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The Boy and the Night
by Emrys Kerr

I remember how he looked when he left that day.
It's not what we say,
It's what we do that can change the course of events.
They let him slide, they truly ignored all he was.
Don't act so surprised: you just can't hide it now,
When all we can remember is this boy,
And how we left him.

Lost in the night, now let it shine on him.
Can you face it, can you see, how we all let him go?
He was never to blame, he was the sacred one.
His heart rests in mine.
Let it shine on him.
Let it shine.

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Edelgarde Spades - Guide of Candlekeep and Deneirrath priest, still a Disney princess in the wrong tale.

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Battle for Rockrun
by Scribe Edelgarde Spades
Candlekeep, 1358 DR

Introduction

On the 14th of Uktar 1357 DR, the Svirfneblin of Rockrun abandoned their settlement suddenly and for no apparent reason. No trace was left of them nor any clue of where they went.

It was easy to infer that the settlement would not remain empty for long, as three factions showed interest in the now empty place. The factions involves are the Duergar Titanfist Clan, a faction of Illithids and the Company of the Blue Lantern. The three faction will be treated in more detail in the following chapters.


The Illithids

Although such creatures are a fairly common sight in the Night Below, this particular group led by Supreme Mindlord Scperxatl shows a resistance to magic far greater than their common kin. Their capabilities of detecting others are greatly enhanced as well. Scperxatl's origin and deeds are unfortunately shrouded in mystery.

Titanfist Clan

Sadly known to stalk the mines near Rockrun, this Duergar clan is, according to the local rumors, interested in the former Svirfneblin settlement and somehow capable of remaining undetected by Scperxatl's Illithids. The identity of their leader is unknown at this stage. In fact I could only find that the last king of the Titanfist that is known was King Belroar Titanfist, slain in single combat over 40 years ago by the svirfneblin Leoril Blackrock, younger brother of King Daedry Blackrock who had just died in battle. Leoril became King of Rockrun after the war.


Company of the Blue Lantern

Allegedly the most peaceful group of the three, this very recent mercenary company of the Underdark is led by General Morex Ulharaurix, a half dragon, and counts among its ranks mostly earth genasi, a number of Elistraean priestesses and members of the Ibrandulin order of the Knights Fallen. They have rapidly gained a reputation for being extremely skilled warriors, having besieged several small settlements of the evil races of the Underdark. Their employers have so far not been recorded.
According to a group of Elistraean allied with the lantern, this group declared their purpose is turning Rockrun into a safe haven.
Further research revealed that Morex Ulharaurix has Sapphire Dragon blood. These blue gem dragons are known to have minor psionic abilities, and prefer underground lairs, either in the Underdark on the Prime, or in the many caverns of the Elemental Plane of Earth. To make the half dragon existence even more unusual is the fact that Sapphire dragons tend to be quite anti-social towards all beings and don't really involve themselves in any kind of conversation unless it is about military strategy.
His associated of the Order of the Knights Fallen are instead known as a band of priests, rogues and warriors located in the northern reaches of the Underdark, known to seek out those lost in the cave and escort them to relative safety for a significant fee. They are believed to be based in the Deep Temple of Dark Hope.


The Titanfist Demise

In the middle of Nightal, a ferocious attack on the Titanfist Duergar caused them to become more defensive. A group of them was found dead at the entrance of Rockrun, mostly killed by conventional weapons, some of them stripped to the bones with magic and bearing signs of a curse. Residues of this magic could be found on the area where their bodies were found as well.

A month later, six dwarves of Kraak Helzak and one elf, descended in the Upperdark to investigate the sudden disappearance of the dark gnomes. According to Bhor Stonecutter, who was part of the expedition, they were attacked by many duergar warriors. Some of them mentioned that King Thundoin and the priestess of Deep Duerra's destiny was to take back Rockrun.
When the dwarves reached the abandoned settlement they met with the Company of the Blue Lantern, although those were suspicious at first, fearing that Kraak Helzak intended conquering the settlement. Kraak Helzak's group was suspicious as well as the mercenary company counted drow among their ranks. The situation was however resolved diplomatically, with the dwarves explaining that they were only interested in preventing Rockrun from falling in the ends of evil factions and the Company reassuring them that the drow were devoted of the Dark Maiden and condemned slavery.

King Thundoin and his priestess were located in the throneroom and defeated by Bhor's group. This pushed the Titanfist Clan further into chaos, leaving the Company of the Blue Lantern and the illithid of Scperxatl as the two main players on the board.


The Treaty

On the 19th of Alturiak 1358 DR, General Morex Ulharaurix made his way to the surface towards Kraak Helzak. Few days after, it was made known that the two parties signed an agreement and formally allied against the Illithid.


The Stalemate

Months passed with seemingly no news about what seemed like a stalemate between the Blue Lantern and the Illithid.
At the beginning of Mirtul, however, something moved as the army from Kraak Helzak prepared to descend and was due to arrive on the 12th of Mirtul. The Company of the Blue Lantern, however, was still locked in a stalemate with the Illithid of Mindlord Scpexatl and were apparently unable to locate them.
According to General Morex, the Illithid moved through teleport, taking advantage of structures that resembled piles of skulls, which the Lantern could not track due to the lack of arcanists in their ranks. The only instance where the Illithid were spotted was when they scouted, in groups often composed by one mindflayer and a group of dominated thralls. General Morex expressed his concern that, once his company and the troops from Kraak Helzak moved towards Rockrun, they would be ambushed by the Mindlord's forces.
So far, any attempt of sneaking on them had failed, due to the incredible psionic abilities of Mindlord Scpexatl, that allowed the thralls to supernaturally perceive any presence in their vicinity.
His advisor, Priestess Yluene, devised a plan that involved a simulated retreat by the Lantern in order to lure the Illithids towards the settlement and then a quick strike before they could fortify. The Blue Lantern would create a bottleneck while Kraak Helzak's forces would flank the enemy.
This plan, however, required the area to be locked by several Dimension Locks and also the Blue Lantern forces to be able to reach Rockrun as fast as possible by magical means. This, in turn, required a consistent number of arcanists. Sirion Te'dwa, a known wizard from the temple of Mystra; Antares, a brass-blooded sorceress and two more who requested to remain anonymous, answered the call to stop the advance of the Illithid.

Immediately after our arrival at the camp of the Blue Lantern, one of the scouts informed us that a number of undead had occupied Rockrun. We went to investigate as a small group and immediately were attacked by vampires, skeletons and a number of Bebiliths, that the most combat adept of our detachment dispatched.
A spell of Hindsight revealed that at some point in the day prior piles of skulls had appeared in the settlement, that were quickly surrounded by arcane circles where the undead materialized before the skulls disappeared. It became immediately clear that the undead forces were affiliated with the Illithid.
Without wasting any time, we put the area under Dimensional Lock and, once returned to the Blue Lantern camp, enhanced the speed of the troops so that they could reach Rockrun before the arrival of the Illithid.
After reaching the now empty city, the Blue Lantern successfully fortified and prepared to resist the forces of Mindlord Scpexatl.


The Battle of Rockrun

On the 12th of Mirtul, a violent battle ensued between the Company of the Blue Lantern and their close allies against the forces of Mindlord Scpexatl.
Even though a bottleneck was created, the forces of General Morex had to retreat further and further back to the next barricades.

Finally, the forces from Kraak Helzak arrived and flanked the enemy, although they were flanked themselves by more Mindflayers. Many earth genasi and dwarves fell, but in the end the Blue Lantern prevailed on the Illithid.


Epilogue

The atmosphere in Rockrun is still somber and of mourning for the lives lost and there has been no celebration yet. In fact, after the dead were sent back to their family, a new phase of reconstruction started for proper fortification and resettlement.

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Edelgarde Spades - Guide of Candlekeep and Deneirrath priest, still a Disney princess in the wrong tale.

Gleam of the Firefly - In your darkest hour, look for the firefly

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DM Winter wrote: Tue May 31, 2022 3:05 pm The book has a tan-coloured leather cover, the title “Words of Deneir” in beautiful black calligraphy mark the front of the book. Quite simple, but one can notice that the binding and overall quality of it are of the highest degree. A piece of work that will last for a long time.



Words of Deneir
by The Inner Chamber, Deneirrath temple of Berdusk

Introduction
Known mainly as the Lord of All Glyphs and Images, the god Deneir is a patron of the artist, the illuminator, the cartographer, the scholar and the scribe. His is the domain of knowledge and of patience, of not just literature but also literacy. A teller of stories both true and fantastical, as all written words and images fall under his appreciation.
The following chapters will introduce and explain the works and expectations that the Lord of All Glyphs and Images has laid to his faithful. It will give insight into the Church and its structure, as well as into the daily life and prayer of the faithful of Deneir.

Of His Expectations
The First Scribe, as Deneir is also known, is a deity that cherishes knowledge, and asks that his followers do the same. Those in the path of the Deneirrath faith are expected to hold all written and painted work in high regard. To have information not on a paper or scroll is to have it lost, and, as such, Deneirrath are to record all that they can, as well as punish those that deface and destroy the written work in proportion to the work that is lost, unless the defacer can fully replace it.
To lose nothing is an important part of Deneirrath faith, but an equally important part is that of spreading knowledge. Literacy is a gift of Deneir, and as such it is expected of his faithful to spread and teach it to all willing to learn. To spread literacy isn’t a synonym to spreading the faith of Deneir, as the simple act of increasing the reach of knowledge is an act divine to the First Scribe.
It is not a Deneirrath‘s place to judge work as true or false, but simply to record it as it is. To allow knowledge to be free to all that wish it, and thus allow people to form their own opinions and beliefs, is an important aspect of the faith. Information that doesn’t harm is to be available to all.
Lastly, it is imperative of a faithful that they may never turn down a request of another to write or transcribe information. And though one may charge those that can afford, no payment is to be required to provide the divine work of transcribing to those that have little to their names. A Deneirrath abides by their oaths and moral codes above all.

Of the Church and its People
All are welcome as faithful, be any race or any gender. One may attain the title of Priest, be they male or female, as it is not a sign of gender, but of duty. As such, there are many ranks inside the Church of Deneir, and the priests show their ranks based on the colour of a cloak.
An Applicant is the lowest rank inside the Church, and may wear a cloak of diagonally black-and-white stripes. The Underpriest is a rank above, and may wear fully black cloaks. Aspirant Priests wear black cloaks as well, though with a maroon collar, and a Full Priest may wear a black cloak with a gray central strip. Above that, a Priest Illuminator, who bears the color gray with a black trim. Priest Calligrapher and Priest Editor come right above, having the colors gray and indigo, respectively. After that, the Priest Secretary, known for sepia-colored cloaks. Priest Librarians are the highest rank that are titled Priest, and bear the color turquoise. Finally, Aspirant Scrivener, Full Scrivener and High Scrivener mark the highest ranks inside a temple, the last one being the leader, and bear the colors royal blue, white with a gold trim and pure white respectively. A few other ranks to those closer to Deneir have their titles, but they’re few within the faith.
Besides their cloak, the usual attire for a faithful of Deneir is of tans and off-whites, and always bear the badge of the god somewhere on their person, along with their scribing instruments.

Of Activities and Prayer
The daily life of a Deneirrath is to record and/or copy knowledge, and few tasks are seen as more divine. It is common for a Deneirrath to devote their lives in libraries, working to write and copy the work found on those shelves. More daring faithful travel to seek knowledge elsewhere, be it in old ruins or to squeeze a bard’s song out of them in random taverns across the realms.
Only one day is holy to the faith of the Lord of All Glyphs and Images: Shieldmeet. Happening only once every four cycles, the day after Midsummer is met with a ritual by the faithful known as the Gilding, where priests gather and magically impress letters made of gold upon a lifted manuscript, a way of spreading the Words of Deneir.
Though the Gilding is by far the shiniest ritual of the faith, priests of Deneir often pray as they first set their quill upon a blank page, or maybe right before undertaking a task that will require much from them.
Also, other rituals may be performed by the Deneirrath, that may include chanting and sung prayer, or the act of reading written word.

A sung prayer often performed by a scribe that has lost their main tool:

To Call Upon The Lost Quill
Feathered quill, oh, where hides you now
May magical words persuade your mind
For I need the work that you allow

To flow quite nimbly in the black ink
Scattered phrases, lines upon pages
May you let run free the thoughts I think

I’ve got the hands and you’ve got the skill
Relished by all tongues that read and see
Come back and flow from rambling spill

Of the Church of Berdusk
Of medium size, the church of Deneir in Berdusk, also known as the Inner Chamber is, as it is often the case within the faith, less a temple and more a library. Though shrines are present, one can more easily find rows and rows of shelves filled with books, all organized meticulously.
Visitors are allowed and welcome, access is granted on free demand and one must always be accompanied by a member of the Temple, partly to make sure the visitor doesn’t get lost in the maze-like structure of bookshelves and rooms, but also to be certain that no harm will come to a piece of work within the temple.



The book continues, and though it isn’t short, it also isn’t extremely lengthy. It dives deep on the Deneirrath faith and its customs. It shows many examples of rituals and prayers, and encourages the faithful to write their own original ones. Also mentions the more well known temples and places of worship of the faith in the Coast and beyond. At the end of the book, the signature of the scribe can be seen, Priest Editor Rowan Whitebrook, of the Inner Chamber Temple in Berdusk.

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A Scribe's Reflections
by Scribe Edelgarde Spades
Candlekeep, 1357-8 DR


Introduction

This is not meant to be a dogmatic work, nor an academic or philosophical treaty. This is merely a recollection of my thoughts on faith, reason and ethic. This is an answer to my wish of walking a path that brings me closer to the Lord of All Glyphs and Images and a path of faith requires first of all understanding. I must understand where I am now, where I want to go and where to walk. This can be achieved with introspection, but I am a Scribe after all and if I want this to truly be my way of life I shall represent this with the written word.
Before I start, I would like to offer a special thanks to Sister Ashenie Darakh, Sir Alexander Holgart, Lord of Mystery Oryoon Archost and High Lady Alyssia Leonhart. With or without realizing, they prompted me to reflect on my faith and connection with my deity.


On Faith

It is only natural the first question I would ask myself is: what is faith?
The best starting point is probably my own experience. I have been a faithful of the Scribe for many years: since the day I realized how the words carefully preserved by the scribes of old had opened my eyes on truth and lies. The moment I understood how the Deneirrath dogma made possible for me to be free from manipulation and decide with my own judgement, I carved my own symbol and dedicated my prayers to Him. I became a scribe and vowed to preserve Knowledge by joining Candlekeep.
I believed that was enough, but recently I came in contact with men and women of faith who demonstrated what it really means to be close and devoted to a deity. It is not about prayers, nor about indoctrination or blinding following what the deity requires of us. In them I saw complete trust and understanding of what their god represents. I saw them sharing and embodying those ideals with every fiber of their soul and I believe this is the core of what faith is: something that encompasses spirit, mind and body.

When we think of a deity, we can easily recognize two sides of the same coin. The first one is the entity, the one we know by name; the second is the idea, the domain or portfolio and those aspects reflect on faith as well.
A believer must represent the deity's ideals, as without those core values there would be no point in following them in the first place. At the same time, there should be a personal connection with the deity. As an example, Lord of Mystery Oryoon Archost explained he strongly believes in Mystra's dogma but at the same time feels a maternal connection when he meditates on the Weave.
In practice, the achievement and strengthening of this bond is attained through prayer and actions. Factors like the time of the day and the place the prayer is performed can further enhance this bond, as well as the focus and state of mind of the faithful. A devoted of Lathander would often pray at dawn, feeling the deity closer as the Sun raises.
As explained before, praying must be accompanied by a representation of the dogma and domains through actions and duty. We will discuss duty in more detail in the next chapters, but for now it is enough to understand that the representation and understanding of the deity's portfolio must be carried out through daily activities and reactions to particular situations. For example, a faithful of Deieir would copy and preserve texts as their daily duty and, at the same time, teach letters whenever this is requested of them.


On Duty

We can say duty is the concrete transposition of our beliefs into everyday actions. The same way a painter congeals an idea on canvas, we express and prove our values with our actions. Without actions there are no values and with no values we are not much different from beasts. This is why duty must come before everything else as every time we fulfill it, we let the core of what we are and we want to be prevail over our most irrational or selfish instincts.

Most of the time, duty involves everyday tasks: for example a Guard of Candlekeep is in charge of guarding the Gate and even if this task might seem tedious and long, the guardian will have to stay vigilant at the best of his possibilities. However, it may also involve hard and life-changing choice: for example, the aforementioned Guard might find himself forced to choose between defending Candlekeep from an attack and saving his loved one from bandits. Although the Guard's immediate instinct will probably be to rush to his loved one, he will uphold his duty only in keeping his place at the Gate, even at the risk of great pain.

That said, we are mortals and cannot be expected to be flawless and beyond error. Many might fail to resist the pain or the fear, others may make a wrong judgement call. For this reason, the entity of the failure should be assessed and the consequences should be proportionate to the guilt. If the perpetrator sincerely regrets their mistake and are ready to make amend, forgiveness should always be an option.
Many factors should be taken into consideration when assessing someone's fail to uphold their duty. The cause must first of all be assessed, in fact someone who falter under duress or is tricked into going against their code is committing a less severe mistake than someone who is driven by laziness, ire or egoism. The role and experience of said person should also be considered: a mistake made by a young and inexperienced recruit or novice is far easier to forgive than a general or High Priest's failure, due to their increased responsibilities.

Although everyone should adhere to their duties, we must not make the mistake to impose our duties on others. We cannot ask a baker to grab a pike and charge a rival army, the same way we cannot expect an Helmite guardian to sit in a cloister and copy texts.
Some people consider a primary requisite of good folk to embrace arms and actively fight evil, or what is considered its embodiment. This is unlikely to end well, as not only this means reducing good people to crusaders only but it also means encouraging someone to perform an action they are not mentally, and sometimes physically, prepared to do. There is certainly need of crusaders and those who can embrace arms to defend the weak, but there is also need of healers, scribes, teachers, farmers...
Those who wield a sword should be those who are the most pained by this, as only them can feel in full the gravity of taking a life. Passing judgement, however, should not be done hastily and, whenever possible, the accused person should be granted a regular trial, held by those whose duty is to assess one's guilt as fairly as possible and possibly under the guidance of a deity that is the embodiment of justice, such as Tyr.


On Free WIll

Some say we cannot oppose fate and that our destiny is set in stone as it repeats itself in an endless cycle. I believe this is far from the truth. It is certainly true that from womb to tomb our life is not entirely ours: every time we interact with someone, whether we like it or not, they influence the course of our lives like a stone, as small as a pebble or as big as a boulder, can deviate the course of a river.

Contrarily to what some believe, the gods gave us free will and the ability to forge our own destiny. If that was not the case, our devotion and our deeds would have no value as they would not be ours to begin with. Cosmologist like to say that a soul is the most valuable currency in the multiverse, as it can only be given freely, and that is why the infamous "deals with the devils" are so widely known. The fact that some "lucky few" are granted aid by the gods is also a common misconception. The gods certainly intervene in granting power to some, however those followers must first and foremost demonstrate an iron faith and dedication to the teachings of said deity. Such power comes as a consequence and not as the cause of a life dedicated to a divine call that more often rather than not involves great sacrifices and duties.

Some blame misfortune or adverse fate for their troubles and I will not dispute the validity of true divination magic or divine omens sent to men and women of faith. It is possible to glimpse in the future, as proven by the spell Premonition that allows a spellcaster to see a few moments in the future, but this spell also proves that the future can be changed. What we see is just a possible outcome and the most likely to happen if we do not act to alter it. If destiny was set in stone, Premonition would not allow us to avoid being hit, just to see what is going to happen while we struggle in vain. The problem of divining the future is that it is extremely hard and vague and the more we stray from the present moment the harder it gets to have a clear picture. I like to associate this kind of divination to a bowl of water: we see the bottom of the bowl as long as we leave it untouched, but the moment we disturb the surface our picture becomes confused. In the same way a divined future remains imminent only as long as we do not intervene.

That said, we can tell with sufficient certainty that there are two elements to our so called "fate": an element of chance and circumstance that we can rarely foresee or control and an element of determination and choice that is ours only. Our culture of origin and upbringing are the first things that influences our beliefs and moral compass: a child of nobles in Waterdeep and a street urchin in Luskan will likely have very different personalities as the latter will likely struggle to have their basic needs, which are a very strong motor, satisfied. Blood might also play a small part, especially if planar in nature, in the form of urges or reactions to certain stimuli. This is however just a starting point. The noble child can grow up and become a wise politician, with the well-being of his people at heart, the same way they can become a spoiled and cruel tyrant. The same way the urchin can become a thief or a ruthless bandit or may decide to defy his ill luck and learn a trade or become a mercenary. These are but few example and the possibilities are truly endless.

The course of someone's life can be deviated and altered at any time by the people they meet or the events that befall their lives, although that someone is not an helpless victim of the events. We all have some degree of choice and this freedom is increased by both experience and knowledge. Someone who had experience of various cultures and places will likely be more open-minded than someone who has lived in the same place their whole life. The same way someone who is literate and able to access a variety of texts will have access to more points of view than someone who cannot read and write. This is one of the reasons why it is important to preserve knowledge and to allow everyone to learn letters, regardless of their upbringing and wealth: knowledge and the ability to access it are powerful keys that make us independent from a single vision of the world and therefore allow us more freedom in choosing our path.

Even though such freedom of choice might not sound as something that is immediately in our power, most often rather than not we can decide to increase it at any time. Regardless of our starting point, what really makes the difference is our own determination, conviction and bravery, which is ours only and cannot be attributed to fate or circumstance. Realizing that mortals forge their own destiny is the first step to take the reins of our own fate.


On Knowledge

Following my pilgrimage to the Master's Library, a destination every Deneirrath must visit at least once in a lifetime, I will broach in this chapter the topic most dear to me: knowledge.
I define knowledge the gathering of experience an individual codifies both orally and in writing that can be shared with other individuals. It is important to understand that there cannot be knowledge without experience, as even the most fictional tale is made of elements, as basic as they might be, that derive from the author's experience. The same way a blind man cannot describe colors, a mortal cannot describe accurately something they did not perceive, read or had otherwise contact with. An individual can, in a limited fashion, experience someone else's knowledge and the more durable and widespread its preservation medium is, the larger the spatial and temporal gap such knowledge will cross.

As explained in the previous chapter, knowledge gives us more control over our fate, showing us different points of view and more options that might be at hand. Knowledge is the gleam that banishes the darkness of ignorance and superstition, dispelling the fear of the unknown. It can be an instrument in the hands of the masses to set themselves free from those who seek to retain control through ignorance.

Since knowledge derives from experience, potentially every sentient being is capable in their lifespan to produce it. This is why, as the Lord of All Glyphs and Images teaches us, it is important to give the necessary instruments to access it to everyone regardless of their upbringing as early as possible in the form of literacy and numeracy skills. Ideally, such lessons should be administered at a very young age, since children have a far greater learning potential than adults. Children who grow up with parents of different geographical origins can learn the languages of both their parents without effort and will likely be able to speak them both with the same proficiency as a native speaker. It is advisable for a child to start learning letters from the age of five, but if they are eager to learn and ask for it, this process can start even earlier than that. I myself had one or two cases of particularly bright three years old who learned the common alphabet at that age. In all cases it is important to keep the experience fun for the pupil at all times and more alike to a game than a chore. Children have an incredible sensitivity for colors and rhythm, therefore employing things like colored chalks or "nursery rhymes" will greatly aid the learning process for these young minds.
Even though letters and numbers should be taught as early as possible, it is also true that it's never too late for it. Adults can learn how to read and write at any age, although the methods do do so greatly differ from those used for children. An adult will likely have a profession and all its related routines hardly encased in their behavior, therefore the more the subject of the lesson will mirror such routines the easier it will be for the pupil to assimilate it. A farmer will be more likely to learn the alphabet if crops and trees are used as examples to explain letters and sounds or a mercenary will better understand vowels and consonants if those are exemplified by commanders and battalions.

Even though ideally letters and numbers should be taught to everyone, a teacher must always pay attention to any inclination of the pupils for a particular discipline or a scholastic path in general, and guide them towards it. The teacher will have to transmit passion and enthusiasm for such disciplines, but if or when they feel that their knowledge on the topic is exhausted, they will redirect the pupil to a more knowledgeable tutor. A student who exceeds the master in skills is not a shame but a blessing, and a point of honor in the master's career. In all cases, it is important to keep in mind that the pupil is like a very large jug with a very small neck: they can retain many notions but those will have to be administered gradually in harmony with their capabilities. A master will not only teach the discipline of study to the pupil but also a solid study method and, most importantly, the fundamental ethic and conduct that a scholar must always follow. The student, in turn, will execute with diligence the directives and exercises assigned by the master.
A scholar must always learn how to be a pupil and, only sometimes, how to be a teacher. They will therefore act with humility and respect for those who have yet to learn, keeping in mind that even the most learned man is ignorant in some disciplines. Regardless of their experience, they must be encouraged to take the student's robes again every now and then, as a lively mind must keep itself busy with many different activities. When this happens, the scholar will show the respect due to a master to whoever is administering the lessons, regardless of their education or upbringing. They must not, however, be afraid of asking questions and the master, in turn, will answer them truthfully, accurately and without prejudice. If the question is not known to the master this must not be seen as a reason for shame, but as a chance for both them and the student to learn and improve themselves.
Regardless of their diligence in teaching the discipline, a master must be careful to be respectful of the personal opinion of the pupil, even when those diverge from their own. Respect does not mean agreeing on everything, as usually if two people's opinions are so matching only one of the two is actually thinking. Debate is a useful exercise that aids the intellectual growth of both parties and it should be encouraged as long as it is conducted in a civil fashion.

It is important for masters and scholars alike to interrogate themselves about and stress to the pupils the potential risks certain notions might entail. There is no such a thing as "evil knowledge", only evil scholars, but there is certainly a lot of dangerous knowledge. Regardless of the potential danger this may pose, it must not under any circumstance be destroyed, as some might unwisely see as a just act. This is not only a sin in the eyes of Oghma and Deneir, but it can potentially do more damage than whatever is being destroyed. While nobody can be absolutely sure that such dangerous notion has been wiped away from every library and rendered unattainable even through means of divination, such senseless destruction will greatly hinder the efforts of those who seek to use it for the greater good or to counteract any evil-doer who could have reached it through other means. The same way a sample of poison is needed to brew an antidote, a righteous scholar might have to unearth so called "forbidden lore" so that those who are already employing it for nefarious purposes can be stopped and those who seek to stop them, in some cases the same who advocated for the destruction of the aforementioned lore, do not have to act blindly.
Rather than destroying what is deemed dangerous, the best defense against a reckless or deliberate misuse of knowledge is to incorporate a solid ethic in the scholar's formation. It is certainly true that some might disagree eventually and ignore the imparted lessons, but statistically a greater number will treasure those principles and counteract whatever evil their peer might do. For every misguided scholars, we must strive to train two righteous ones who will employ such knowledge for the greater good.


On Preservation

Protection, or Preservation is the second aspect of the Lord of All Glyphs and Images that I chose to embrace.
The reason that led to this choice resides in my blood. Blood born from the chaos of the Abyss is naturally prone to destruction and, in renouncing destruction, I willingly detach myself from my Abyssal blood. The Ilmateri Sister Ashenie once told me that darkness loses its traction if you don't listen to it and focusing on Deneir's aspect of Protection is my way to become deaf to the whispers of darkness.

But what does Preservation mean?
Any dictionary would say that it is the act of keeping something as it is, especially preventing it from decaying or being destroyed. In a way, the opposite of Entropy. At a first glance, one may think that embracing preservation means to keep everything unchanging, immobile and frozen. That is far from the truth, as most things are not -meant- to be unchanging.
Entropy and destruction are not necessarily evil and are, in some cases, necessary. Dead plants and animals must decay so that new life can be born from it. Letting this happen -is- a form of preservation. I also believe that everyone has a part to play in a greater context and the part I chose for myself is that of stability and conservation, that balances the weight of those vowed to destruction.

What a year and a half spent focusing on the meaning of Preservation taught me, is that we cannot, and must not, force this on everything nor prevent every act of destruction we see. We have to assess on a case by case basis when to actively stop destruction and when we have to let it happen. Whatever the choice is, I understood that if one is to embrace this path in full, they shall not indulge in any of those destructive acts themselves.
The same doesn't necessarily apply to change. In fact the meaning of Preservation can vary greatly depending on its receiving end. Protecting a book is not the same as protecting a sentient being. When copying or storing an historical recount, for example, change must be avoided as that would defeat the very essence of what we are trying to protect. On the other hand, when we save someone's life or heal them, we don't expect them to remain frozen in time or to become immortal. Change and natural death are intrinsic to most things living and preventing those things from happening would critically alter their essence, which is the opposite of Preservation. In short, this act translates differently depending on the core attribute of its receiving end. This is even more evident if we consider that different pieces of knowledge must be preserved differently. If it's true that the recount of an event must be kept as adherent as possible to the facts that are being recounted, it is also true that an arcane theory or a philosophical argument can be confuted, corrected or improved.

As a Deneirrath, my duty is first and foremost that of preserving knowledge. This obviously involves conserving and copying tomes, but also a less obvious task of preserving life itself. Although some scholars believe that books are more important than life, as explained in the previous chapter, there cannot be knowledge without experience and there cannot be experience without life. This is akin to a virtuous cycle: people must be taught at an early age how to read and write, so that they can transpose as much as their experience as possible in writing, and their lives must be protected so that they keep experiencing and sharing their experiences.
Other than preserving its physical support and the individuals that generate it, keeping a peaceful environment is also a good way for knowledge to thrive, although many military scholars will disagree with me. I believe that when not preoccupied with feeding themselves, not being slaughtered by an enemy or other basic needs, people can focus on less immediate matters. That is why, historically, peaceful golden ages are fertile soil for arts, philosophy, sciences and other disciplines.

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Musings on the Katana Techniques of Kara-Tur: Basics, Thoughts, and Comparisons
by Kaga, Tsukumo



Introduction

The swordsmanship of the lands of Kara-Tur are, like its people, steeped in countless years of culture. This writing aims to shed some light on one of the more recognizable weapons from this distant land: the katana.


The Weapon:

It is fair to say that the katana is one of the most known representatives of martial culture of the Red Earth. While there are a plethora of weapons that are unique to the east, few command a respect to the level of this sword. To parallel a western counterpart, it is similar to the image given to the longsword - a weapon favored by warriors low and high, and is synonymous with honorable combat.

As can be surmised on how it is considered as exotic weaponry in Faerun, the katana is a weapon that requires a level of specialized training to properly handle. Unlike the longsword, it has a pronounced curvature that lends heavily towards a slashing motion. And unlike scimitars and other Faerunian curved swords, the katana lacks the added weight and bulk to its blade, meaning that it still demands from the user’s hands the leverage required to make effective cuts.

As such, this sword is not one that can simply be ‘chopped’ into an opponent, but must be guided in a slicing motion for the most effective results. Failing to do so risks damaging the blade (in the case of unenchanted swords), or the sword catching, or bouncing off of a hard surface.


The Basic Stance and Movement:

The wielder starts with one foot in front of the other, knees loose and slightly bent. The back is straight, with the shoulders relaxed. Sword in front, and always pointed at the neck of the foe. Both hands hold the hilt: dominant hand in the front, leading the weaker - yet in truth, the roles are reversed, with the front merely the force of the swing, and the back the actual guide.

The sword acts as both sword and shield, making full use of the wrists to angle the sword to a slant to deflect blows, then twisting the sword into quick and wide arcs to counter-attack. Footwork comes in pairs, with the dominant foot leading the back in a quick succession. It is crucial that both elements of the stance work in tandem, for the momentum of each strike and parry comes from the proper alignment of the body and in turn, the body to the earth.


Variations:

The most common variation to the basic stance is the orientation of the katana, each with their own implications: there are ‘aggressive’ stances that place the sword close to the chest with the blade near the face, or held aloft over the head; positioning the sword like so makes use of the higher position to cut swiftly.

There is also one where the sword is instead pointed low (anywhere from the waist down to the ankle) - this particular stance makes it so that the sword’s length serves as a deterrent, and is easier to angle into a blocking stance, and is understood as defensive in nature.

The third common variation is the strangest: holding the blade close to the waist, and pointing it away from the foe. While this may at first look to be compromising both the ability to defend and attack, the stance is actually designed to elude the opponent to the blade’s length and dimension, making it an option to create doubt and unusual openings in a fight.

Outside of the mentioned, a katana can also be wielded in one hand, usually with a paired wakizashi or any small arms. Doing so, however, requires a mastery of the natural cutting motion demanded of the sword, or risks the user with injuries to the wrist, as well as the ones already mentioned above.


Comparison with Western Styles

To a Faerunian standpoint, the katana would most likely seem a strange amalgamation of contradictions: it is a scimitar that cannot chop, or a longsword that is too unwieldy to stab. It is a weapon of medium length that requires the resolve of a barbarian because of its two-handed stance, and yet demands technique akin to those who wield rapiers and shortswords.

It is a weapon that demands much, but in turn, also gives back in kind. It is sword and shield, strength and finesse, and in the right hands, allows one to surpass its contemporaries because of a unity of body and weapon: no aspect wasted, no talent ignored.


Conclusion

The hope left in this writing is embedded in The Way - that one thing influences another, no matter the distance or obstacle. In elucidating the mystique behind this weapon, one hopes that more take up the practice, and in turn, perhaps even move the immutable that is the divide of culture between the two lands, and even better both worlds.

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Trial of Amos Thistle
Baldur's Gate, 25th Eleint 1358 DR
Transcribed by Guide Edelgarde

Participants:

Amos Thistle
Magistrate Clerk Frem
Magistrate Kyemore
Sean Asen
Lord Aaron Lyonaler
Sir Gaven Arkalis
Qadan
High Lady Alyssia Leonhart
Captain Vanira
Sister Ashenie Darakh
Lord Osric Vale

Hidden: show
Clerk Frem: Presenting! Magistrate Kyemore the Fair!

Magistrate Kyemore: Yes... Yes quite. Please be seated. We will begin in but a moment.

Clerk Frem: Hello and welcome people of Baldur's Gate! I am the Clerk of Magistrate Kyemore, and I will be directing us through this trial. Today we are here to decide the fate of Murderer Amos Thistle-Blackrose. The accused has been brought in before us for crimes against the city. Today we will examine his work with the Blackrose, a known enemy to the Baldurian People. The murderer to my left being Soubarian bound with his allegiance to the Zhents has provided Baldur's Gate time and time again with nothing but malice and hatred. For he is no more than another member of the Murderous House Blackrose... And to his credit, he turned himself in. Do you of the Baldurian people know who else turned themselves in? Morgan Blackrose. The same Morgan Blackrose who was put to death for necromancy, killing baldurian people, and the same Morgan Blackrose that betrayed the city again... And again... AND AGAIN.

Sean Asen: She is not on trial, clerk. Allow the Magistrate to hold his trial.

Clerk Frem: Lets not forget Morgan is not on trial.

Magistrate Kyemore: Please be silent while the Clerk is speaking. We will have order here. Have you Sean Asen come to represent Amos upon his trial?

Sean Asen: I have come to hear a fair and impartial trial, Magistrate. Free of official grandstanding and theater. Otherwise... would we be better then the accused?

Magistrate Kyemore: He is allowed to say his piece, Amos will have an opportunity to defend himself.

Sean Asen: As you say.

Clerk Frem: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree it seems. As I was saying. Morgan is not on trial here, but we would be foolish to forget the past deeds against the city in the name of the Blackroses. We of Baldur's Gate have been fooled before. Your gracious honorable Magistrate Kyemore. I am finished.

Magistrate Kyemore: Amos Thistle, have you prepared somebody to represent you?

Amos Thistle: I do not have anyone prepared, nor was one assigned to me so it looks like I will be defending myself Your Honor.

Magistrate Kyemore: Is... There anyone who wishes to represent the accused?

Child: Oh! Oh! Me!

Old Woman: Shh!

[The earth shakes]

Magistrate Kyemore: Seems it has passed. Order! Very well then, Amos. You may represent yourself. The floor is yielded to you.

Man: Farkin murderer...

Amos Thistle: Thank you your Honor. I would like to clear up some confusion. Are the charges laid against me. Against my individual person or to the fact I was formally associated with House Blackrose?

Magistrate Kyemore: Very well Amos. The charges are against you, additionally your background and affiliations follow you like anybody else.

Amos Thistle: Very well. Your Honor could the Court divulge the incidents pertaining to the charges laid against me so we can go through them one by one?

Magistrate Kyemore: The trial will continue for each charge as we go along. You will have an opportunity after each presentation to defend yourself.
For each accusation, you may plead your guilt.

Amos Thistle: Thank you your honor i have nothing more to say at this point.

Clerk Frem: I do honorable Magistrate. How many of you are citizens of Baldur's Gate? Go on and raise your hands.

[High Lady Alyssia Leonhart, Lord Osric Vale, Lord Aaron Lyonaler, Captain Vanira, Sir Declan Nash and Sir Gaven Arkalis raise their hands]

Clerk Frem: And... How many of you support the bravery of the Lord's Alliance in fighting the tyranny of the Zhentarim? Put your hand down Amos.

[Those who lifted their hands, keep them raised]

Clerk Frem: The accused has worked endlessly with the Zhentarim and has been quite effective. Hundreds. The number is in the hundreds of how many Lord's Aliance members have bravely given up their lives. Each of them with friends and families like yourselves. And he, the accused. Amos did his part to make certain those numbers will only get higher. The Lord's Alliance will prevail, and there is little you can do Amos Thistle. The survival of the soldiers and the integrity of this city will remain despite you.

[The earth shakes again]

Clerk Frem: With your permission, honorable magistrate. I would like to summon Peter Luth. A member of a recently deceased villages of one of our many allies.

Magistrate Kyemore: Before then, allow the accused to speak.

Clerk Frem: Yes your magistrate. I yield the floor to the murderer.

Amos Thistle: Thank you your Honor.

Magistrate Kyemore: On the count of undermining the lords alliance, what say you?

Amos Thistle: Some of you may know me some of you may not but what thing is certain I never am one to act without provocation or cause. Some of you may know that I executed the previous head of House Blackrose and drove to stir it in a direction of Trade and commerce. It is true we dealt with the Zhentarim particularly in Trade as did this city not so long ago. When the war broke out between the Zhents and the Lords alliance I was determined to stay neutral in the affair, I did not want to lead my men to war, I did not want people to lose there children... As I lost my children. I remember the night when I thought I had no other choice but to join the Zhentarim in the war, When I felt my options were taken away from me to remain neutral. I received a sending from our fort protecting the Trade Way on Boareskyre bridge that they were under attack sadly we arrived to late. All those there protecting all trade that comes across that bridge, even that which is destined for this city were dead thrown into a pile to be burnt... Among them my... My... Children.

Old Woman: Poor baby...

Man: What about our children you piece of shite!

Magistrate Kyemore: ORDER! Please continue Amos.

Amos Thistle: When the reports came in, we found out it was the Whitewood Vanguard. The words were "Courtesy of the Lords Alliance". All to kill a measly number of Zhent soldiers that happened to be posted there from the Zhent occupation. On top of that. On top of burning my children. It was found out my children's souls were banished to Hell. Never to be recovered. Damned to the Hellfire forever. "Courtesy of the Lords Alliance". So said the Whitewood Vanguard. So under that assumption I thought the Lords Alliance had declared war on us pushing us to join the Zhentarim. Caught between a rock and a hard place... Nothing further.

Magistrate Kyemore: I thank you for your words, Amos. Can any members of the public refute the claims of the accused?

Clerk Frem: Why yes, honorable magistrate. I recall the letter written by one grand Lord.

[Lord Aaron Lyonaler and Sir Gaven Arkalis raise their hands]

Magistrate Kyemore: Lord Aaron Lyonaler. You wish to refute the claims of Amos Thistle?

Lord Aaron Lyonaler: Your honor, I wished to say that the bridge was not a target of the Lord's Alliance. In a military meeting, it was brought up. But, Lord Dhelt had declared no attack would be made on the bridge. The Whitewood acted in the name of the Lord's Alliance. But, not with their knowing of it. But, no I do not wish to refute it. Simply add that information.

Magistrate Kyemore: Very well. I will notate this into my ruling. You may be seated Lord Lyonaler, the court thanks you. Clerk Frem, the gentleman in the back.

Clerk Frem: Please stand, state your name for the court and say your piece.

Sir Gaven Arkalis: Gaven Arkalis, Knight Commander of the Church of the Triadic. I can only speak on what I have personally viewed through Hindsight, this was before the Calamity had befell us all of course. What I know is that the Head of the Whitewood Vanguard before any assault was made, it was asked that those there the Blackrose hand over the Zhentarim that were stationed there. This was refused by the Blackrose. Then the assault began. I fear it is hard for me to believe the act forced them when they were asked but this is as to what I know.

Man: Damnable Michael Dunn...

Magistrate Kyemore: Silence! Allow him to continue!

Sir Gaven Arkalis: That information is all I can give I can not know personally what the Blackrose's agreed to before or after.

Magistrate Kyemore: Thank you Gaven Arkalis.

Sir Gaven Arkalis: Of course Magistrate.

Magistrate Kyemore: We will now hear from Clerk Frem.

Clerk Frem: I'd like to ask the accused just a few questions. Children. Got a few of my own.

Qadan: Unlucky woman.

Clerk Frem: How many you got?

Magistrate Kyemore: Order!

Amos Thistle: I did have three that were alive... Only one remains.

Clerk Frem: It never does well with me to hear of the death of a child... How old? Right... A nod will do. Over seventeen?

Amos Thistle: Freshly eighteen summers. She looks so much like dear mother... Rest her soul.

Clerk Frem: The other two? Around the same? Over?

Amos Thistle: They are close in age.

Clerk Frem: Allow me to read a few names. Francis Midell, Thomas Forthright, Edward Snerv, Emily Treton, Daniel Trellkef, Bethany Morles.
Do you know what all these names have in common? Each and everyone of them children under the age of eleven years old. Each of them extinguished with the help of the Zhentarim. And... These are just the ones they could identify, think for a moment of all of those they couldn't. I am sorry for your children, Amos... But for each of them you saved, three more took their place.

[Amos Thistle raises his hand]

Magistrate Kyemore: You will have a chance to refute the claims, Amos. Await your turn.

Clerk Frem: It isn't a matter of if you played a part. It's what worth do you really have to anybody else, and are you just another liability to the city. Your family are liars. Your affiliations are tyrantic. Even if I were to concede that you were a desperate sad grieving father. What assurance would anyone here that you wouldn't soon be again. Morgan Blackrose hung outside the arena here. She too turning herself in and asking for mercy. Hanner Blackrose a malicious killer fighting underneath the city carrying your name. A known enemy of Baldur's Gate at large contributing to the undeath that plagued the city. Lets be honest. The best thing the Blackroses makes are murderers, thieves, liars, and killers.

[Sister Ashenie and River Steel raise their hands]

Magistrate Kyemore: Hands down! You will await the floor to be opened! Thank you Clerk.

Clerk Frem: You brought three children over to the Radiant Heart, do they know about Hanner's infamous nature?

Amos Thistle: Are you talking about the children knowing or the Radiant Heart?

Clerk Frem: Allow me to rephrase for clarity. Has the Radiant Heart known of the infamous nature of Hanner Blackrose?

Amos Thistle: I Hope so. I asked them to kill him if they crossed paths.

Clerk Frem: Seems you have some sense about you yet still. So then you are unable to locate Hanner?

[The earth shakes again]

Amos Thistle: I'm sorry can you say that again? The shaking of the building caused me to lose focus Is this normal?

Clerk Frem: No... But we have a duty here.

Magistrate Kyemore: By the gods! This disturbance! Thus we proceed.

Clerk Frem: Your magistrate, I yield the floor for your direction.

Magistrate Kyemore: Very well. Amos you may speak your piece.

Amos Thistle: I understand the associations of my past. But I am not sure what actual charges is that are brought up? My condolences to those who have lost children during this war, I too know that pain and that pain doesn't change no matter what age they are. Once I found the Lord Alliance wasn't actually responsible for the attack I gave myself up to the Radiant heart. During this time none of my standing forces actually took to the field of battle. I cannot be held accountable for the actions of other factions as whether or not I was there they would have likely happened regardless. I have bore witness to the atrocities of the Zhent... I saved who I could and they were well cared for and educated before I handed them over to the Radiants. My siding with the Zhents was the result of lies and guile on behalf of the Whitewood Vanguard. A response was coming to the demands they had but they had no patience. I don't think they even wanted a reply. I don't agree with what my former associates do. I have my own set of morals and when those are broken I act. As I said I do not act without cause or provocation. That is all for now your Honor.

Magistrate Kyemore: Very well. Then I will speak to you directly Amos.

Amos Thistle: Do you wish me to approach the bench?

Magistrate Kyemore: On this day, we are not deciding the matter of your guilt. That much is clear, as well is your part in the deaths of many. Rather this trial is to decide your sentencing as it be execution, imprisonment, or so be it. I will ask speak to you directly. please arise. Amos Thistle, there are too many names for headstones to count of the lives you've affected. Be that as it may, what could one such as yourself provide for the city of Baldur's Gate to ever make penance? As you speak... Speak loudly for all those you have taken from us. Convince not me but them your life is worth sparing. Do as much for those around who would live among you.

Amos Thistle: If the Lord Alliance deems it acceptable. I would open my doors and hold to them as place to rest or a point to gather as they fight the Zhentarim. In the past I tried to trade with the city during the famines... and it was rejected so I had to anonymously donate to the city so your children could eat. I wish to open these lines. I will throw down the Name of Blackrose and crush it in the dust and take up my own and if need be I will bend the knee and pledge loyalty to the dukes.

Magistrate Kyemore: I would not be as bold to speak for the Your Graces the Council of Four, but I believe we have the question of the Zhentarim.

Amos Thistle: Please speak plainly with me I am a soldier at heart and don't understand some of the terms of those more sophisticated.

Magistrate Kyemore: How could one believe you to work against them? We have seen time and time again the error of trusting Blackroses. Be candid. Do you ask we have faith in you? And why should we?

Amos Thistle: I personally never broke my word with any friend or foe. The Blood of the Blackrose does not flow through my veins. I ask you to give me a chance as to why should you... honestly from your perspective I get why you wouldn't, the past is checkered. But I am not them and I have many that rely on my to survival and ask this for them.

Magistrate Kyemore: Very well. Please be seated and I will conclude with the word from the people. When you are selected please take the floor, Clerk Frem may have few questions for you... My question to those among the audience. Who among you may speak to his merit. Know now, that name and title will be conscripted to his to share in his failure or success?

[High Lady Alyssia Leonhart, Captain Vanira and Sister Ashenie raise their hands]

Magistrate Kyemore: Please step forward and take the floor. Please state your name and title.

High Lady Alyssia Leonhart Your Honor, Amos did in fact donate to the city when in need, I was the anonymous acceptor in the city when he attempted to trade food. As it was rebuffed, he then sought benefactors to accept the food as donations. I used my resources to see it properly distributed throughout the city, without word of his generosity, as the agreement was to not have him gain benifit as the Zhentarium ever so gloated over their trade deals when people suffered. Amos, I believe, at that time wanted to end the suffering the best way he could, without praise or recognition, in this I believe he should be seen in a decent light in this act.

Magistrate Kyemore: Alyssia. Was this before or after Hanner committed crimes against the city, or the Blackroses were made enemies of Baldur's Gate?

High Lady Alyssia Leonhart: Before, your Honor, even when on the bad side of Your Graces.

Magistrate Kyemore: You accepted the gift anonymously, why?

High Lady Alyssia Leonhart: People were starving, the city needed food, political lines should not have played a role when accepting aid. He did not profit from this action until today.

Magistrate Kyemore: Alyssia, a question for you. Did you support the acceptance of food trade with the Zhentarim?

High Lady Alyssia Leonhart: No, the City did, and allowed them to grandstand being the saviors of the city.

Magistrate Kyemore: You said... Political lines should not play a role when accepting aid.

High Lady Alyssia Leonhart: Aye, but they benefited politically from it, Amos accepted that he would not, and he never asked for me to speak, I am but merely returning one good turn for another.

Magistrate Kyemore: The court recognizes your stance on the matter and has noted it. Please be seated. I will call two more, and then any of those that wish to refute his merit before conclusion. Are there any more that wish to speak to his merit? Please come forward, and then we will hear from the Ilmatari. Please state your name and title, then proceed.

Captain Vanira: Captain Vanira of the Radiant Heart. I believe that Amos sincerely has concern for the men with him. He recognized that one that had been formally been in his ranks, did not belong in the North. I speak of a man that now serves amongst the Radiant Heart, Squire Blake HIghtower. Blake has proven himself over the course of a year, stepping into the path of a paladin. Amos played a part of that man's redemption, an action in which has given a glimmer of hope that there is a seed that can grow change inside himself as well.

Magistrate Kyemore: Might I ask a question or two?

Captain Vanira: You may.

Magistrate Kyemore: How long has Amos and Blake known each other? You may answer that if you wish Amos.

Amos Thistle: A little over three years.

Magistrate Kyemore: Answer candidly. Blake. He knew of Hanner's actions in and out of the Blackrose compound? He knew of the atrocities committed by the Blackroses, and he knew of the blood on Amos' hands? As a former member, I would assume he would need to be blind, daft, or dead not to. Please elaborate.

Captain Vanira: Blake came to us and reported Hanner's actions.

Magistrate Kyemore: And Amos?

Captain Vanira: It was a part of what brought him to his new path.

Magistrate Kyemore: And Blake, a reformed Blackrose. Had he any contact with Amos since his departure?

Amos Thistle: I was away in Waterdeep for a while while those events took place. Blakes report on my return was why Hanner was removed from our order and it was why I asked the Radiants to kill him if their paths crossed. My return also saw Amelia Blackrose executed for her deeds.

Magistrate Kyemore: Please answer the question Captain Vanira.

Captain Vanira: As far as I am aware, no. Perhaps idle chatter at the campfire, as people also do.

Magistrate Kyemore: So they have met and chatted before since. I am not splitting hairs with you, Captain. Yes they have spoken or been around one another since he left. Or no.

Captain Vanira: They have likely chatted at the fire Magistrate. So, yes.

Magistrate Kyemore: I see. I will make note of this on the man's position. Is there anything else you would like to add?

Captain Vanira: I have nothing else to add, your honor.

Magistrate Kyemore: Thank you, Captain. Please be seated. Finally I will hear from the Ilmatari.

Sister Ashenie Darakh: Your Honor, Magistrates. Receive my most humble respects, and thank you for honoring fairness and dignity despite the charges and the painful reality behind them. I am Sister Ashenie, and I serve as
caretaker in Mercy's Orphanage, and nurse in the Shrine of the Suffering, here in this city. To be true to the principle of fairness, I have both, words to his merits, and words to question his ties with the Zhentarim.

Magistrate Kyemore: The ties to the Zhentarim have already been established as well as admitted. We will take your words of merit, and conclude this piece of the trial.

Sister Ashenie Darakh: Amos Thistle came to find me, during the summer of last year, when the campaign against Daemon in the north left many children behind. He could not bear such reality, and led them to safety...

[The earth shakes again]

Sister Ashenie Darakh: Not only did he wish children to be safe, and well cared for, but he also donated a large amount of money to the Orphanage, for all children who may be in need. Amos Thistle expressed care and concern for the well being of children, as a cause that he seemed to hold dear. He did not ask anything in return. In addition to this, Amos Thistle partook several actions, some of which I witnessed myself, to rescue a child abducted in the forest of Cloakwoods used for nefarious purpose. During these moments, he offered succor, help and defense to the valorous partols of the Flaming Fist that the city sent, and with the help of many, saved lives. The child has been rescued too. This is what I had to say for his merit, and examples of his actions of care for children that seem to always have drawn him to action. If you would allow, I wish to have a word for him.

Magistrate Kyemore: These deeds are numerous. You speak well, Ashenie of the Shrine. I cannot allow for council with him. Perhaps before execution if he should wish for such.

Sister Ashenie Darakh: This is not a council, but a public call.

Magistrate Kyemore: Whatever it may be, our court is stern. You may be seated.

Sister Ashenie Darakh: I understand. Then I just hope he might understand that, even if this is the moment of his action, it is also a moment in which the families will look for answers. Of why it happened and how. And that any fragment of information is more important than words can say. Thank you for hearing me, your honor.

Magistrate Kyemore: Finally, are there any among us that wish to speak their words to condemn this man?

[Nobody speaks]

Magistrate Kyemore: Very well. Then I will conclude. Would the Radiant Heart step forward. Captain Vanira, Lord Aaron Lyonaler of the Radiant Heart. Upon the conclusion of this trial I am willing to render my sentencing. The crimes of the accused are many that stretch across countless tombs. The names of the lives this man have costed Baldurians and alike are many, as I am certain you need no explanation.Through the testament of yourselves, Sister Ashenie, and Alyssia of the Halls of Inner Light, I make an offer on behalf of the court. You brought us Amos upon his free will providing him for sentencing. The court is willing to part with him after justice is extracted with condition. Amos Thistle will relinquish the Blackrose name, provide any and all information to the Zhentarim available that may influence the war efforts. Secondly. He will be given to those of the Radiant Heart so they may extract his penance. Under this condition.

[The earth shakes again]

Magistrate Kyemore: Silence! Order! Secondly. He will be given to the Radiant Heart to extract his penance under the condition to those who spoke for him today. Should you as the Radiant Heart fail, you will share in his failure. Do you as the Radiant Heart find this agreeable?

Lord Aaron Lyonaler: If the Court wishes that the Order act as his caretaker, to ensure he sees his punishments through... The Order will fulfill the request.

Magistrate Kyemore: There is no obligation to agree to these terms. The court respects your decision. Allow me to be clear. If Amos is to escape the gallows today, and should make the city regret said decision... You will be held responsible for his failure.

Lord Aaron Lyonaler: Will you then define what is required of Amos, before any agreement? Should the Order be held responsible, then I would like a full laid out punishment. So, we do not fail in our part in this.

Magistrate Kyemore: Do you believe he could leave this courtroom and he will be a changed man? He will continue on the path of righteousness and not turn against the city? The city does not.

Lord Aaron Lyonaler: I cannot force righteousness. But, I can agree to apply pressure and an example to keep him from turning to old allies, and not endanger the city.

Magistrate Kyemore: You are not confident upon his redemption.

Lord Aaron Lyonaler: Redemption takes time. I have seen people turn to the path of the Paladin. But, such takes time and effort. If you are asking if I feel he can be redeemed. Then, I will say, yes, I believe he can be. But, the Court should understand, such things will take time. If the Court will allow adequate time. Then I agree. I was concerned, with the way it was initially presented.

Magistrate Kyemore: You may have all the time you wish, Lord Lyonaler. In this arrangement, if he commits a crime against the people they will become your crimes. If you are not confident he will not become a liability to the Baldurian people, I respect as much. I am not convinced either. The only faith I would place today would be in you.

Lord Aaron Lyonaler: I asked to bring him in to be tried, because I see the opportunity within him. I will take the responsibility. I would ask that it be my responsibility. Not the Order or others.

Magistrate Kyemore: Then you personally, Lord Aaron. You would stake, name, creed, and title for the accused today?

Lord Osric Vale: My lord, I urge you to reconsider. You once told me yourself that the accused cannot be trusted. You would be leaving your fate in the hands of this Zhentarim collaborator.

Lord Aaron Lyonaler: I will hold myself responsible. His failings will become mine.

Magistrate Kyemore: Then we are decided. Amos raise your sword hand and prepare for your oath.

Lord Osric Vale: My lord!

[A guard approaches blade in hand]

Magistrate Kyemore: Soldier, inspect your blade. Make certain it is clean and sharp. Sister of Ilmater, if you wish to tend to his wounds please step forward. Amos Thistle, repeat as I speak.

Amos Thistle: Very well.

Magistrate Kyemore: "I Amos Thistle pledge myself to the mercy of this court. Upon this day, my failures will be shared. My wounds shall be shared. Allow the severing of my hand serve as a reminder that actions have consequences."

Amos Thistle: I Amos Thistle Pledge my Mercy upon this court, Upon this day, my failures will be shared, My wounds shall be shared. Allow the severing of my hand serve as a reminder that action have consequences.

Magistrate Kyemore: Upon today your hand will be severed from your arm. Think not of the pain today, as it is temporary. Those lives you have taken will never again know the the pain of the living. This will serve as your dedication and sacrifice to the City. While the courts may forgive you, the path of the people is long and hard. Are you prepared to earn their confidence?

Amos Thistle: Make it clean.

[Sister Ashenie offers Amos a piece of cloth to chew on]

Amos Thistle: I deserve this.

Magistrate Kyemore: Then upon today like a rabbit in a snare, allow this gesture to mark your freedom.

[The guard severes Amos Thistle's hand at the wrist. Amos Thistle's screams]

Lord Osric Vale: This is folly. This is madne-

[Sister Ashenie tends to Amos Thistle's wound]

Magistrate Kyemore: Upon the satisfaction of the Court of Baldur's Gate, and the completion of the sentencing. This court trial is concluded. Thank you Clerk Frem. Tyr guide those of you through these uncertain times.

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The Time of Troubles
by Edelgarde Spades, Guide of Candlekeep and Underpriest of the First Scribe
Candlekeep, 1358 DR Year of the Shadows

In memory of Ser Alexander Holgart and all those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of duty.


Preface

When shadows descend upon the lands, our divine lords will walk alongside us as equals.
So sayeth the Wise Alaundo.


Scholars call it Time of Troubles, the Godswar or the Fall of the Gods. All these terms fail to convey the confusion, the fear and sense of doom the days between the 1st of Flamerule and the 24th of Marpenoth brought upon us. I chose to tell the events of this book in chronological order, and not as I experienced them. In fact, the purpose of this book is not to bring up the loss of any resemblance of stability that the silence of the Gods - the very pillars of our existence - the loss of our loved ones or the seemingly unstoppable unraveling of the Weave brought into our lives. Yet, I feel the need to lay them bare in this preface, before I start telling the facts as faithfully as possible. Because they have been there, and shall not be forgotten.
As an avowed I preserve knowledge, yet as a scholar I seek answers. And as a scholar I felt the pain of having none for those who flocked to our Keep seeking them, like scared children would hold onto the skirts of their teacher. As a mortal I felt the fear of uncertainty and the void that death inevitably leaves in our souls.
Yet there was also hope. I was one of the lucky few who could not only feel but converse with their god. When many felt the silence of their gods, I felt the presence of the First Scribe for the first time as those blessed with His gifts would and this has been with me ever since. And although I still feel the pain of the loss of a friend, I realize that death is not an ailment to be cured. The ailment is the grief of those who remain, which only time can heal. I pray death finds me the same way: quill in hand, performing my duty.

Praise be the First Scribe!


Ao the Overgod

In order to understand the events of these troubling times, it is important to understand that, unlike what we believed before, the gods are not the most powerful beings in existence. There is in fact an Overgod, a balancing force, that oversees the functioning of this Sphere: Lord Ao. He is the one responsible of banishing the gods, as described by the Lord of All Glyphs and Images, whose words have been preserved by myself:

We call him Ao. The Overgod. Mortals didn't need to know of his existence. He himself never cared to be known. He exists outside of the usual rules binding us, Gods. Ao oversees that the Crystal Sphere functions to his hidden designs.

Contrarily to what one may think, Lord Ao never acted as arbiter among the conflicts of the gods, which as we will see in the coming chapters developed in a full scale Godswar after the gods were banished.


The Exile of the Gods

It all started with the theft of the Tablets of Fate: tablets written in the Language of Creation that held the written rules of existence. Or so we believed. To quote the words of the First Scribe:

Tablets of Fate are items which Ao have created. They contain rules and duties for each god and the portfolio they rule over. They are stone tablets, each etched with words in archaic forms of Celestial rune script known only to Deities. Their purpose is to serve as a balance between forces of Law and Chaos on a cosmic scale, and to remind all gods their duties and their spheres of influence. Our portfolios. Naturally, we are all following the laws of our respective offices, to put it plainly. The Tablets of Fate are much more than what I am describing here. I'm afraid the in-depth knowledge cannot be handled by mortal minds. And I wish not to damage anyone's sanity.

It is unknown who stole the Tablets and why, but what is known is that in the summer of 1358 DR Lord Ao gathered all the gods to answer for the theft of the Tablets. So said the First Scribe:

It all began a few tendays ago. Have you ever been to divine realms? I have met a few walkers across Planes, in my time. It is not something I advise to anyone at the present. The domains of Gods are not looked for, with our imposed exile from the Upper and Lower planes. It means there is much chaos in our domains as well as upon the Prime Material plane.
He called upon us, all of us. Gods of mortal humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, illithids- All of us. In front of him. And he spoke onto us: "Come hither thee, who hath broketh my law and stolen the Tablets of Fate." None had stepped forth. None had spoken up. I have not even known such were stolen. And for this, Ao flew into rage as some gods began to bicker amongst each other. Very few, mind you. I was a bit out of sorts there, if I am to be honest. I have several things on my mind to properly keep track of the conversation. Regardless. Ao flew into rage. And thus he had declared that since no perpetrator would step forward, he would cast us all down.
Lord Ao has, however, decided that we have grown lax with out powers and that we ceased to care for our worshipers. Which is painting us all with a broad brush. Then again, Lord Ao isn't known for his unending benevolence. A collective punishment for a treachery of the few. There was one bold enough to question the justice of his decision. Tyr, the Even-Handed. He spoke to Ao and questioned the justice of his. Why is he punishing everyone for acts they did not perform? Many gods cared for their children. Seldarine, Mordinsamman, Lords of the Golden Hills, for example. And many of us, which are commonly referred to as "human gods" or "Faerunian". For his impertinence, Tyr has been blinded. Ao took his eyes. I do not know where he ended up, however. And so all of us were cast down from our domains into the mortal realm. Each of us taking forms of our Avatars in mortal bodies of our followers.


Although all the gods were cast out of their divine realms, only Helm retained His full powers, as He was tasked to guard the Celestial Staircase. Says the First Scribe:

He is not in his home domain. He is guarding the Celestial Staircase from any God which wishes to come back without Tablets of Fate. Only those who carry them will be let back into the heavens. For they all must be found. So had Ao spoketh.

This left the other gods vulnerable, and incapable of being in all places at the same time. This, in turn caused the Silence of the Gods and great limitations in the power of divine spellcasters.

The situation will not change until all Tablets of Fate are found. Our powers have diminished due to being cast down in such a manner as well. We cannot be... Well. Everywhere with our presence as we used to. We can only be here and now. We can hear prayers of our faithful, but to answer them with power and magic would require us to concentrate and focus on solely that. It leaves us vulnerable.


The Chaos in the Realms

On the 1st of Flamerule, the sky darkened and the earth trembled. Meteors fell from the sky, although none of our astronomers predicted such movement. Although the Keep wasn't directly hit, the Weave became unpredictable. Monstrous creatures started appearing seemingly out of nowhere, with the sole purpose of destroying. As if it wasn't enough, the gods became silent and divine casters unable to cast anything above the third circle. The only exception were the follower of Helms, who still retained all their spells, albeit subject to the chaos of the Weave, even if the Guardian Himself remained silent.
The meteor swarm eventually stopped, but the Weave remained unreliable and the gods silent. Localized odd occurrences have also been witnessed in various areas of the Coast.

The bizarre occurrences can be classified in two types: some were widespread, others were localized to certain areas.

Examples of the widespread ones were:
  • - The silence of the gods;
    - Impossibility for divine spellcasters, except Helmites, to cast spells above the Third Circle;
    - Chaos of the Weave, which in turn caused all spells to become unpredictable (see next chapter);
    - Meteors and a dark corrupting rain fell from the sky, and earthquakes ravaged the land. All these events eventually ended;
    - Appearance of aggressive monstrosities.
Some localized effects have been observed as follows:
  • - Candlekeep: books gained a small measure of sentience that caused them to fly around and pronounce seemingly random sentences, all ink became a poisonous cherry scented syrup and any air current within the premises acquired peculiar pastel colors;
    - Beregost: the settlement was pelted by a blood blizzard, which eventually melted;
    - Nashkel: for a short period of time, lightning arcs traveled between rocks and wooden items;
    - Vicinity of Nashkel: a number of peaks and mountains disappeared from the landscape, a mountain was observed to be upside down;
    - Reaching Woods: the presence of undead was reported;
    - Baldur's Gate: apart from the Halls of Inner Light being hit by a meteor, simple, rudimental spells caused large explosions;
    - Cloudpeaks: unusually cold weather, appearance of paraelementals of ice near the temple of Auril.

The Chaos of the Weave

A more ample discourse is required for the instability of he Weave. Mystra's banishment left the Weave unattended, and this in turn caused magic to become unpredictable.
Although such peculiar effects seemed to be completely randomic and not related to one another, it was clear that all of them were caused by the unpredictability of the Weave. Observing the places affected by the chaos, it is widely believed, although not proven, that the intensity of such effects was directly proportional to the concentration of active magic in the area.

If we focus instead on the alterations of the spells rather than the bigger incidents, all the occurrences observed in the first tendays of the chaos, involved seemingly random mutations that never altered the nature of the spell. Thanks to the Arcanist Sirion Te'dwa, who utilized 138 Light spells, we could make the below observation:
  • - 100 spells (74.6% circa) functioned normally;
    - 13 spells (9.7% circa) failed completely;
    - 8 spells (6% circa) reflected on the spellcaster;
    - 7 spells (5.2% circa) appeared in the wrong location;
    - 6 spells (4.5% circa) were stronger;
This left a value between 0 and 0.75% unaccounted for, of spells that might have behaved completely differently.

Seeker Tiawyn Aleaneldeth, acolyte at the time, attempted the same with Cure Light Wounds, casting 143 of those spells, which yielded the below results:
  • - 104 spells (72.73% circa) functioned normally;
    - 11 spells (7.7% circa) reflected on the spellcaster;
    - 10 spells (7% circa) failed completely;
    - 7 spells (4.9% circa) hit the wrong location;
    - 6 spells (4.2% circa) were stronger;
    - 5 spells (3.5% circa) produced shimmering lights but worked as normal;
This left a value between 0 and 0.70% unaccounted for, of spells that might have behaved completely differently. It is easy to notice the statistics are very close. The only thing that differs is the shimmering lights that might have appeared in the previous experiment as well but weren't noticed as it was in fact a spell of Light.


The Silence of the Gods

At the time we did not yet know what had caused such chaos.
Some feared the gods were dead, although this sounded impossible since divine spellcasters still retained some of their spells. Others thought that the gods had forsaken us. Others suspected Helm of orchestrating everything.
Not much time later, rumors of people making contact with the gods started flocking in the realm. At first it was a sunite knight who claimed to have received a vision from Sune and manifested her intention to "ride to her". Then an increasing number of rumors from the City of Splendor claim that Selune made Herself manifest to Her faithful.
More and more recounts of gods walking among us, on the Prime Material, made their way on the Coast. Of note were the claims of several amnian travelers that Milil walked the streets of Atkatla.


Mystra's Death

On the night between the 5th and the 6th of Flamerule, an ear-piercing scream could be heard across the Coast. To me and most likely the other arcanists or priests of Mystra was immediately clear that this was the last cry of the dying goddess. The circumstances of her death remained unclear to us until a representative of the faith first and the First Scribe later shed some light on the situation. Mystra was in fact killed by Helm in the attempt of accessing the Celestial Staircase without the Tablets of Fate. A member of the clergy received her call and with many members of Her Cormyrean church traveled to the Stonefields. There he witnessed Her death by the hand of Helm.

The First Scribe described the event as follows:

Indeed. I knew immediately once I have heard her dying scream. Loyal Helm has been put as the guardian of the Celestial Staircase by Ao. She must've tried to try and walk past him. Helm can have a caring heart... But he will perform his duties no matter what.


The First Scribe

On the 8th of Flamerule, a meeting took place in Candlekeep open to the representative of all faiths to discuss the current situation.
It was during the meeting that two members of the Church of Mystra in Cormyr who declared to have witnessed the last moments of Mystra in the Stonefields told us of the circumstances of Her death.

Not much later, Gorion asked me to follow him as there was a guest who required to speak with me.
An elderly man in blue robes, with vivid blue eyes that almost looked like they were in flames, stood before me. I almost fainted on the spot when He introduced Himself as the First Scribe Deneir, the Lord of All Glyphs and Images and Oghma's Faithful Scribe in propria persona. Only then I noticed that the air around us was no longer pastel colored and everything seemed back to normal.
The Weave became more stable, and although spells could still fail or miss the target, unoffensive spells were again safe to cast.
I myself was accepted by Him as part of the clergy and bestowed the gift of channeling His blessings. While being close to His avatar I was not limited by the third circle spells.

I took the chance to ask about the recent events, the reason why the gods are walking among us, and recorded His words. After recounting the fact I described in the previous chapters, He issued a warning:

I'm afraid conflict is inevitable, regardless of any explanations. And not only between the Followers of Mystra and Helm. Each deity has been cast down. Not everyone is interested with Tablets of Fate. This moment presents an opportunity to all Gods to destroy their hated enemy. In a way, Lord Ao has started, quite possibly, the greatest war between all Gods this world had seen.

Unfortunately, the death of Mystra meant that the Weave would remain unattended and this in turn would cause the situation to grow worse with time, until someone inherited the portfolio as explained by the First Scribe:

I'm afraid such [chaos] may become more and more common. Think about it, my priestess. The office of the Keeper of the Weave has been vacated. Then, Mystra has been slain by Helm. Who is there to oversee the Weave? Magic will exist regardless. It is the Weave that everyone uses as a common tool, since it makes spellcasting much easier. And that tool is now destabilised. Since there's nobody to stabilise it, it is only natural that it will become further so.

Many probably know that this was not the first time the Keeper of the Weave died. Karsus folly caused Her predecessor Mystril to die, which in turn caused all magic to plummet into chaos the same way Netherese enclaves plummeted to the ground. This however lasted only for a few moments, as Her power was immediately transferred to Mystra. The Weave being unattended for so long was certainly an unprecedented event.
Other examples of deceased deities are Amaunator and Murdane. Although some portfolios can be inherited by others, this is not guaranteed and they may fade if unclaimed. This cast a bleak shadow on the future of the Realms. To quote the First Scribe:

Ah.. Murdane. It has been a while since I have heard her mentioned. Her portfolio faded out. A cynical person may remark that it is the reason as to why so many mortals are irresponsible. Whether true or not, the fact remains that her portfolio has not been claimed and it is gone, now."


Chaos Among Mortals

The natural order was not the only thing that was thrown in disarray by the Time of Troubles. As it is natural, people as well found their certainties shaken.
The wildest theories started circulating and some groups took advantage of this to spread their own narrative, may that be out of malice or ignorance.
A fitting example is that of the helmite group Ordo Veritatis, who claimed that the Time of Troubles was the result of the hubris of arcanists and that Helm was the one true god, who in time would kill the other false gods. This attitude was not only despicable but also dangerous, as the conversions motivated by fear might result in the newly converted paying lip service to the gods and therefore being condemned to the Wall of the Faithless.
In turn, many faithful of Mystra in Baldur's Gate gathered in protest in front of the Temple of Helm.

Even without outside intervention, such chaos caused people to lose faith. And even those who retained it feared the consequences of dying during the Time of Troubles. Flyers were distributed by an unknown third party, claiming that everyone who died while the gods were exiled would be inevitably destined to the Wall.
This, however, proved false as the First Scribe confirmed that "The dead follow the same system that was put in place by Ao."

Another side effect of the Chaos of the Weave, was an increased distrust towards spellcasters and measures were implemented to discourage magic.
Some were necessary precautions, like the prohibition to cast any magic within Ducal Land. Others turned into a full fledged persecution of arcanists.

A group of mage hunters lured any arcanist they could find saying that someone was affected by a curse. Then they would execute the arcanist and hang their mutilated body to the nearest tree. This group, which was only a cell of a larger Sharran group, was however dispatched by Rhaeg of the Commons, who posed as a wizard and followed the lure to the rest of the group where he defeated them in combat.

Amn itself purged the Cowled Wizards and declared arcane magic illegal, punishable with death. Some of the merchant groups even offered coin to those who would catch any arcanist in Amnian grounds. Many attempted to flee and in the end Beregost declared it would not give shelter to the fleeing arcanists.
Notably, some organizations like the Bladestone Foundation, offered shelter to the persecuted arcanists.

The Chaos of the Weave caused the ongoing war between the Lords Alliance and the Black Network to slow down. Although skirmishes still happened, the instability of the Weave made magic on both side unpredictable.

Meanwhile, more and more rumors about the whereabouts of the avatars spread in the Realms. Selune made Herself manifest at the House of the Moon in Waterdeep, although later on she was revealed as Shar in disguise, when a battle ensued between her and her sister Selune in Waterdeep, that forced the Lady of Loss to retreat. An unusually cold weather was registered in the Cloudpeaks. An unusual number of paraelemental of ice gathered near the temple of Auril. Increased attacks of lycanthropes were recorded on the Coast. Rumors say that this was due to the presence of Malar's avatar. The avatar of Garagos wrecked havoc in West Gate, before disappearing into the sea.


Portals in Baldur's Gate

Despite the ban on spellcasting within Ducal Land, according to Arcanist Sirion, who was in Baldur's Gate at the time, on the 22nd of Flamerule an acid rain fell on the city. He also observed that a number of portals opened near the orphanage, and from those portals flesh abominations came out.
Many came to fight them, although some utilized spells and this caused the situation to worsen. The abominations were repelled in the end.
Traces of a summoning ritual were found near the walls.


The Serpent

Several people witnessed on the 2nd of Eleasis a gargantuan blue snake appearing south of Beregost. The creature caused violent bursts of Wild Magic and the appearance of elementals of all elements and creatures that respond to the description of white slaadi. It "devoured the earth" and then disappeared below ground.
It is currently unconfirmed whether the creature is the avatar of a god.

On the 12th of Eleint 1358, Szarilana recounted her first hand experience with the blue serpent. This has been reported verbatim below:

Got-to-see-very-close. Tried-speaking-to-it. While-others-fought-and-died-in-droves-on-other-side-of-the-area. Self-stood-alone-on-opposite-end. It-speaks-in-colors. Inside. Not-going-back. No.

When asked if the creature changed colors to other things, she gave a negative answer, and then continued:

Sound-changed. What-was-outside-was-drowned-out. But-inside. Highest-of-pitch. Ears-bleeding. Into-lowest-rumbling. Something-happens. Sound-of-world-comes-back. It-is-shrieking. Look-up-as-colors-return. The-world-shakes. It-is-in-the-air. Coming-for-Self. No. No. We-through-the-world-together. Into-the-Places-Between. Through-the-waters, holding-too-much-life.

At this point I asked her to elaborate about the Places Between and the "waters holding too much life".

The-walls. Between-the-worlds. Seen-much. Was-it-water? Mucus? Do-not-know. Perhaps-water-is-different-elsewhere. These waters had too much life. Things-squirming-everywhere. Things-moved-fast. The-worm-creature-disappeared-after-a-while. Like-.. Was-removed. Had-difficulty-keeping-track-of-everything. Self-does-not-.. Travel-in-such-ways.

I then asked how she managed to return to the Prime Material.

Self-found-way-back. Swam-back.

Wondering whether Szarilana had physically shifted to another plane or was just victim of an hallucination, I asked if those present saw her disappearing.

No-one-else-had-seen-Self-the-entire-time. Serpent-was-colossal. Focus-elsewhere, likely. Tried-to-find-others-who-had-been-there. Spoke-to-Dunn-of-Vanguard. Said-it-had-leaped-off-to-dive-at-place-near-the-campfire-there. Where-Self-was. Left-only-crumbled-earth-before-it-disappeared-through-world. Dunn-was-with-others-on-other-side-of-the-serpent. From-what-he-said, seemed-he-only-saw-serpent. Seemed-they-were-busy-fighting-other-kinds-of-critters-as-well. After-it-dove, he-said-all-the-others-melted-into-nothing.


The Battle of Tantras

On the 13th of Eleasis, a great battle raged in Tantras and a duel took place between the avatars of Torm and Bane. The latter, greatly empowered, moved towards the city. In order to defend it, Torm reached out to all His clergy in Toril and offered them the chance to aid in the battle by sacrificing themselves. Everywhere, faithful of Torm dissolved in gold dust. Among the deceased are Ser Alexander Holgart, Ser Thomas Garlendt and Squire Simon Sainteclaire.
The battle ended with the death of both deities.

In the same period of time, various people dropped dead in many towns of the Sword Coast, mostly humans and halflings.

The death of the Tyrant was felt and celebrated across the Realms, although sages and scholars cautioned it might have been too soon to celebrate. But the common folk was not the only group who had reason to celebrate. Taking advantage of Bane's death, Manshoon, who founded the Black Network with Fzoul Chembryl and later on opened a portal in Dragonspear Castle causing the Devilwars, ordered a purge of the now defenseless banite priesthood. Fzoul managed to flee and Manshoon took control of the Black Network, claiming that a new era free of the banite fanaticism was ahead.


Rifts and Undead Attacks

On the 15th of Eleasis, a giant flesh monster appeared in the Palace District and attacked the Vale Estate. With the aid of many, including the Flaming Fist, the flesh monster was destroyed, though not before dissolving an unfortunate soldier.

Although it is not yet clear whether this was the result of the Chaos of the Weave or something unrelated, events concerning rifts and undead took place in various places of the Coast. Szarilana recounted the events that took place on the 3rd of Eleint near the Friendly Arm Inn. Her recount has been reported verbatim:

"Was-the-third-of-Eleint. Orcs-attacked. Reason-not-known. Rarely-is-with-them, not-that-they-usually-need-one. Firebombed-the-walls. Few-of-us-were-caught-outside-as-the-gates-shut. Much-fighting-occurred, eventually-turning-tide. They-started-setting-the-forest-around-their-caves-on-fire. Was-.. Problematic-for-the-others. Did-not-handle-heat-as-well. Inside the-caves-was-not-much-better. Do-not-know-why, but-they-set-their-own-place-on-fire-too. What-came-later-gave-Self-some-ideas. Perhaps-paranoid, but... One-of-orcs-cast-one-spell-too-many. Rift-opened. Undead-swarmed-out. Orc-bodies-began-being-raised. Chaos-ensued. Much-fighting-was-had-before-one-in-the-group-cast-something-into-the-rift [one in Szarilana's group, not the orcs'], causing-it-to-react-violently. We-retreated-to-another-room-before-it-exploded. The-caves-were-still-muchly-filled-with-orcs, alive-or-undead. But-we-came-across-something-else. After-travelling-through-caves-for-a-few-minutes, began-noticing-shadows-closing-in. Harsh-whispers. Self-stayed-as-the-others-searched-a-room. Something-spoke-as-if-it-knew-Self. Do-not-know-how, but.. Self-was-stabbed-in-back-by-a-claw-of-some-kind. It-uttered-things-as-if-it-was-old-Baba [Night Hag killed months ago]. Know-she-cannot-have-formed-so-soon. What-burst-through-the-doors-were-dopplegangers. Expect-it-to-have-been-them-doing-that-little-shadow-trick. Perhaps-they-did-not-know-and-it-was-just-spell-playing-tricks-on-Self. Do-not-know-if-they-were-there-beforehand, tricking-orcs-into-attacking-the-Arms, or-if-was-brought-by-rifts. Was-about-six-to-eight-of-them."

At this point I asked if any of the orcs exhibited any eldritch powers:

"The-orcs? Not-what-Self-could-tell. They-were-much-eager-to-throw-their-little-firebombs. No. Some-mystics. Odd-cleric-or-two-perhaps. Saw-nothing-eldritch."

I then asked if she or any of those present recognized the spells used by the clerics:

"Could-not-tell-exact-spell-out. Seemed-to-be-some-manner-of-mindspell. Greenish-glow. Aimed-at-us. Fizzled, then-.. Well, rift-appeared. None-of-us-were-.. Magically-inclined. Will-ask-if-running-across-them."

On the 16th of Eleint, a similar event took place in the Cloakwoods. A witness who wishes to be known by the name of Savrine, recounted the events which have been reported verbatim:

"Yuri and I fought our way to the top of this derelict manor in the Cloakwood. I was just about useless, between not having magic and not having any silvered blades. Not my finest moment. Naturally, he didn't mention the lich. We won... somehow without blowing ourselves up. But after taking what we could from its hoard, we rushed out, hoping to get away before it pulled its body back together. We'd only just left the building when we found ourselves in this thick, unnatural darkness. A thick fog, or a darkness spell, I couldn't tell. Inside were a horde of ghouls, giant undead boars, and... something alive, we couldn't quite make out what it was. Humanoid. Not of this plane, or at least not completely. We managed to fight our way through the first wave, and avoided some kind of undead spellcaster blasting us with acid. Yuri took a hit, but... it's Yuri. Then this tiefling ran past us while we were making our way out of the woods. We turned back to try and save him - unnecessary, as it turned out - and ended up fighting another wave of undead and... I'm just going to call them fiends for simplicity [She refers to the unidentified humanoid creatures]. Gods know that acid blast looked enough like pact magic. I decided to chance an acid ward - it's still on both of us."

I asked what these creatures looked like:

"I couldn't tell. Like I said, humanoid, and alive enough that I could get away with stabbing its vital organs. Taller than me, but what isn't? No horns or other unusual extremities, though. Just..."

At this point, I asked if they were doppelgangers, but Savrine didn't know what a doppelganger is. I therefore provided a brief description [A doppelganger is a monstrosity that can shapeshift into any humanoid. In their true form they look like humanoids with no distinctive traits, very pale skin and well a bit like mindflayers but without tentacles].

"These were considerably more humanoid than that. More like... genasi. But they didn't look elemental. The pact mage looked like it might have been a wight of some kind, but... I've never seen one casting spells that powerful. One of her acid blasts, it... it knocked the wind out of me, even through the ward. I think it would have burnt a hole right through my body."

She then concluded her story:

"Anyway, before we regrouped for a third attack - and our second clash with the wight - I sent to you, in case they overran us. We won. Didn't find anything, but it was me and Yuri. Not the best people to investigate whatever that was."

On the Fields of the Dead, the magic taking hold of undead declined steadily. The restless dead lost their connection to whichever power had control over them and started spreading across the region, extinguishing all life that they met and saw.
The 7th company of the Flaming Fist was sent in response of the increasing undead attack. After setting a perimeter around the Vault of the Dead, them and other volunteers from various factions, defeated the dark power that lurked within. It is rumored that Jergal Himself made His appearance to dispatch the undead foe.


Evolution of Wild Magic

As predicted by the First Scribe, magic became more and more unstable as the Weave unraveled and new effect were witnessed.
In some places, like the Greypeaks, the Forest of Wyrms or the High Moore, magic was observed to fail more often.
Seeker Tiawyn gathered a list of the new effects of Wild Magic that were observed:

- Red Mist coming up at random times and covering many areas;
- A Crack in the ground opens and Lava spills out of it, while the spell simply fails;
- The Earth begins to shake randomly, when someone casts a spell. The spell itself missed the actual effect;
- A man almost lost his hearing after a Sending spell hit him, instead of the usual message in his mind;
- If someone casts a spell, those in range may lose all of their hair and nearby plants grow hair instead;
- Green and oily slime oozes out of each of your pores like rotten sweat.


I personally observed the appearance of dark mist that dampened sound and of glowing green smoke. Both effects were harmless.

At the end of Eleint, at least two events related to Wild Magic took place in Ducal Land: the river Chiontar was filled with pink poisonous water and a building in the Outer City caught fire and being of fire and ice came through from another dimension.

Finally, the area of Baldur's Gate became a dead magic zone, an empty hole in the Weave.


Bhaal's Death

On the 8th of Marpenoth 1358 DR a battle took place in the Boareskyr Bridge. On one side was Bhaal's avatar, as described in Seeker Tiawyn's report, gathered from the eyewitnesses Maraav Deinir and Drinmar Ironfaar, of the Azure Arcanists:

A man appreared who turned out to be Bhaal. There were discussions overhard, that Bhaal may have sacrificed one of his followers to gain more power. Waves of undead attacked from east of the bridge, likely a manifestation of Bhaal's power. But perhaps there was also a necromancer behind the scenes.

On the other was a group of three people: an arcanist woman, a man armed with a red sword and another man with mustache. After the end of the Time of Troubles, Lord Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun revealed that the woman, who at the time went by the name of Midnight would ascend to become the new Mystra, while the man with the sword was Cyric, who would ascend as well. The man with mustache was a human warrior named Kelemvor. The three were helped by various people of the Coast. To quote another fragment of the report:

A fight with Bhaal himself also started. A human woman with black hair was seen, expressing that she wanted Bhaal to die. She unleashed harmful spells at him, ripping a good part of his skin from his body. A man with a mustache, also human, attacked Bhaal with a sword, that had a red glowing aura. Eventually the Heroes triumphed over Bhaal but this caused Bhaals corpse to explode violently, destroying the bridge and injuring some knights and ladies. The female spellcaster teleported away with the man in the end. Their names are not known as far as I understood.

The three teleported away and the area turned into a dead magic zone. To quote the report:

Normally one could have tried to track them magically. But the violent explosion not just injured many people and destroyed the bridge. It also turned the place into an area of dead magic. Warnings were given, to leave the area, but for some it was too late. Some at least listened and fled.


The Era of Upheaval

Eventually, the war between the Zhentarim and the Lords Alliance comes to and end and a treaty is drafted on the 15th of Marpenoth 1358 DR.

On the On the 24th of Marpenoth, a deep voice resounded throughout all lands:

"I have created the gods for a purpose. Today, this purpose is reminded to them. Your true power depends upon the faithful you serve, not your rule over them. The Tablets of Fate lie destroyed by my own hands, for they held not any power to be stolen in hubris. Now, let the gods return to the heavens and earn their mortal worship anew!"

After Lord Ao spoke, the gods returned to their divine realms, marking the end of what will be known as the Time of Troubles.
The Mystran Temples coming back to life marked the ascension of a new Keeper of the Weave, the one who once was a young woman named Midnight and who defeated Myrkul in the skies above Waterdeep. The one who killed Bhaal, the man named Cyric ascended to godhood as well, subsuming the powers of the Dead Three, as explained by Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, who did not elaborate much on this new god other than marking him as an enemy.

Torm, now called the True by the young faithful called "the Martyr's Progeny", was returned to existence by Lord Ao's hand and rose to great prominence in Faerun, with many reforms to His church.
A sermon was held at the Temple of Torm, where such reforms were explained to the faithful, with the reassurance that those who died for the ultimate duty are now at peace with the Loyal Fury.

From the clergy of Selune and Mystra came a warning about a new corrupting tool of magic recently discovered to have been created by Shar, called Shadow Weave. It is important to point out that the Shadow Weave -must not- be confused with Shadow Magic, which is a subschool of Illusion.This is described by Lord Arunsun as follows:

"From what we can tell, it is created by Shar, in her intention as an alternative to the Weave, It is a mockery, an insult. Any who practice it should be considered the greatest enemy of the servants of Mystra and Azuth. And those who do touch it will be denied the Weave by Mystra."

Although the Weave is now more stable and the chaos that ensued in the past months was mostly undone, it remains unstable or absent in certain areas.

This marks the end of the Age of Humanity, and the start of the Era of Upheaval.


Restoring the Weave

Not much time passed before Lord Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun made contact with the Temple of Mystra in Baldur's Gate, which is still a dead magic zone, to discuss the new events as per order of Lord Azuth, now that a new Mystra, originally a mortal woman by the name of Midnight, has ascended. I was asked to be present by the representatives of the Temple of Mystra and witnessed the below events in person.

On the 27th of Marpenoth me, Seeker Tiawyn, Archmage Maraav Deinir, Ser Althalous Fenwick, Arcanist Drinmar, Lord of Mystery Gabriel, Lady of Mystery Neela, Sean Asen and Lord Fenix Wandersoul met at the temple of Mystra with Khelben Arunsun.
Lord Arunsun assigned to each of us one or two spells to cast, then requested a number of enchanted items and wands, one for each school, to be broken by Ser Fenwick and Sean in order to release a burst of arcane energy. He then explained that we would head outside the dead magic zone, where he would levitate us, bringing us directly above the dome of the dead magic area. There, through our spellcasting and his Silver Fire we would make way for the Weave to reknit, while Lady of Mystery Neela would remain at the temple to act as catalyst.
Once we reached the Wyrm's Crossing, Lord Arunsun used a levitation spell that brought us above the clouds and there he ordered Drinmar to cast an ice spell. As this was done, he molded the ice in a stable platform where we could all stand. We then disposed ourselves in a circle around Lord Arunsun, who told Ser Fenwick and Sean to break the wands at his command and us to cast our prepared spells outwards. At his command, Seeker Tiawyn inspired us through her bardic magic, while a burst of arcane energy burst out as Sean and Ser Fenwick broke the wands and us in circle cast our spells: healing spells, dispells, necromancy, arcane fire and more. Meanwhile, silver fire from Lord Arunsun spread outwards and interacted with our spells, creating a web of colours.
This repeated for four times, every time the webs became larger and larger, connecting with each other and forming a Weave. Finally we pushed the newly formed Weave outward, to connect with the edges of the hole in the Weave. Lord Arunsun then confirmed that the Weave would slowly flock back in the paths we created.
He then used the lingering magic to enchant a magic item for each of those present. Maraav, Tiawyn and me opted to return our part to the Weave.

After Lord Arunsun led us back to the ground, he accepted to answer our questions.
He confirmed the identity of the three people at the bridge who defeated Bhaal.
and told us about the Shadow Weave.
Lord Arunsun then advised for the people of Baldur's Gate to listen to their leader, especially Duchess Liia Jannath, and to trust in Mystra and Azuth.

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A New Day
by Emrys Kerr

Strange days are coming
Stand up straight, my son
All streets are burning
Stand up straight, my son

You have to remember
Life is just a ride
The voice that is inside you
That should be your guide

No fear. Stand up straight, my son

Can you remember
Once you had a dream
All bairns were shining
Dancing with relief

No thirst nor hunger
Touching the supreme
Dreams becoming real
As long as you believe

No fear. Stand up straight, my son

We're not going anywhere
We will stand for what is right
Always together
Fighting for freedom to change our lives

We are the dreamers
We're going to change the Realms
We are the ember
We are the light of the Realms

No fear. Stand up straight, my son
A new day is coming...

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A Theory of Sun and Law
by Barristan Schultze


Index:

Introduction
Chapter 1 - Amaunator
Chapter 2 - Kor
Chapter 3 - Horus-Re
Chapter 4 - Lathander
Chapter 5 - The Theory

Across Toril and throughout history there have been various gods of the Sun worshiped under different names in different regions. To the ancient Netherese there was Amaunator, to the far south in Zakhara is the deity known as Kor, and to the east is the Mulhorandi god Horus-Re.
While all different in their own ways, all share a similar role in their societies, not only as the symbol of the Sun but also as the deities in charge of stability and order. While it's common for gods to be only worshiped in certain lands, it is also not uncommon for a singular god to be worshiped under different names in different lands. Could it be possible that all of these different gods of the Sun are indeed all the same being?

The Eternal Sun, the ancient Netherese god of Law, Order and the Sun. Known as the Keeper of Law or the Ethernal Sun, Amaunator was the god of Kings and lawmakers. His faithful were called the Amaunatori.
The Faithful of Amaunator preached that law was the foundation on which civilization was built, and without it all would crumble. It was said that the rise and fall of the Sun each day was a reminder that he is always watching and that even through the darkest most chaotic of times, the Sun's light will once more shine and bring order to civilization. During the times of ancient Netheril, long before Tyr took his place among the gods, Amaunator stood as the unbias judge. It was the Amaunatori that oversaw court and chases back then, enforcing the letter of the law. Through the use of Lawmakers and Lawyers, the Amaunatori brought order to the ancient empire.
A being of pure law and order, Amaunator did not care about the struggle between good and evil. During his time as a god, Amaunator brought stability to the Netherese Empire, and when he "fell" so too did the ancient Empire


Zakhara, a land far to the south of Faerun. A strange society by Faerunian standards as they don't believe in good nor evil, simply tradition and order. A state of order brought to them by their "Eight Great Gods". One of which is the being known Kor, or Old Kor the Venerable. A god of wisdom, stability, and tradition bearing the symbol almost identical to that of Amaunator. Once more a god worshiped by leaders and Kings.
Old Kor is different to that of Amaunator in that whole he does preach tradition and order, his main focus is on wisdom and learning from one's mistakes. He is the embodiment of a wise and venerable leader whom one looks for guidance. "With age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes strength." is the motto of their faith, wisdom that guides to an orderly and stable civilization. While hard to find much more information about Kor without venturing to Zakhara itself, we can observe their society to see the effects of Kor. A society that has managed to strip itself of the chains of good and evil creating a stable land of order and tradition by following the teachings of Kor's brilliant wisdom. In Zakhara, there is no "good" nor "evil", all that matters in the Land of Fate is tradition, order and civility.


Horus-Re, another solar god this time symbolized as a falcon governing Kings and rulers. The chief god of the ancient Mulhorandi empire, Horus-Re was and still is worshiped as the King of the Gods. Unlike Amaunator and the Netheril Empire, Horus-Re remains worshiped to this day in the lands that once were old Mulhorand.
Sharing extremely similar characteristics to Amaunator there's not really much to say about Horus-Re. His faithful consisted of the leaders of Mulhorand much like the Amaunatori in Netheril. They preached that the Sun oversaw Law and guided Kings to a successful rule. It's said that his light shines across the sky at day, and observes as a shooting star across the sky at night.


The one god in this text that most are likely well aware of, the Morninglord Lathander. While not exactly a god of either Order or the Sun, he is the god of the Dawn and the closest thing modern Faerun has to a Sun god. God of the dawn, Lathander is the god of renewal, birth, vitality, and youth.
Without going too far into detail, as he stands as one of the most prominent gods in Faerun, I bring him to attention due to his origin. Historical texts state Lathander first came about after the fall of the Netherese Empire. A god of birth and restoration coming about at the fall and apparent death of many other divine beings.


Amaunator, Kor, Horus-Re, gods of the Sun and of Order. Three divine beings spread across distant lands of Toril with very similar faiths and teachings. Now I ask, if the gods are truely above us all, why would there be three of essentially the same divine being simply due to mortal geographical location? What if these names are simply no more than that, mortal given names created for the same divine individual.
But what of Lathander you might ask, what does he he have to do with this theory? When Netheril fell, so too did many of its gods, what better a time for one such being to try new methods under the guise of the Dawn. Amaunator saw that us mortals of Faerun were not capable of setting aside our differences and embrace his Order. When Netheril fell, so too did Amaunator, taking up the mantle of a new dawn until the mortals of Faerun were deemed fit to worship his true form once more.
One day, perhaps in a day, perhaps a year, even a century from now Amaunator will return to Faerun as the Ethernal Sun once more and with his return stability and order will settle across all Faerun. Zakhara has proven such a society is possible, they have shown the Sun's guidance still shines in their land to this day unlike the ancient empires of Netheril and Mulhorand.

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EotSC Ruins of Baldur's Gate I
by Raleigh Livingstonn


```Explorations of the Sword Coast```
- Ruins South of Baldur's Gate -

Raleigh Livingstonn
Special thanks to Sir Edward III

An expedition is made this year, 1351, into the ruins sitting on the hillsides of the southern shore of the River Chiontar overlooking the Outer City of Baldur's Gate.


INDEX
Section 1: Notable Fauna
Section 2: Notable Flora
Section 3: Miscellaneous Findings


NOTABLE FAUNA

Kobolds: Bipedal reptilian creatures standing slightly under halfling height. Possessed of elongated skulls displaying a mixture of canine and draconid features. Physiology includes smooth vestigial tails, horns, pointed teeth, and ear-holes. Diet is extremely non-particular seeming to span all plants, animals and even attempted mineral judging by tooth-marks on stone-work. Rudimentary magic use indicates some fledgling intelligence supported by what appears to be a primitive spoken language. Ecological role seems to fall between scavenger and ambush hunter. Activity outside their lair seems confined to nocturnal hours. Expert trapsmiths despite primitive tool and weaponry construction.

Threat level: Low
Known Weaknesses: Crossbow Bolts

Sir Edward found their meat to be foul-tasting and unpleasant likely due to the creatures' diet.


Mimics: Amorphous stone-like creatures when un-disguised, these creatures are nearly always encountered in their disguised state in which they take on the shape, color, and texture of furniture -- most frequently chests or boxes. Exclusively feeds through ambush predation. Attempts to trap victims with natural adhesives and attacking via bite and bludgeoning. Autopsy reveals lack of eyes; method of prey detection unknown.

Threat level: Moderate
Known Weaknesses: Crossbow Bolts

Sir Edward refused to eat tissue sample provided.


Bladeling: Roughly human-sized biped with copper hued skin covered in metallic spines. Signs of near-human intelligence though subjects avoided attempts at verbal communication. Utilized refined weapony, mostly preferring swords. Tooth and jaw physiology suggests omnivorous diet, while internal organs suggest extra-planar origins.

Threat level: Low
Known Weaknesses: Crossbow Bolts

Sir Edward found the meat to be unpalatable with a heavy metallic taste. Potentially use for the treatment of anemia should be pursued.


Imps: Diminutive, flying, fiendish, humanoid possessed of bat-like wings, fangs and horns. Seen feasting exclusively on meats. Seemingly fearless in regard to their own safety preferring to strike with magical attacks from afar. Strong sulphorous odor. Body vanishes quickly upon death suggesting creature not native to this plane. Signs of human-like intelligence with spoken language observed.

Threat level: Annoying.
Known Weaknesses: Crossbow Bolts

Unable to obtain meat-sample.


Vermin: Rats and bats of above-average size encountered. Otherwise unremarkable except for size and number.

Threat level: Very low.
Known Weaknesses: Crossbow Bolts; Grenades

Sir Edward found the meat to be pleasing but otherwise mundane.


NOTABLE FLORA

Healing Moss: Growing throughout the second sub-level of the ruins is a pale-green moss with remarkable healing and curative properties. Relatively easy to harvest, this moss can be applied while unrefined to aid in the closure of minor wounds and abbrasions. Larger quantities can be refined to greater effect and is effective in the treatment of infection and disease.


MISC FINDINGS

Creature Signs: Evidence of larger reptilian or draconid presence was noted in the lower levels of the ruins indicating a creature roughly the size of a stout ox. No such creature was encountered during this expedition.

Potential further exploration: A circular shaft descends into the hillside. Torch-light indicated a larger cave-system below ripe for exploration.

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Lessons for the Young
by Declan Nash


A Wise Old Owl

There was an old owl who lived in an oak tree. Every day, he observed incidents that occurred around him.

Yesterday, he watched as a young boy helped an old man carry a heavy basket. Today, he saw a young girl shouting at the mother. The more he saw, the less he spoke.

As the days went on, he spoke less but heard more. The old owl heard people talking and telling stories.

He heard a woman saying an elephant jumped over a fence. He heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake.

The old owl had seen and heard what happened to people. There were some who became better, some who became worse. But the old owl in the tree had become wiser, each and every day.

The moral to the story is to be more observant. Talk less and listen more. This will make us wise.


The Farmer and the Well

One day, a farmer was looking for a water source for his farm, when he bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor, however, was cunning. The next day, as the farmer came to draw water from his well, the neighbor refused to let him take any water.

When the farmer asked why, the neighbor replied, "I sold you the well, not the water, and walked away." Distraught, the farmer went to the emperor to ask for justice. He explained what had happened.

The emperor called on Birbal, one of his nine, and wisest, courtiers. Birbal proceeded to question the neighbor, "Why don't you let the farmer take water from the well? You did sell the well to the farmer?"

The neighbor replied, "Birbal, I did sell the well to the farmer but not the water within it. He has no right to draw water from the well."

Birbal said, "Look, since you sold the well you have no right to keep the water in the farmer's well. Either you pay the rent to the farmer, or take it out immediately."
Realizing that his scheme had failed, the neighbor apologized and went home.

The moral of the story is cheating will not get you anything. If you cheat, you'll pay soon enough.


The Needle Tree

Once, there were two brothers who lived at the forest's edge. The oldest brother was always unkind to his younger brother. The older brother took all the food and snatched all good clothes.

The oldest brother used to go into the forest in search of firewood to sell in the market. As he walked through the forest, he chopped off the branches of every tree, until he came upon a magical tree.

The tree stopped him before he chopped its branches and said, "Oh kind sir, please spare my branches. If you spare me, I will provide you with golden apples."

The oldest brother agreed but was feeling disappointed with how many apples the tree gave him.

Overcome by greed, the brother threatened to cut the entire tree if it didn't provide him with more apples. But, instead of giving him more apples, the tree showered him with hundreds of tiny needles. The brother fell to the ground, crying in pain as the sun bega to set.

Soon, the younger brother became worried and went to search for his older brother. He searched until he found him at the trunk of the tree, lying in pain with hundreds of needles in his body.

He rushed to him and started to painstakingly remove each needle with love. Once the needles were out, the oldest brother apologized for treating his younger brother so badly. The magical tree saw the change in the older brothers heart and gifted them with all the golden apples they could need.

The moral of the story is that it's important to be kind, as it will always be rewarded.


The Ants and the Grasshopper

One bright autumn day, a family of ants was busy working in the warm sunshine. They were drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer when a starving grasshopper came up. With his fiddle under his arm, the grasshopper humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the ants, "Haven't you stored any food away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all summer?"

"I didn't have time to store any food before winter," the grasshopper whined. "I was too busy making music that the summer flew by."

The ants simply shrugged their shoulders and said, "Making music, were you? Very well, now dance!" The ants then turned their backs on the grasshopper and returned to work.

The moral of the story is there is a time for work and a time for play.


The Bundle of Sticks

Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived in a village with his three sons. Although his three sons were hard workers, they quarreled all the time. The old man tried to unite them but failed.

Months passed by, and the old man became sick. He asked his sons to remain united, but they failed to listen to him. At that moment, the old man decided to teach them a lesson to forget their differences and come together in unity.

The old man summoned his sons, then proceeded to tell them, "I will provide you with a bundle of sticks. Separate each stick, and then break each into two. The one who finishes first will be rewarded more than the others."

And so, the sons agreed. The old man provided them with a bundle of ten sticks each, and then asked the sons to break each stick into pieces. The sons broke the sticks within minutes, then proceeded to quarrel among themselves again.

The old man said, "My dear sons, the game is not yet over. I will now give you another bundle of sticks. Only this time, you will have to break them together as a bundle, not separately."

The sons readily agreed and then tried to break the bundle. Despite trying their best, they could not break the sticks. The sons told their father of their failure.

The old man said, "My dear sons, see! Breaking every single stick individually was easy for you, but breaking them in a bundle, you could not do. By staying united, nobody can harm you. If you continue to quarrel, then anyone can quickly defeat you."

The old man continued, I ask that you stay united. Then, the three sons understood theres power in unity, and promised their father they would all stay together.

The moral of the story is that there is strength in unity.


Controlling Anger

Once, there was a young boy. This boy had problems controlling his anger. When he got angry, he would say the first thing that came to mind, even if it affected people.

One day, his father gifted him a hammer and a bundle of nails, then said, "Whenever you get mad, hammer a nail into the backyard fence."

In he first days, the boy used up half of the nails. Over the next weeks, he used up fewer nails, until his temper was under control. Then, his father asked the young boy to remove a nail for each day he didn't lose his temper.

On the day when the boy removed his last nail, his father told him. "You have done good, boy. But, can you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same. Likewise, when you say mean things in anger, you'll leave a scar."

The moral of the story is that anger is like a knife - one of the most dangerous weapons. When you use it, the wounds will heal, but the scars remain.


The Dog at the Well

A mother dog and her pups lived on a farm. On the farm, there was a well. The mother dog always told her pups never to go near or play around it.

One day, one of the pups was overcome by curiosity and wondered why they weren't allowed to go near the well. So, he decided he wanted to explore it.

He went down to the well and climbed up the wall to peek inside. In the well he saw his reflection in the water but thought it was another dog. The little pup got angry when his reflection was imitating him, so he decided to fight it.

The little pup jumped into the well, only to find there was no dog. He began to bark and bark until the farmer came to rescue him. The pup had learned his lesson and never went back to the well again.

The moral of this story is, always listen to what elders say and don't defy them.

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Medicaments of the Western Heartlands
by Hector Brees


Here, dear reader, is a list of common plants, herbs, and other medicaments common to the Wester Heartlands and the surrounding regions. May it prove a boon to you in the treatment of common ailments.

Balsalm:
Colloquially known as jewelweed, this flowering plant of purple petals grows in the higher regions of the Western Heartlands. When crafted into an ointment, it proves to be an effective cleaning agent for wounds.

Beef Tea:
A savory drink effective in tempering the effects of hangovers and general cold sickness. It is composed of a simple mixture of meat broth, hot kitchen drippings from roasts, and a dash of brandy or sherry.

Bloodpurge:
An herb grown in freshwater marshes that, when dried, proves effective in neutralizing minor poisons.

Cassil:
A shrub similar in appearance to a simple mustard plant. Its seeds, when ground and consumed, will render a man infertile for a period of four to twelve days. These properties take effect roughly one candlemark after intake.

Dathlil:
A common ground flower with tiny petals of white. When ground and seeped in tea, it proves an effective combatant against simpler poisons.

Diamond Cure:
A clover-like herb with diamond shaped leaves, common in Pelleor's Prairie of the Western Heartlands. Its taste is akin to oregano but more bitter. Consumption of this herb counteracts most snake venoms, particularly reed and dead grass snakes.

Felsul:
A deciduous tree found within the Cloak Wood often gnarled and twisted with flaky bark ranging in hue from cinnamon to dark brown. Chewing on its soft wood decreases nausea as well as numbs the mouth and throat.

Fleshwort:
A plant grown in areas where corpses were recently buried. Its stalks, resembling grey celery, can be sewn into an internal wound of any mammal, providing new material for the body to grow new tissue that had been lost.

Foxglove:
A wildflower with small bell-shaped buds ranging from red to lavender. Its flowers can be crushed and ground to make a medicinal extract sweet to taste that will act as a heart stimulant as well as a treatment for the kidneys. Caution is required when using this plant as overconsumption will lead to confusion, hallucinations, and heart failure.

Goblinberry Bush:
A small bush with leaves of dark green and a silver underside, bearing berries of reddish-purple hue. It grows on the plains surrounding the Battle of Bones in the Western Heartlands. The berries serve as effective astringent.

Harlthorn:
A thorny bush common to the Heartlands. Its thorns, when boiled down with equal parts of hoof leaf, forms a solution that calms rage, grief and delirium to make it an apt sleep aid. It can also soothe itchy skin.

Laudanum:
A tincture of alcohol and opium commonly used as an anesthetic.

Nettle:
A green leafed plant covered in tiny hairs that when touched causes the skin to itch, sting, and burn. If eaten raw, its taste is extremely bitter though can prove as an effective means to stave off sleep. When prepared correctly into a balm, it serves as a topical curative substance useful to mitigate the aches and pains endured by the common workman.

Tatterskyre:
A gnarled shrub common to the Heartlands with flaky bark. Consuming the bark will thicken the blood but has an additional effect causing drowsiness among orcs and goblinkin.

Thaerefoil:
A plant most commonly found growing within the fields of Cormyr. When seeped in tea or swallowing the paste of its chewed leaves, it can potentially diminish the physical lusts of men for a short time.

Tonandurr:
A tall spindly tree of the Western Hearlands. When bound against an open wound, its bark will inhibit bleeding and infection as well as aid in the mending of torn flesh and skin. This, however, only applies to humans, halflings, dwarves, and gnomes. It has no effect on elves, and for goblinkin it will have an opposite effect by making the wound fester.

Turnips:
This common root vegetable can assuage a sore throat and some minor mouth diseases.

Woundwort:
Sometimes called yarrow or the simple daisy, this flowering perennial has petals ranging in hue from white to pink. Its flowers, when pressed against a wound instigate clotting to staunch bleeding.

Hector Brees, Physician and Plague Doctor
1358 DR


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Plants North of the Chiontar
by Deaon Venor


Table of Contents

Table of contents........................1
Foreword..................................2
Cave Pitcher..............................3
Deathsbreath Mushroom................5
Elderberry.................................7
Flashwort..................................9
Hostile Plants............................11
Godsherb.................................13
Sphagnum Moss..........................15

Foreword

This book and the samples and sketches herein are the work of Deaon Dusk Venor, from his field research north of the river Chiontar, between Wyrm's Crossing and the Uldoon trail, at the behest of Rain Te'Vill, Ambassador of House Vale. The notes herein are based on research done in early Uktar, the area may well produce other samples in other times of year as well as not produce the samples herein out of season.


Cave Pitcher

Description: A large pitcher plant, brown and green in color with a sweet smelling liquid inside.

Location: Found in the caves under and around an abandoned cabin.

Parts used: The nectar.

When to Harvest: Year round, best when the pitcher is half full, leaving the pitcher a quarter full after harvest for prolonged growth.

Uses: The nectar of the plant may be used as a mild acid good for use on organic substances.

Precautions: Exposure to the skin may cause a rash, prolonged exposure is not recommended.

[The page contains a sketch of the plant growing from cave wall, and includes a sample of a smaller pitcher.]


Deathsbreath Mushroom

Description: A white and black speckled mushroom.

Location: In the cave near the cabin as well as near the ruins.

Parts used: Whole.

When to Harvest: Year round, after spores have been released.

Uses: Food source for goblinoids.

Precautions: Not edible to other humanoids, causes nausea.

[The page contains a sketch of a mushroom patch, and includes a cut sample of the mushroom.]


Elderberry

Description: A small bush or tree with white to yellow flowers and black berries.

Location: Near the cabin and ruins.

Parts used: Leaves, flowers, and berries.

When to Harvest: Leaves: year round, flowers: when in bloom in late spring, berries: when dark and fully ripe in summer.

Uses: Poultice of leaves to treat wounds and sores. Tea made from flowers to treat cold and flu. Wine from berries.

Precautions: Imbibing the leaves, raw flowers or berries, too much tea, or poorly made wines can cause nausea and vomiting.

[The page contains a sketch of the bush, as well as closer sketches of the leaves, flowers and berries, and includes a sample of the leaves.]


Flashwort

Description: Yellow to orange mushrooms.

Location: Near the abandoned cabin.

Parts used: Spores.

When to Harvest: Year round after sprouting, before spores have been scattered.

Uses: Striking the spores causes a flash as well as smoke.

Precautions: Improper handling of the spores may cause minor burns.

[The page contains a sketch of a patch of mushrooms.]


Hostile Plants

Description: Bushes and shrubs moving about as if their roots were legs.

Location: In the caves under the cabin.

Parts used: None.

When to Harvest: Don't.

Uses: None.

Precautions: While not deadly, they are numerous and bothersome, fighting them is like fighting a briar patch.

[The page contains a sketch of bushes with their roots twisted together as leg like growths.]


Godsherb

Description: A small bush like plant with white to light blue flowers.

Location: On the hill leading up to the ruins.

Parts used: Roots, leaves, seeds, and stems.

When to Harvest: Roots in autumn, leaves in winter, seeds in spring, stems in summer.

Uses: Imbibing the roots can lessen fatigue, a poultice of leaves to lessen joint pain, a tea from the seeds cures flu, and stems may be imbibed to cure digestive issues.

Precautions: None.

[The page contains a sketch of the bush, with closer sketches of the leaves, flowers and stems, also includes a sample of the leaves.]


Sphagnum Moss

Description: A moss commonly seen growing on rocks and ruins.

Location: Near the pond around the cabin and around the ruins.

Parts used: Whole.

When to Harvest: Year round.

Uses: When cleaned and dried the moss makes a good dressing for wounds, absorbing large amounts of blood and promoting healing in the area.

Precautions: None.

[The page contains a sketch of moss growing on stone and the closer structure of the moss, as well as a sample of the moss.]

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Edelgarde Spades - Guide of Candlekeep and Deneirrath priest, still a Disney princess in the wrong tale.

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Who's Hiring?
by Caldur Pein
3rd Edition

Here you can find a comprehensive list of jobs available for adventurers of all skill levels. I hope this guide is helpful to those in need of work or struggling to get by. This book is a work in progress and can be revised by anyone.

There are many spots to fish and hunt. Fishing gear is sold in Ulgoth's Beard. One may find passage there from one of the ships harbored in the Docks district. Rocky Creek Caravan runs an extensive wagon network that can be found in the east Gate District.

///OOC NOTE: THIS BOOK CONTAINS SPOILERS///


BALDUR'S GATE - THE DOCKS

Stewart Hipp - Deliveries
Captain Flint - Missing crew
James Norton - Kill orc chief
Sergeant Schmidt - Deliveries
Merchant League - Elad - Find stolen goods
Merchant League - Elad - Collect dues (first week of the month only)
Roy McGriff - Kill rats (20 gp/ea)


BALDUR'S GATE - PALACE DISTRICT

Lady Adora - Find stolen Bracelet
White Mask Theatre - Handyman - Bats in the attic (max level 15)
Ragefasts' Tower - Collect wyvern egg
Wizard - Ectoplazm collection


BALDUR'S GATE - EAST DISTRICT

Nerisdove - Find stolen ring
Otto - Gather ore from Cloakwood mines
Kayde - Collect bear hides (30 gp/ea)
Jeanna of Ilmater - Gather berries
Maltz Shop - Maltz errand


BALDUR'S GATE - EAST GATE DISTRICT

Jorn - Collect wolf hides (25 gp/ea)
Farmer Thorn - Find pet rat


BALDUR'S GATE - GRAVEYARD

Mage beneath tent - Collect undead remains


HILTOP RUINS (S. OF BALDUR'S GATE)

Imprisoned mage - Deliver letter (max level 19)
Statue - Unsolveable riddle


FRIENDLY ARM INN

Cook - collect lizard egg (max level 19)


CANDLEKEEP

Book on bench near gate - Collect troll hides (payout varies)


THE TRADE WAY

Goblin Cave - Malcolm and Maddy keep losing a key.


BEREGOST

Jaspen McGee - Find Rager
Thunderhammer Smithy - Collect minotaur horns (75 gp/ea)
Risin Phoenix Inn - Cook - Collect mushrooms


NASHKEL

Hunter Harrow - Deliver supplies


WOODS OF SHARP TEETH

Grixen - Gather Ingredients


ULGOTH'S BEARD - ALONG THE CHIONTAR

Crazy old woman - steal a lunch, collect ingredients.


DURLAG'S TOWER, INTERIOR

Ghost - 3rd story - Solve a riddle


ULCASTER RUINS

If you like puzzles you might want to visit.

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Edelgarde Spades - Guide of Candlekeep and Deneirrath priest, still a Disney princess in the wrong tale.

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How to heal a Zone of Dead Magic – Volume I


Introdutction

Dear Reader,

I refer not to the rank of the Reader, but to you who reads this book. I wish to thank you, for caring enough to read it. This is not a mere tale or a way to give credit to those who risked their lives to help, restore the magic in the Dead Magic Zone of Baldur's Gate. Please read closely, as the tale also describes how the process goes.

May it help you and others who wish to do something similar some time in their life.

~Tiawyn Aleaneldeth~

Coming together

It was a calm evening, too calm even. Everything was silent in the City of Baldur's Gate. The citizens went home or to the local Taverns after another hard day. The guards walked the streets on their patrols. But even the magic was still silent in allover the city. Despite the fact that a voice was telling all mortals that the Time of Troubles was over and the gods had returned to their home. Even a new Mystra had just ascended, but in this place it still felt like she had died.

The members of the Temple of Mystra had gathered with their allies. A member of the City Watch came and even one of the Lords follwed him. They were discussing what to do about the situation and waited for a special guest. That guest came - and it was no other than Khelben „Blackstaff“ Arunsun himself, the chosen of Mystra. He did not wait for long to tell them why he came. He needed them all, to restore the Weave in Baldur's Gate. It had become a Zone of Dead magic, simply because of the recent events and the effects they had on the weave, it collapsed.

More than a meeting

They all thought it was a meeting to talk. But they were mistaken, as the Chosen already had a plan. But little they knew. Blackstaff already told them his plan. A strong burst of magic was needed for it. But how would they cause such? He asked them all what their abilities are, one by one.
"What are your capabilities with the Weave?" He asked, looking over them all quickly once before settling first on Lord Fenix. "None with the Art. I call upon the Power occasionally for blessings, however.", he said. „Arcane arts, also knowing high arcanas.“, Maraav called his arts. Just before Drinmar replied: „Umm, Generalist, master of ice, master of alchemy.“ The bardess Tiawyn said easily „Bard Magic“
"Then pray and prepare, if you can, for any dispel and healing magic you may possess." Khelben said to Fenix. His eyes then moved to Edelgarde. "Your capabilities are relatively well known to me, Guide. Prepare dispelling and healing magic as well." He nodded to the dwarf. "Prepare frost magics, both of evocation and conjuration." Next was Maraav he spoke to „I will need you to prepare some powerful necromancy spells. I suggest Horrid Wilting, for example. Your arcane fire may also be useful." He looked next to Tiawyn. "Bardess, your songs will be most important, to aid our concentration. If you can weave enchantment spells into the song, that will also be useful, if you know of any." Then he explained to the priestess. "Lady of Mystery Neela, you will stay here as a focus point." He also turned to the Tormtar Paladin Sean: "We may need physical strength as well, yes. A burst of magical energy is needed, and for that we may need to break some wands. Can you manage?" He nooded. „Or fail in the attempt.“ Gabriel, a young Knight of the Weave came later, but Khelben did not overlook him and asked him as well:“"Pray to her for holy evocations and transmutations, preferably those that effect a larger area."
Then he asked all of them: "Whom of you have some magical items, wands or otherwise, that you are able to sacrifice for this ordeal?" The intention was to cover all schools of magic, like it was asked for spells of each school as well. So all eight schools had to be covered by one item of each.

All of them stepped forward, offering swords, magical bowls and wands to sacrifice. In the end he explained the rest of the plan. "The plan is for us nine to go out past the borders of the hole in the Weave. There I will levitate us, so that we can come above the dome that is the hole. Just above the cloud layer, we will center above this temple. Because this hole is so substantial, it requires more than merely a wish spell or a miracle. And it will take time for the weave to find its way back in. Ours will be to lay paths for the threads, so that the Weave here can slowly regenerate, healing itself." Sean asked „Do we know the cause of its injury. . ? Pardon, do you. . .?“ Blackstaff answered: „It was merely the chaos of the world, and Mystra no longer holding it together. It unraveled." Then he asked if there's any more questions. Gabriel looked to Khelben "The ritual here, is it something you can teach us to replicate in other areas we might come across?" He anwered, obviously assuming they would learn from this experience: "Many in this room are also adventurers it stands to reason they will discover others in their travels."

Then Fenix followed: "One... about how dangerous will this be?" The answer was: "We shall be above the cloud layer, and there may be some flashes of light, but nothing that should cause much alarm. Probably not passing through the clouds. Danger is inevitable. But I can assure you I will not let you plummet." And Edelgarde muttered: „May the First Scribe preserve us.“ Maraav said „In worst case, we will at least meet Lady Mystra“ Tiawyn mused for a moment: „ "We may be part of the weave, i guess.“ Khelben would let Sean carry the magical items, and added: "It requires also Mystra's Silver Fire, which I carry. Smaller areas will be repairable by Wish or Miracle spells. Our Lady of Mysteries is a young goddess, having taken the place of the one that fell by the hand of Helm. She will need some time to learn her duties."" And Gabriel nodded: "Of course. It will be an honor to watch the silverfire be wielded.“ There were unspoken questions from the bardess, but they could wait till all was done. Visible was Lord Fenix, showing more and more regret to have follwed Sean: "It's a bit above my paygrade." Blackstaff added that it was Azuth who asked him to come and manage this matter. Neela said, that he was welcome to the temple as well.

Then everyone departed and Drinmar said:“The other dwarves will never believe me.“ while the old Mystran Paladin Fenwick went to get into his armor before they left. They walked out of the City, passsed by the Farmlands and greeted other adventureres they knew, possibly one last time. Some blinked at the procession, of Candlekeep, the Church of Mystra, Azure Arcanists, the City Watch and a Lord, some greeted them back.
((OOC Note: This Book also exists in CK in game. But sadly the title was too long, so it's in the Library under "Heal a Zone of Dead Magic Vol I and II.))
Last edited by Moonsong on Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tiawyn Aleaneldeth - Triune Mystic Bardess and Original elf

Bio - Look to the stars, and inside your heart

Seven Stars - Sales & Services - Save one soul - and you save the world

Tiawyn's Artbook - From the innermost.

Please keep drama 100 feet away from me at all times. Thanks.
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