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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore

USA
1446 Posts

Posted - 07 Sep 2018 :  14:54:32  Show Profile Send Eilserus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi George,

I was reading FR13 Anauroch and found something interesting on page 81: "The Black Shadows have a powerful magical item (an Orcward Stone?), hidden in their cave, that seems to keep orcs away. It was recovered from one of the ruins of Anauria (and its true nature is left to the DM)."

I didn't see anything here at the Keep referencing such an item. Anaurian magic or a relic of Tethyamar rune magic? I was curious what you're thoughts are on this, since it seems a perfect dwarven item to help keep holds hidden. :)
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 08 Sep 2018 :  04:46:03  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Good catch Eilserus. FR13 has many a lore nugget yet to be mined. It also contains a little "D'oh!" reference that I only picked up on a year or two ago that i wish I had worked out earlier when doing some FR work with a friend "back in the day". I've long had "orcward stones" playing around in my head and note that I had (before Troy Denning went nuclear on them) the Lords Who Sleep of Cormyr fame protected by one.

It seems somewhat counter-intuitive to have them of Anaurian origin given that realm fell ironically to an orc horde. Of course they may be few in number, a relic of Netheril and work only to ward a place/location rather than act as a "Maginot Line"-type defensive barrier. It is interesting to note however that after its initial early clashes with the orcs, Netheril appeared largely untroubled by these creatures (of course in saying that, I note the massive unreliability of the presented Netherese historical narrative) and may indeed have set up such a barrier to the north of the realm.

I am sure they would be treasured by dwarves if they could find them, but given the fact that dwarven kingdoms seem to fall with regularity to orcish incursions, one could safely state that these items are not prevalent in dwarven communities. Tethyamar fell to orcs as well so I can't see them using them in any great numbers either. Of course that does make for some interesting thoughts re the remnants of the Mines of Tethyamar and what remains and what does not and why. Again, a place I've had a few thoughts on over the years, with a fairly big nod to Tolkien's Mines of Moria and trying not to crib too many ideas from the Moria ICE sourcebook (which is brilliant IMHO).

Given it's a one-off mention, only Ed could add more. That means, that you have essentially free rein until he does, if ever.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus

Edited by - George Krashos on 08 Sep 2018 04:48:31
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Grievous
Acolyte

5 Posts

Posted - 08 Sep 2018 :  15:22:22  Show Profile Send Grievous a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hey George,

I'm writing a lineage of the Bloodfeathers of Damara for use in my campaign and was wondering what familial connections between Impiltur and Damara you have conceived and under which circumstances they happened. My intention is to work with your Impiltur material/musings and adding to it for Damara specific stuff.

Currently, I have two marriages between the dynasties (and I think this is pretty much enough). During King Lashilmbrar's reign (1225-1294), I'm having Impiltur (or rather Soneillon-via-Impiltur) politically scheme to put a puppet to rule Damara. This is also the time when the Bloodstone Mines become a thing. I'm still working out the details of this, but in the end this meddling didn't work out, and/but Lashilmbrar's younger brother Velimbrar does marry his daughter to the Bloodfeathers (in or about 1255-ish DR). This is the first dynastic link.

The second is the marriage between King Aeldrin and Sambral (sister of King Rilimbrar). I imagine this is a result of Damaran aid in regaining the throne of Impiltur from the usurpers.

Do you see King Aeldrin as the grandfather or great-grandfather of Virdin btw? Personally, I'm thinking that he is his grandfather, which also makes Aeldrin the son of the king who married this daughter of Velimbrar. This makes the aid that Damara gives Impiltur distantly a familial matter, as well. For that aid, the Damaran heir (probably, instead of King) marries the new King Rilimbrar's sister.

And thanks for inspiring me to play and develop in this part of the Realms!

Edited by - Grievous on 08 Sep 2018 15:26:05
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 08 Sep 2018 :  17:04:31  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi Grievous

Aeldrin is indeed Virdin's grandfather. He marries Ilmara in 1303 DR.

You have to understand that Lashilmbrar is quite a bit older than his step-siblings and had his own children very late in life for a range of reasons. As such, dynastic marriages weren't much of an option for him. Indeed, it is his own daughter who marries Aeldrin as noted above but only after she is of age and her father has passed away. None of Velimbrar's daughters match up age wise with Aeldrin's grandfather and it wouldn't do to have his father marry a Heltharn as well as this would mean that Ilmara's first cousin would in fact be her mother-in-law!

Lashilmbrar was a canny (if you were being unkind: conniving) sort who was big on using economic clout to dominate rivals and neighbours. He wouldn't need a dynastic marriage to exert political pressure on Damara: the simple fact of the bloodstone trade necessarily having to be funnelled through Impilturian markets would be sufficient for him to politically dominate his neighbour kings throughout his long reign and take advantage of any dynastic hiccups and dangers they encountered.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 09 Sep 2018 :  01:34:00  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hey, when you guys have something written up concerning the Bloodfeathers family line in Damara that's kinda stable, do keep me in mind as someone who wants to read it. That's one of those things I'd enjoy to read and use, but damned if I have time to research.


BTW, on that topic, just given the name itself, what would you propose as a possible origin for the familial name? There's got to be a backstory to that. Granted, I know things like Crownsilvers, etc... don't necessarily revolve around crowns and/or silver... but Bloodfeather…. that's just too "different" to not warrant some kinda explanation.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 09 Sep 2018 :  01:34:32  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hey, when you guys have something written up concerning the Bloodfeathers family line in Damara that's kinda stable, do keep me in mind as someone who wants to read it. That's one of those things I'd enjoy to read and use, but damned if I have time to research.


BTW, on that topic, just given the name itself, what would you propose as a possible origin for the familial name? There's got to be a backstory to that. Granted, I know things like Crownsilvers, etc... don't necessarily revolve around crowns and/or silver... but Bloodfeather…. that's just too "different" to not warrant some kinda explanation.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 09 Sep 2018 :  02:08:35  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

Hey, when you guys have something written up concerning the Bloodfeathers family line in Damara that's kinda stable, do keep me in mind as someone who wants to read it. That's one of those things I'd enjoy to read and use, but damned if I have time to research.


BTW, on that topic, just given the name itself, what would you propose as a possible origin for the familial name? There's got to be a backstory to that. Granted, I know things like Crownsilvers, etc... don't necessarily revolve around crowns and/or silver... but Bloodfeather…. that's just too "different" to not warrant some kinda explanation.



I've come up with both a line of monarchs for Damara and a story for the origin of the name. Ed liked it. It also explains that godawful "FR" instead of "DR" dating system in FR9 Bloodstone Lands.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 09 Sep 2018 :  21:36:37  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi George,

I was wondering what the word qabas meant in Mulhorandi before it was applied to the orc?


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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  09:37:49  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Hi George,

I was wondering what the word qabas meant in Mulhorandi before it was applied to the orc?





The word "qabas" [the "q" is hard as in "k"] did not exist in the Mulhorandi language before the Orcgate Wars and was the word that was applied to these creatures when they attacked Mulhorand. The word was derived from the root words "aqab"=foul, unclean and "as"=beast, creature. This is as opposed to "aqas=pure, clean and "am"=human. Which makes the word for elf ("quazzam") interesting with "aqaz"=bright, shining.

-- George Krashos

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  10:11:06  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
A wonderfully crafted answer as always.

I've got the q as a soft h in untheric but I can easily explain the difference as mulhorandi has evolved significantly from untheric which stayed true to the original Mulan/roushoum pidgin.

As an aside if I use a soft h for the q, then qabasen sounds like habesen which is phonetically similar to abishai so I'm wondering if qabas was used in ancient Mulan language to refer to some of the evil monsters the imaskari created (I was going to say demon, but you already have a mulhorandi word for that).

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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  12:47:24  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think you've got it the other way round. The sources say that Mulhorandi has stayed truer to its Rauric roots, with Untheric being the one that had evolved greatly.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  12:54:35  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You are probably right, I'm getting very befuddled in my middle age

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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  13:14:38  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos

quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

Hey, when you guys have something written up concerning the Bloodfeathers family line in Damara that's kinda stable, do keep me in mind as someone who wants to read it. That's one of those things I'd enjoy to read and use, but damned if I have time to research.


BTW, on that topic, just given the name itself, what would you propose as a possible origin for the familial name? There's got to be a backstory to that. Granted, I know things like Crownsilvers, etc... don't necessarily revolve around crowns and/or silver... but Bloodfeather…. that's just too "different" to not warrant some kinda explanation.



I've come up with both a line of monarchs for Damara and a story for the origin of the name. Ed liked it. It also explains that godawful "FR" instead of "DR" dating system in FR9 Bloodstone Lands.

-- George Krashos



I never noted that it was FR... but I did note the date change. Just wondering, what are you having happen in 210 DR that's starts the FR calendar? Would it by chance have anything to do with the ending of the war of claws between Eltab and the Myrkulites of Eltabranar versus Mulhorand a few years prior, and Eltab's bindings to Thaymount and the conjurer's tower in Impiltur?

From FR9 Bloodstone Lands
The Rise of the Witch-King Barely twelve years ago, in FR1137, a
calamitous event in the wastes of Vaasa rocked the stability of the entire region.

In the summer of FR1147, Zhengyi's forces faced off against King Virdin at the Ford of Goliad.


From GHotR
1347 Zhengyi the Witch-King [1357] rises to power in Damara.

1357 King Virdin of Damara is killed in battle with Zhengyi the Witch-King


Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas

Edited by - sleyvas on 10 Sep 2018 13:19:46
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  13:18:30  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

I never noted that it was FR... but I did note the date change. Just wondering, what are you having happen in 210 DR that's starts the FR calendar?



Why, it's when the ancestors of Feldrin Bloodfeathers first got a taste of royalty.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  14:05:40  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos

quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

I never noted that it was FR... but I did note the date change. Just wondering, what are you having happen in 210 DR that's starts the FR calendar?



Why, it's when the ancestors of Feldrin Bloodfeathers first got a taste of royalty.

-- George Krashos



Hey, IF it doesn't mess with your explanation and IF you're open to some ideas for this founding of the "Bloodfeathers Dynasty" (is Dynasty the right word?... that's usually for empires... I'm drawing a blank on the other terms)… anyway, what if something happened in Dun-Tharos related SOMEHOW to Eltab being imprisoned in Thaymount by an incarnation of Anhur? Picturing something wherein priests and knights of Myrkul head north to Dun-Tharos/Narathmault/Bheuristahl (maybe even involving nearby Banites of the Moonsea) to try and free Eltab (and rebind him to their command). Along the way maybe they uncover secrets of the Narfellians and the priests of Orcus.... maybe secrets of Nergal and the Great Barrow... maybe secrets of Jiksidur… maybe secrets of Pholzubbalt/the Boneyard.... maybe interacting with the drow of Undrek'Thoz, the Segmented City, or V'elddrinnsshar before its fall to Ascomoid Plague.

Anyway, just thinking it might be interesting if this Bloodfeather person stopped something in order to gain/start his royal lineage, and Dun-Tharos / Rawlinswood is nearby. Maybe you had entirely different ideas.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  14:11:47  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hey along these lines... I'm looking at something one Markustay's maps of Impiltur. Its called Forest Blood River. Its right near Dun-Tharos. I don't recall it from previous lore, but he often names stuff based on some obscure reference. I see some stuff which may be non-canon related to Uthmere when I google it. Just curious, do you know if this is canon? It might make for a good tie in to the Bloodfeather name.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 10 Sep 2018 :  23:30:26  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
My origin for the Bloodfeathers focuses on how they got to Damara and the scant lore references there are about that (with some help from Ed).

The material referenced doesn't gel with any of your suggestions. Remember, the sources specifically state that Feldrin Bloodfeathers was a Sembian merchant.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2018 :  00:57:18  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos

My origin for the Bloodfeathers focuses on how they got to Damara and the scant lore references there are about that (with some help from Ed).

The material referenced doesn't gel with any of your suggestions. Remember, the sources specifically state that Feldrin Bloodfeathers was a Sembian merchant.

-- George Krashos



There's actually lore on him? Just wondering, where from? You find the most obscure stuff.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2018 :  08:18:42  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
There's actually lore on him? Just wondering, where from? You find the most obscure stuff.



FR9 The Bloodstone Lands, p.21 and there are some other mentions as I recall.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus

Edited by - George Krashos on 11 Sep 2018 09:45:29
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2018 :  13:34:33  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hmm, that piece doesn't say much though, just gives his name. Now you got my curiosity up, darn you George.... you always do this to me .... now you made me dig and find some things I never thought about. So, it says that Feldrin can trace his lineage back to "Sembia", but "Sembia" didn't exist in 210 DR. It also doesn't mean he came from the area, as he may be several generations removed. PROBABLY he can trace his lineage to somewhere like/near Chondathan or Chancelgaunt (Saerloon and Selgaunt in modern day). Secondarily, this whole thing intrigued me with finding "when" Sembia formed. It seems it was being called "Sembia" before it became "Sembia", but it achieved its freedom because of the elves basically killing off much of the nobility of Chondathan. Also, these city states were ruled by Chondath much farther to the south as satellites. Tertiarily, I never had noted ties between Sammaster and the Cult of the Dragon (which is led by necromancers and "money makers), the formation of Sembia, and the "Rotting War" led by "necromancers" down in Chondath. Its almost like the CotD specifically went down to Chondath and started the Rotting War in order to make the rulers of Chondath give the people of Sembia their freedom.... which might explain why Sembia is so pro-cult activities.

Anyway, back to the Bloodfeathers, so it would appear that they came in and settled western Damara before areas like Polten which border Impiltur. So, it wasn't necessarily an encroachment of Impiltur northward, and was probably individuals coming over the Galenas from the moonsea (because the mountains would provide a "little" more protection from the inhabitants of Thar).

Does anyone see problems with what I'm laying out?

Also, as an aside, this also brings me back to something I had wondered about long ago and was reminded of when researching St. Sollars the (now) thrice-martyred on the FR Wiki. So, he's pretty heavily hinted as being from Texas. Apparently SOMEWHERE they even say that he has the Castle Al-amo in the Seven Heavens (in addition to his talking like a cowboy, smoking cigars, mentioning the Pecos river, calling Orcus a "bad hombre", having a symbol of a "yellow rose" and a "lone star"). So, given that he's a martyr... and has "ties" to the Alamo... it might be interesting if we actually linked him to its fall as one of the martyrs who gave their life to free Texas. Given the links to Ed Sollers of TSR, maybe have him be a soldier who was always referred to by his last name of "Sollers". Also, is there any lore on how his third martyrdom happened after the spellplague?

from page 21 of FR9 Bloodstone Lands
This kingdom traces its noble lines back almost three centuries, to the time when Heliogabalus was founded by Feldrin Bloodfeathers, the first king of Damara. Thereafter, his long, unbroken line of kindly heirs ruled Damara well, only ending with King Virdin#146;'s death. Until the most recent generation, the kingdom was a force on par with Impiltur.

From page 11 same product
Also, Carmathan has deep roots in the old kingdom of Damara. Carmathans were, by tradition, deeply loyal to the throne in Heliogabalus. Ravensrock was actually Damara#146;s first settlement, the original home of Feldrin and the founders of the kingdom. Fiercely independent, the Carmathans consider themselves the true Damarans, founders of the kingdom.

from page 12 same product
Yet Dimian Ree has not openly claimed the throne of Damara, though he is a true descendant of Feldrin#151;, one of only three surviving members of the line. (The others are Tranth, former Baron of Bloodstone, and his daughter, Baroness Christine.) To understand Dimian Ree'#146;s hesitation, one must understand the dynamics of Heliogabalus, for fully three-quarters of the people of
Morov reside in that city.


ah, and here's the part that you found... so I guess it depends on your interpretation of that sentence. I had always read it as "people from Sembia settled Impiltur and then some of those traversed north into Damara generations later". In other words, Feldrin might be a few generations removed from Sembia but have ancestors there. That being said, if we're putting FY as Damara's founding and that correlates as 210 DR, then Sembia isn't formed yet when Damara is formed. So, his family must come from some settlements which still exist but under possibly different names (like Chondathan and Chancelgaunt). So, as an aside, not sure if we have a founding date, but Sembia is formed sometime between 400 DR and

The largest group of humans resemble the Dalemen across the Dragon#146;s Reach in both appearance and attitudes. Included in this type are most of the people of Impiltur and Damara, not excluding the noble lines of Damara. Indeed, the line of Bloodfeathers, and that of Damara#146;'s founder Feldrin, can trace bloodlines directly back to Sembia.

from GHotR

400 DR Chondathan and Chauncelgaunt (present-day Saerloon and Selgaunt) come under attack by orc and goblin raiders. Defenders of future Sembia battle the nonhuman hordes for the next fifteen years.


884 DR entry: Blood in the Trees
The following excerpt is taken from the diary of the trader Esklel Morthravven of Suzail.
Greed rules Sembia.
<snip>
This account of the Battle of Singing Arrows was penned by the scribe Andras Haelbryn.

Sembia was handed independence that day. Once the elves had brought down the wizards who were so busily tormenting them with winter storms, racing lightning, and monsters snatched from otherwhere, they spent no more arrows on Sembians ordered into the fray, and precious few on the outlander hireswords fleeing the forest. Instead, they peppered Chondathan warriors and battle lords with their feathered messengers of death. The elf archers and swordsmen seemed to know every last official and courtier
sent from distant Chondath and slew them all, ignoring all other humans to target them.

884 DR Year of the Singing Arrows
The Battle of Singing Arrows: The elves destroy a large mercenary force inthe Dragonreach coastal Chondathan human settlements that have commonly become known as Sembia. This event frustrates human plans to conquer all of what is now Cormyr and the Dales, brings the survival of the Sembian colony into doubt, and delays the eventual founding of an independent Sembia.

902 DR Year of the Queen’s Tears
Sammaster [887, 905] creates the first Cult dracolich, Shargrailar. The rituals and components necessary to create a dracolich are transcribed in the Tome of the Dragon, a holy relic that is later used by the many cells of the Cult of the Dragon [905] to raise their own dracolich allies.

902 DR Chondath formally grants independence to the Sembian city-states Chondathan and Chauncelgaunt.

902 DR The Rotting War: The bitter civil war in Chondath earns its title as necromantic magic decimates the battlefield on the Fields of Nun. Plague soon sweeps throughout the land. Chondath breaks up into a nation of loosely aligned city-states.

913 DR Year of the Watching Raven
Sembia is founded under the Raven Banner, the personal emblem of Rauthauvyr “the Raven,” a human war-leader who gathered and commanded a standing army to police the roads of the fledgling human territory. Rauthauvyr forces the elves to allow a road through their forests, linking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Fallen Stars to the Moonsea, ensuring the growth and
prosperity of Sembia. Hailed as the founder of the realm, he refuses to rule it, preferring to serve a succession of elected-by-merchant-council “overmasters” until he grew old and infirm—whereupon he rode off alone into the forest, never to be seen by humans again.


Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6641 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2018 :  15:30:21  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well, I guess I should put you out of your misery. This is what I came up with. Use it or not, as you like.

Of old, the fall of ancient Jhaamdath saw a massive Chondathan diaspora as wave after wave of humans fled their ravaged homes to take ship north and east into the archipelago south of present-day Altumbel and from there, to the coastal lands of the present-day Aglarondan peninsula. In those early days, the first groups of settlers encountered the dark, unfriendly fey-ridden Yuirwood and so took to their ships once again and forged on northwards to what became known as the Green Coast (for almost all of it was verdant woodlands), then a wild and untamed land, free of any great cities or kingdoms of men or elves.

In less than a century, those self-sufficient settlers of Jhaamdathi stock would briefly come under the yoke of the desperate, fiend-worshipping empire of Narfell as that tainted land spread its tentacles west, only for all that they had built to be swept away in the devastation of the Great Conflagration. The Jhaamdathan settlers, who had come to call themselves Damarans after one of their first, great explorers and leaders, Damar of the Red Tree, absorbed many native Nar tribesmen fleeing their great war with Raumathar as well as Raumvirans who had elected not to return to their also-ravaged homeland as they slowly coalesced into a new racial group. This process was bolstered by the ongoing migratory tide of Chondathans who continued to strike north for the promise of lands and opportunity.

This second wave of Chondathan migration that occurred after the Great Conflagration saw the arrival of Cardreth Fethar and his four sons to the lands of the Green Coast. Cardreth was a follower of Chess “the Blackshield” Venden, who would establish the village of Chessagol a few short months after arriving in the Year of Enchanted Hearts (-72 DR) and grandly crown himself “king” of that burgeoning settlement from the newly forged Kraken Throne five winters later in the Year of Festivals (-67 DR). The Fethars were loyal and valued retainers of the Venden royals, and grew swiftly to wealth and prominence in Chessagol, establishing a reputation for canny trading, strategic exploration of the surrounding region and ruthless opportunism.

With the passing of the years, the line of the Blackshield eventually failed and after a series of failed rulers it fell to Hardoon Fethar to seize the Kraken Throne and assume the rulership of Chessagol in the Year of the Steelfall (210 DR). The ambitious Hardoon saw opportunity in Impiltur to the east, as that kingdom struggled to deal with the devastating effects of the Prayerbane Plague, which had ravaged it only a year before and caused the death of Crown Prince Ellarath. Hardoon moved swiftly to take advantage of the situation and by the Year of Old Danger (219 DR) had successfully managed to marry off his daughter Almarian, a raven-tressed beauty, to the new Crown Prince Darthorn. Unfortunately Almarian died after giving birth to her son Toaven and this precious child, the sole male blood heir of the line of Inrath, was sequestered away by King Tharaun of Impiltur who wished to ensure his line of succession. When Hardoon sought access to his grandson, he was at first casually rebuffed and then as time went on told in no uncertain terms that the child was a Mirandor not a Fethar, and to remain in his, in the words of the less than tactful Tharaun, “low-towered, mud-cobbled, dung-reeking cluster of stones he called a city”.

The incensed Hardoon swore vengeance and believing his son-in-law weak and biddable (for the well-meaning Darthorn initially tried to broker a peace between his strong-willed father and hot-headed father-in-law), set about planning to remove Tharaun from the throne of Impiltur by assassination. Hardoon’s machinations met with disaster when his assassins failed to slay King Tharaun in the Year of the Empty Turret (226 DR) and then gave up the name of their employer under torture. Impiltur’s response was brutal and merciless. Raising the Anarth (a muster of armsmen by decree where all nobles of the kingdom were required to supply a retinue of horse, bowmen and billmen and named for an early ruler of present-day Chondath), King Tharaun marched west along the coast and within a tenday was before Chessagol’s walls. Hardoon saw his doom before him but would not yield, instead challenging Tharaun to personal combat. Tharaun was in his sixty-third year but hale and iron-thewed, for the blood of his half-elven mother flowed strongly in his veins, and he took Hardoon’s head outside the city gates that grim day and declared himself ruler of Chessagol, annexing it for the kingdom of Impiltur.

Hardoon’s only son, the timid but keen-witted Beldrin, was taken hostage back to Lyrabar, but over time was not seen as a danger to the throne, having always been well-regarded by brother-in-law Darthorn. He was given leave to depart the realm in the Year of the Sepulchre (246 DR) and travelled west again with his family to Chessagol for a brief time – and rumors state, collecting a vast sum of treasure in gems hidden away by his father ere his demise – and then on to Proeskampalar, setting himself up as a trader in gems and precious metals. There the Fethars prospered, gaining a seat on the ruling council of that city within a generation, and re-establishing the family’s prosperity, status and wealth.

In the Year of the Hearth (431 DR) the fortunes of the Fethars once again became entangled with the warlike Mirandors of Impiltur. The aggressive King Meldath of Impiltur, known to history as “the Mighty” and “the Magnificent”, reclaimed the city of Chessagol for the realm in 429 DR, it having rebelled in the time of his grandfather. The Council of Steel in Proeskampalar took in a few of the surviving Stonelords, the former rulers of Chessagol, in defiance of Impiltur, which lead to immediate tensions punctuated by military skirmishing for several winters. After a time, Impiltur marched on Proeskampalar in earnest and defeated their forces in battle in the Year of the Bitter Root (438 DR). With the city under siege and fearing the worst, Jaladroon Fethar managed to save his wife and three sons by sending them to Chancelgaunt across the Dragon Reach, where the Fethars had property and contacts. Jaladroon and the other members of the Council of Steel were slain in the sack of Proeskampalar in 440 DR but the Fethar line survived and continued to thrive in their new home.

Within a few generations, the Fethars had consolidated their position in Chancelgaunt, becoming regarded as one of the Old Chauncel, and taking a place on that city-state’s merchant council alongside the other powerful families resident there. Success begat success and in the Year of the Coin (748 DR), the Fethar family joined the consortium of a dozen merchant houses from what is now Selgaunt, which purchased Flostren’s Hold on the north bank of the Moonsea from Orlephar Flostren for 240,000 pieces of gold – a vast sum in the Inner Sea north in those days – looking to benefit from the vast natural resources of the Moonsea North. Lead by the shrewd Elephstron, Mirdin Fethar’s investment saw him named a Lord of the City but the settlement’s success and continued survival saw an influx of lesser merchants from Sembia and other lands, leading to escalating infighting as all jostled to benefit from the river of riches that flowed through this most northern bastion of civilization in the Inner Sea lands. Aware of their precarious position, concerned with their lesser merchant rivals and bedeviled by rumors of a vast orc horde gathering beyond Thar, the Lords agreed that the Hold needed powerful magic to defend itself. Elephstron traveled south in search of a master mage and in far-off Westgate recruited the wizard Zhentar Ilmeth, whose price for coming north to Flostren’s Hold was that he become a lord equal to any of the twelve. With few misgivings, the Twelve accepted Zhentar’s terms.

The arrival of Zhentar was to spell the doom of Mirdin Fethar, for he and two of his sons as well as five other lords of the city were slain by vile sorcery in what became known as the Cleansing of the Council, shortly thereafter. The sole surviving son, Galuth by name, fled the keep by magic, teleporting away desperately even as the ravaging spells of his unknown magical assassin clawed at him. Back in Selgaunt, the maimed Galuth received the sobriquet “Bloody Fethar" from shocked onlookers as trusted family servants hustled him to the shrine of Lathander to receive magical healing. The proud Galuth adopted this term of address as a badge of honor and on his wedding day five winters later to the rich and canny Malia Hevlen, he pronounced from that day forward his house would bear the name Bloodfeathers.

Despite the dip in the family fortunes, Galuth proved a worthy scion of his ancestors and hard work and a healthy dose of luck, bolstered by the wealth of his bride, soon saw the Bloodfeathers once again amass riches and holdings that saw them achieve a pre-eminent position amongst the Old Chauncel. Galuth’s descendant, the ambitious and energetic Everdin Bloodfeathers, made a huge fortune from shipping weapons across the Sea of Fallen Stars to the rebels that triumphed over the armies of Mulhorand and established Thay, whilst bringing back to Sembia exotic goods from the fabled land of Kara-Tur out of Telflamm after negotiating a trade agreement with King Peverel of Impiltur. This success saw the family’s trade focus shift almost totally to the lands of the Unapproachable East and with the fall of the Elethlim Dynasty and the dissolution of Old Impiltur, the Bloodfeathers saw significant opportunities to generate even greater wealth.

After a century of lucrative trade dealings in the eastern lands, the Year of Spreading Spring (1038 DR) ushered in yet another magnificent trade opportunity for the Bloodfeathers family. Making overtures to other Sembian families who were investing heavily in prospecting, mining, smelting, and road/mule trail building and betterment north of the Moonsea, the Lord Rirdar Bloodfeathers persuaded a few of these families to shift their attentions to the opportunities unfolding in the lands north of the surviving city-states of Old Impiltur. An agreement was made with five merchant families to covertly work together, dividing up the lands of present-day Vaasa and Damara into “claims” (this family would “own” or at least control mining in this territory drawn on a map, all boundaries pegged to visual local landmarks like distinctive crags, streams, etc., and that family would control the next territory, and so on).

This secret agreement was known as Faernor’s Pact, for Olrand Faernor, an adventuresome half-elven explorer and mapper hired by the Bloodfeathers to properly map the lands uncovered by the retreat of the Great Glacier. The families involved in this pact were the Bloodfeathers and the Sembian houses of Darvorn, Genthur, Haladras, Jallask, and Sarplynd. The Six Houses kept very quiet about what they were up to in terms of dividing territory, for their interest in these northern lands was mirrored in Impiltur and Thesk, but when seeking investment money from other Sembians (individual citizens rather than costers and wealthy families, as they reasoned they could better dominate individuals rather than ambitious, connected, and experienced-in-trade rival trading families), they emphasized their intention to improve overland travel routes “for the good of all.”

Largely because of Faernor’s good mapping and deep knowledge of the area, the Six soon profited mightily, and with those riches inevitable divisions arose amongst them. The Genthurs, Haladrans, Jallaskans, and Sarplyndar in time wanted to become large landowners in the Vast and fragmented Impiltur, and make their coin selling off small land holdings as well as building footprint sites in existing cities (“safer” investments than more northerly mining so long as they established and retained control of the rulers of any new settlements) rather than continue the struggle to actually “open the Coldlands”. They saw however the need to dupe the Bloodfeathers and the Darvorni to continue the heavy lifting of hauling more and more bloodstone and other metal ore of the best quality out of the distant and dangerous lands northeast of the Moonsea so that the flow of coin into their coffers remained uninterrupted until their plans could come to fruition.

Over time, certain unscrupulous members of the Genthur and Sarplyndar families separately hit upon the idea of eliminating the wisest and most strong-willed (or stubborn) members of their business partners, so as to gain increasing control and wealth within the pact and challenge the strength of the Bloodfeathers and the Darvorni. They did their jobs so well that the families of Haladras and Jallask were almost wiped out before these murderous tactics brought the Genthurs and Sarplyndar into open conflict in which those two houses almost annihilated each other and ultimately left the Genthurs reduced to a few vagabonds in hiding under other names, scattered across Faerûn. The pact collapsed when the house of Sarplyndar was formally expelled from the Six after several instances of poisonings at trade meetings between the houses and the withdrawal of the Darvorni, who sponsored several mercenary companies to fiercely defend themselves against assassins and spies of rival Six families and ultimately become far-traveled mercenaries themselves, based out of the Vilhon Reach.

The Bloodfeathers, dismayed at the collapse of Faernor’s Pact, decided to relocate their family and fortunes to Damara to put the constant harrying at a distance. Their taste for remaining Sembians, if this was what life would be like to be Sembian, was entirely gone. When Feldrin Bloodfeathers proclaimed himself king of the newly-founded realm of Damara in the Year of the Bronze Banner (1075 DR), he pronounced to his subjects that it was eight hundred and sixty five years since his ancestors had first achieved royalty. To commemorate this momentous event and in an effort to legitimize his nascent rule, King Feldrin proclaimed a new calendar based on “Fethar Reckoning”, marking the year of his accession as FR 865. The Bloodfeathers line would fall with the attack of the Witch-King Zhengyi only 282 years later, in the Year of the Prince (1357 DR) and with it their unique calendar. Such is the hubris of kings in matters large and small.

As always, comments welcome.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 11 Sep 2018 :  22:11:00  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like this lore, Krash.

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The Masked Mage
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Posted - 12 Sep 2018 :  02:25:06  Show Profile Send The Masked Mage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Faernor the reason its called Faerun? Like America?
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George Krashos
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Posted - 12 Sep 2018 :  03:55:13  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Masked Mage

Faernor the reason its called Faerun? Like America?



I think the term "Faerun" was around a long time before Faernor was.

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

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Posted - 12 Sep 2018 :  13:37:40  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like it. By the way, I love the explanation of Galuth Fethar taking on the surname Bloodfeather. One thing does come to mind though. Is a line dead just because the last name changes? I'm asking because the Dragonsbane line isn't dead in 4e (though I'd have to reread the references that I think it was BRJ.. maybe someone else... put in their Dungeon or Dragon article for the area). I'm bringing it up because Lady Christine who marries Gareth Dragonsbane had children... but it may be not children but nephews, etc... that survive the Dragonsbane name. But Lady Christine is OF the bloodfeather line apparently (not sure how far she's veered off though), though I'm not even sure if they actually held the Bloodfeather name since we don't know hers or Baron Tranth's actual last names AFAIK.

Yet Dimian Ree has not openly claimed the throne of Damara, though he is a true descendant of Feldrin, one of only three surviving members of the line. (The others are Tranth, former Baron of Bloodstone, and his daughter, Baroness Christine.)

Oh, and I like your idea of Faernor's Pact and 6 families divvying the land up, and the infighting was interesting. I'm assuming here that some of the original divisions of Damara into Baronies/Duchies has to do with this pact (and that could be a very bad assumption). I'd assume Soravia is out, because its still pretty much a wild land. It probably was established later. How would you divide up the land between the Bloodfeathers Darvorn, Genthur, Haladras, Jallask, and Sarplynd (it would seem the original land of the Bloodfeathers may have been Carmathan?)? Or do you view that the Bloodfeathers changed all these boundaries. Do you think he renamed the duchies/baronies to rid them of the stain of the infighting caused by the families in the Faernor's Pact? Did any surviving Haladras or Jallask members of the pact come under their rulership, or did they give it up (which why does Jallask ring a bell in my ear) or sell their interests to the new king?

the Duchy of Arcata
the Duchy of Bloodstone
the Duchy of Brandiar
the Duchy of Carmathan
the Barony of Morov
the Barony of Ostel
the Barony of Polten
and the Duchy of Soravia


Partly to help me, and anyone else that follows... throwing out some things to help in reading the above

Proeskampalar= Procampur (not sure if you made this one up or if its already established) … bottom of the vast
Chessagol = Tsurlagol (I know this one's already canon) … between Procampur and Lyrabar, on the bottom border of Impiltur
Chancelgaunt = Selgaunt (I know this one's already canon) … off in Sembia
Flostren's Hold = Zhentil Keep … everyone knows where this is offhand

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

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Posted - 12 Sep 2018 :  13:39:36  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
btw, just in case it didn't come across in the above... WELL DONE.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Gary Dallison
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United Kingdom
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Posted - 12 Sep 2018 :  14:02:28  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'm going to add my two pence because I've had a while to digest this excellent lore.

If I have my facts correct not all of the land of Damara was habitable when the Bloodfeathers arrived so those boundaries are likely new.

When he declared himself king it is likely that the southern part of the land was home to Damaran tribes and is be willing to bet he had to ally with them to win his crown. The centre and northern parts of the country would be owned by Nar tribes who he probably had to fight.
Heliogabalus is definitely Nar reminiscent so I think he took it from them and renamed it helgabal.

I had Tranth as the surname (you would never call a baron by his first name). I would imagine they are related to the Bloodfeathers dynasty in a similar way to the crownsilvers and huntsilvers of cormyr. A king of Damara may have had many sons and awarded land to the younger sons who then would have formed their own noble houses. Dimian Ree could be related on the maternal line (daughter's married off).

Just my two cents and what I intend to do with Damara when I get round to it.

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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2018 :  23:45:51  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Oh, and I just reread … so Faernor's pact with the 6 families would have divided up Damara AND Vaasa between the families. So, possibly some of the families who "fell out" OR who were decimated were owners in Vaasa.

@Dazzlerdal - yeah, with Soravia being both wild and closest to the great glacier, that's why I listed it as one that probably wasn't initially a part of things. Probably bloodstone wasn't either if I had to guess since its pretty far north. Ah, also realizing Arcata's the most westerly, not Carmathan, so his initial territory (Carmathan) was kind of one of the largest and most central, but eventually they set the capital to Heliogabalus. Of course, the changing of Baronial and Duchy lines may have happened several times over several hundred years as well.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore

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Posted - 14 Sep 2018 :  22:15:58  Show Profile Send Eilserus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos

Good catch Eilserus. FR13 has many a lore nugget yet to be mined. It also contains a little "D'oh!" reference that I only picked up on a year or two ago that i wish I had worked out earlier when doing some FR work with a friend "back in the day". I've long had "orcward stones" playing around in my head and note that I had (before Troy Denning went nuclear on them) the Lords Who Sleep of Cormyr fame protected by one.

It seems somewhat counter-intuitive to have them of Anaurian origin given that realm fell ironically to an orc horde. Of course they may be few in number, a relic of Netheril and work only to ward a place/location rather than act as a "Maginot Line"-type defensive barrier. It is interesting to note however that after its initial early clashes with the orcs, Netheril appeared largely untroubled by these creatures (of course in saying that, I note the massive unreliability of the presented Netherese historical narrative) and may indeed have set up such a barrier to the north of the realm.

I am sure they would be treasured by dwarves if they could find them, but given the fact that dwarven kingdoms seem to fall with regularity to orcish incursions, one could safely state that these items are not prevalent in dwarven communities. Tethyamar fell to orcs as well so I can't see them using them in any great numbers either. Of course that does make for some interesting thoughts re the remnants of the Mines of Tethyamar and what remains and what does not and why. Again, a place I've had a few thoughts on over the years, with a fairly big nod to Tolkien's Mines of Moria and trying not to crib too many ideas from the Moria ICE sourcebook (which is brilliant IMHO).

Given it's a one-off mention, only Ed could add more. That means, that you have essentially free rein until he does, if ever.

-- George Krashos



Thanks George! For sure, that Moria book is great! Goblin Gate, The Grey Mountains, so many good books from ICE.

Could I PM you my email addy for the Thayan handout please. :)
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader

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Posted - 16 Sep 2018 :  11:49:47  Show Profile Send The Masked Mage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos

It seems somewhat counter-intuitive to have them of Anaurian origin given that realm fell ironically to an orc horde. Of course they may be few in number, a relic of Netheril and work only to ward a place/location rather than act as a "Maginot Line"-type defensive barrier. It is interesting to note however that after its initial early clashes with the orcs, Netheril appeared largely untroubled by these creatures (of course in saying that, I note the massive unreliability of the presented Netherese historical narrative) and may indeed have set up such a barrier to the north of the realm.



The explanation to the ed of their conflicts with orc hordes seems to be the development of spells like Tolodine's killing wind, that pretty much were designed to just wipe out hordes in one swoop. Admittedly this is reading between the lines a bit, but the dates line up.
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