07-15-2009, 05:19 PM
Source: Dreams of the Red Wizards (AD&D), circa 1357 DR
The Tharch of Lapendrar.
It is somewhat presumptuous of the Red Wizards to label a Tharch with the name of a river they only hold most of one bank of, but such considerations have never stopped the Red Wizards before.
This Tharchion, Hargrid Tenslayer, a 9th level chaotic evil lord, is not Thayan at all. He is from Thesk, but found the Thayans much more to his liking after he was run out of Phsant for slaying the child of the heirarch there. He distinguished himself in an otherwise disastrous invasion of Rashemen and was made Autharch of Falls, the area where the Lapendrar leaves the Priador to the lower plains, and the traditional border of Thay and the Coastal Cities.
When the Tharchion of the Lapendrar died under mysterious circumstances (the usual Thayan designation for death by poison), Hargrid was unanimously approved as his successor.
Now Hargrid has formed an alliance with the Zulkirs of Evocation and Conjuration, who have managed to open a gate to the Plane of Fire and ravaged the coast cities of Thasselen, Murbant, Lasdur, and Taskaunt and most of the fishing villages in between.
Source: Spellbound (AD&D), circa 1368 DR
In 1357, Hargrid Tenslayer, tharchion of Lapendrar, combined forces with the zulkirs of Evocation and Conjuration and undertook one of the most ambitious schemes of conquest in Thayan history. Although Kossuth, tyrant of the fire elementals, was worshiped throughout Thay, the triumvirate chose to bypass him in their quest for extraplanar aid and instead approached Fyzzar, a lord of the salamanders, and Sultan Marrake of the efreeti. The Thayans proposed a massive military campaign against the coastal cities of Thasselen, Murbant, Escalant, Taskaunt, Lasdur, and Tilbrand. In return for the elementals’ aid in helping the Thayans rid themselves of troublesome competition from the coast once and for all, the triumvirate agreed to create a permanent gate to the Elemental Plane of Fire, setting the entire coast ablaze and giving the salamanders and efreeti a permanent toehold on Faerûn.
Always greedy, and seeking to expand their power in the face of Kossuth’s supremacy, the elementals agreed and the campaign began. The operation met with great success, with all the major targets of the invasion swiftly conquered or destroyed.
But this time, Thayan ambitions fell apart, not due to internal bickering but as a result of conflict with outside allies. With the major objectives achieved and most of the coast in Thayan hands, the salamanders and efreeti demanded that the permanent gate be established immediately.
Not surprisingly, the Thayans had never intended to create the gate but to simply banish the elementals back to their home plane after they had served their purpose. Forced into premature action, the zulkirs strove to compel their former allies to leave the Prime Material Plane. They succeeded only in ousting the efreeti, leaving the salamanders the ravage the Priador.
Faced with disaster, the three conspirators turned to their fellow Red Wizards for aid. Szass Tam, now the most powerful zulkir in Thay, recalled elements of his undead legions (which were at the time engaged in an invasion of Rashemen) and sent them to aid the beleaguered triumvirate.
The struggle for the Priador (which came to be called The Salamander War) lasted over a year, pitting the ferocious salamanders against Thayan humans, gnolls, goblins, and Tam’s undead forces. The war (in which Hargrid Tenslayer perished) finally ended when the elemental tyrant Kossuth sent his own elementals at the request of the up-and-coming Red Wizard Aznar Thrul to drive out the salamanders. As a result, worship of Kossuth reached an all-time high in Thay, and the nation’s political face was changed forever.
Currently under the control of tharchion Hezess Nymar, a priest of Kossuth in the pocket of a number of wealthy Red Wizards, Lapendrar was once considerably more important due to its central role in the invasion of the coastal cities in 1357. After the death of its Theskborn tharchion Hargrid Tenslayer and the formation of the new tharch of the Priador, the Lapendrar declined somewhat in importance. Nymar claims much more territory than he actually controls, including the coastal cities of Taskaunt, Lasdur, Tilbrand, and - much to its citizens’ amusement - Laothkund. The Thayans retain a firm grip on the port city of Escalant, which has become an important economic asset.
Thasselen is a city that lives in the shadow of terror. Badly damaged by the Thayan fire elementals in 1357, Thasselen fell to forces under the command of Hargrid Tenslayer, tharchion of the Lapendrar. After Tenslayer perished in the Salamander War, Thasselen was handed over to Aznar Thrul and has been ruled with an iron hand ever since.
The Tharch of Lapendrar.
It is somewhat presumptuous of the Red Wizards to label a Tharch with the name of a river they only hold most of one bank of, but such considerations have never stopped the Red Wizards before.
This Tharchion, Hargrid Tenslayer, a 9th level chaotic evil lord, is not Thayan at all. He is from Thesk, but found the Thayans much more to his liking after he was run out of Phsant for slaying the child of the heirarch there. He distinguished himself in an otherwise disastrous invasion of Rashemen and was made Autharch of Falls, the area where the Lapendrar leaves the Priador to the lower plains, and the traditional border of Thay and the Coastal Cities.
When the Tharchion of the Lapendrar died under mysterious circumstances (the usual Thayan designation for death by poison), Hargrid was unanimously approved as his successor.
Now Hargrid has formed an alliance with the Zulkirs of Evocation and Conjuration, who have managed to open a gate to the Plane of Fire and ravaged the coast cities of Thasselen, Murbant, Lasdur, and Taskaunt and most of the fishing villages in between.
Source: Spellbound (AD&D), circa 1368 DR
In 1357, Hargrid Tenslayer, tharchion of Lapendrar, combined forces with the zulkirs of Evocation and Conjuration and undertook one of the most ambitious schemes of conquest in Thayan history. Although Kossuth, tyrant of the fire elementals, was worshiped throughout Thay, the triumvirate chose to bypass him in their quest for extraplanar aid and instead approached Fyzzar, a lord of the salamanders, and Sultan Marrake of the efreeti. The Thayans proposed a massive military campaign against the coastal cities of Thasselen, Murbant, Escalant, Taskaunt, Lasdur, and Tilbrand. In return for the elementals’ aid in helping the Thayans rid themselves of troublesome competition from the coast once and for all, the triumvirate agreed to create a permanent gate to the Elemental Plane of Fire, setting the entire coast ablaze and giving the salamanders and efreeti a permanent toehold on Faerûn.
Always greedy, and seeking to expand their power in the face of Kossuth’s supremacy, the elementals agreed and the campaign began. The operation met with great success, with all the major targets of the invasion swiftly conquered or destroyed.
But this time, Thayan ambitions fell apart, not due to internal bickering but as a result of conflict with outside allies. With the major objectives achieved and most of the coast in Thayan hands, the salamanders and efreeti demanded that the permanent gate be established immediately.
Not surprisingly, the Thayans had never intended to create the gate but to simply banish the elementals back to their home plane after they had served their purpose. Forced into premature action, the zulkirs strove to compel their former allies to leave the Prime Material Plane. They succeeded only in ousting the efreeti, leaving the salamanders the ravage the Priador.
Faced with disaster, the three conspirators turned to their fellow Red Wizards for aid. Szass Tam, now the most powerful zulkir in Thay, recalled elements of his undead legions (which were at the time engaged in an invasion of Rashemen) and sent them to aid the beleaguered triumvirate.
The struggle for the Priador (which came to be called The Salamander War) lasted over a year, pitting the ferocious salamanders against Thayan humans, gnolls, goblins, and Tam’s undead forces. The war (in which Hargrid Tenslayer perished) finally ended when the elemental tyrant Kossuth sent his own elementals at the request of the up-and-coming Red Wizard Aznar Thrul to drive out the salamanders. As a result, worship of Kossuth reached an all-time high in Thay, and the nation’s political face was changed forever.
Currently under the control of tharchion Hezess Nymar, a priest of Kossuth in the pocket of a number of wealthy Red Wizards, Lapendrar was once considerably more important due to its central role in the invasion of the coastal cities in 1357. After the death of its Theskborn tharchion Hargrid Tenslayer and the formation of the new tharch of the Priador, the Lapendrar declined somewhat in importance. Nymar claims much more territory than he actually controls, including the coastal cities of Taskaunt, Lasdur, Tilbrand, and - much to its citizens’ amusement - Laothkund. The Thayans retain a firm grip on the port city of Escalant, which has become an important economic asset.
Thasselen is a city that lives in the shadow of terror. Badly damaged by the Thayan fire elementals in 1357, Thasselen fell to forces under the command of Hargrid Tenslayer, tharchion of the Lapendrar. After Tenslayer perished in the Salamander War, Thasselen was handed over to Aznar Thrul and has been ruled with an iron hand ever since.