Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

Illustration by Matt Faulkner
new settlement of Telflamm and claims the title
Merchant Prince.
952 Year of Rings Royal: Phsant founded.
1038 Year of Spreading Spring: The Great Glacier retreats
from the lands of Damara, Vaasa, and upper Narfell;
many folk from Impiltur and Thesk migrate north to
the newly uncovered lands.
1086 Year of the Seer’s Fires: Thay captures Nethjet and
Nethentir, extending the tharch of Lapendrar.
1110 Year of the Bloody Fields: Thay marches on Phent, but
the combined forces of Impiltur
and the Theskian
cities defeat the Red
Wizards’ army.
1177 Year of the Majesty:
Princess Delile Balindre
renounces her loyalty
to the throne of Impiltur
and declares Telflamm
an independent citystate.
1351 Year of the Crown: The Red
Wizards obtain a concession
in Telflamm.
This grows into the
largest of the Thayan
enclaves, as it is a distribution
center for
Thayan goods throughout
much of northern
Faerûn.
1360 Year of the Turret: The
Tuigan horde, led by
Yamun Khahan, invades
Faerûn by way of
Thay. Having been defeated
in Rashemen the previous
year, Khahan turns his
attention west, along the Golden Way. People of many
nations rally to the cry of the Council of Thesk. Their
combined forces defeat the Tuigans at Phsant.
1361 Year of Maidens: Tuigan bandits occupy Tammar.
They terrorize merchants traveling the newly reopened
Golden Way for months.
1362 Year of the Helm: The Merchants’ Council of Phsant
takes action, sending to Tammar an army of one hundred
of the best orc warriors the Zhentarim left
behind. The Tuigan bandits cannot match the savagery
of the orcs, and they are hunted down to the
last man.
1363 Year of the Wyvern: Tammar is rebuilt and restored
to its former status. The surviving residents brave
enough to return hail the orcs as heroes and welcome
them into the community.
1364 Year of the Wave: The Sharkjaws, a flotilla of pirate
vessels under the corsair lord Evgruth the Red, descend
on Telflamm and make the city their homeport.
THESK
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Evgruth extorts massive bribes from the merchants’
council to spare Telflamm’s own trade.
1366 Year of the Staff: The Shadowmasters drive out Evgruth
and his pirate fleet with a bloody night of murders
and arson.
1368 Year of the Banner: The Red Wizards open an enclave
in Phsant. The place is an instant hit with merchants
up and down the Golden Way.
1372 Year of Wild Magic: Current year. The Shadowmasters
effectively take control of the Merchants’
Council of Telflamm. Few outside of the
council suspect the extent of
the guild’s power.
Government
Representatives from the
merchant councils of each of
the land’s towns and cities
gather once a year (or as
events demand) to discuss
issues of mutual import. How
a city chooses its leaders or
manages its affairs is of no
interest to its neighbors.
Councils of oligarchs (wealthy
merchants or landowners)
govern most towns in Thesk,
and the head of the council
represents that town to the assembled
oligarchs of the rest
of the country. Milvarune is
represented by its prince, as
is Telflamm, but these
nobles wield no more power
than the leading merchants of
Phsant or Nyth.
The assembled leaders are
known as the Council of Thesk. The Council oversees no
administration, commands no army, and has no responsibilities
or authority other than the voluntary contributions
of its member cities. Thesk does not even have a capital city
for the Council to meet in, although Phsant is most often
chosen for its central location. Telflamm was the de facto capital
for many years, losing its prestigious place only as the
other settlements of the Golden Way grew from small towns
to bustling cities.
Within each town or city, a merchants’ council oversees
most civic functions. Ascension to the council is usually based
on demonstrated success in business and personal wealth. The
merchants’ councils keep an eye on any potential members,
inviting someone to join when she has reached an appropriate
level of achievement. The standards vary from town to town,
although the minimum is ownership or control of property
and enterprises worth 10,000 (in a small town) to 100,000 gp
(in a large city such as Telflamm).
A merchant lord of Phsant