"Nowhere did we stop long enough to get a
particularlised impression, but the general sense of vague and oppressive
wonder grew upon me. It was like a weary pilgrimage amongst hints for
nightmares."
– Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
 |
| The Yuan-ti |
The Kunda had collapsed.
Only the yuan-ti appeared to prosper.
These were dark days indeed for the Dark Continent.
1st Century
 |
| The Oeridians |
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 – 70]
That would change over time as the Aerdi gained their sea
legs.
This scattered principality stretches over seven major
islands, from the Spindrift Sound to the mouth of the Tilva Strait. These
islands are rich and fertile, and enjoy the benefits of their strategic
location. They profit hugely from cargoes of goods brought from Hepmonaland to
the Great Kingdom and collect tribute from those states which wish to use the
Tilva Straits in commerce. [Folio
– 12]
Rod of the Aerdi Sea (M): This defensive
weapon was fashioned for use by merchants who sail the pirate-infested waters
between Hepmonaland and the Great Kingdom. [GA – 74]
But the Aerdi had yet to brave the interior of
Hepmonaland. Only the Suel had in earnest; but the Kingdom of Shar brought
anything but peace and harmony with them.
Olman and darker-skinned natives of Hepmonaland live
in abundant numbers here, but the people are treated as baseborn and often
enslaved, working the plantations of the unscrupulously rich gentry. [LGG –
70,71]
166 CY
This is not to say that Rauxes was not away of the riches
to be had deep within the dark heart of the southern continent. The overking
was; but gaining access was not easy with the Duxchaners prowling the Aerdy Sea
betwixt them and it. It was time to change that.
In 166 CY, he committed the combined navies of the
Great Kingdom to breaking the power of the Duxchaners. [LGG – 71]
168 CY
Fleets were sent to deal with the piratical menace.
 |
| The Battle of Ganode Bay |
At the same time, their Duxchan rivals gained
authority from the overking over the southern seas and the rich trade
proceeding from Hepmonaland. [LGG – 100]
The Ardi had finally gained dominion over the southern
seas.
The Oeridians have emigrated to these islands in large
numbers only over the last few centuries; they are most common in Diren and the
smaller isles of Jehlum, Mirim, and Luda. [LGG – 70]
The Aerdi settled these islands in large numbers,
founding Sulward as the capital, though the population remained largely Suel,
particularly on Ansabo and Ganode, where local Suel lords were absorbed into
the government of the realm. [LGG – 71]
One would expect that the Aerdi would have then colonised
the northern shores of Hepmonaland; but they did not.
Duxchan [..] gained authority from the overking over
the southern seas and the rich trade proceeding from Hepmonaland. [LGG –
100]
170 CY
They might never have gained a foothold upon its beaches
if the northern nation of the southern continent had not withered under the
gaze of the fell serpent Meyanok and those Olman who remained continued to war
amongst themselves. Further south the Touv continued to prosper, much as they
always had. But all was not as it seemed; the Tuov were beset with the
machinations of the cult of the serpent.
Tolanok became a very wealthy state, although the
mediocre soil of the region kept it from growing too large. It was its
financial prosperity and status as the smallest of the Touv city-states that
eventually attracted the attention of the priests of Meyanok.
Over the years the priests slowly replaced key
individuals in the temples and the city government. In 170 CY, the high priests
of Meyanok called down the power of their god and withered all vegetation
within five miles of the city wall. The city’s stores of grain were lost, and
the people were best by famine. Many fled, but most could not; those that died
of starvation rose as the ravenous, a new form of undead. [SB – 54]
 |
| The Yuan-ti |
Ichamnmna began to fortify and rebuild, aided by the
discovery of an iron lode the bronze-using Olman had left unused. Soon they
began attacking north again, but the reptiles proved capable of defending their
own lands. When Tolanok was rendered barren in 170 CY, Prince Okelo saw an
opportunity to take the yuan-ti by surprise.
Unfortunately, the inhumans anticipated such a move
and laid poisonous traps all along the path of the Prince’s troops while
simultaneously flanking the humans and moving into the flatland, catching the
citizens unawares. The people were enslaved and corrupted by the blood curse of
Tlaloc, and Ichamamna remains a yuan-ti nation. [SB – 49] (1577 TC)
The Tuov ought to have fortified their borders and let
sleeping serpents lie.
They had awakened the serpent.
c. 170 CY
When Ichamamna was overrun by yuan-ti, Ikelan
increased patrols along its northern border, which has saved them more than
once. [SB – 49]
Ichamamna is […] exploring and raiding south into
Ikelan on a regular basis. Having learned ironworking from their human slaves,
the Ichamamnan yuan-ti create ugly weapons of deadly efficiency [.] [SB –
49]
c. 400 CY
The Suel, it would seem, would not be spared the
serpent’s attentions, either.
The people of Lega wander further than any other
Hepmonalandic Suel [.] They have been fighting an intermittent war with the
people of Sharba for the past 200 years [beginning now]. [SB – 52]
448 CY
One wonders why the Aerdi never colonised Hepmonoland’s northern
coasts. Might that be because they had conquered most of the Flanaess and were
taxed with controlling such a vast domain? That might be so. If only they had
done a better job of it. Their empire began to disintegrate.
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.
The overking in Rauxes quickly issued letters of
marque to the Sea Barons, designating the ships of the Lordship of the Isles as
targets for any Aerdi vessel. [LGG – 71]
War had come to the southern seas.
570s CY
This is not to say that the Duxchaners are in complete
control of the southern seas. There are patches that no man rules.
 |
| The Jungle of Lost Ships |
While in Sulward, the capital of the Lordship of the
Isles, the adventurers are approached by an aging merchant who has a business
proposition. He tells the party that one of his ships on a regular trade run to
Hepmonaland was caught by a sudden storm, and blown hundreds of leagues off
course to the east. Then the wind died, and the ship was drawn by a strange
current to a place where there was a great mass of incredibly dense and tangled
seaweed. Some of this seaweed had seemingly formed into great floating mounds.
As they drifted closer, the captain realized that the floating mounds were
actually derelict ships, trapped and overgrown by the weed. The captain saw
ships of all nations, even ships of types that had been out of use for decades
or that he had never seen before. Most importantly, he recognized two as being
from the legendary Lost Treasure Fleet of the Sea Princes. Fortunately, another
storm blew up and the ship was able to escape before becoming permanently
mired. The captain reponed all this to the merchant and then retired, since the
Hepmonaland run was to have been his last voyage anyway. [WoGG – 28]
Turucambi
The Oljatt Sea is largely unexplored owing to the
hazard of the predatory sea creatures that dwell there, but nonetheless the
intrepid Sea Lords have trade routes along the shallower portions well down the
Hepmonaland coast. One of the primary reasons for taking such a difficult
journey is the lacework of islands, reefs, lagoons, and lakes known as
Turucambi.
 |
| Turucambi |
Indeed, there
are patches that none rule.
The waters teem with mermen, sahuagin, water nagas,
sea elves, koalinth, saltwater trolls, ixitxachitl, and even a tribe of
seagoing lizardmen. These fight constantly with one another to maintain their
territories, and to exclude uninvited landsfolk. [GA – 102]
Few who sail the seas are privy to their goings on. Few
care, fewer care to enquire, so long as their fleets are left alone.
Most have treaties with merchants from civilized lands
or with Hepmonaland natives allowing safe passage and free trade. [GA –
102]
But something is up, it would seem. The sahuagin have
been more rapacious than usual, of late.
The sahuagin attacks have increased in recent years,
and [the Touv city-state of] Kevot has not fared well against them due to crop
blights and livestock sicknesses; the sea devils have been carrying away people
and livestock. […] [SB – 51]
The Suel heard of their misfortune. And, as one might
expect…
[T]he fair-skinned visitors from the Land of Purity to
the north have offered aid to the beleaguered nation. [SB – 51]
… as they are always wont to do….
573 CY
 |
| Red-robed Ambassadors from the South |
In 573 CY, however, red-robed ambassadors from the
south appeared in the courts of the Iron League Speaking in whispers, they
offered their services to the merchant lords, announcing themselves as peaceful
envoys of the Scarlet Brotherhood, representatives of the kingdom of Shar, an
Ancient Suloise word meaning "purity." [LGG – 96]
Yet no one suspected the Scarlet Brotherhood. Their
red-robed emissaries had wormed their way into the good books of many rulers
and nobles, beginning with the states of the Iron League. [FtAA – 6]
At the time, few connected the appearance of these
sagely, monastic advisers to […] any number of political developments
throughout the Flanaess. The arrival of the Brothers of the Scarlet Sign did
trigger curiosity, of course, and in short order spies were sent to the
Tilvanot. [LGG – 96]
575 CY
The Brotherhood were benevolent to their long-lost kin,
after all.
The arrival of pure Suel from the Scarlet Brotherhood
in 6090 SD was a surprise to the people of Zar, who had largely forgotten their
heritage and lived in a state of barbarism. The Brotherhood won over the Zarii
with gentle words, promises of power and gifts, so the people of Zar taught the
Brotherhood what was necessary to survive in the jungles of Hepmonoland. In
less than a year, Zar became a primitive daughter state to the kingdom of Shar,
sending resources and warriors north to the main Brotherhood lands. The city of
Zar is being renovated and restored from ruin. [SB – 55]
Is blood thicker than water? Only when spilled.
576 CY
The Great Kingdom had lost control of the southern seas,
and they were paying the price for it.
[The Lordship of the Isles] profit hugely from cargoes
of goods brought from Hepmonaland to the Great Kingdom and collect tribute from
those states which wish to use the Tilva Straights [sic] in commerce.
[Folio – 12]
Since the Lordship of the Isles guards the ways
between the mainland of the Flanaess and the Tilva Strait as well as the shores
of mysterious Hepmonaland, much income is derived from exacting levies from
trading vessels passing through local waters. [LGG – 70]
Indeed, the Duxchaners are the terror of most of the
southern seas, from the Oljatt to the Densac.
Oljatt Sea: The waters to the north of
Hepmonaland and east of the Duxchans is known as the Oljatt Sea. These warm,
deep, blue-green depths arc dangerous in the extreme, for many creatures haunt
this sea. Some are large enough to carry a ship to the bottom. and vessels
going into the Oljatt are said to chain themselves together and have men with
pikes and bows ready to fend off the monsters. [Folio – 20]
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]
Tilva Strait: This narrow strip of water
between the cockscomb of Tilva and Hepmonaland must be used by vessels sailing
to or from the central waters and those of the east. This commerce is preyed
upon by piratical vessels – sometimes whole fleets – so that squadrons of
warships will be seen patrolling at times when important commerce is at a peak.
[WoGA – 48]
Densac Gulf: It is thought that this
body of water stretches for a thousand miles south between Lower Oerik and
Hepmonaland. Who sails upon its waters and what lies below is not known. [Folio – 20]
Their ships lie in wait in the narrows, in coves, and all
along the north coast of Hepmonaland.
Pelisso Swamps: These unhealthy
stretches along the north coast of Hepmonaland are unexplored and who or what
dwells there is unknown. [Folio –
23]
580s CY
The Brotherhood was a secretive lot.
The Scarlet Brotherhood was until recently a secret,
apparently isolated power in the Flanaess. [LGG – 96]
Indeed, few outside the Tilvenot even knew they existed.
To the outside world they were the reclusive Kingdom of Shar.
[F]ew save the folk of Sunndi paid much attention to
the inhabitants of the Tilvanot Peninsula. Humans of pure Suloise stock, the
southerners appeared to lead simple lives, taming their land as plantation
farmers, trading but little with the outside world. To the Sunnd, their isolation
seemed a natural result of the Spine Ridge and Vast Swamp cutting the Tilvanot
from the rest of the world. [LGG – 96]
That was about to change.
Spies had been sent into the Tilvenot to discover more
about the Kingdom of Shar.
 |
| Orderly Monks in Red Robes |
In the last years before the war, reports reached the
southern Flanaess that red-hooded mystics were enslaving and martialing vast
savage empires in Hepmonaland. Travelers described these savages in the most
horrific terms, mercilessly detailing their cruel rites and debased customs.
According to travelers’ tales, vast nations following the ancient ways of the
Suloise were mustering in the steamy gardens of Hepmonaland. [Wars – 6]
When rumors surfaced of their enslavement and
martialling of armies of "savages" in Hepmonaland, men and women who
should have known better dismissed such rumors. [FtAA – 6]
Still, Hepmonaland was too far from the beleaguered
borders of the Flanaess kingdoms to cause much concern. [Wars – 6]
581 CY
It was only a matter of time before the Brotherhood and
the yuan-ti would come face to face.
On the rare occasions when the yuan-ti [of Xapatlapo]
have been spotted, they are all heavily armed. It is not known if the Scarlet
Brotherhood has any interaction with these creatures. [SB – 54]
What will come of it is anyone’s guess.
With the increased incursions by the Scarlet
Brotherhood in the past 10 years, Alocotla has been preparing for an eventual
conflict by kidnapping and corrupting people of neighboring villages. The Lord
of Scales is certain of the Brotherhood’s eventual attack, for his people are
not Suel and no longer even human. [SB – 47]
The Scarlet Brotherhood are not a particularly warlike
people, despite their temperament. The Suel had clashed with the Aerdi in ages
past and had been herded before their greater ferocity. They had learned their
lesson well and would rather not risk such a confrontation again. Let lesser
beings and the lesser evolved wage war, they reasoned. They were above such
trifles. There were better ways to gain one’s goals against nations that could
never hope to understand the Suel peoples’ destiny, or the Suel’s natural and
innate superiority, for that matter.
And let others
toil: The Flan and the Olman and Touv. And yes, the Oeridians, too.
But realising
their plans was not going to be easy. Some, most, of the lesser cultures were
reticent about realising their place in the world.
The Zarii are
content with their lot; in exchange for goods and warriors, they receive exotic
(to them) clot, weapons and food. They ferry agents of the Brotherhood along
newly built roads to Lerga, travel to strange lands, fight and pillage; most
don’t realize that they are second-class people to the Brotherhood—barely a step
above hobgoblins. [SB – 55]
The Scarlet
Brotherhood values the warriors of Lerga for their ferocity. The jungle nation
welcomed the Brotherhood with open arms once they heard the latter revered
Llerg as a deity. [SB – 52]
The Scarlet Brotherhood does not recruit from Sharba
[.] The Brotherhood considers the Sharba practice of cannibalism revolting,
emphasizing their subhuman status, but they recognize the value of these
primitives in fulfilling the brotherhood’s overall goals. [SB – 52]
As they value the descendants of Sharba….
 |
| Their Centuries-old Curse |
Some large-scale breeding experiments involve the
mutant or crossbreed children of the Hepmonaland nation of Sharbakal, whose
natural reptilian-human cross allows for some interesting variety; [to say
nothing of] captured yuan-ti from Hepmonaland [.] [SB – 23]
582 CY
The whole of the Flanaess became embroiled in war.
The barbarians invaded the Hold of Stonefist [;]
[t]aking advantage of the chaos, Ivid V ordered the Great Kingdom's armies to
muster [;] Almor was utterly destroyed; Nyrond was invaded; Sunndi was
conquered [;] Medegia was despoiled and Rel Astra attacked by the Great
Kingdom's own military. [LGG – 15]
The madness of war bred more war. [LGG – 15]
Did the Brotherhood light the flame of war? Fan them? It
did not. But it had prepared for its coming.
583 CY
(Winter)
It was then that the Scarlet Brotherhood took measures in
the Duxchans.
The Duxchan
Isles had always been an unpredictable port of call. One always had to wonder
where its allegiances lay. The answer to that question had always been obvious
to any who had laid foot upon its beaches: With itself, for the most part.
This chain of islands has been occupied by the Suel
for nearly one thousand years, and this race remains the most dominant
population of the isles, most notably on Ansabo and Ganode. [LGG – 70]
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]
And so it had been. Until it joined the Iron League. And
so it seemed it would remain. Would the Lordship have stood with the League? It
might have, but it was never given the chance to prove what faith might have
been laid upon that decision.
During the Greyhawk Wars, the wintry Latmac Ranold was
abruptly deposed and an unheralded successor immediately took his place. [LGG
– 72]
Was the elderly Aerdian assassinated? Some believe so.
Most Aerdi believe so. For in no time, the Lordship steered the Duxchans on a
hitherto unforeseen path.
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. [LGG – 72]
 |
| Frolmar Ingerskatti of Ganode |
Trade and supply waned to a trickle, and what little that
did find its way to port was paid for dearly. If at all.
When the Lordship fell to the Scarlet Brotherhood in
late 583 CY, the nature of the tribute changed. A complete blockade of the
straits was applied, with only ships of the Scarlet Brotherhood or Lordship of
the Isles being allowed free passage. Cargo from other states could be shipped
by Lordship vessels through the straits for an exceptionally high fee. It is
heard that piracy here has fallen dramatically as a consequence. The
Brotherhood may have charmed sea monsters into aiding the blockade, but details
are not available. [LGG – 150]
These waters comprise the Aerdi and Oljatt Seas, the
Tilva Strait, and the Spindrift Sound. The Scarlet Brotherhood controls much of
these seas, contesting northern areas with the Sea Barons and in a few
incursions from Ice Barbarians. Eastward along the north coast of Hepmonaland,
a handful of pirates—some reputed to be seagoing hobgoblins—occasionally foray
westward. [FtAA – 48]
584 CY
 |
| The Brotherhood Struck |
This same year, decade-old paranoia regarding the
Scarlet Brotherhood came true, as advisers in courts throughout the Flanaess
were found to be Brotherhood agents. The Lordship of the Isles, Idee, Onnwal,
and the Sea Princes fell under the influence of the Scarlet Sign, from
treachery or invasion. [LGG – 16]
Barbarians from the Brotherhood’s holdings in the
Amedio Jungle and Hepmonaland were used as soldiers to hold newly captured
lands. [PGtG – 11]
The Brotherhood was revealed as an evil, racist order
dedicated to preserving the culture and purity of the ancient Suel Imperium,
without regard to the lives of others. [LGG – 16]
It has seemed extraordinarily easy for the Brotherhood
to recruit veritable armies of the jungle dwellers to aid their campaigns and keep
order in invaded states. [FtAA –
35]
They offered
freedom to the most promising Suel-blooded savages they took in, in exchange
for military service in the armies occupying the Hold [and their other
conquests]. [SB – 6]
Hepmonaland
might have been first, by the maelstrom raging upon the Flanaess had given it
reprieve.
The Brotherhood plans to maintain friendly relations
with Zar, Lerga, and Sherba. Occasional slave raids into Xolapeqa will also
continue, but the Father of Obedience doesn’t want to antagonize any possible
allies, and so he has directed Sister Leara to stop raids into Sharbakal. Not
wishing a war on two fronts, he has ordered the cessation of all unfriendly
interaction by Brotherhood agents with non-Suel nations of Hepmonaland. [SB
– 23]
That cessation would not last for long.
"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the
taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter
noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too
much."
– Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
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.
Special thanks
to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research
tool.
The Art:
The Yuan-ti, from Tomb of Annihilation, 2017
Greyhawk map detail, by Darlene, from World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
Hepmonaland map detail, by Sam Wood, from The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
Yuan-ti, by Jim Roslof (?), from I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City, 1981
Cove detail, by Doug Beekman, from The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
Sources:
1015
World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1064
From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
1068
Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2023
Greyhawk Adventures, 1988
9025
World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9046 I1 Dwellers of the
Forbidden, 1980
9578
Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11374
The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11743
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Greychrondex,
Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
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