History and the Tales Between

The history of the present world is as convoluted as our own. Exandria, or what was once known as Faerun, is a world birthed by a great Calamity existing due to the events following Campaign II: The Pillars of Eternity.

Leading to the release of Act II: The Scattered War, I want to present the known history of elven-inspired Exandria known to the maesters (or historians) of the Cobalt Soul. - further consideration to the existing tribes and guilds of this world are being written as I even birth this post.

Creation Myth

In the beginning, the Tempest walked his empty halls within what he called his Skyhaven. Here there was nothing, neither dark nor light but the Tempest in thought. Through this thought came about the multiverse and the different Planes of Existence that Aarakians have come to know, the four planes of Elements; Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Each with their own life. Here, the Primordial reigned in peace not knowing of the Chess game played by the Tempest.

As he pondered more in his Grand Hall, he sat upon his chair and thought of a world where many could relish in his creativity. He created the stars above, the endless expanse of the universe. In thought again, The Tempest wandered his home, years of careful consideration of the multiverse he was to run. Pained with a headache the Tempest created 5 Patrons, extensions of himself to help rule the Multiverse: Asmodeus, his Right Hand, Lady Sehanine, the Lady of the Night, Torm the Sunbringer, Mystra the Miracle, and finally Lady Liiara, to remind them of Celebration. Together, the six entities went around creating, Mystra fixed the River Styx to traverse the Planes of Existence and weaved together a more tangible way to access the magic of the Tempest and called it The Network of the Sea.

Torm brought the Light and Lady Sehanine the Night, they soon fell in love though their passion was distant as their beings prevented them from being with each other.

Asmodeus and the Tempest talked endlessly, mapping out the worlds around them. During this time, they created the Skyforge and brought in the first Dwarves, Tyiire and Toyriiee. Both the Tempest and Asmodeus saw the Dwarves as a vessel of creativity, rewarding them Toril known at this time as the Empty Mound. Here they created a world like no other, taking the Weave of Mystra and allowing the Primordial access to their realms. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water broke into these worlds and each battled for dominance over these dominions.

When Toril was created is unknown even to those who exist in Skyhaven. All that is known for those who work in the Skyforge is that it was created after Tyiire the Head Dwarf of Worlds was defeated by Toyriiee The One Below the Dwarf of Worlds in a game of chess. Imagined after the Universe at the End of the Road, Earth, Toril was created.

3 epochs spoke to the 6 Patrons and made the Skyhaven what it is in the Present of Toril.

The First Epoch

The First Epoch was one like the days before. Peace. As creation flowed through these Patrons, the Tempest, Torm, Lady Sehanine, Lady Liiara, Asmodeus and Mystra. However, a spark of something malicious broke into the heart of Asmodeus. Seeing his position within the Great Hall, Right Hand of the Overlord, Asmodeus began to see himself as something more. After talks with Tyiire to create Servants to the Tempest known as Angels, these creatures protected their sanctuary. Asmodeus had something else in mind. Every other Celestial created during this time he planted his mind into it. His mind to take the throne for himself. But only after a while. Spending time in the Forge helped him to understand how creation worked, and in the late nights of Sehanine did he create the things he felt, the seven Patrons of the Abyss each their own being but an extension of himself like that of the Tempest. And with this he created the Abyss, to house them and hide them from his Overlord.

The Second Epoch

It started like any other day, though the Tempest felt darkness within the Skyhaven. Not that of his Lady. No, this was darker and more malicious. He was witnessing destruction within the Earth’s that were created. No longer were people out to fight for creativity, but for blood. During this time the six Patrons of the Abyss, which was not layered, though during this time each felt as though they claimed it, and Asmodeus created a layer for each, these Patrons felt as though they were imprisoned, and so, with great care did Asmodeus allow their influence to seep into the Multiverse. This was the turn for the Tempest.

Seeing that his Right hand had created monstrosities of his emotions to call himself creator drove him to jealousy. Taking his time to create the other Patrons, the Tempest Gruumsh, the acceptance of Death. He was tasked to allow a set time for each creature in the Multiverse. Taking his five, unaware of the 6 Patrons of the Abyss, the Tempest confronted Asmodeus on his crime. Shocked by the Tempest’s own hypocrisy he attempted to turn the others on the Tempest. Only when he failed did Asmodeus attacked.

The fight between him and the 6 Patrons of Skyhaven ended with Asmodeus on the floor, golden blood spilling on the floor which fell to Toril below creating the first creatures on that planet. The Tempest took Asmodeus by the neck and dragged him to his home, the dark abyss where he had hidden his children. He threw him on the front steps of the River Styx and laid claim to the land, allowing them to exist only if they were to reside in their own prison. With that he left, guilty of creating Gruumsh, he pondered for the rest of the Epoch on whether to cast him out or not, accepting him, finally as their own only because once death was introduced, Asmodeus could kill him.

The Third Epoch

The Third Epoch was what created the Status Quo in the multiverse, this saw the end of the Dawn War between the Primordials which, growing tired of their fighting between these creatures of elements, left to their own plane. Leaving Toril a Marsh of Dessert, water, fire and air at its rawest form. Only when Tyiire and Toyriiee had access after the fight, were they able to reign the elements into a force of Balance.

The Tempest, curious of Asmodeus, sent his warriors to infiltrate the Seven layers of the Abyss. Keeping tabs, he found that Asmodeus had a plan. At this time the land of Ebberon was created, already established with itself, a land with creatures and life, Asmodeus planned to burn it to the ground, this was known as the Great Dance, a time where both the Tempest and Asmodeus sent their Celestials to gain information on the status of the Abyss or the Skyhaven.

With his Children attempting to influence Gruumsh to his side, Gruumsh, in a fit of rage, grabbed him hammer and plunged it deep into the earth creating Tiamat, a Dragon of Destruction, and her brother Bahamut, Dragon of Creation. They flew over Toril and fought over the nation of Ebberon, who, at this time, only knew causes that justified their own desire. Witnessing this 5 headed Dragon and brother fighting, the land begged and cried for peace. Busy with the current war, the Tempest allowed for the battle of siblings to wage causing historians to write it as the Blood War.

The Blood War

The Blood War was a time during the Third Epoch, that took place in the last 2 millennia before the Status Quo. The Blood War brought about the deaths of half the citizens of Ebberon. Destroyed by the Fires of creation. During this last leg of the Blood War the Tempest decided to create a force of good and evil, Myrkul, The Patron of Balance who created a champion for himself, the Mask. Here Myrkul was able to balance the scales of war between both parties with his champion, turning the tide of the war. Giving full dominion of the Abyss to Asmodeus and his Children and shutting down the Skyforge, creating law and order and most importantly, structure to a world where only greed and self-importance ruled. Due to his existence, Light and Darkness fled from each other even further, the Land of the Shadow fell was created which was the absence of any light. And the Feywild, the Light world where the Fey lived.

The Dawn War

Going back to the creation Myth, as it occurred the Blue Age, at this point Aviir-Toril was a Blue Planet covered in water, it began after the creation of Aviir-Toril when the Primordials landed in this new world to rule it. Fighting occurred between the new gods and the Primordials over dominion of the new world.

Tharuseen, the mad Primordial was hungry for power and wanted to create a pocket universe within itself, outside of the war where he can be creator over it. In order to this, he found a Shard of True Evil, which was provided to him by Asmodeus, the Grey God, wanting to end the war and go to a sort of peace. Seeking out the Elder race of Oberest, a dark void where the angels known as Assimar were created, he found the Shard, presenting it to Tharuseen.

With the Shard, Asmodeus was corrupted, splitting his mind into 7 figments that then were created to rule over the Abyss. Corrupted, and now Grey, Asmodeus tricked Tharuseen, preventing him a false Shard which he told him to plant in the Astral Sea providing him dominion of the Multiverse. Seeking power, Tharuseen did just that, traveling into the heart of the Astral Sea where the gods waited for him, locking him in the furthest corner of the Cosmos where they placed him inside the heart of a dying sun, transforming what Historians now know as the Abyss.

After Tharuseen was imprisoned, a new leader stepped into power over the Primordials known as the Wolf Spider, who came from the Elder race of the Oberest.

During this battle, Grummsh took his axe, plunging deep into the fledgling earth and created the two dragons, Tiamat and Bahamut who teamed up to defeat the Primordial known as IO. After this, the two dragons left to seek their own person, Tiamat eventually falling in love with Asmodeus though locked up after destroying Ebberon for the first time and sending her offspring to attack Neverwinter, the apple of her eye. Doing all of this to impress Asmodeus who had left the war to pursue his own dreams of being a creator, taking the throne in the Abyss and creating his children. Tiamat was then imprisoned in the Abyss, unable to touch Asmodeus, as a curse was placed on the two, keeping them apart. Tiamat thinking that the destruction of the Emerald Tower in Neverwinter being the key to her freedom.

The Primordials eventually lost the war as the Queen of Wolves and the Queen of Chaos were killed, sending the Primordials to hide, one of their own, Ukayo, surrendering, asking for a Parly, and a part of the world, which the Tempest agreed to, separating Aviir-Toril, creating the first Sundering, Aviir home to the Primordials, Toril the new world of the gods where their creations can run to be free. Ukayo was eventually given reign to rule over the Jungles of Chult, agreeing that his offspring, minor deities may rule there, and do as they wish with the individuals who reside in Chult.

The Sundering

As the Tempest split Aviir and Toril in two there was much debate between the Primordials and the existing gods on the location of the first creature. The Primordials claimed Aviir while the gods chose Toril for their duties. In the chaos that began to ensue as all gods attempted to choose between what aspects of creations they were to be assigned to, the Tempest created the Tablets of Fate which outlined a Portfolio in which the gods were to rule an aspect of Torm, light, Sehanine, moon, Grummsh, death. And so, it was.

The Great God War, the Last Millennia

Was one that spanned the Last Millenia ending at the creation of Aarak. Asmodeus and his Patrons of the Abyss attacked the Skyhaven feeling as though they deserved a seat at the table. Having created the Tiamat during the Blood War to destroy all that the Tempest created the fourteen deities fought with their respective armies neither gaining a hand over the other until the heroes of Ebberon were able to trap the Tiamat in the seventh hell. With this the Tempest faced Asmodeus and cast him back to the Abyss. Angry by this he set one last wish onto the world, to reign down monstrosities into Toril.

Age of Thunder

The Days of Thunder:

During the end of the Second Epoch, the blood of Asmodeus seeped into the Continent that only the Primordial knew as a battleground, that came to be known, later, as Aarak. Years went by as this blood touched the heart of the world allowing creatures to form in the land after the Dwarves of the Forge cultivated the raw elements after the Primordial left. This fresh take on the Continent of Aarak produced forth the 5 Creator races;

• the Saruuk, ancestors of the Yuan-ti, and various Lizard Folk.

• The Badrachee, Ancestors of the Bullywug, Doppelgangers, Kua-toa, and various other Shapeshifting amphibious creatures.

• The Aeriee, ancestors of the Aarakocra, The Kenku, and other Bird-like Humanoids,

• The Fey, ancestors to the Sprites, pixies, satyrs, etc.

• Humans in their primitive nature.

Tens of thousands of years ago, empires of reptilian, amphibian, and avian peoples- known in Elvish as Jqua'Tel'Quessir, the creator races- dominated the world. They built great cities of stone and glass, carved paths through the wilderness, tamed the great lizards, worked mighty magics, shaped the world around them, and warred upon each other. Those were the Days of Thunder. The age of the creator races came to a sudden end some thirty thousand years ago. Perhaps their wars reached a terrible and inevitable crescendo, or they tampered with forbidden forces. For whatever reason, the world changed, and their vast empires vanished. All that remains of them are ruins and the scattered lizardfolk, bullywug, and aarakocra tribes, barbaric descendants of those who once ruled the world.

The Dawn Age

From the ruins of the Days of Thunder arose the first nations of the Proud People- the elves and dwarves- in the region. The elves raised up the nations of Aryvandaar, Ardeep, and Ilythiir. They settled Illefarn along the Sword Coast, from the Spine of the World to the River Delimbiyr- its capital Aelinthaldaar in the shadow of what is now Mount Waterdeep. Wood elves and moon elves founded the kingdom of Eaerlann in the Delimbiyr Valley and the High Forest, and separatists from Aryvandaar settled Miyeritar in the lands of the present-day High Moor and Misty Forest. The dwarf clans united as the nation of Delzoun, named for its forge-founder, with dwarfholds built on sites ranging from the Ice Mountains to the Nether Mountains and the Narrow Sea, and settlements and halls westward to the Crags and the Sword Mountains. The Proud People regularly defended their homelands against orc hordes that arose from the mountains of the Spine of the World and surged southward to attack and pillage.

The Second Sundering

As the years went forward, the Sundering still causing a ripple through the worlds of Toril and Aviir, during a period of time known to the elves as Dunkiir Rulmn, or the Destruction of the World, in -1160 D.R., the High Elves decided to separate themselves from humanity. So, it was, during this second Sundering, the High Elves, Ulich, Miira, Culmn, and Hirytra, embodied the magic known as the Dawn of Time, to separate themselves from the realm of Toril creating Evermeet far from Aarak and Ebberon. Here in the Isle, unknown of the destruction they had created, known to many historians as the Era of Upheaval, set upon the start of the merger between Aviir and Toril. Slight as it was, the second Sundering caused by the High Elves of Evermeet expedited the process.

At the same time as this, the Tempest had lost the Tablets on which he decided each individual’s designation. <To this day rumors that somewhere within the Deserts of Amn, hides the Tablets of Fate> Losing his temper over what he believed a major deity to have stolen the Tablets, he banished the god Myrkul down below for believing that he sought power upon himself to rewrite the tablets, cursing him with mortality. As the years continued, no one knows where Myrkul is, but they say that he may hold the secrets to the location of the Tablets, protecting them from the Abyss in order to one day redeem his godhood.

After the Era of Upheaval began the Spellplague.

The Spellplauge

As Asmodeus touched the Weave of magic in order to create the monstrosities that claim dominion over the Abyss, Mystra decided to close off a large portion of the Weave, leaving those on Toril to touch into the weaves in many ways, by being born into it, by accessing it through schools or by seeking the favor of a deity. This plague also set upon the beginning of the merger between Aviir and Toril as portals opened around the world, Elemental chaos seeking to claim the land as their own. During the Great God War, as Toyriiee was putting the final touches on Aarak, did Mammon take the Weave. Bits and pieces of the Network of the Sea where scattered throughout this Continent allowing those sensitive to the Weave access to it. This he called the SpellPlague, where Ebberon’s inhabitants use their magic in a way of creativity, Aarakian’s only can cast raw magic.

The Crown Wars

Some thirteen thousand years ago, war broke out between the elven nations of Aryvandaar and Miyeritar, beginning a series of conflicts known as the Crown Wars. Lasting some three thousand years, these conflicts culminated in the Dark Disaster, in which terrible storms engulfed Miyeritar, turning it into a wasteland within a single season, leaving behind the area now known as the High Moor. The high mages of Aryvandaar are blamed for the destruction, although no proof was ever produced. The vengeful dark elves of Ilythiir turned to corrupt and demonic powers, unleashing them against Aryvandaar. In the centuries of destruction that followed, elf priests and high mages fervently prayed to the Tempest and the Seven of the Skyhaven for salvation.

The Descent of the Drow:

Myrkul interceded in the Crown Wars and cursed the dark elves so that they might never dwell comfortably under the sun. Now finding themselves pained by exposure to daylight, the drow-in a mere two months' time- retreated from the sunlit lands of the World Above into the Underdark. They abandoned all loyalty to the Tempest who betrayed and banished them, turning instead to Disrael, the Patron of Luck. Wars soon began between the drow and the underground cities of the dwarves.

The Age of Humanity

For millennia following the end of the Crown Wars, humans spread and settled throughout Aarak as the elven and dwarven nations stagnated and then began a long, slow decline. Deep in the Underdark, the drow fought wars of survival and conquest in their new domain.

The Rise and Fall of Netheril:

More than five thousand years ago, a group of human fishing villages on the shores of the Narrow Sea joined under the rule of the shaman-king Nether, becoming known as the empire of Netheril. The Netherese learned the use of magic from the Eaerlanni elves and became renowned wizards. Centuries later, they discovered the arcane texts known as the Nether Scrolls in the ruins of Aryvandaar and subsequently abandoned the practices of the Eaerlanni to procure even greater magical power. Netheril grew to become an invincible nation of magic and wonders, dominating much of the North for three thousand years. Then the power-mad Netherese arcanist Karsus attempted to usurp the role of the goddess of magic. The resulting disruption in the fabric of magic sent Netheril's floating cities crashing to the ground, destroyed a host of other wards and enchantments, and brought about the end of the great empire.

The Great Cities:

In the decades and centuries following the collapse of Netheril, many cities of the Sword Coast and the North, such as Illusk and Citadel Sundbarr, took in refugees from the fallen empire, and new settlements made up entirely or primarily of human survivors from Netheril and their descendants were established throughout the North and in the Western Heartlands. Nearly fifteen hundred years ago, the human settlers of the Dalelands and the elves of Cormanthor pledged their alliance in an agreement known as the Dales Compact. A monument called the Standing Stone was erected to mark the occasion, and the advent of Dalereckoning, or to elves, Rebirth, was decreed, beginning with the year 1 DR. This method of numbering the years in Toril's history has spread across Aarak and is commonly understood (if not universally accepted). The city of Neverwinter- called Eigersstor when it was a mere settlement-was founded in 87 DR. On the banks of the River Raurin, the humble community of Silverymoon Ford came into being in 384 DR, and less than two centuries later it had grown to become the city of Silverymoon.

In 882 DR, a village and trading post on the shore of a deep bay in the shadow of a great mountain was named Nimoar's Hold, after the Ulfrig’s chieftain who claimed the area and fortified it. The place became known to sea captains as "Whralik," a name after the Half-Dwarf who fought against Tiamat during the Blood War. In 1032 DR, Ahgharion, heir to the arts of Netheril, saved the city from itself by unseating Whralik’s warlord and would-be emperor, Raurlor. Ahgharion declared that wisdom, not strength of arms, would rule in the city from now on, and created the Lords of Whralik. These and other nations and great city-states rose to prominence along the Sword Coast, forming a chain along the Trade Way from Illusk in the far north to Baldur's Gate in the south, near the borders of Amn. Like their elven and dwarven predecessors, they fought off attacks by savage humanoids, including ore hordes from the Spine of the World. Whralik, guided by its mysterious Lords, became a rising power, while old Illusk fell to the ores for decades, until it was eventually reclaimed and the city of Luskan built upon its ruins.

The Status Quo

The lands and peoples of Aarak had become accustomed to the state of things just in time for everything to change again. The first indication of new turmoil came in 1082 DR, when Gruumsh, the Patron of Death, was reborn in Baldur's Gate amid chaos and bloodshed, leaving two of the city's dukes and many of its citizens dead. The return of Gruumsh and his apparent reclamation of the domain of murder from Levistus led some scholars and sages to believe that the rules by which all deities must abide were in flux.

In 1084, strange calamities began to occur throughout Aarak. An earthquake struck Iriaebor. A plague of locusts afflicted Arnn. Droughts gripped the southern lands as the sea steadily receded in places. Amid this tumult, conflict broke out in many regions of the continent. The ores of Many-Arrows warred against the dwarfholds of the North and their a llies. Sembia invaded the Dalelands, and Cormyr raised an army to come to the aid of the Dalesfolk. Netheril brought forces to Cormyr's border, and Cormyr was drawn into a war on both fronts.

Throughout this period, tales began to spread of individuals who had been touched by the gods and granted strange powers. Some of these so-called Chosen were at the root of the convict’s that grip the land. Some seemed driven by divine purpose, while others claimed to be mystified as to why they would be singled out.

In 1085, in Icewind Dale, the Chosen of the Tempest, The Mask, stopped the war with Ten-Towns and was defeated. In Anauroch, seeing that Netherese forces were spread thin, the long-subjugated Bedine people rebelled. Having defeated or besieged the dwarfholds of the North, ores march on Silverymoon. In Cormyr and Sembia, the Netherese and the Cormyreans traded ground, while the Dalelands became a war zone.

As if to offset the drought in the south, in the autumn of 1085 the Great Rain began to fall around the Sea of Fallen Stars and continued unceasingly. While the waters rose to the east in early 1086, the tide turned against the ores in the North, and by the end of the year their armies were broken and scattered. Also, during that year, the elves of Myth Drannor came to the aid of the Dalelands and helped push back Sembian forces. On the Sword Coast, the Hosttower of the Arcane rose again in Luskan, along with the Arcane Brotherhood. In Whralik and Neverwinter, efforts were made to clear those cities of century-old rubble and neglect. Cormyr repulsed the last of the Sembian and Netherese forces from the nation, reclaiming its territory, and recalled its forces, turning inward to address issues of rebuilding.

Late in 1086, the Great Rain finally abated, but this event didn't signify an end to the chaos. The Sea of Fallen Stars had grown, submerging great swaths of land beneath its waves. Early in 1087, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions abounded for months, as if the whole world was convulsing. Rumors and stories circulated of known destinations being farther away from one another, as if the world had quietly added miles of wilderness to the distance between them. Word began to spread of places and peoples not heard from.

During the year, ships claiming to be from Evermeet, Lantan, and Nimbral-nations thought vanished or destroyed-sailed into ports on the Sword Coast and in the Shining South. Tales spread of the legendary sky ships of Halruaa being spotted in southern skies. No longer engaged in Cormyr, Netheril attacked Myth Drannor by floating the City of Shade over it. In a struggle for control of Myth Drannor's mythal and the Weave itself, the flying capital of Netheril was brought crashing down on Myth Drannor, resulting in the cataclysmic destruction of both. As the year ended, there were nights when the heavens seemed to hang motionless. Throughout much of Aarak, the winter of 1087 and 1088 lasted longer than any on record. The solstices and equinoxes had somehow drifted. Later seasons followed suit, with each starting and ending later than expected. Prayers to the gods for knowledge and mercy seemed to go unacknowledged, apart from the presence of their Chosen.

Although the orcs were defeated in the North, the League of Silver Marches was disbanded in 1088, as former allies blamed one another for failures in the war. Sembia divided into separate city-states only nominally allied with one another. While a handful of settlements survived, the Netherese Empire was no more. The remainder of the Netherese forces battle with the Bedine over control of the Memory Spire, thought to be a tomb of the phaerimm, Netheril's ancient enemies. The battle awakens what turns out to be a hive of the creatures, and they use the life and magic-draining power of the spire against the lands below.

By 1089, many of the wars that began during the Sundering had ground to a close. Other conflicts arose, and mighty threats still imperiled the world, but the deities ceased interfering with the world through their Chosen. The gods were no longer silent but quiet, and in many places new priesthoods arose to interpret the gods' now subtle signs. The world today seems a place filled with new lands and opportunities, where those who dare can leave their mark. Students of history and those elves and dwarves who recall the past that short-lived humans see as distant perceive a world much like it was over a century ago. For most folk, wild tales of people empowered by the gods, and of far-off lands returned to the world, are the subjects of fireside chatter. Daily concerns and the dangers and opportunities just beyond their doors take precedence, and plenty of both remain on the Sword Coast and in the North.

The Year is now 1362, The Time of Troubles now behind us we look to the future to build and fortify the established union between nations as the front power of Aarak, the Sword Coast grows stronger, the Forgotten Lands of the East still in need of settlement, the world looks to the future, for further union. And Peace.

The Third Sundering

A new update to the Time of Troubles. I have stood witness to the ruins of the world. A band that arose from the depths of the War of the Thrones against Lady Laural Silverhand, the lost daughter of the emperor, Aghrion, fought and stood established as the new ruler of Whralik. In her place, the Flaming Fist diminished and the adopted son of the dwarf King, Mirlen disappeared. Since then in a distant land called Chult, the Red Wizards began their work. A merry group known as the Blood Orgy fought and failed to secure the Pillars of Eternity which were found and broken. The Wizards take hold of the Tablets of Fate and wish the Abyssal Demons sanctity over Skyhaven. With the new establishment in place, the Prime Deities were locked in behind the Divine Gates, never to be heard again. As the Titans arose, so did the lands of what was once known as Aarak sank to the bottom of the ocean with only the heartlands to show for what it once was. Groups known as the Galadron were few to have survived. And over time, this new land would find established citizens. What with the Elves of Evermeet finding solace in the new land, calling it Gwessar, until, centuries later, a man by the name of Dwindle Tal’Dorei came to inhabit this new land as a colonist. War breaking out called the Scattered War. A war with heavy bloodshed on both sides until King Dwindle died. Peace was made. Tal’dorei would be the name of this new land. While many would come to rebuild it, a Republic being born out of the newfound peace that was further resolved when the attacks from Marquet, what was once Chult, came, a time known as the Dragon Wars, against the Chroma Conclave.