“Colonialism. The enforced spread of the rule of
reason. But who is going to spread it among the colonizers?”
―
 |
| The Dullstrand Docks |
Perhaps the
proof is in its name: Dull, stranded upon its rocky shores. Could such a place
be of consequence? Of interest?
It is. It, like
so many other places of little consequence and interest, has played its part in
the creation of the present. Important events occurred here. None heralded.
None noted in the annals of the great kingdoms that have risen and fallen; overlooked
by anyone who didn’t live there. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that’s why it
carries on, ignored by those who concern themselves only with those places that
matter.
Does Dullstrand
matter? Perhaps it does. It has guarded the underbelly of the Great Kingdom, fought
pirates, wars, supplied ships of trade, and sheltered those very same ships
from the storms that roil the seas and lash the coast it perches upon.
For all its
service, it was left to languish, far removed from more valuable centres, and
left, ultimately, to fend for itself. It is little wonder that it seizes what
opportunities arise, and distrusts those who declare they have its best
interests at heart.
Dullstrand
(Pop 5,500)[Folio – 22/FtAA
– 58]
Small independent towns such as Dullstrand,
Dustbridge, and Knurl, which have little overall political effect, are excluded
in this gazetteer though they do trade with, raid, or otherwise interact with
the outside world to some degree. [LGG – 17]
Excluded, but mentioned, as they do play a part in the
greater narrative of other places.
But some are referenced enough to get a feel for them.
Dullstrand, we discover, is a rough and tumble place, as
most ports of call tend to be; more so, perhaps, considering its independent
nature.
 |
| Rough and Tumble |
One would expect pirates and smugglers. Bandits and
brigands. But those are few and far between, if not entirely absent. The city
fathers—some weaned from those very pursuits—don’t tolerate such behaviour; or
don’t unless they get a piece of the action. And so long as they do it at a
distance. It’s not like they can stop it, after all: the Heights are pocked
with caves and caverns, the coast incised with inlets and coves and scattered
with reefs, atolls, and islands, great and small.
Aerdi Sea: The reach of water from the
Tilva Strait to the northern tip of Asperdi Island, as far west as the islands
beyond Spindrift Sound, and generally demarked by the islands which border the
east coast of the Flanaess is referred to as the Aerdi Sea. Much seafaring
takes place upon these waters, and many monsters are found upon and under its
waves. [Folio – 20]
Spindrift Sound: In these waters are
fought some of the fiercest sea actions, for when Sea Barons and ships of the
Lord of the Isles meet, no quarter is ever asked or given. Unknown pirates and
buccaneers frequent these waters also, and it is a lively place indeed. [Folio
– 20]
 |
| The Southern Seas |
Hestmark Highlands: These long broad
hills form a barrier between eastern Sunndi and the Aerdi Sea. The remoteness
and ruggedness of these hills made them an ideal refuge for the disaffected
from surrounding states for centuries, particularly during the depredations of
the Ivid overkings. This isolation has increased since the fall of Medegia, as
expeditions south of the Thelly river have become too costly for the Aerdi to
mount. East of these hills, along the coastline, lies the independent port of
Dullstrand, which has an informal alliance with the men and dwarves of the
hills and also sends goods to Sunndi. [LGG – 145]
The Highlands themselves are very barren, with a
thick, brackenlike plant choking all other fauna in many places, and polluting
drinking water in the bargain. The traveler here is well advised to bring many
waterskins and a tarpaulin for collecting dew and rainfall. [FtAA – 58]
[T]he Kingdom of Sunndi is wetter than the Ahlissan
Principality of Naerie to the west, thanks to the Hollow Highlands, but is
drier than Dullstrand and old Medegia, thanks to the Hestmarks. [PGtG – 8]
Barren above, but not on the shelf itself.
The climate is very warm but temperate, with much rainfall
throughout the year, especially in the winter; snow is unknown, and freezing
temperatures are a sure sign that foul magic is afoot. [LGG – 110]
The climate of these islands is very tropical, and
stifling warmth and humidity persists almost year round, save in the late
summer months when the great tropical storms that sweep in from the Oljatt are
not uncommon. [LGG – 70]
The coasts usually receive more rainfall and remain
cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than inland areas. Several areas
have subtropical conditions, during which in summers are relatively dry but
winters bring considerable rain. These areas include the Hold of the Sea
Princes, the Pomarj, Onnwal, Idee, the Vast Swamp, Dullstrand, the northern
Lordship of the Isles and the Spindrift Isles. [PGtG – 8]
Perched precariously as it is on such a narrow strip, one
wonders how it ever came to be founded. By whom. And why?
Because there was need that it should be, that’s why.
-216 CY
 |
| The Solnor Coast |
When the Aerdi completed their drive to the eastern
coast of the Flanaess nearly a millennium ago, it became clear to most of them
that their journey had finally come to an end at the shore of the Solnor. Their
first permanent settlements were soon founded along the coast of the Aerdi Sea,
between Pontylver at the mouth of the Flanmi and the Gull Cliffs in the north.
After decades of battle with the native Flan and treacherous Suel, the Aerdi
noble houses sought a place to call their own, and these places included
settlements at Roland, Ountsy, and the largest of all at Rel Astra, the site of
a small abandoned Suel settlement. In 428 OR (-216 CY), these small states
finally united under a single banner, and the kingdom of Aerdy was born.
[LGG – 93]
One might say they were a martial people. And ambitious.
They wished to carve out a home for themselves after having trekked across the
whole of the Flanaess. They were ruthless in doing so.
The Great Kingdom (Kingdom of Aerdy): chaotic evil,
lawful evil; Oeridian 01-20, Common 21-99, Suloise 00. [Dragon #52 – 20]
In 428 OR (-216 CY), the scion of House Garasteth,
Lord Mikar, became the first grand prince (equal to a king). He ruled a land
now called the kingdom of Aerdy ("aer" meaning "sky" in Old
Oeridian). [LGG – 23]
Old Aerdy East (former Great Kingdom)
 |
| The Oeridian Aerdi |
[T]he most powerful of all Oeridian tribes, the Aerdi,
reached the Flanmi River. From there they spread outward again, conquering
indigenous peoples and fellow migrants alike. In time, the kingdom of Aerdy
ruled the whole of the eastern Flanaess and moved its borders westward. [LGG
– 14]
The Aerdi made their capital in Rel Astra, and spent
the next few decades conquering the neighboring Flan and driving the Suel to
the south. Due to the cooperative effort of the various Aerdi tribes settling
in the Flanmi basin, they expanded quickly. First they conquered the Flan's
crumbling kingdom of Ahlissa in the southwest, then swept north to contend with
other Oeridian tribes who had settled the Flanaess behind them. [LGG – 23]
c. –9 CY
Theirs was not the only kingdom then. Indeed, there were
other Oeridian Kingdoms to contend with: Lum’s, and Leuk-O’s, among other petty
kingdoms, some more worrisome than others. And some were worrisome indeed.
 |
| Leuk-O |
The folk of the Hestland Highlands hold many secrets,
but perhaps none so enigmatic as the great portal known colloquially as the
Belching Vortex of Leuk-O. Named for an ancient Oeridian general who is said to
have entered the place and emerged with unheard of treasure. The Vortex appears
as an undulating black, leprous membrane set against a sheer cliff face on the
mountain known as Vashal-Tul in the language of the dwarves who once made their
homes in the craggy hillsides nearby. In the days before the Kingdom of Aerdy,
a small band of hill folk established a small colony at the foot of the
membrane, which ancient texts refer to as a smooth opalescent barrier, soft to
the touch but impenetrable even by magic. At some point, however, the gateway
degraded, as did the village. Now, little more than eroded foundations can be
found at the site, along with the time-buried remains of a people set upon by a
terrible wasting disease. Leuk-O is said to have fallen victim to this illness,
which caused his skin to turn sallow and his hair to fall from its roots. Those who have visited the Vortex […] report
a wasteland bereft of animal of plant life. Occasionally, it is said, the black
membrane opens suddenly, expelling an invisible gas that can strip flesh from a
man’s bones. [LGJ#1 – 6]
1 CY
Nuisance or not,
worrisome or otherwise, they all fell in turn.
In the year 645 OR (1 CY), Grand Prince Nasran
declared universal peace in the empire, taking the new title of overking.
Nasran was by all accounts a wise and dutiful ruler, and few openly begrudged
him his claim. 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. [LGG – 23]
Settlers flocked
to the plains, the coasts. And with them the faith of the Oeridan peoples.
The Holy Censor was originally the chief cleric of the
Great Kingdom. Clerical holdings were granted from Rel Astra to Pontylver south
of the Mikar and Flanmi Rivers, including a portion of the Imperial Preserve
(Grandwood Forest). This fief became so strong as to be virtually independent
when the Malachite Throne went into decline. [Folio – 12]
Early 1st Century CY
 |
| An Aerdian Empire |
But for all
their inland might, the Aerdi had never tamed their coast ore the sea.
It was only a
matter of time before they would.
Early in the history of Aerdy, when the Aerdi expanded
west from their holdings in the Flanmi basin, little attention was paid to
naval pursuits in the Solnor. Most of the islands off the eastern coast of the
Flanaess were either inhabited by Flan natives in the north or Suel colonists
in the south, and these peoples posed little threat to the expansion of the
dominant Aerdi on the continent. It was only centuries later, after the
founding of the Great Kingdom, that the overkings sought to extend their
dominion to the seas. [LGG – 99]
Of course, there were those there who had no wish to be
blessed by Pax Aerdi.
The overkings colonized the islands off the eastern
coast of the Flanaess, but standing in their way were the Flan and Suel
inhabitants who had controlled these islands and plied the surrounding waters
for centuries. For the most part they were no match for the Aerdi, and the
isles of the Sea Barons were settled quickly. None of these maritime powers and
their natives were more powerful than the Duxchaners of the Oljatt Sea. These
pirates and buccaneers were the terror of the south, holding a near stranglehold
over traffic through the southern straits and raiding the southern coastal
cities with ease. [LGG – 71]
Taming the East
was not easy. Had the Aerdi been more able at sea the task might have proven
easier, but they weren’t, and the Duxchaners were.
None of these maritime powers and their natives were
more powerful than the Duxchaners of the Oljatt Sea. These pirates and
buccaneers were the terror of the south, holding a near stranglehold over
traffic through the southern straits and raiding the southern coastal cities
with ease. [LGG – 71]
166 CY
Following a particularly terrible attack on Pontylver,
during which the shipyards were set ablaze, Overking Erhart II was determined
to put an end to the marauding. In 166 CY, he committed the combined navies of
the Great Kingdom to breaking the power of the Duxchaners. Old Baron Asperdi's
young but powerful naval force from the Sea Barons was brought to bear on them,
led by Lord Admiral Aeodorich of House Atirr, then accorded the finest naval
captain of the time. The town of Dullstrand was specifically founded to act as
a base of operations for the invasion of these southern islands by the Aerdi
fleet. [LGG – 71]
 |
| An Ideal Site |
Its string of islands and ragged cliffs were soon dotted
with Dullstrand’s lights.
Most who flocked to its shores were the Aerdi, and those
Suloise who had fished its banks for generations.
Great Kingdom: OS [Dragon #52 – 18]
168 CY
 |
| The East Tamed |
With the naval power of the Sea Barons at the fore,
the Aerdi captured the Lordship of the Isles in 168 CY by defeating the Suel of
Duxchan. [LGG – 100]
A puppet was put in place, and the Aerdi congratulated
themselves that none could withstand their might for long, forgetting how long
it had actually taken.
213 CY
With none left to conquer, it was only a matter of time
before the Great Kingdom, having grown fat, became increasingly decadent. And
inattentive. Before long, their possessions dreamed dreams of
self-determination.
From 213 CY on, the Aerdi overkings grew lax, caring
more for local prestige and wealth than for the affairs of their vassals in
distant lands. This period was called the Age of Great Sorrow. [LGG – 14]
446 CY
 |
| Imprisoned |
In 446 CY, the herzog granted an audience to
representatives of Irongate, who went to Zelradton to air their grievances. The
offer turned out to be a ruse, and the ambassadors were imprisoned, tortured,
and executed for Overking Ivid's enjoyment. The whole of the south arose again
in violent rebellion, and one year later formed the Iron League and allied with
Nyrond. [LGG – 24]
447 CY
Irongate, Onnwal, Idee, Sunndi, and the Lordship of
the Isles declared independence from the Great Kingdom, witnessed by
ambassadors from Nyrond and dwarf nobles from the Glorioles, Hestmark
Highlands, and Iron Hills. This was followed by the formation of the Iron
League by Irongate, Onnwal, and Idee in late 447 CY. [LGG – 57]
Dullstrand found itself surrounded, and isolated.
448 CY
 |
| Letters of Marque |
Inland, Sunndi was a battleground; to sea the Sea Barons
and the ships of the Lordship clashed.
And Dullstrand found itself in an awkward position as
ships from their overking and their neighbours, the newly christened Iron
League weighted anchor in their waters for repairs, for water, for respite.
Small and alone, it played host to each fleet in turn,
and held their tongue as to who anchored in its harbour when the other came to
call.
455 CY
What could Dullstrand do? Deny one or the other? That
would have spelled its doom. Neither side drummed its citizenry into their
service, for if they did, who would tend to their ships when in port?
Dullstrand learned to keep its own council.
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. [LGG – 110]
488 CY
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]
Their squadrons protect the coasts from Bellport to
Pontylver, driving off the northern barbarian seawolves, protecting the coastal
sealanes, and fighting with the ships of the Duxchan Lord whether piratical or
otherwise. [WoGA – 34]
The Iron League was quickly joined by the Lordship of
the Isles in 448, and eventually the county of Sunndi in 455. [LGG – 58]
Dullstrand remained neutral, without ever declaring
itself such, and became “independent.” None contested what was never said.
572 CY
More than a century and a half of conflict has ensued
between the two powers, and while the names and faces have often changed, the
contests are still hotly fought. The Sea Barons won the most recent encounter,
the massive Battle of Medegia, fought in the Aerdi Sea in 572 CY. [LGG –
100]
The Sea Barons believed that Dullstrand remained loyal to
the Malachite Throne. Dullstrand had always welcomed their fleets, after all.
And did they now command the sea lanes?
There is particular enmity between the Sea Barons and
the Lord of the Isles for rather obvious reasons. The Duxchaners are still
smarting from the Battle of Medegia (572 CY), wherein the Sea Barons sank four
of their warships and made prizes of three loaded cogs before they could gain
safety in Pontylver. [Folio – 12]
576 CY
Was Dullstrand loyal when brigands and bandits and
insurgents commanded the inland heights?
The Hestmark Highlands run northwards up the coastline
of South Province from the town of Dullstrand to the mouth of the Flanmi,
branching northwestwards into the Glorioles. These hills have always been a
rallying point for disaffected humans, as their remote location and rugged
character have enabled their demi-human inhabitants to remain free of the rule
of the Overking or his minions. Many gnomes and dwarves live in the Hestmarks,
and free spirited men have their villages amidst the shelter of these hills as
well. [Folio – 22]
Dullstrand was
as welcoming to these disaffected as they were to the Overking’s fleets. And
they had always welcomed the Overking’s fleets, and his landed marines. To do
otherwise would have been suicidal.
 |
| Battle-hardened Veterans |
But the wise
knew that the Medegians were not always in port.
Its inhabitants, doughty in the beginning, have become
battle-hardened veterans because of these continual skirmishes and raids, and
with the men and elves of Sunndi are beginning to conduct their own forays into
the lowlands beyond the Hestmarks in reprisal. [Folio – 22]
Besides, gold
was gold, regardless whether it originated in Sunndi or Medegia.
The independent town of Dullstrand […] and its
environs proclaims neutrality in these matters, but it is probable that secret
aid is given to the insurgents in the hills. Freebooters certainly find safe
haven in the town, and its forges make weapons and armor which are not seen by
the Overking or his men-at-arms. [Folio
– 22]
582 CY
Then the War
came. But it was waged far away, or so it seemed.
The Father of Obedience’s plans necessitated that he
gain control of the southern waters, and this was best done by capturing an
existing fleet. true to form, the Brotherhood did not attempt to conquer the
islands from without. Instead, agents of the Scarlet Sign corrupted a distant
While defending Irongate, and thus Onnwal, cousin to the throne and then,
through their secret connections, engineered the overthrow of Prince Latmac
Ranold. [Wars – 22]
During the Greyhawk Wars, the wintry Latmac Ranold was
abruptly deposed and an unheralded successor immediately took his place. The
Lordship of the Isles quickly became a hotbed of intrigue. [LGG – 72]
 |
| Prince Frolmar Ingerskatti |
The masters of Dullstrand could only watch, and wonder….
The new prince, a little-known Suel lord named Frolmar
Ingerskatti of Ganode, immediately withdrew the Lordship from the Iron League
and set about lending his naval forces to the maneuvers of the Scarlet
Brotherhood, including the blockade of the Tilva Strait that continues to the
present day. [LGG – 72]
Fewer ships made port after Ingerskatti declared allegiance
to the secretive Kingdom of Shar and the blockade was raised. The
masters of Dullstrand could only watch, and wonder: could they be next?
They probed the seas, and even risked landing spies at
Sulward and then Duxchan. Few returned, but those who did told disturbing
tales:
It is clear to most that Ingerskatti is a puppet of
the Scarlet Brotherhood, but little can be done about it, as these cultists are
very successful at putting their operatives in key positions within the realm,
deposing Oeridians whenever possible in favor of loyal Suel. Most of Ansabo,
the port of Sulward, and the whole isle of Ganode are now completely under
their control. [LGG – 72]
The masters of
Dullstrand could only watch as the Great Kingdom attacked Nyrond, Idee, Almor,
and, Sunndi, and wonder if they might not see Medegia occupy their lonely port
as Osson of Chathold flit across the plains of Ahlissa.
During the wars, Osson bypassed Pontylver. A diviner
among his retinue informed him that the city rulers would not come to the holy
censor's aid if Osson ventured further into Medegia. The advice was correct.
[Ivid – 106]
584 CY
Only later did
Dullstrand learn of the oppression and atrocities that befell the people of the
Lordship of the Isles.
A handful of the original Lords of the Isles managed
to escape with their vessels to Dullstrand when they saw how the Brotherhood
would subjugate them, but they have found little welcome there. Those who
sailed northward met gleeful Sea Baron warships only too happy to sink them.
The Lordship of the Isles is now wholly controlled by the Scarlet Brotherhood.
[FtAA – 31]
Indeed, they
would have preferred the entirety of the Duxchanders to have sailed north. But
they had landed in numbers greater than their militia could have repelled.
 |
| Unexpected Refugees |
 |
| Trade Increased |
Sunndi's economic position is difficult because of the
problems of exporting the wood, metals, and ores which it can offer for trade.
It is very isolated now that Idee has been subverted and conducts only minimal
trade with old Aerdy cities. Trade with Dullstrand, and especially Rel Astra,
is on the increase. [FtAA – 31]
And truth be
told, Dullstrand needed friends and allies in this uncertain world.
[T]he town of Dullstrand, once part of Aerdy, always
looked to Sunndi in a friendly way. Perhaps half of its original population of
5,500 has fled into the Hestmarks, fearful of the Lords of the Isles and the
tales of madness and slaughter within the anarchic Aerdy states to the north.
They are being trained by the dwarves, who are exceptional veteran troops after
decades of skirmishing with Medegian and South Province troops which culminated
in Sunndi's invasion. [FtAA – 58]
585 CY
The Solnor had
became isolated, of late. The Great Kingdom had collapsed in on itself and had
sundered. The mainland had split, becoming the North and South Kingdoms; the
Sea Barons were all but independent, regardless its close familial ties to the
North; Medegia had been razed by those they had always professed the greatest
loyalty to; and the great cities of the sea had become independent states.
Rel Astra trades with virtually anyone. It has a fleet
of six coasters and two heavy cogs for protection, and several small pilot
vessels which guide foreign ships into the harbor. Ships come here from the Sea
Barons, from Dullstrand (rarely), from northern Aerdy ports, and even from the
barbarian lands. Initially, Drax allowed Duxchan vessels to trade, but now that
he has taken stock of the Scarlet Brotherhood he no longer permits this. Even
pirate vessels and a few ships which have looted, or traded with, the free
Hepmonaland peoples have been known to bring their cargoes to Rel Astra. [Ivid – 97]
 |
| Thamassen Hariador |
Ountsy is a puritanical and mean city, it has a
sprinkling of visitors as all the southeastern port cities and towns do.
Dullstranders sometimes trade here, likewise do men from the Darmen lands, the
Sea Barons, and one or two Hepmonalanders. There is no specific foreign quarter
in the city, as there is in Rel Astra. But there are hostelries and dockside
taverns which cater mostly to travelers, merchants, and seafarers. Because
Ountsy has a reputation as a place where the walls don't have ears, and since
Ountsians are so pragmatic and uninterested in anything which smacks of the
exotic or intrigue, many of them speak more freely of their travels and events
across the lands than they would elsewhere. [Ivid – 102]
Medegian Lands: Most of Medegia is anarchy, with
Pontylver a hellish city of ghosts and madmen. This is a dreadful, insane land
of nightmare and terror. [Ivid – 26]
Outside of Pontylver, not many fiends stalk the lands.
However, there are orcs, deserting soldiers, and ex-mercenaries who have taken
to a life of pillaging what they can from this land. [Ivid – 104]
[R]oaming orc mercenaries are having a good time of
it, especially in central lands where the opposition to them is weak and the
pickings rich. The orcs have grown wily and smart, and they have altered the
practice of warfare and skirmishing in Aerdy. The most famous example of this is
the desertion of Prince Trellar's orcish mercenaries to the city of Pontylver
in an abortive sacking of that city in Coldeven, CY 585. [Ivid – 10]
Yet Dullstrand
endured. It traded as it could, prospered as it might, and yet, its populace remained
ready to take to the hills and its innumerable hides should the need arise.
There they could hold out for however long was necessary, as they had prepared
for just that possibility for years, if not generations.
Late 580’s CY
Yet the Scarlet
Brotherhood never came. Nor did Ingerskatti, for that matter. Were they
stretched too thin? Were the Duxchans rife with insurgency? Or had the Aerdi Sea
and Spindrift Sound become too dangerous for them to cross?
Spindrift Sound itself is navigable, but shipping is
menaced by the Scarlet Brotherhood and the activities of a few pirates based on
the eastern Medegian coast. Elven vessels are sometimes seen to cross the Aerdi
Sea in the direction of Lendore Isle, presumably shipping from secret ports cut
beneath the Hestmark Cliffs. A number of elven warships also travel to or from
the Lendore Isles as escorts for passenger craft. They will certainly intercept
any seagoing craft that manages to bypass the barrier of magical mist that
envelops these islands. Elven ships were also sighted farther east on the
Solnor by Sea Barons' ships in the late 580s, perhaps exploring or trading with
distant elf colonies. [LGG – 68]
586 CY
Few ships ventured south of Dullstrand, what with the
blockade.
Shulof
 |
| Shulof Island |
Great standing waves of water have been seen off
Dullstrand; the Brotherhood is experimenting with weather-controlling magic.
Many locals are fleeing the city for Rel Astra. [FtAA
– 79]
That served its port well, it turned out. Caravans
trekked across the Highlands with regularity once tension cooled between
Alhissa and Sunndi.
Merchant ships from Rel Astra ceased to appear in the
Azure Sea after 586 CY. It is now known that the Tilva Strait has been
blockaded by ships and possibly monsters under the command of the Scarlet
Brotherhood and likely its puppet, the Lordship of the Isles. The seaports od
Ekul and Duxchan are undoubtedly part of this blockade, though additional ports
to support the effort may have been built along the Tilvenot Peninsula and even
in northern Hepmonaland. This situation has led to an increase in trade along
an overland corridor from the town of Dullstrand uphill to the Kingdom of
Sunndi, and from there into the Kingdom of Ahlissa to Nyrond and on to the
west. This trade connection has served to moderate tempers in diplomatic
relations between the Iron League and Ahlissa. [TAB – 30]
587 CY
One would be
wrong in assuming that the Scarlet Brotherhood did not have designs upon those
eastern ports and archipelagos they had yet to usurp.
Two captains loyal to the Sea Barons were killed and
replaced by agents of the Brotherhood in 587 CY. The spies were uncovered, but
the Sea Barons are extremely concerned that they will be targeted by the
Scarlet Ones to suffer the same fate. For that reason, they have allied with
Lord Drax and the Free Cities of the Solnor Compact, keeping a close watch over
the activities of their captains. [LGG – 100]
It would be safe to assume that the Brotherhood had
infiltrated Dullstrand, as well, even if they had not oved against the Masters.
It’s just that the Masters have always been wary of outsiders; so too the
Lordship lords upon their shores, for good reason.
While the
ships of the Scarlet Brotherhood dock at few foreign ports, their junior
partner, the Lordship of the isles, successfully acts as a neutral
intermediary; they trade with Nyrond and the Principality of Ulek; some have
even entered the Nyr Dyv.
[SB – 7]
589 CY
Sunndi declared
itself a Kingdom. They needed a port, and made their intentions known to the
Masters of Dullstrand.
 |
| Count Hazendel |
Sunndi chose
not to join the Kingdom of Alhissa in 6104 SD; it hopes that Dullstrand will
join them. The Dullstranders fear retaliatory attacks from the Brotherhood
should they do this, but members of the Scarlet Sign have no such plans. Sunndi
served better as a buffer between the Great Kingdom and the peninsula; it can
serve as well now that the Great Kingdom is replaced by the United Kingdom of
Ahlissa. A strong Sunndi is preferable to a powerful Overking at their northern
border. Dullstrand’s trade can be easily restricted by Brotherhood-controlled
vessels from the Lordship of the Isles—and by spies. [SB – 7]
The independent town of Dullstrand, to the east, did
not join the kingdom [of Sunndi] but continues to act as its ally in deed, if
not in word. Hazendel hopes Dullstrand will join eventually and become Sunndi’s
main seaport to the world, though Dullstranders fear this will invite
retaliation from the Scarlet Brotherhood. (Infiltration of Dullstrand by the
Brotherhood is rumored but unproven; the town now trades with the Lordship of
the Isles without incident). [TAB – 29]
An ally in deed, if capricious and self serving, but with
Ingerskatti no more than a day’s sail
away, unsure what might befall them should they commit to Sunndi.
Attempts to get Dullstrand to join the kingdom as its
only seaport have met with failure, since the town's rulers make certain
demands that Sunndi will not consider. [LGG – 112]
In that same
year [6104 SD], the Brotherhood fortified its closest Hepmonaland ports to help
maintain the blockade of the Tilva Strait. A third was build farther south on
the western Hepmonaland coast; this third port was largely created to move
goods, slaves and recruits north. [SB – 7]
590 CY
 |
| Uneasy Allies |
As uneasy allies
of Sunndi.
Hazendel also has reaffirmed Sunndi's allegiance to
and support of the Iron League, though only Irongate and the rebels in Onnwal
remain as members. Despite the Iron League's anti-Aerdy stance, cautious trade
began with Ahlissa through Hexpools, Kalstrand, and Nulbish in 590 CY. […]
Glorioles dwarves, long reluctant to cooperate with elves, have remained
subject to the king by old treaties, though they have asserted their separation
from other peoples at the same time they fight alongside them. [LGG – 111]
And supposedly under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of
Ahlissa.
The lands south of the Thelly, down to the Glorioles
and Hestmark Highlands, are currently claimed by Ahlissa but not held in force;
some Sunndi units pass through here in pursuit of bandits, but it is unlikely
Sunndi could take and hold this area against Ahlissa's might, if push came to
shove. [LGG – 110]
It is betwixt these that Dullstrand’s caravans weave,
geographically, and politically. It sides with neither, knowing that should it,
the other would see fit to take measures. And it could repel neither. Nor rely
on the other for aid.
Some trade with Ahlissa through Hexpools, Kalstrand,
and Nulbish began in 590 CY, though Sunndi and Ahlissan army units glare at
each other across the Thelly and Grayflood Rivers. [TAB – 29]
“In the end, it is impossible not to become what
others believe you are.”
―
One must always give credit where credit is
due. This piece 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.
Special
thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable
research tool.
The Art:
World of Greyhawk detail, by Darlene, from the Folio, 1980
Dullstrand map, from DUL4-01 The Gift, 2004
Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed
Set, 1983
1064 From the Ashes Boxed
Set, 1992
9025 World of Greyhawk
Folio, 1980
Ivid the Undying, 1998
11374 The Scarlet
Brotherhood, 1999
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk
Gazetteer, 2000
Oerth Journal #1, #11
Living Greyhawk Journal, #1
Dragon Magazine 57,63
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
Very good article as always! Dullstrand is one one those places I never used or even researched in all my years. It is fascinating that it has always been this outlier. Just looking at the map one would assume they are Sunndi's port, or that they were conquered by the Brotherhood, etc. You have drawn all the threads together and shown that this port isn't insignificant as I thought and holds a proper place in the lore of the east.
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