Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
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with the half-elves left for the western part of the peninsula,<br />
settling in either Altumbel or the Fang. Neither region has<br />
much of a say—if any—in Aglarondan politics or culture<br />
these days.<br />
Human Aglarondans are sturdy, dark-haired people with<br />
brown or blue eyes and ruddy skin from regular exposure to<br />
the elements. <strong>The</strong> men average about 5´8˝ tall, while the<br />
women stand around 5´2˝. Aglarondan half-elves, descended<br />
from humans and wild elves, have coppery skin, sometimes<br />
with a greenish tinge, with black or blond hair. <strong>The</strong>ir ears show<br />
a subtle elven point, and their eyes tend to be gold-flecked and<br />
wise. Aglarondans of both races are stoic by nature and harbor<br />
a deep love for the woods and shores of their peninsula. Most<br />
take any chance they can get to hike or travel along the rocky<br />
coast or the eaves of the Yuirwood, although few without<br />
elven blood find the forest’s depths comforting.<br />
Aglarond’s half-elves include both wary foresters, living as<br />
simple, nomadic hunters in the heart of the Yuirwood, and cosmopolitan<br />
city-dwellers living alongside humans in shoreside<br />
towns. Most fall somewhere between these two extremes: <strong>The</strong>y<br />
live under the forest’s canopy but are schooled in the ways of<br />
the outside world; they treasure their own culture while recognizing<br />
those of others. <strong>The</strong>y participate in governing their<br />
nation, because if they fail to moderate the commerce and expansion<br />
of their human neighbors, open strife between the<br />
races may one day return to Aglarond.<br />
Life and Society<br />
Aglarondans prefer to live alone and in peace, but they’ve<br />
rarely been given that opportunity. <strong>The</strong> rest of Faerûn does<br />
not think much of the peninsula nation (if they think of the<br />
place at all) but the same can’t be said of the Red Wizards of<br />
Thay. Before the recent cessation of hostilities, Aglarond lived<br />
under the constant threat of invasion by the zulkirs, who saw<br />
the peninsula as the first stepping-stone in their ongoing campaign<br />
toward world domination.<br />
Despite this, the outside world rarely touched Aglarondans<br />
who weren’t part of the nation’s well-trained military force.<br />
While not ignorant of foreign affairs, most Aglarondans chose<br />
not to be affected by distant events. <strong>The</strong> humans quietly fished<br />
the Sea of Fallen Stars and tended the broad fields and pastures<br />
between the shore and the trees. <strong>The</strong> elves harvested<br />
nature’s bounty beneath the Yuirwood’s leaves.<br />
Coastal and arboreal Aglarondans have differing attitudes<br />
toward magic. Those who live under the trees have a healthy<br />
respect for and appreciation of magic. Those who don’t are<br />
fearful of all things magical, especially if they come from outside<br />
the country, an attitude likely rooted in generations of<br />
trouble with Thay. Even native Aglarondan spellcasters are<br />
regarded with suspicion until they have demonstrated their<br />
trustworthiness.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Simbul is aware of the coastal attitude to magic. She<br />
personally takes in citizens who display a talent for spellcasting<br />
and arranges for their schooling in the art. <strong>The</strong> most<br />
promising she instructs herself. <strong>The</strong>se spellcasters are<br />
known as the Simbul’s Hands. Once they are ready, the Simbul<br />
AGLAROND<br />
102<br />
scatters her students as both ambassadors and spies throughout<br />
the wider world.<br />
ECONOMY<br />
Aglarond’s economy is traditionally self-contained and selfsufficient.<br />
<strong>The</strong> recent peace with Thay has made the ports<br />
more open every day. While the people here still have few<br />
needs from the outside world, they are happy to open up new<br />
markets for their goods.<br />
Aglarond’s main exports are grain, gems, copper, iron, textiles,<br />
and produce, as well as lumber milled from trees fallen<br />
throughout the Yuirwood and cleared out by the half-elves.<br />
<strong>The</strong> most commonly exported gemstones are the black pearls<br />
that divers harvest off the northern and eastern coasts. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
are highly prized in distant lands, as is the Aglarondan blood<br />
wine favored by the half-elves.<br />
<strong>The</strong> nation has no merchant fleet to speak of, although a<br />
number of noble merchants own a ship or two. Most goods<br />
that come in and out of Aglarond are carried in Impilturan<br />
or Sembian vessels, and foreign merchants maintain warehouses<br />
and mercantile emporiums in large cities such as Velprintalar<br />
and Furthinghome.<br />
LAW AND ORDER<br />
<strong>The</strong> people of Aglarond follow a simple set of laws that proscribe<br />
most acts of violence against people or property. <strong>The</strong><br />
local ruler settles all matters of justice, often through punitive<br />
fines, unless someone has been hurt or killed. <strong>The</strong>re is<br />
no national police force, but any officer in Aglarond’s army<br />
can enforce the laws of the land and apprehend anyone<br />
breaking them. Technically, anyone can appeal a local sentence<br />
to the Royal Council or even the Simbul, but in practice,<br />
this rarely happens.<br />
<strong>The</strong> written laws are kept in the library of the Royal<br />
Council. However, they are often misunderstood, so local officials<br />
often apply common sense to any situation. If the city<br />
watch believe an action to be a crime, they treat it as such.<br />
One universal law is compulsory enlistment in the army,<br />
served when an Aglarondan reaches the age of majority. Service<br />
is at least one year, but many youths choose to serve for<br />
several. Many conscripts are assigned to local militias and<br />
garrisons and never serve in the distant border fortresses of<br />
Emmech or Glarondar.<br />
DEFENSE AND WARCRAFT<br />
Aglarond has often been a country at war but is not a<br />
nation of soldiers. <strong>The</strong> Aglarondan fighting force consists<br />
of three small armies, almost all of which are stationed<br />
along the border between their home and Thay. <strong>The</strong> Army<br />
of the Green Drake consists of 4,000 troops stationed at<br />
Glarondar Keep and the Watchwall, while the Army of the<br />
Lion numbers 1,500 soldiers in Emmech. An additional 500<br />
soldiers garrison Velprintalar, and the Simbul’s navy (a fleet