[Balanor]

It is a Time of Troubles. Just over a month ago ((in-game)), it became well known by all that something was not right as fireballs fell from the sky, the earth shook, and magic began to misfire.

Some learned more painfully than others.

While word about his demise has been kept relatively quiet, it is said that the Zulkir of Evocation, apprentices of his, and several mercenaries and adventurers were all ported to the World’s End dungeons in Thazar Keep in some magical mishap that signaled the start of this Time of Troubles. There his magical helm caused him to transform into a steady stream of various creatures, possibly even a dragon, before it ended up killing him. It is assumed that his strange ‘robe’, unique helm, and the powerful greatsword he carried fell into the hands of the adventurers who had been with him in his final moments. There remains only a matter of time before a new Zulkir of Evocation rises to lead that powerful school of Red Wizards...

But throughout Thay, and confirmed beyond Thayan borders as well, bizarre occurrences have become commonplace. Furniture has attacked. Snow has fallen from clear skies to accumulate in snowbanks and rise as Ice Golems. The earth rumbles. The skies turn red. Red Wizard apprentices forced (or not) to perform magical experimentation appear and disappear in different times and places as if no time has passed for them. Golems and other Red Wizard creations have gone berserk, attacking their masters. And magic is as often as dangerous as it helpful.

But perhaps most damning is the fact that no priest, druid, or cleric has been able to cast spells at all – despite their attempts to conceal the fact. In Thay, all but the priests of the Temple of Hoar, and then they had their abilities returned only for a tenday, have refused to provide any healing or tangible blessings from their gods. It is now believed that the gods themselves have an overgod called Ao to whom they all answer. And some god, or gods, had the audacity to defy this overlord, steal, and then hide something called the ‘Tablets of Fate’ from him – perhaps in an attempt to usurp him. However, as punishment for this affront, all gods have been cast out of the heavens to walk as mortals.

Now, the inhabitants of the Realms grow ever more desperate to return Faerûn to what it was before this Avatar Crisis. Some adventurers have taken it upon themselves to investigate any lead they find to try and discover the location of the Tablets of Fate and return them for power and glory. Others, more angry than helpful, have begun to speak loudly against the gods themselves - blaming their pettiness and vanity for the current predicament they have placed all their mortal followers in.

But there are a few, said to be mad and worse than any doomsayers, who claim that that gods can indeed even be killed in their current state. These sorts claim there are credible witnesses who saw Mystra, the goddess of magic, destroyed trying to return to the heavens and that she will be only the first of many who will meet their final end before the Avatar Crisis is resolved and the world returns to some semblance of ‘normal’.

[Balanor]

Hoar the Doombringer, god of revenge and retribution, had returned to his realm in Mechanus. The Tablets of Fate had been returned and those mortals who had recovered them had been rewarded either death or godhood. Win big, or die in the attempt. He appreciated that.

He had returned scant days ago, but the months he had been forced to walk as a mortal weighed heavily on this thoughts. He recalled them again as he sat brooding.

-------------------------------------------------

The day Bane and Myrkul had stolen the Tablets of Fate and Ao cast all gods from the heavens as a result, he had arrived in Chessenta, across the Sea of Fallen Stars from Thay. Taking the powerful King Hippartes as his mortal shell and avatar, he found out that his ancient enemy Ramman was also mortal and in neighboring Unther. Putting aside any thoughts of trying to recover the Tablets of Fate, he instead choose this time to strike at his enemy, as there would never be a better opportunity. To do so, however, he needed the many powerful weapons he had stored long ago in the catacombs of The Citadel underneath the Thaymount mountains of Thay.

Soon after arriving in Chessenta, he quietly left for Thay with a small honor guard, wary of what the evil and treacherous Red Wizards would do if they realized a god walked their realm. Making his way to his temple in the Keep of Sorrows, there his faithful worked to gather adventurers and mercenaries to aid and accompany him on his quest to the Citadel. Fortunately, with some having past experiences with Red Wizards, they were able to secure passage for him and them through Thralgard Keep and into High Thay itself.

Within the Citadel, they were soon separated. However his cadre proved resourceful and still managed to free the protector of Hoar’s weapon cache from the clutches of the Drow who had penetrated his labyrinth designed to protect it. As a result, the god was able to recover most of the weapon cache he had secreted away before the trap against him was sprung. The Red Wizard (or former Red Wizard) simply known to him and others as ‘The Masked One’, had in fact found out about Hoar's arrival in Thay and used the recruited mercenaries and followers to trap the Doombringer in the Citadel in an attempt to kill him and take his godly power. Fortunately for the Doombringer, the plan had unraveled to the point the Masked One was forced to call upon powerful magic in the assassination attempt - which misfired and which Hoar was able to twist enough for the party to escape the clutches of the Masked One.

In time, the Masked One would be paid in full for his foolish betrayal. The Doombringer would never forget, nor forgive, until it had been repaid in full. But next his thoughts darkened even further as he turned to the events of the following weeks.

Still as King Hippartes, Hoar returned to Chessenta from Thay and commanded the army of Akanax and several hired mercenary companies into wars against the neighboring cities of Cimbar, Soorenar, and Luthcheq in revenge for ancient insults. The Doombringer incited several long-simmering conflicts between those cities as well, plunging most of Chessenta into war. After a string of victories against ancient foes of Akanax and himself, he forged an alliance between Chessenta's fractious cities. The Doombringer then turned Akanax's armies against Unther and against the church of Ramman in particular. Ramman's avatar met him face-to-face and toe-to-toe, and in an act of poetic justice, the Doombringer wove a powerful spell that slew Ramman by causing a bolt of lightning to rebound after the Untheric storm god's third thunderous lightning attack.

However, once again he lost out when, before he could seize Ramman's portfolio, the Untheric lord of war passed it on to Anhur, war god of Mulhorand, and left the Realms permanently. The revitalized Mulhorandi god of war led his troops to Unther's defense and routed the Chessentan mercenaries, many of whom defected to his side. The Doombringer was once again driven from Unther in defeat.

Even worse, after the decisive battle against Hoar, Anhur turned his attention to ending the Sahuagin threat that had plagued Mulhorand since Thayan involvement had sunk a Mulhorandi invasion fleet into the Sahuagin city of Korinagh. Anhur choose what he considered ‘expendable’ mercenaries from Thay, even including some of Hoar’s faithful, some who had played a part in the sinking of the Mulhorandi fleet, and others who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. He then used them, after giving them weapons taken during the battle from Hoar’s recovered weapon cache, to help strike at the heart of the Sahuagin threat by meeting the Sahuagin god Sekolah in the sea just northwest of the Alaor islands. Despite being in the Great Devourer's element, Anhur defeated Sekolah with a powerful spear taken from Hoar’s recovered weapons, and this defeat demoralized the sahuagin, allowing the war to end in defeat for the Sahuagin despite the creatures not taking major losses and causing much havoc upon their enemies.

It was only shortly after this battle that the then-mortal Midnight and Cyric returned the Tablets of Fate to the overgod Ao, they were themselves made gods, and the gods who survived the cataclysm were returned to their places in the heavens.

-------------------------------------------------

Now the Doombringer, despite his many worshippers called on him for aid, was withdrawing to himself, scheming an elaborate plan about how he would repay Anhur for his transgressions during the crisis. He would have fitting vengeance one day, and Anhur and all of his faithful would tremble before the thundering sound of the Doombringer rolling over Mulhorand, crushing them all!

[Balanor]

The celebration in the Central Citadel was in full swing. The many sycophants of Aznar Thrul lay passed out or still engaged in various acts of debauchery. Expensive drinks, exotic food, and powerful attendees of incredibly diverse backgrounds crowded shoulder to shoulder to see and be seen by him. For indeed, it took a particularly ruthless and cunning man to rise from apprentice, to Red Wizard, to tharchion, and now - to zulkir!

Zulkir Aznar Thrul.

Zulkir by his own hand and through doing whatever it took to attain his power. He had risen from near ruin during the Salamander War, using those beneath him to take power and facilitate the removal of Mari Agneh and become Tharchion of the newly expanded Priador in her place.

Then, in a stroke of fortune, the previous zulkir of Evocation had been killed during the opening moments of what people were now calling the time of Troubles. He had cunningly manipulated the circumstances of that death, and used fellow evokers to his advantage, to secure his position as frontrunner for zulkir. Even before the first votes were cast, he had known that he would indeed be sitting in the evocation throne.

Now, moving through the celebration to honor the newest zulkir of Thay, Thrul passed his closest ally, High Priest Mythalanir of the Flaming Brazier who smiled at him and nodded, then turned back to the priestess of Sharess who was dancing nude in front of him and the former priest of Bhaal - Sharthane Zul. Zul’s abilities and his faith in his new god was undeniably powerful. He had already petitioned Thrul to open a large temple to the new god Cyric, and after rumors having spread of a large temple to Cyric already planned in Eltabbar, Thrul was simply waiting until after he had his moment before allowing Zul to begin work on a temple in Bezantur to the dreaded new god of strife, death, and the dead.

On a table nearby, his gaze fell to the very nice basket of fruit from Guildmistress Shabella the Pale of the Temple of Mask - sent to him for the second year in a row on the anniversary of Bezantur’s founding. He counted her too, among his allies - but trusted her even less than his enemies.

Speaking to the High Priestess Mylra of Loviatar’s Manor was Rhuna the Dark, one of the best tattoo artists in Bezantur. As she caught his eye, he had a passing thought of visiting her again now that he had even more enemies and need of her powerful magical tattoos.

High Priestess Alyssa of the Temple of Umberlee was entranced by some noble undergoing a painful and bloody dalliance with a devotee of Loviatar. He frowned as he thought of her involvement in calling forth a storm that sunk the Mulhorandi fleet sent to invade the Alaor, scuttling his plans and robbing him of the opportunity to recapture the Alaor in his name. He recalled her words when he angrily confronted her days after the sinking and scattering of the fleet, and explained just what her actions had robbed him of. Not all ventures end in climax, she calmly explained in the face of his wrath A fact known well to many women.

He still had to grin at her gall and the grin spread evilly as his thoughts turned toward more base desires and his prisoner in the nearby dungeon. He had no doubt he would be enjoying her for many years to come. Her continued attempts to resist the spells placed on her made her all the more fun to torment.

Seeing the young and intolerable Red Wizard Edwin Odesseiron making his way over to him, he decided upon a quick visit to her. He desired to see a noble being debased against her will as he scowled at Edwin before quickly turning and heading through the door to his private chambers and the dungeons. Behind him, he could hear Edwin cursing at his Thayan Knight 'simians' stationed at the door for refusing him entry to follow the new zulkir.

Thrul made his way to the dungeons and entered the cell designed to provide both a mixture of comfort and pain for its inhabitant. His prisoner lay in a deep magical sleep on her bed, oblivious to a man dressed in black, with a black mask covering his face, standing over her. Turning to Thrul, the man spoke in a harsh, raspy voice.

“Greeting zulkir, and congratulations. I am pleased our agents have served you so well in your campaigns to become tharchion and to become zulkir. You have much to be thankful for, but yet much to repay.”

Momentarily stunned by the man’s presumptive attitude and wondering just how he entered his inner sanctum, the new zulkir simply quirked a brow and opened his mouth to reply. The man’s black gloved hand raised to cut off the reply.

“But let me start with a proper introduction. I am known to my associates as the Masked One - at one time a Red Wizard very much like you. I long ago broadened my horizons and now I come to you representing a powerful organization based here in Thay. One with power and resources enough to surreptitiously see a Red Wizard to tharchion and zulkir, despite his claims of sole responsibility for his success.

“Through the use of our agents and other manipulation, we have helped raise you to where you now stand, and we wish to continue our alliance in a more forthright and beneficial nature between us. Work with us, advance our goals, and see your power continue to grow until all of Thay, and even your nemesis Szass Tam, bows at your feet.”

After a moment of silence, Thrul’s arrogant smirk emerged and then settled himself into a nearby chair. “Alright, I will hear you out,” he stated “But if the words that tumble from your masked lips are anything less than astounding, I assure you I will spend all of my now-very considerable power eradicating this so called ‘powerful organization’ of yours.”

“And then you would see, to your dismay, just how potent the force is that you would be meddling with,” whispered the Masked One in his harsh, raspy voice. “So to avoid that, let me tell you a little of the Shadows…”


And this concludes the summary of major updates and happenings that occurred within Thay over the course of events before and during the Time of Troubles. Thank you to all who participated in helping shape the details of the history behind these momentous events!