The Commonly Known History of the World

Note: The history displayed here is by no account either full or accurate. It is simply what any character (with an Int score of 10 or more) growing in Northern Alanasia will know about the history of the world he or she lives in.

Karsepolis was founded in 483 BME (Before the Modern Era) by a group of Moon-Elves, Dwarves and Halflings[1] from Toril that decided that it didn’t like the new balance of powers that was developing in the continent (The Humans’ rise and the ancient races’ demise). They migrated to the continent of Alanasia (South-East of Toril), where until then only sparse human barbarian tribes lived[2].

Skip a hundred years or so forwards, to the thriving metropolis Karsepolis had become, and the powerful center of magic at its heart. As usual in these cases, all went wonderfully well – until everything went terribly wrong.

In 0 TME (to The Modern Era), the event called The Day of Destruction (or simply The Day) occurred. Nobody, until this day, knows exactly what triggered the event, but its consequences are well felt until this day: Karsepolis was ruined to the ground, tens of thousands died, the ground for miles around was ravaged, magic of all kinds ceased to exist in the city perimeter, and a great rift to the lower planes was opened, pouring out armies of demons and devils.

The few hundred people who survived that day seeked refuge in various places.

• Most of the Elves turned to Elvenwood, enlarging, and finally displacing, the druidic settlements that had sprung in the area over the years. In the first years after The Day they maintained relations with the humans of Salmon-Bend, but after the Blackdeath raid they severed all contacts with humans, and ceased to leave Elvenwood or suffer others to pass through their territory[3].
• The dwarves turned north, to their mining outposts in the Northern Ridge and beyond, taking what few gnomes there were with them. The first generation of The Breaking of The Ridge (as The Day is known to the dwarves) saw them blame the human wizards for the disaster, but the generation after that grew to believe that the dwarves had brought it on themselves, by forgoing the ancient ways. A great return to ancient tradition, and especially to the ancient gods (Moradin and Dumathoin mainly) occurred, and all dissenters from their new found faith were greatly frowned upon. Still depending upon humans for customers, they didn’t sever their outside relations entirely, but it became less and less frequent over the years to see dwarves wandering around in the world, especially in the last 50 years or so.
• Most of the humans and almost all the halflings made their way to the nearest settlement possible – the little fishing village and trading post known as “Salmon-Bend” on the banks of the Silver River, to the east of Karsepolis. In a fortnight the village turned into a town, almost keeling over under the pressure of the new immigrants – most of them wounded, sick or mad. The first three years were a horror[4], until the situation smoothed out eventually. However, as Salmon-Bend grew to Salmon-City, the resident wizards decided to found a wizard academy (but not a wizards tower[5]), and here the rift between them began. After arguing for many months, the wizards split up. Those who chose to teach (and excelled) in the schools of Enchantment and Transmutation left for the Deep South, where strange wizards who excelled in these fields lived. Those who favored Abjuration and Conjuration stayed in Salmon-City and founded what was to be the new heart of magic in the north: The Salmonelis High Academy for Magic[6]. Later on a further split would occur, due to political reasons mostly, and wizards who focused on Divination and Evocation moved to Shantalis, which was later to become Shalis (a large city), and to Pang.

The founding of Blackdeath is the next defining moment in Northern Alanasian history. After The Day of Destruction, the torn, burnt and ruined plains of Karsepolis got the time honored name of Black-Death, after thousands of ghosts that haunted the city’s ruins once the outsiders dispersed. The situation would have remained much the same to this day, if it weren’t for a curious chain of events:

• 7 TME: St. Asilal The Brave founded an order of the followers of The Divine Way (Clerics, Paladins and Rangers mostly), who set out towards Black-Death and one by one brought eternal peace to almost all of the ghosts haunting the place.
• 10 TME: Sasquamit Brindilbog, a gnome originally from Karsepolis, is nominated as Grand Baron of the small town of Mamphang[7].
• 12 TME: St. Asilal’s order is dispersed after many of its followers die as a result of long term exposure to the poisonous fumes of the swamps in the area. He is, however, declared as the greatest saint in the north (by all races), and is especially revered in Salmon-City (just newly turned into a large city).
• 13 TME: Sasquamit, worried that the fast growing Salmon-City would overshadow his slower growing Mamphang (just turned into a large town), begins to build a mysterious maze.
• 14 TME: The Salmon-City Wizard Academy is founded.
• 17 TME: Salmon-City becomes Salmonelis (a metropolis).
• 23 TME: Black-Fist Jim, one of the pirates that operated near the West Coast tries to found a base camp in Black-Death. Most of his men die of disease, but the few that escape the noxious fumes tell of a perfect hiding place to the other pirates that operate along the coast.
• Many attempts to settle the area are made by various pirate captains and their respective crews – all fail.
• 35 TME: Captain O-ak (oh-ack) The Dread decides to make a more thorough attempt than his predecessors. He enlists the aid of a local tribe of barbarians[8], gathers round the crew of an armada of ships and sets down to clear a small area of land near the coast. After 32 months of work, a small base camp is built, as well as a very minor harbor for Captain O-ak’s skips.
• 40 TME: Sasquamit opens his labyrinth “The Champion’s Test”, after sending ten of his best soldiers in, and never seeing them come out. The city of Mamphang flourishes and grows vastly due to The Test, that is opened once a year, at the first day of spring.
• 42 TME: The temporary camp is now a permanent small settlement, as more land is cleared out, two inns and a tavern are built, and the harbor is enlarged. The settlement quadruples itself in wintertime, when the shipping lanes are closed, and when raids from Arantis’s Royal Navy take place.
• 43 TME: The Blackdeath raid occurs. The settlement is burned to the ground, but Salmonelis’s forces are forced to retreat and most of the pirates and criminals get away unharmed. The Elves retreat to Elvenwood, and relations between them and the rest of the north are severed. Within a few weeks from the raid Blackdeath is rebuilt, larger than ever.
• 46 TME: Blackdeath becomes a large town (the name was never changed as the place’s inhabitants saw no need to change it). The ruins of Karsepolis are used as the city sewers.
• 47 TME: The Blackdeath’s Thieves’ Guild is founded.
• 123 TME: The Blackdeath’s Thieves’ Guild, the most notorious thieves guild in Alanasia (and possibly the world), is granted sole-rights to operate in Blackdeath[9], and the famous “Thieves are Not Allowed” sign is posted outside the city.
• 248 TME: “Utter-Chaos”, D’azz Acoor’s ship, sails into Merlock harbor in broad daylight and empties three ships of their cargo. Over the next six years Acoor spreads his flag over all Alanasia.
• 252 TME: In a brilliant coup that lasted only 4 hours, D’azz Acoor captures Blackdeath, hangs his predecessor and pronounces himself Lord Superior of the city. He razes down the city palace and has a new one rebuilt on its ruins. The city becomes even more depraved under his long rule. Acoor himself rarely leaves his palace, and when he does it’s always in a elaborately decorated carriage, and he’s enveloped from head to toe in black robes. Many mysterious black robed people visit his castle.
• 279 TME: Salmonelis’s greatest wizard, Nicodmos, retires from his duties, to Blackdeath, of all cities. He takes with him every known record of Karsepolis and Karsepolis’s fall. The old man now lives under The Singing Bridge in the city centre, near the sewer entrance.

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Notes:

[1] Gnomes are a rare thing in Alanasia, as they migrated there in very small numbers, from Toril, and at a relatively late date. Most Alanasians have never seen a gnome in their lives.

[2] Human barbarian nomadic tribes were basically the only inhabitants in the north until then, and they are still traditionally banded in the same tribes they were when the first immigrants arrived from Toril.

[3] Elves and Half-Elves are not so common in the northern areas outside Elvenwood. Those that live there are descendants of new immigrants from the continent, or the descendants of the few Elves that chose to maintain relations with the humans, and migrated with them to Salmon-Bend. They too, are unwelcome in Elvenwood.

[4] The first three years were marked by continuous attacks on the new settlers, many inner strifes, two outbreaks of the Cackling Fever and a medium sized fire. For more on this subject, refer to “The Founding of Salmonelis: The First Three Years”, by Eddyings de Cadelad, found in many private libraries in Salmonelis, as well as in the Royal Library.

[5] Actually, an attempt to rebuild a wizard tower, similar to the great one in Karsepolis, was made; however, the local population got wind of the idea and riots began to spring all over the city. Only a statement on part of the wizards that they will not rebuild the old tower anew calmed the rioters down (not before the mayor’s manor was burnt down. Twice).

[6] Necromancers arrived to Alanasia only after Blackdeath was founded, as did a large number of Conjurers and a few Transmuters. Transmutation was always a rare field of magic in Alanasia, as the Karsepolis School (as the Karsepolis mages are known to later generations) didn’t approve of them, and few migrated to the continent since. Transmutation has been practiced in Salmonelis in the past few decades, but it has never been taught, and is somewhat frowned upon (Transmutation is simply regarded as a field best left for Clerics). Enchantment and Illusion are not only forbidden to be taught in the Academy, but are also forbidden to be used within the city perimeters (as is Necromancy – only it was added at a much later date: only after the arrival of The Blackdeath Wizards. Before that Necromancy was simply not known in Alanasia).

[7] Sasquamit left the city 43 years before The Day, due to “an omen” he claims to have received from the gods. His shady character led to the shady character of his city (also known as “The Grey”). Strange rumors surround his age, for he was by no means young when he left Karsepolis. Some claim that the gods have blessed him immortality, others that he sold his soul to obtain it, and still more believe that he used powerful magic to trick the gods into blessing him with the gift of eternal life and vitality.

[8] “Enlists the aid” – i.e. enslaves them. The tribe was known as the Tribe of the Shark, and wandered mostly on that part of the coast that borders with The Deep Desert. No barbarian tribes operate in the area anymore.

[9] The Guild had requested sole-rights for decades, but had been refused by the succession of Blackdeath’s rulers, who were afraid The Guild would amass to much power. Tark the Bold finally said: “If it’s power you’re worried to give us, then ye needn’t be, as we already have it.” And in a frightening display of power Tark ordered the entire city to be colored black, using only the left hand-prints of every member in the guild. This only served to annoy Drazz the Dreadful, the city’s ruler at the time, and he enforced stricter taxes on the guild and arrested many of its members. In retaliation the guild caused almost the entire north to reach a grinding halt, with riots and strikes and law-breaking everywhere. Drazz finally gave in, and the rest is history.