks, Phil
Collins, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett, 1972
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:
Wastri, by Jeff Easley, from Dragon #71
Sources:
1015
World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1064
From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
1068
Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2011A
Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
2023 Greyhawk Adventures
Hardback, 1988
9025
World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9253
WG8 Fate of Istus, 1989
9577
The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578
Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11374
The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11621
Slavers 1999
11742
Gazetteer, 2000
11743
Living Greyhawk Gazeteer, 2000
Ivid
the Undying, 1998
Dragon
Magazine, 206
OJ
Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex,
Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
Awesome installment! I never noticed the difference in Keoish and Sea Princes accounts if the battle of Westkeep.
ReplyDeleteI also puzzled over the Scarlet Brotherhood secret history. They are very good at making me forget Fate of Istus lol