Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

nobles, and his sergeants are Rashemi veterans. The troops, of
course, are mostly Rashemi. A noble who buys a good post can
enrich himself just as easily as one who owns a great estate:
It is expected that a powerful official or highly-placed officer
will divert a certain amount of “taxes” for his own use.
THE RED WIZARDS
At an early age, noble children are carefully examined for any
signs of arcane talent. Any who are shown to have even a
small aptitude are immediately inducted into wizardry
school, followed by a long and arduous apprenticeship to a Red
Wizard. Those who survive their apprenticeship and are ambitious,
resourceful, and talented are invited to join the Red
Wizards. Some refuse the red robes, but this is rare: Becoming
a Red Wizard is such an obvious path to power that the
zulkirs don’t need to recruit anyone.
The Red Wizards are the ruling class of this magocracy. It’s
illegal for any Red Wizard to take on an apprentice of other
than Mulan blood. Some still do, however, and it’s usually an
open secret. At any given time, most Red Wizards claim up to
a dozen apprentices (in game terms, wizards who have not yet
acquired their first level in the Red Wizard prestige class),
whom they keep at one another’s throats to advance their own
schemes. Apprentices exist to serve as the master’s agents, minions,
and thralls. What magical training they gain in the process
is determined solely by their own ambition and initiative.
THAY
The slave market of Eltabbar
160
Only Red Wizards are permitted to wear red robes, their
badge of office. The penalty for posing as one is instant death
at the hands of the first Red Wizard to uncover the deception.
The Red Wizards are ruled by a council of eight zulkirs, one
representing each of the eight schools of magic. These positions
are for life—the only way a zulkir would ever deign to
leave office would be feet first. Within each school exists an
elaborate pecking order, in which standing is determined by
magical ability and the patronage of more powerful wizards.
The current leader of the council is Szass Tam, the zulkir of
necromancy.
The Red Wizards are evil through and through. Their ultimate
goal is nothing less than world domination, and they
have spent much of Thay’s history in pursuit of that effort
by military means. It’s only within the past few years that
they have set aside the ways of war in favor of more insidious,
economic methods.
ECONOMY
Thay’s economy has traditionally been borne on the backs of
the vast number of slaves who are brought into the country
in chains. With the increase of trade in magic items over the
past few years, the number of slaves sold in Thay hasn’t gone
down one bit. In fact, now that Thay has enclaves in just about
every major city of Faerûn, its merchants have even more
access to slaves, and the slave population is actually growing.
Illustration by Vince Locke