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Mirtek
Senior Scribe

595 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2015 :  07:07:31  Show Profile Send Mirtek a Private Message
Am I the only one confused by this?

quote:
[...]from excited reports of mortal worshippers personally meeting MANIFESTATIONS and AVATARS of the deities; i.e. yes, Vhaeraun and Eilistraee are both "back."[...]The gods in general seem more "distant" post-Sundering, more "heard from" than "personally seen."


So deities can have their cake and eat it too, appearing personally in the realms while being more distant and not personally seen
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2015 :  07:26:48  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message
I see your confusion.

I read the first paragraph as a warning to take what was said in the second paragraph with a grain of salt.

That, and the use of "generally" implies not all deities fit the pattern of being distant. I also figure that after the revelation of a deity's return, they may refert to the general pattern of being distant.

Clear as mud?

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).

Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 17 Apr 2015 07:31:51
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paladinnicolas
Seeker

92 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2015 :  07:36:11  Show Profile Send paladinnicolas a Private Message
Dear THO, I would like to ask Ed if, post-Sundering, if Maztica has returned as the 5e DMG hints or seems to indicate, people in Faerūn are aware of it and contacts have been made. Thanks!
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eeorey
Seeker

Bulgaria
96 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2015 :  10:40:37  Show Profile Send eeorey a Private Message
I would like to ask about the current state of the land and people of Chondath, in the novel "The Sentinel" Chauntea stopped the river Arrabar (I'm assuming it's the river that separated Chondath from Sespech) from overflowing so that the people living there can gather their harvest. Being as there are people still living there even after the nation was destroyed during the Spellplague, are they planing/attempting to rebuild the cities or maybe build new ones?
Also before the Spellplague chondathans didn't have the best of relations with the inhabitants of the Chondalwood, namely the elves and druids of the Emerald Enclave, has that changed in all those years?

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Irennan
Great Reader

Italy
3802 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2015 :  11:06:44  Show Profile Send Irennan a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer

I see your confusion.

I read the first paragraph as a warning to take what was said in the second paragraph with a grain of salt.

That, and the use of "generally" implies not all deities fit the pattern of being distant. I also figure that after the revelation of a deity's return, they may refert to the general pattern of being distant.

Clear as mud?



Yeah, their followers have to know of their return somehow, so the deties need to ''inform'' them in a way. Also, perhaps deities manifested during the Sundering, but with the new Tablets of Fate they will be forced to remain distant after it (after all, during that event the gods went crazy trying to gather as much power as they could, to secure their status before Ao sealed it with the tablets. So it makes sense that two deities who have been inactive for a century would try to let their followers know and rejoyce of their return)


quote:
Naked? Having painted yourself black & dyed your hair silver?


Lol, I would try that once, but I have a feeling that the police would be after me in no time if I did

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.

Edited by - Irennan on 17 Apr 2015 11:36:23
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paladinnicolas
Seeker

92 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2015 :  12:12:06  Show Profile Send paladinnicolas a Private Message
One more question: with Tyr's return, do knights devoted to the original Triad emerge or are founded again? (Triadic knights); is there some sort of implocation for the churches of Torm and Ilmater? Thanks!
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TBeholder
Great Reader

2378 Posts

Posted - 17 Apr 2015 :  16:47:22  Show Profile Send TBeholder a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by BenN

quote:
Originally posted by Irennan

I'm so happy I might as well go out dancing in the Moonlight .
Naked? Having painted yourself black & dyed your hair silver?
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan

Lol, I would try that once, but I have a feeling that the police would be after me in no time if I did

And the solution to that problem is simple: traditionally, it's done not in the middle of a street.

People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore

USA
1853 Posts

Posted - 18 Apr 2015 :  00:09:50  Show Profile  Visit xaeyruudh's Homepage Send xaeyruudh a Private Message
A little while ago I asked (though I can't find it now) about the names of the other continents on Toril, and you (THO) said the answer would depend on which map I was looking at because they've moved around. I'm finally ready to pick a map and make a more specific inquiry.

On page 231 of the 3e campaign setting, there's a map showing (by my count) eight continents and a few farflung islands. I know there might be a lot to say about these, and I'm all ears as always, but to keep this particular query simple I'm only looking for names. If you haven't named them yet, that's quite alright. (The Knights probably haven't checked "set foot on every continent of Toril" off the bucket list yet, right?)

First question: are all of these continents based on the original maps, or is this someone else's work?

The first mysterious continent: Osse? A large continent east of Malatra, across the Eastern Sea. This continent has four sets of outlying islands, large ones to the north and southwest plus two chains to the east.

(Sidetrek! I'm also curious about two large islands or groups of islands, too small to be considered continents, between Kara-Tur and this continent. One is midway between the eastern tip of Malatra and the northwest corner of the mystery continent. The other appears, unnamed, in our awesome Fonstad atlas on page 23 at roughly U-51 coordinates.)

(There are two more sets of islands far to the north, one relatively close to Kara-Tur and the other much further east.)

The second mystery: two large islands north of Maztica's continent, at the far left/northwest of this map.

3: Anchorome? The continent that Maztica is on.

4: the large island off the west coast of Maztica.

5: Katashaka? The landmass to the south of Maztica.

6 and 7: the smaller-but-still-large islands to the east of #5, going toward Zakhara.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 18 Apr 2015 :  20:24:15  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message
My Timezone Map.

I believe all those names are official, but a couple might only be considered 'quasi-official', technically. We never really got a 100% on whether thats Osse or not (although everyone just assumes it is), and Myrmidune comes from Brian James' original GHotR.

I had another map -a LONG time ago - where I named the other large islands. Strangely, people kept asking me about 'the Land of Flying Monkeys', which was only meant as a joke, so I stopped putting silly (VERY unofficial) names on stuff after that.

The only other thing I probably should have named on that map was the Ama Basin - that huge 'arm' that stretches out from northern Kara-tur to the east.


*EDIT: Come to think of it, Anchoromé isn't 100% official for the published Realms either - thats another general assumption (applying Ed's name for the isalnd chain to the large landmass that was on the 3e CG map).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 18 Apr 2015 20:26:54
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore

USA
1853 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  02:54:53  Show Profile  Visit xaeyruudh's Homepage Send xaeyruudh a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

I believe all those names are official, but a couple might only be considered 'quasi-official', technically. We never really got a 100% on whether thats Osse or not (although everyone just assumes it is), and Myrmidune comes from Brian James' original GHotR.


The assumptions and quasi-ness is what I want to get past, by asking for Ed's names for them.

There's bound to be some regionality to the names too. Anchorome was just Balduran's name for the place where he supposedly landed, wasn't it? Back in the day, I got the impression from FR Adventures that it was a city he discovered or built, or perhaps a realm. Then it was given to the whole continent on a later map.



quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

The only other thing I probably should have named on that map was the Ama Basin - that huge 'arm' that stretches out from northern Kara-tur to the east.


But the eastern end of the Ama Basin is on the Yellow Sea, west of Koryo. That huge arm is something totally different, more likely the "Land of Snow Spirits."
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  06:28:57  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message
Hello THO and Ed!

Given the prominence of the Royal Palace in Suzail thanks to its location, it seems like individuals would be inspired to paint a view of the castle.

If this is true, has anyone in the palace or in Suzail proper bothered to collect paintings showing the growth of the palace over time?

If yes to the first part is there a room or rooms in the Palace dedicated to housing such palace portraits, sort of like how there are rooms dedicated to portraits of Cormyr's many kings?

As ever, thank you both very much. :)

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore

Poland
1190 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  10:22:19  Show Profile  Visit Zireael's Homepage Send Zireael a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout

I have been wondering about this too, as I am also a fan of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. Thanks a lot, Ed and THO!



E & V are alive? What happened to the Masked Lady then? Never happened? Is there a splinter of her somewhere in the post-Sundering Realms?

SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!

http://zireael07.wordpress.com/
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BenN
Senior Scribe

Japan
382 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  11:42:01  Show Profile Send BenN a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Zireael
E & V are alive?

E yes, V presumably so.
quote:
What happened to the Masked Lady then? Never happened?

No mortal knows for sure.
quote:
Is there a splinter of her somewhere in the post-Sundering Realms?

Yup, so the latest clack says.
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Irennan
Great Reader

Italy
3802 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  12:40:25  Show Profile Send Irennan a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Zireael

quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout

I have been wondering about this too, as I am also a fan of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. Thanks a lot, Ed and THO!



E & V are alive? What happened to the Masked Lady then? Never happened? Is there a splinter of her somewhere in the post-Sundering Realms?



The Masked Lady was the result of Eilistraee temporarily taking Vhaeraun's portfolio (or of the two of them purposefully merging). Now that they are back and separate once again, that doesn't mean that their merging has never happened, but simply that they are no longer merged. Of course, some followers may still worship them as the Masked Lady and believe that she has returned (it could be an heresy, for example).

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  14:07:46  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Zireael

quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout

I have been wondering about this too, as I am also a fan of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. Thanks a lot, Ed and THO!



E & V are alive? What happened to the Masked Lady then? Never happened? Is there a splinter of her somewhere in the post-Sundering Realms?



The first indication that V is alive (and separate from his sister) was in Erin Evans Th Adversary. There was a follower of V in there. But it is still nice to have more confirmation, and as Irennan said, it wasn't that the Masked Lady never happened, but rather that the merger didn't last (which I am glad about, to be honest. I prefer them to be their own entity

Sweet water and light laughter
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  14:08:46  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Zireael

quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout

I have been wondering about this too, as I am also a fan of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. Thanks a lot, Ed and THO!



E & V are alive? What happened to the Masked Lady then? Never happened? Is there a splinter of her somewhere in the post-Sundering Realms?



The first indication that V is alive (and separate from his sister) was in Erin Evans Th Adversary. There was a follower of V in there. But it is still nice to have more confirmation, and as Irennan said, it wasn't that the Masked Lady never happened, but rather that the merger didn't last (which I am glad about, to be honest. I prefer them to be their own entity

Sweet water and light laughter
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  15:59:02  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer

Hello THO and Ed!
If this is true, has anyone in the palace or in Suzail proper bothered to collect paintings showing the growth of the palace over time?



That is an excellent question and any lore that may turn up is most welcome.

Obviously given the magical nature of Faerun would it be possible that some of said pictures are gates to other places in and around Suzail (i.e. the perspective they were painted from?) to facilitate swift and discreet movement when needed or perhaps to a long lost point in the past (the date when they were painted) for a few moments in time where the current King/Queen can go to and briefly converse with a dead monarch to get a snippet of advice on something troubling to the current Kingdom? Or mayhap the High Mage of the Realm talking to a long dead Dahast for similar advice?


Kind regards

Damian

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005

Edited by - crazedventurers on 20 Apr 2015 16:00:17
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Marco Volo
Learned Scribe

France
201 Posts

Posted - 20 Apr 2015 :  23:21:30  Show Profile Send Marco Volo a Private Message
Thanks Ed and THO for the Dragon Coast lore. Feel free to add any information you think of.

Regards,

MV
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 21 Apr 2015 :  06:14:26  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message
Crazed, that was a great follow up question.

I think it would be cool if one of the paintings was a one waytime portal leading back to that painting's era, or a portal leading to a fixed size demiplane where every day at the castle is the same day over and over. Wouldn't be surprised to find a few escapees or refugees from Cormyr's past in that last one.

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).
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Irennan
Great Reader

Italy
3802 Posts

Posted - 21 Apr 2015 :  15:51:09  Show Profile Send Irennan a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all. Irennan, heeeere's Ed:

Communications being what they are in the Realms, with caravans bringing news and gossip and inevitable distortions as things get told and retold, most mortals can't be certain of much; they always have to trust (or not trust) retellings from afar.
However, the word spreading about the return of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun comes from excited reports of mortal worshippers personally meeting MANIFESTATIONS and AVATARS of the deities; i.e. yes, Vhaeraun and Eilistraee are both "back."
Now, as to whether they'll appear face to face with a given mortal in a given location in the Realms, that's a far different matter. The gods in general seem more "distant" post-Sundering, more "heard from" than "personally seen."

And there you have it.
The Word of Ed, so to speak.
love,
THO



Is it known in which year Eilistraee and Vhaeraun started manifesting to their followers? Thanks for your patience, and my apologies if I'm being annoying.

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 21 Apr 2015 :  19:55:01  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message
Hi Ed/THO

A quick question, that occurred to me as I was idly musing earlier in the day during a particularly boring training course, which came first The Mystryl or the Weave?

Your devoted student.

Dazzlerdal

Forgotten Realms Alternate Dimensions Candlekeep Archive
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 22 Apr 2015 :  16:54:18  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer

Crazed, that was a great follow up question.

I think it would be cool if one of the paintings was a one waytime portal leading back to that painting's era, or a portal leading to a fixed size demiplane where every day at the castle is the same day over and over. Wouldn't be surprised to find a few escapees or refugees from Cormyr's past in that last one.


This sounds like just the sort of thing the Sword Heralds would have been doing whilst they were/are pottering around the Forest Country doing wizardry thing.

Any sane monarch of the Kingdom would have made sure they were busy doing 'gates in paintings to demi-planes/hideyholes/secret meeting rooms' rather than have them get bored and start trying to find out who the mistress of Earl Crownsilver actually is, or where the, recently deceased Keeper of the Garderobe Keys is buried (and why), or just deciding that they would like to reroute the Starwater Flow and end up blowing up the Kingdom instead.

You can't let wizards get bored, they get up to all sorts of shenanigans!



Cheers

Damian

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore

1965 Posts

Posted - 23 Apr 2015 :  13:21:05  Show Profile Send Fellfire a Private Message
Dear Lady THO, I found this quote in one of Jeremy's scrolls and wonder if Ed, or anybody else still has this info.

[1] Ed Greenwood talked about the Bel's Blade and other haunted ships that ply the waters of the Realms over at Loremaster.org, but sadly that post was lost. Thanks go to Matt James for hosting that Ed Q&A as I got some pretty good ideas from it.

Misanthorpe

Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.

"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises

Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out

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Byte Man
Acolyte

USA
4 Posts

Posted - 26 Apr 2015 :  22:08:33  Show Profile  Visit Byte Man's Homepage Send Byte Man a Private Message
Hail, and Well Met!

Never having done this before, mainly because I always felt asking Ed anything would be presuming on a friendship that only exists in my head, I wanted to start with something simple Therefore, my inquiry to Master Ed of the Greenwood is as follows:

"Ever since the 2nd Edition FRCS box set, I have beenaware of a certain demigoddess named Sharess, the Lady of Lust and cats. I was facinated at this goddess, and the life she led, particularly as more of her backstory came to light. My question is, are there any plans for her to play a bigger role in the Realms, or is she doomed to forever be a servant of the Firehair?"

All will be well...
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore

USA
1853 Posts

Posted - 30 Apr 2015 :  15:22:29  Show Profile  Visit xaeyruudh's Homepage Send xaeyruudh a Private Message
Is it getting summery yet up in the North? Other than a bit of rain yesterday, we've been getting way too much sun in Washington. And I don't even hear California whimpering anymore... I think everyone down there is sun-bleached bones by this point. It's enough to make a person start flirting with Auril.

Speaking of heat and evil... several of the major races have fiendish planetouched subcultures -- tieflings (humans), maeluth (dwarves), fey'ri (elves), wisplings (halflings), and tanarukk (orcs) for example. We might use tiefling as an overall name for any humanoid with fiendish blood, but then we lack a name for the humans in particular. Some of the names are specific - fey'ri and tanarukk definitely suggest tanar'ri connection rather than baatezu. Maeluth are typically lawful-evil... hard to say whether that means they're descended of baatezu or whether dwarven roots in law and structure typically overrule even the demonic corruption.

So if I had my way, we'd have separate names for demonic, devilkin, and fiendish planetouched races so that it's clear what we're talking about when we refer to them. Unfortunately, I don't usually get my way. That being the case, I'll assume/declare that tiefling is used to refer to all fiendish humans, fey'ri refers to all fiendish elves, etc.

My aim in this query is history, though. The preceding was just context. We have history in the Realms for tieflings and fey'ri, but not yet for the others.

Premise: I'd like to give the others an origin-in-the-Realms for my own campaigns.

Tieflings can easily be rooted in Imaskar, with perhaps (without checking existing lore) demonic humans later flourishing in Narfell and devilkin in Raumathar. Of course there could have been other small origin-points too, but I suspect (for my own campaigns) the majority of modern tieflings are descended from the taint of Narfell and Imaskar.

Fey'ri (the majority of them anyway) are probably descended from Aryvandaar and Ascalhorn.

So, finally, the question: What are the logical origins of the other evil planetouched races in the Realms? Which of the old dwarven kingdoms would give rise to a legacy of maeluth? What's the story on wisplings? What is the name for planetouched gnomes, and where did they come from? What planetouched giants lurk hidden from human view?

If these origins don't yet exist, even in the home game, I'm fine with writing them myself... just wanted to check first.
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Marco Volo
Learned Scribe

France
201 Posts

Posted - 01 May 2015 :  12:05:36  Show Profile Send Marco Volo a Private Message
Hi,
My players asked me a tricky question at the end of a game session :

"We are in Waterdeep, we have some gold bar and mithral bar, there must be some kind of real world banks in this town to deposit them, right ?"

And I was like : "I have to check my files". And Ed, THO, you're my "files" in this case. Thanks in advance for sharing any kind of answer about the existence of banks (or sort of) in Waterdeep and how do they worked.

Regards,
MV

Edited by - Marco Volo on 01 May 2015 12:07:45
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Caladan Brood
Senior Scribe

Norway
410 Posts

Posted - 01 May 2015 :  12:31:04  Show Profile  Visit Caladan Brood's Homepage Send Caladan Brood a Private Message
Hey Marco Volo, mayhap this thread can be of use to you:
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16933
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kysus
Learned Scribe

USA
104 Posts

Posted - 12 May 2015 :  11:04:55  Show Profile  Visit kysus's Homepage Send kysus a Private Message
Hello again,
I bear more questions for Ed if I may, Two topics in particular though somewhat related.
The first is Hunters down in volo's guide to the dalelands. It speaks of a war between elves called the searing which im unfamiliar with and couldn't find any information on it in Steven's cormanthor book, as far as dates go, and was wondering if you had anymore information on the searing as well as the two noble families mentioned in hunter's down the Hlarr and Yhendorn.

My second question is about your novel the Herald, there are several scenes in there that depict the tombs of several dead elven families. Were these extinct elven families among the 48 houses that had died out before myth drannor was sacked the first time or was it during the spell plaque years?
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 12 May 2015 :  13:05:11  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message
I have something about the Searing from George Krashos if it helps

quote:
The Searing
In the days so forgotten and long ago that they've
become known to some sages as "the Dawn Days" (others
call them "the Dawn Age" or "the Time of Dragons"), a
time so distant that present-day Realmslore preserves
no reliable written records and scant known facts from
them (so that what follows is largely drawn from old
ballads), most of the lands around the Sea of Fallen
Stars were one vast, deep forest.
This great woodland was home to many creatures, of
whom perhaps the proudest and the most advanced in
Art, craftings, and courtesies were the elves. Their
time of might and great realms and mastery of magic
were soon to come, but were then more the stuff of
excited dreams than reality.
In the Dalereckoning of today, the years of the events
recounted hereafter would have been -24,600 DR and the
three decades or so that followed.
Dragons ruled the peaks and skies in those days, and
betimes set forests afire to flush forth food from the
dim green depths. Inside the mountains, the power of
the dwarves was quietly rising as the pride and ruling
vigor of the giants was sapped by endless wars with
orcs, hobgoblins, goblins, and their kindred.
One region where orcs were strong and dwarves gaining
power (in part because ongoing strife with the rising
might of ogres to the immediate north, in what was to
become known as Thar, had weakened local giants) was
the Lhaurokh, later known as the Dragonreach. Wood
elves dwelt in small treehome communities near
present-day Ravens Bluff, and moon elves lived in
small clan hunting territories in what is now
Featherdale, Battledale, Harrowdale, and Deepingdale.
There arose among the wood elves an ambitious
war-leader known as Aubron Halavanthlarr, who chafed
against the gentle, peaceful ways of his kin (who
lived in harmony with the forest, clearing nothing,
building as little as possible, and tending the beasts
they hunted with the same patient care as they
gardened herbs and leafy edibles---notably the
fleshy-leafed sarrauva vine---in the high boughs of
the forest). This young elf met with little approval
from his elders. At length Halavanthlarr gathered a
handful of his friends who shared his restlessness and
eagerness for adventure, and set forth into the forest
to seek power and better things.
Somewhere near present-day Tsurlagol, he found a small
realm of gold elves who'd mastered magic enough to
slay wyverns, cage some edible forest monsters, and
even to fight off dragons who espied these morsels and
descended for an easy meal (but who soon turned their
attentions to easier dining elsewhere, when met by
spells that most of them assumed were the work of a
hidden dragon who'd set out the caged creatures as a
lure for dragonkind). Halavanthlarr seized what magic
he could, first by stealth and then through bloodshed,
and happened upon Ulelesse Chamaranthe, an unhappy
young 'she' of the gold elves who was smitten by his
strangeness and daring. He spirited her away,
and---hunted by a few of her kin--- made his way back
to his people.
There Halavanthlarr's new-found magic, boldness, and
cunning soon won him followers. Although most of the
wood elves remained horrified at his ways,
Halavanthlarr took the most restless of his kin with
him---away from the treehomes and across the Lhaurr
(the waters of the Reach) to the 'far forests' on the
other side...in other words, to the western shores
where, unbeknownst to the wood elves, dwelt the
Oronthaebur.
The Oronthaebur, or 'Moon Clans,' built but little,
and changed the woods they called home little more
than the wood elves across the sundering Lhaurr. There
were at least three eight-counts of these moon
peoples, and though rivalries between them were often
fierce, they avoided each other's lands, and so passed
the years in relative peace.
When Halavanthlarr came, the Oronthaebur merely 'faded
away into the forest' before his advance. Calling
themselves the Hlarr in an echo of their revered
leader's name, Halavanthlarr's wood elves began to
mount hunts of their own: cage-captures to breed
beasts for food as well as food-slayings. They sought
out the best springs and beast-colonies, faring ever
farther inland, and slew Moon Clan elves upon sight.
As self-styled lord over the Hlarr, Halavanthlarr
hewed ever to two things: keeping his folk in
readiness for war, with arms and patrols and sentries;
and mastering ever-greater magic, with spell
experimentations and sharing.
The Oronthaebur watched him in their turn, and knew
fear. 'Madlord' they named him, and gave way before
his ever-farther forays, until at length they were
driven to meet among themselves in uneasy,
unaccustomed alliance against him, and whelm their
magical might, and make ready for war. They took the
name 'Yhendorn' after the wise elder who convened the
council, and bound his own mind to that of a nearby
green wyrm to make their greatest weapon: a dragon the
moon elves could control, to wage war for them.
Thus emboldened, they struck back at the wood elves in
strength, working slaughter upon three patrols with
their arms and spells alone. Enraged, Halavanthlarr
hurled other patrols against the Yhendorn; only a few
ragged survivors fled back to him.
Mastering his temper into a cold fury, Halavanthlarr
ordered the Hlarr back to their coastal holds, to
gather all the magic and arms they could. "Hold
nothing back," he's reputed to have said, "for there
is no sunrise for the defeated."
In one host, some seventy or eighty strong, they went
hunting the Yhendorn---and were skillfully harried and
led to the forested height that is today known as
Hunters' Down, in Deepingdale. There the dragon swept
down upon them, and their spells raged, and in a
day-long, bloody fray the dragon perished, along with
the elder who guided it...and almost all of the Hlarr.
A few Yhendorn survived. So also did Ulelesse
Chamaranthe, who'd led a handful of young shes aside
from the final fray---and Halavanthlarr, who fled,
alone and wounded, back east towards the coast. Ere he
reached it, he was met by three grim Chamaranthe gold
elves, who slew him, the ballads insist, with their
bare hands.
Ulelesse led her handful of shes to the dragon-torn
battlefield, and on the height gathered the dead and
comforted the surviving Yhendorn. There the three
warriors of her kin who'd hunted and slain her
Halavanthlarr found her.
She refused to return to her homeland with them,
choosing to remain with the Yhendorn, and in time a
few---a very few---moon and gold elves made traffic
and friendship between what is now Deepingdale and the
coast nigh what is now Tsurlagol. Under the guidance
of Ulelesse Chamaranthe, who became known as 'Old
Mother' (this is the same "Old Mother" that many Fair
Folk of the three dryland elven races tell moral tales
to their young about, and sometimes, when astonished
or facing doom, startle themselves by swearing by) the
handful of Yhendorn grew great in magic. They and she
raised the earthen barrow-tomb atop the hill that
holds the dead of the Searing, and became the baelnorn
who guarded it down the passing ages, and still guard
it today.
Some folk in Deepingdale say that certain of the
baelnorn walk the Dales, in disguise and cloaked in
concealing magic, and watch unfolding events. This
they have always done, sometimes aiding or giving
warnings, and often covertly stealing magic. For some
years, in the early days of the Elven Court (and among
the Heralds soon after their founding), it was the
custom of certain reverent elves (and heralds) to
journey to Hunters' Down and converse with the
baelnorn, trading enchanted items, spell scrolls, and
news of events across the Realms for specific lore
answers. Some say most of the Chosen of Mystra have
also made this journey---and Elminster has confirmed
that pacts have been made that will bring the aid of
present-day wizards to baelnorn of Hunters' Down who
request it.

-- George Krashos



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kysus
Learned Scribe

USA
104 Posts

Posted - 12 May 2015 :  19:08:55  Show Profile  Visit kysus's Homepage Send kysus a Private Message
Actually, now Im even more confused.
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