| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| nametab |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 14:54:30
Hi there,
I was wondering if there is anything one should know about the Gorge of the Fallen Idol in Tethyr, apart from the little scraps of information I've managed to find. In short, all I know about the Gorge, is that it was a place of worship for the hobgoblins who had built a huge statue of Nomog-Geaya there. The hobgoblins were killed by humans, the statue was destroyed and now it's remains lie deep in the gorge, which is inhabited by young dragons nowadays.
Does anyone know where I could find more info about this place? Like, are the dragons the only inhabitants of the numerous caves in the gorge, or how big the statue was before it's devastation? |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Barastir |
Posted - 06 Jul 2010 : 13:24:04
quote:
Originally posted by nametab
Fantastic, that's even more information than I expected! Thank you ever so much for your help.
No worries, I'm kind of a fan of the hobgoblins and their deity, and actually it was good to see it more clearly. Nice to do some research in these good old books!  |
| nametab |
Posted - 06 Jul 2010 : 01:58:11
Fantastic, that's even more information than I expected! Thank you ever so much for your help. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 06 Jul 2010 : 00:19:24
I didn't find anything else in my 2e books, but found this info in the 1e Empires of the Sands:
quote:
The Gorge of the Fallen Idol is found where two smaller feeder rivers combine to form the River Ith in far eastern Tethyr. The gorge itself is 250' deep, with steep, crumbling sides that are very unpredictable and difficult to climb. The river itself is deep, cold and swift. At one point in the gorge, a small clearing opens up to one side of the river, leaving some open, flat ground. In this clearing stands (well, lies actually) the fallen figure of a great stone idol.
It was nearly 50' tall when it was standing, and its age is unguessable. The idol has fallen on one side, breaking into several pieces. The last pieces (including the head) have fallen into the river near the bank, and the rushing waters have worn the submerged half of each piece smooth.
Those using magical tests on the fallen statue will find that the idol radiates both magic and evil. There are no inscriptions or carvings of any sort to help decipher the origin or purpose of the statue.
The statue marks the place of worship of a tribe of humanoids now extinct for over 2,200 years. The worshipers weren't quite human, but
they weren't orcs or goblins, either. The idol was carved over decades out of the same rock that makes up the sides of the gorge. These humanoids invented elaborate rituals - including sacrifice of their own kind - in worshipping this idol. Some of the rituals began to have magical power, but not deliberately; the humanoid priests began casting spells almost by accident.
As the centuries of worship and sacrifice went on, the idol itself began to take on magical power. This malevolent power became quite great in time, and the idol began to direct the tribe in its search for new lands to acquire and new peoples to enslave. Eventually, the idol's reach exceeded its grasp, and it sent the tribe out against a human nation of great size and power that worshipped good gods.
The idol-worshipers were wiped out, and an army of these people (whose descendants settled the Volothamp area in Calimshan) hunted down the humanoids and put every last one to the sword. They found the idol, and pulled it down. That was over 2,000 years ago.
Today, the broken statue radiates with only a fraction of its former power. If all the pieces were to be reassembled, the idol's power would increase greatly, to the point where it would try to possess the most likely member of the group that did the assembling (at a power equal to a 30th level spell). The idol would then bide its time, learning all it could about the new society it found itself in, and then it would begin to reestablish its evil practices.
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| mensch |
Posted - 05 Jul 2010 : 16:58:23
This is the same bit of lore, but with a bit more narrative fluff, from the Forgotten Realms mailing list. It's more or less the same information as nametab already seems to posses according to his introduction post.
quote:
On the surface, the most noted location devoted to the worship of
Nomog-Geaya has long been all but abandoned by his worshipers. The
Gorge of the Fallen Idol in Tethyr was once the center of the Unsmiling
One's worship in Faerun, and for the better part of two millennia (from
c. -3778 DR to -1931 DR), the Gorge was the focus of surface hobgoblin
activity. The Gorge was, and still is, dominated by the huge statue of
Nomog-Geaya erected by his worshipers (and their dwarven slaves) around
-3400 DR, although the idol was toppled and broken by the forces of
Calimshan that conquered the valley and dispersed its inhabitants. The
Gorge and its fallen statue still retain a close connection to the god,
and his worshipers still hold it to be one of the holies sites in the
religion. Pilgrims to the Gorge are few however, and many who succeed
in reaching the valley are often given deceived by the dragons who have
taken up residence there into thinking that the god has spoken to them
(if they are not outright enslaved and/or eaten). Sometimes however, it
isn't a dragon who is speaking...
SOURCE: REALMS-L Archives -- April 2000, week 1 (#242)
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| Barastir |
Posted - 05 Jul 2010 : 14:39:50
quote:
Originally posted by nametab
I've read LoI and there's not much to be found about the Gorge. Only a few lines about the hobgoblins building the statue and the humans destroying it.
I found the references I was looking for in The Grand History of the Realms:
–3778 DR Hobgoblins settle around the deep gorge at the confluence of the Wurlur (present day Gorge of the Fallen Idol and River Ith).
c. –3400 DR Hobgoblins and a number of enslaved dwarves build a mammoth statue to Nomog-Geaya, the patron deity of hobgoblins. Over the next few centuries, the Gorge of Nomog-Geaya the Warrior becomes a gathering place for at least three tribes of hobgoblins building in strength, despite the efforts of the dwarves of Shanatar.
-1931 DR The armies of Calimshan destroy the Idol of Nomog-Geaya, shattering the strength of the hobgoblin tribes that dwell in the region, and all but eradicating them in four major battles.
I think, however, there is more info about it in another 2e book. I will check it out tonight, and let you know. |
| nametab |
Posted - 05 Jul 2010 : 13:13:30
I've read LoI and there's not much to be found about the Gorge. Only a few lines about the hobgoblins building the statue and the humans destroying it. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 05 Jul 2010 : 13:06:27
It's true, 2e Lands of intrigue has some info about the Gorge. I think it tells when the hobgoblins were dominant in the region, how many they were, and something about the construction of the statue by slaves. Since I'm not with the book here, I'll check it out tonight. But I don't think anything else was published. Anyone else knows if there were any news in 3.X and 4th editions?
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| Zireael |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 18:35:53
Some info is in Lands of Intrigue. |
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