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KismetRose
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
 Posted - 21 Mar 2018 : 21:45:40
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Hello everyone! Since the PCs in my game are going to take part in a grand play about the Salamander War (and perhaps uncover some of its secrets in the process), I've been writing about it at my blog, Kismet's Guide to Thay. I hope it will help to entertain and perhaps aid other DMs when they deal with Thayan history.
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Kismet's Dungeons & Dragons * World of Darkness * Gamer Gathering |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11825 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2018 : 00:52:17
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Hey Kismet. I think I can help sort out some of that history and maybe add to it a bit. Part of the confusion about the Zulkir of Conjuration not wanting to be involved and being at the center of it is because Sabass of Thay was not the Zulkir of Conjuration during the start of the Salamander War. He only became the Zulkir of Conjuration AFTER the salamander war (so he was Zulkir for about 10 years). Presumably during the war, the current Zulkir of Conjuration (unnamed mind you) was killed. Also, both Dreams and Spellbound have it said that its both the Zulkir of Evocation and the Zulkir of Conjuration that are involved with the summoning of the salamanders, but in Dreams its only in one spot (page 4)
The third scheme is perhaps the most ambitious. The Zulkirs of Evocation and Conjuration have combined with the Tharchion of Lapendrar to open a gate to the Elemental Plane of Fire, assemble an army of salamanders and efreeti, and purge the North Coast of competitors to Bezantur once and for all.
So, as I've read it in my head, the two Zulkirs that start the war of the salamanders are both killed SOMEHOW that's unspecified. Later, the school of Conjuration must replace the Zulkir, and Sabass of Thay is elected because he's a researcher and maybe he was effective in saving Thay by being careful. Aznar Thrul replaces the current Zulkir of Evocation, gets Kossuth's support, and helps stop the war, so he saves the face of the school of evocation... and thus they elect him as their new Zulkir.
On this topic, for my United Tharchs of Toril, I'm actually bringing back Sabass of Thay, and its actually tied to this war. Its also tied to the War of the Zulkirs in several ways, and its got an Efreeti NPC that you might want to introduce... one of many sons of the Efreeti Sultan Marrake. Since Sabass and Lauzoril were enemies in life (one being the leader of the Researchers, the other being the leader of the Imperialist Party), I feel like having the two back and both in the same Tharch (in my United Tharchs of Toril) could be interesting.
Here's what I've written up for Sabass after the second sundering (i.e. modern times)
Sabass, Aulkir of Conjuration of the Tharch of the Wizard's Reach, and former leader of the Researchers faction (level 23 wizard). Hometown: Lasdur. Sabass was recently resurrected by an efreeti priest of Kossuth in the town of Lasdur a few years after the death of Nevron. He was able to take over Nevron's role as leader of the conjurers in Escalant, though many are non-plussed by his slow and careful approach to matters. Still, none can disagree that the man has a true and undying hatred for Szass Tam, who it is rumored had him assassinated over a century ago, and whom he hates for destroying the country that he once loved. With the return of Lauzoril and Lallara Mediocros, Sabass found himself in new waters, for even though Lallara shared his passion for careful planning as the Zulkir of abjuration, Sabass and Lauzoril had never much seen eye to eye. Sabass is still testing the waters with all of his newfound members of that Zulkirate, for he is unsure whom to trust, but he does hold out hope that they will be able to oust Tam and rescue the people of Thay. Unfortunately, so far, he sees his fellow council members for the tharch of the Wizard's Reach all running in different directions and having a hard time agreeing on the best path to move forward.
Lasdur (approx population 10,600, 62% human (28% Turami, 36% Mulan, 23% Rashemi, and 13% other), 16% genasi (fire), 8% half-elf, 6% centaur, 5% halfling, 3% other races)
Notable Individuals/Residents: (Autharch managing the city),
Description This city, destroyed during the Salamander war over a century ago, was also the site of one of its greatest defeats for the forces of Sultan Marrake of the Efreeti. Prior to his own Zulkir's opening of the gate to the elemental plane of fire, the conjurer who lead the researchers faction, one Sabass of Thay, took the time to research a book on sha'ir practices in Zakhara acquired in a bazaar in Calimshan. When the efreeti sought to turn on the then Zulkirs of Conjuration and Evocation, it was Sabass of Thay who secretly came to their aid from behind enemy lines. Sabass' studies had revealed not only how to entrap a genie, but also his studies had revealed the truename of the commander of the efreeti, one Shazadeh Vamujin ibn Marrake, one of the Sultan's over five hundred sons sent on this mission to prove himself worthy to his father. Working with a high level priest of Kossuth from the Flaming Brazier of Bezantur, Sabass bound Vamujin to a brazier within the city of Lasdur during the height of the city's burning destruction. Sabass used this binding to try and draw away as much of the power being wrought against the people of Lasdur and use it to entrap the son of the Efreeti Sultan. However, in doing so, he also entwined a bit of his own life force into the ritual.
This brazier became the centerpoint to a new temple of Kossuth, which was constructed in Lasdur in the midst of the central point where the fires had burned their strongest. After binding Vamujin, Sabass went on to help banish the rest of the efreeti as part of a great circle organized by himself and his Zulkir. When his Zulkir fell in the Salamander War following this successful ritual, it was Sabass who rescued his fellow conjurers by forcing the efreeti, Vamujin, to stand and hold a central pass through which the Salamanders were forced to pass by the magic of the conjurers. With their leadership fallen, Sabass was elected to become the new Zulkir of Conjuration, primarily because of his vocal slandering of the former Zulkir, whose actions in causing the Salamander War had resulted in the death of many mages of the school of conjuration.
In 1368 DR, when Sabass was assassinated at the command of Szass Tam as part of a campaign to destroy the Researchers faction, this freed the efreeti from being confined within the brazier. Vamujin however was still bound to stay within five miles of this brazier, which effectively confined him to the temple of Kossuth in Lasdur. He also could not act out against the temple's priests or its worshippers, but he could at least enjoy himself by existing in corporeal form. Eventually the bound efreeti began to settle into a life of comfort in which he used his powers of illusion to aid in local plays or storytelling. After some time, he actually began to feel a kinship to these people that he formerly would have destroyed, who had survived despite the adverse conditions of having everything in their life burned. Moreso, he saw them not just surviving, but where there had been blight, now there was new hope being built. Vamujin had an awakening that he should serve Kossuth, and in 1373 DR, he became an initiate priest in love with a young genasi priestess. Two years later, a horde of undead invaded Thay, and several members of the church headed into Thay in hopes of saving the lives of fellow Kossuthans. Most of them died at the battle of the Keep of Thazar when wands provided by Szass Tam exploded in their hands, including Vamujin's lover. It was this act that turned this efreeti into an enemy of Szass Tam.
Ten years later, when the rebel red wizards were forced to flee Thay along with their Zulkirs, they found Lasdur to have a sympathetic population in the form of the church of Kossuth. Still, despite his sympathies, Vamujin is by no means a saint to the church of Kossuth. Unknown to many, as genie royalty, Vamujin also possesses the ability to disguise himself as a mortal, and he has used this ability to cuckold more than a few travelers passing through Lasdur. He also made it known that he would be willing to use his power to grant three wishes per year to anyone who would “show him the respect and courtesty that are his due”.
This granting of wishes has become a major draw to the church of Kossuth in Lasdur, and the choosing of a wish grantee has become part of the local celebration of Greengrass, Midsummer, and Highharvestide each year. Vamujin uses this opportunity to feed his own ego, line his pockets, and attract mates. This has resulted in a large number of genasi births in Lasdur over the past century. Still, this activity has also brought a lot of traffic into Lasdur that never would have seen this backwater fishing and farming community otherwise.
With the death of Zulkir Nevron several years back, Vamujin saw an opportunity to restore the previous Zulkir to life without incurring the wrath of a red wizards. So it was that in return for a granting of 3 wishes, he did dispatch a party of adventurers to find a scroll of true resurrection. He then cast the spell that restored Sabass of Thay to life, in hopes that the red wizard would free him from his time confined to the city of Lasdur. Unfortunately, once Sabass heard of the events following his own death at the hands of Tam's assassins, such as the War of the Zulkirs, Tam's construction of the dread rings, and his attempt to destroy the entire world, his mind was set as to what he needed to do. Sabass decided that the only way he could restore Thay would be to destroy Szass Tam, and so he gave Vamujin more freedom, but only when it serves the end goal of destroying Tam and his associates. Now Sabass has settled in to do what he is perhaps the most qualified to do, researching how to destroy Szass Tam.
Regional History of the Tharch of the Wizard's Reach
In 1487 DR, Zulkirs Lauzoril Tavai and Lallara Mediocros suddenly reappeared and returned to the city of Escalant, blaming their nine year hiatus on the collapsing of an unstable demiplane. They found their former red wizard subjects in disarray. They quickly set themselves to the task of taking control of the city again, and after killing those who were foolish enough to stand in their way, their fellow red wizards soon accepted their command again. Their power was much diminished however, for without effective leadership, many of the red wizards of Escalant had either died in struggles for power or left seeking a new life. However, they found a Zulkir from a century past sitting in the seat of conjuration, for apparently Sabass of Thay, former Zulkir of Conjuration and leader of the Researchers political party, had returned to life somehow a few years following the “disappearance” of Zulkir Nevron.
A few days later, the nearby city of Laothkund which had supposedly been totally drowned beneath the waves of the Alamber sea taking a large part of the Wizard's Reach coastline with it, suddenly reappeared. Word also spread that many ruined and drowned cities of Chessenta, Unther, and Mulhorand had reappeared, but their populations had often changed noticeably. The nearby Chondalwood which had been a plagueland began to stabilize. The Underchasm had disappeared and a portion of the dwarven great rift had returned.
What was more surprising though was that the city of Laothkund had returned and was being led by red wizards. As the reports came in, it seemed that many of these returned places held red wizards. Lauzoril, Lallara, and Sabass, along with their own hastily formed retinue of soldiers and red wizards, soon visited the city of Laothkund, where they were escorted to meet Samathar Dulsaer, Aulkir of Transmutation of the tharch of Peleveran, and Hercubes Jedea, Aulkir of Evocation and King-in-exile of Mordulkin. While the three zulkirs were astonished to find the founder of the League of Samathar alive and well, nearly five centuries after his disappearance and its fall, it was in fact the citizens of Laothkund who were most bewildered by the visit. It soon became apparent why when they were brought into a private room and images began to appear in several crystal balls. Gradually the faces of many red wizards begain to appear. Many of the faces were ones that they had presumed dead, such as Zulkir Yaphyll Sirtula, Zulkir Mythrell'aa, and the “First Princess of Thay” Dmitra Flass. To Lauzoril's great joy, his two daughters, Mimuay and Nyasia, whom he had not seen for over a century were still alive, and moments later came the confusion as Lauzoril saw himself walk up and put his arms around his two daughters.
For Lauzoril, the act of seeing himself somewhere else immediately set off warning bells. Thoughts of shapeshifters, illusions, and other deceptive uses of magic filled his head. Thus, it was that he was surprised when his other self actually spoke first by saying, “Well, this is interesting.... apparently we finally have the answer to if the god of necromancy CAN duplicate a soul in separate timestreams. Either that, or I am actually going insane as some predicted would happen if we ever met. Either way, alavairthae, friend... or maybe I should call you brother? What exactly does one call an awakened clone of oneself when the two finally meet after a century apart, that is of course if the natural insanity doesn't kick in? Perhaps we should meet in private to discuss the activities of the past century, as I'm sure you'd love to get reacquainted with our daughters. They've both turned into such cherished treasures this past century, and Nyasia I can tell already would just love to chatter your ears off. Oh, and of course Lallara you are welcome as well, as I'm sure you and Dmitra would enjoy discussing past times. You should bring along that old goat Sabass as well I guess.”
Thus it was that the three Zulkirs found themselves down in the city of Upper Peleveran in the eastern Shaar, built atop the cliff's edge of the Landrise gorge where the reborn Cliffside City of Peleverai had been reestablished. Over the next few weeks, the story of the transfer to Abeir and subsequent involvement of the gods of magic in the saving of the red wizards, and the involvement of the red wizards in the saving of the gods in kind, was relayed. The story of the destruction of many of the cities of western Chessenta, and the need to expand in an environment surrounded by the forces of Karshimis the Tyrant, led into the story of their migration south into the eastern Shaar to the ruined city of Peleverai. They also relayed the negotiations that created an alliance between multiple remote trade enclaves, and even a hidden Netherese Flying Enclave amongst the Tears of Selune, to eventually form a new kind of Zulkirate known as the United Tharchs of Toril. While the tharch of Peleveran is perhaps its greatest tharch, there is no doubt that the majority of the strength of the conglomerate lay across the seas on the far flung continents of Maztica, Anchorome, and Katashaka.
Over the few months, the two groups shared much of what had happened over the past century on both worlds, but there was always a tension about which Lauzoril would remain Zulkir. It was actually the two Lauzoril's that worked this out between themselves, for they agreed to share the votes of an Aulkir and a Zulkir between them in national matters, but that in local matters to a tharch, each would be treated as a full Zulkir. This of course was dependent on the formation of a new tharch along the Wizard's Reach combining the power of the cities of Escalant and Laothkund. It was also agreed that some of the resources, including entire cities, of the tharch of Peleveran, would transfer their leadership to this new “Tharch of the Wizard's Reach”. In addition some red wizards of Escalant would take up roles of leadership. With all the upheaval it was agreed that rushing this transition could lead to disaster, and thus the transition into fully-fledged tharch has been being negotiated now for the last three years, and has only been finalized in the last few months.
In all, it looks like the Tharch of the Wizard's Reach consists of the cities of Laothkund, Escalant, Cimbar, and Soorenar, as well as the smaller villages of Tilbrand, Lasdur, Teth, and Taskaunt. However, it plans to expand, and these expansion plans are also what has taken so long to form this new Tharch. For instance, Aulkir Samathar wants to take over the city of Erebos, for it has become a symbol of Tchazzar's remaining might, and he would see all trace of the dragon turned god who imprisoned him destroyed. Meanwhile, Aulkir Hercubes Jedea and the entire Jedean clan would like to recapture their home city of Mordulkin, which is currently held by genasi once of Shyr. The Chessentan city of Toreus, meanwhile, has had its red wizard enclave infiltrated by Zulkir Lauzoril of Escalant, and many of its red wizards are helping with the local criminal organizations to hire pirates, mercenaries, and merchants to aid the capture of all of Mordulkin, Toreus, as well as the holdings around Watcher's Cape, including the mental subjugation of the heads of the Crimson Sea Maritime Priakos. But even though the ruling mages plot to seize new cities, the inhabitants of some of these cities, particularly Cimbar and Soorenar, do not desire being ruled by an even closer magocracy, and there is some whispering that they will return to local rulership much as their sister city of Akanax did several decades past. If they do so, some think that this may show weakness to their nearby Thayan neighbor, and so some red wizards recommend shoring up their own local defenses, especially now that Szass Tam sees a growing threat directly on his border.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 22 Mar 2018 03:18:31 |
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KismetRose
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2018 : 18:01:27
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Thank you for the clarification! It bothered me to no end that the Zulkir of Conjuration and Evocation was presented with such confusion and that the character remained unnamed. I have revamped my newest articles on the Salamander War with your words in mind. The third and last planned post was just put up today.
I have no interest in events as they were written for 4th edition Realms but the information is interesting to know. I am working in and backward from the year 1377, and have so much in store that I will be doing so for quite some time. =) |
Kismet's Dungeons & Dragons * World of Darkness * Gamer Gathering |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11825 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2018 : 23:32:28
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One of the things that I half wonder, with the death of the two Zulkirs who caused the scenario, were their deaths a requirement by Kossuth as punishment?
BTW, I once was focused on the salamander war as well back during second edition. Back in 2nd edition though, salamanders were immune to any weapons besides magical weapons (the concept of damage resistance with weapons didn't exist yet). That in essence made the salamander war a serious issue, since the average soldier in Thay couldn't damage one without a magical weapon. I actually had the Thayans taking the weapons wielded by the salamanders and converting them. Under 5e rules they only have "resistance" or half damage versus non-magical weapons, which makes a huge difference on their threat level. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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KismetRose
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2018 : 20:13:48
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| Argh; I have to keep rewriting. I think I see what the real issue is: I can't find the names for the Zulkirs of Conjuration OR evocation at the time of the Salamander War. They seem to be nameless villains. |
Kismet's Dungeons & Dragons * World of Darkness * Gamer Gathering |
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KismetRose
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2018 : 20:36:14
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Once again, you have inspired me, so I've gone back and edited some more. Here is what I have now, in its entirety:
Tier 1: What Most Thayans Know
The cities of Delthuntle, Nethra, Teth, Laothkund, Hilbrand, Lasdur, Taskaunt, Escalant, Murbant, and Thasselen were known as the Free Cities. Most were founded by Unther as it sought a foothold in the region and welcomed reinforcements from the West. They remained as independent of each other as they dared out of pride and the spirit of competition. They fought among each other or trade rivals in Chessenta more than anyone else, including Thay, for most of their histories. They fell under Thayan control at intervals for four centuries, but often earned periods of freedom. Thayans christened the area “the Priador” but they were the only ones to use the term or consider it to be part of Thay. Then the “free cities” began to work together to weaken trade to Bezantur and thwart Thayan influence within their borders, schemes which became their final mistakes.
When open hostilities began at the start of 1357, Delthuntle and Loathkund had populations of 70,000 each, and Hilbrand and Escalant boasted 30,000 inhabitants. Lasdur, Taskaunt, Murbant, and Thasselen were anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 people apiece and were utterly devastated during the war. The first assaults were waged by slaves, humanoids, and undead under the control of Thayan nobles, but they were only the opening salvo. Mid 1357, elemental reinforcements arrived with orders to burn everything in their path. Hilbrand swiftly surrendered when it saw the devastation of the elemental legions. Escalant was besieged but held out due to support from outside towns horrified by the Red Wizards’ scorched earth policy. It was on the fields outside of Escalant that the worst battle was fought, when the salamanders turned against Thayan forces en masse in late 1357.
Although no one was sure of why the elementals attacked Thayans at the time, it was later revealed that they had been promised a grand, permanent portal to the Plane of Fire by the Zulkirs of Conjuration and Evocation. When no efforts were made to build it, the elementals grew impatient and delivered an ultimatum. Many were banished back to their home plane (namely the efreeti); the salamanders initially agreed to continue their work but turned on their former allies during the battle. They went on to terrorize the countryside, destroying free city people and Thayans alike, until Aznar Thrul contacted the god of fire, Kossuth, and convinced the deity to rein in the wayward elementals.
The end of the war led to a number of major changes in the balance of power in Thay: First, Hargrid Tenslayer was lost in battle, so another Tharchion rose in his place. The tharch of Lapendrar was drained of many resources and people, so it fell into relative obscurity. The Zulkirs of Conjuration and Evocation was reportedly killed in the fray, leaving Nevron to take over Conjuration. Aznar Thrul became Zulkir of Evocation and Tharchion of the Priador (the tharch of Bezantur was erased, swallowed into the larger whole), garnering enough influence to set him up as a rival to Szass Tam. This made many Thayans uneasy, since no other Zulkir had been a Tharchion, but since he saved the tharch, there was no denying him the right to be its governor, if that was what he wished. He also defeated and claimed Mari Agneh as his own in the aftermath, before she could scheme to save herself.
Tier 2: What Some Thayans Know
The Zulkir of Conjuration, whose identity was never made public, and Ivania Yonago, Zulkir of Evocation, made a deal with Hargrid Tenslayer, Tharchion of Lapendrar, to use Lapandrar as a springboard for the attack. They also wooed the Tharchion of the Bezantur, Mari Agneh, to clear away the competitors of the city forever. Mari was promised the seat of the expanded Tharch once it was fully under Thayan rule, so she had a vested interest in the operations from the beginning.The Zulkir would receive a tithe from all trade without having to take on the title and responsibilities of being Tharchion, which was a fine deal for him/her. When the Thayan army did not bring the Priador in line fast enough, they decided to reach out to fire elementals for support. The Zulkir of Conjuration opened a gate to the Plane of Elemental Fire and Zulkir Ivania secured the help of the Lords of Fire, who sent regiments of salamanders and efreeti to serve as shock troops.
In return (and unbeknownst to anyone else), the Zulkirs promised to keep the South Coast on fire as a permanent place on the Material Plane to welcome and host fire elementals. The Zulkirs never intended to keep this promise; they planned to make it seem like they tried and failed. The Zulkirs and the fire elementals made an agreement to keep the arrangements to themselves, since they faced great opposition if the word got out. The Zulkirs knew the Lords of Fire only wanted a staging ground to launch offensives elsewhere in the Realms and fully believed the elementals would turn on their allies once they were strong enough in numbers. A lesser portal was created for the expeditionary forces to use, however, and a greater one was promised at the heart of the territory once the war was over.
The site of the gate was near a village named First Falls, which sat on the River Lapendrar overlooking what would become the Priador; it was also the first settlement to be sacrificed, with each villager burnt to a crisp. The site became marked by pillar of smoke, not because of its magic but due to the salamanders burning everything near it for their own pleasure. The portal was 10 by 6 feet high and heavily guarded, and it was at the gate that one of the final major battles of the war took place.
Tier 3: What Few Thayans Know
Mari Agneh sent private forces to put out extraneous fires throughout the Priador, wanting to secure her holdings and unaware of the deal that had made. Ivania and The Unnamed Zulkir, who was in actuality Desa Canos, could not afford to unveil their plan to Mari but found her efforts fortuitous, so no resistance was offered. This agitated the fire elementals enough to demand that the Zulkirs create the permanent portal they had promised at once or forfeit their deal. Desa was able to banish the efreeti back to their home plane, where they would have to remain silent or reveal their dealings to Kossuth. Ivania sought to placate the salamanders by offering to reset the fires in the Priador and bring them the person who had been so methodically stamping them out. The salamanders acquiesced and fell back in line, at least temporarily. Ivania traveled the Priador and set it aflame herself with great gusto, taking out some Thayan outposts in the process (as a way of further appeasing the salamanders who traveled with her).
Aznar Thrul, an up-and-coming wizard who worshiped Kossuth, had been investigating the war once the fire elementals became involved. He caught the rumors that Mari was behind the efforts to put out the fires and knew she was involved in the assault of the free cities; she was also more accessible than the Zulkirs or Hargrid, who was always on the move with his army. He quietly made his way past Mari's defenses in order to capture her and offer her as a sacrifice when she revealed that neither she nor Hargrid were in on the terms of the terms of the agreement with the elementals. While they unpacked the plots together, word arrived that the salamanders had turned on Thayan forces. They had also secured the portal, slaying Hargrid in the process, and continued to use it to strengthen their numbers. Thrul was about to take out his frustrations on Mari in earnest, but she put up enough resistance to get him to listen. She reminded him that Kossuth himself was not aware of the plot but would likely be displeased with his elementals for engaging in it. She suggested that Aznar contact the Fire Lord directly, but only after having temporarily removed his memories of the treachery and with the understanding that she would be his right hand in the Priador’s future government. She threw all of Bezantur’s remaining resources into the efforts to get the Fire Lord’s attention.
Aznar Thrul managed to connect with Kossuth and convince him to send forces against the elementals who were ravaging the coast. It would surely bring Kossuth’s religion to prominence in Thay, even in the besieged cities, if it was known that Kossuth saved the day. No one, save perhaps Mari Agneh, knows how he did it or everything that he offered in return. When the counter-offensive was over, the elementals were routed and Zulkirs had been swept from the board. Ivania Yonago was confronted and defeated publicly by Aznar Thrul as he pelted her with accusations of betraying all of Thay to rebel elementals. Although others had wanted to find assassinate the Zulkir of Conjuration for years, rumors had pinned all of the worst mistakes of the Salamander War squarely on Desa. When the wizard retreated far from the battlefield for safety, House Canos sent its regards. Desa's mishandling had cost the family and navy dearly - too much to allow her to live. Szass Tam seized the opportunity to claim the assassination as his own work. Through his network of spies, it became known that the lich was wroth at the waste and stupidity of the war and took it out on Desa easily once she withdrew from the public eye. Tam’s reputation was strengthened and House Canos was content to let him take the credit.
Punishing Aznar Thrul, however, was not so simple. Thrul convened the Zulkirs to inform them of the situation as it stood. He would take over as Zulkir of Evocation, since he had beaten Ivania fairly, but the empty seat of Conjuration was now theirs to fill; he had no challenge or suggestion to offer for it. He alone had reached Kossuth, and he alone would interface with the deity’s forces as they helped Thay’s beleaguered army to take down the remaining salamanders. All of Thay knew this, as the news had traveled fast, so he was already something of a hero. For his services, the only other concession he wanted was to be Tharchion of the Priador. The Zulkirs knew that he was in the position to demand much more and that attacking him in any way for the time being would turn public sentiment against them in a frothing tide. They also had seen definitive proof that Thrul was in Kossuth's good graces; what they did not know was that Ivania's demise was part of the price Thrul paid for the Fire Lord's aid. The Zulkirs agreed so long as Mari Agneh was not killed in the process. Not only was she from a pre-eminent noble family but the Zulkirs recognized that having to keep her alive would rein in Thrul for years to come.
Having secured his life, his standing as Zulkir, and his unique position as being a Zulkir who was also a Tharchion, Thrul returned to claim Bezantur. He spread the rumors of taking Mari as his thrall and plaything, and even made shows of controlling her through various means when she attended functions with him. She has never failed to seem haunted, obedient, even crushed in front of others. She has remained under the best guard, however, and every attempt on her life has been brutally repelled. They have a very different relationship when they have complete privacy, and she has continued to counsel him against his most dangerous instincts. In top secret records that are to remain sealed until after their deaths, proof of their marriage exists, as well as titles for their offspring. No signs of pregnancy have ever been witnessed and no children have been close to them, but their blood will carry their legacy far beyond their lifetimes. If they extend their years magically, however, revelations could take a long time to come to the surface. |
Kismet's Dungeons & Dragons * World of Darkness * Gamer Gathering |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11825 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2018 : 23:41:29
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quote:
Originally posted by KismetRose
Argh; I have to keep rewriting. I think I see what the real issue is: I can't find the names for the Zulkirs of Conjuration OR evocation at the time of the Salamander War. They seem to be nameless villains.
Exactly. Sabass becomes the Zulkir later (which I state is because he's NOT reckless, so the conjurers who were fed up with the previous Zulkirs actions want stability), but then Tam murders him and Nevron takes over. Aznar Thrul becomes the Zulkir following the salamander war as well. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11825 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2018 : 23:53:27
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I like your story. I'd change one thing in a way. Let's build up Sabass' cred some. So, perhaps Sabass banishes the Efreeti, and the way he does it is by ending the contract, which requires the death of his own Zulkir as part of the casting (and uses Desa Canos' soul to power the great banishment spell). So perhaps he turns on Desa Canos' during the great circle casting that's being performed to banish the efreeti, and Desa loses control of his circle and is drawn into the magic. It makes Sabass just a bit more sinister while appearing a bit more capable as well than some bookworm researching things.
But, just to make it work with your story, its also not immediately apparent to the others working the ritual. Perhaps the Canos family revealed Desa's Truename to Sabass (or he researched how to find it when one of the family approached him to help solve their "problem" of a ruined reputation). This death magic thus wasn't immediately attributable to anyone else.... only Sabass knew the truth of the matter.... and then Szass Tam took credit. Perhaps later, once Sabass was Zulkir, he joked of revealing the truth to Tam.... leading to Tam having Sabass assassinated as well as several other prominent members of the Researchers Faction who had discovered the truth. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 24 Mar 2018 00:02:57 |
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KismetRose
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2018 : 06:25:27
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Thank you! I'll give it some more thought. I didn't realize how much tinkering this would take at first glance and it's been a busy week.
For now, I don't see a pressing reason to involve Sabass here when he no doubt had his own stories. I think I'd rather come up with something all his own. I'm also incredibly leery of true name magic in RPGs, as a general rule. |
Kismet's Dungeons & Dragons * World of Darkness * Gamer Gathering |
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Thay and the Salamander War
