en't fearful enough to do more than send an adventuring
party or two into the area to investigate.
In Damara, the usurper King Yarin Frostmantle sits
on the throne of the Dragon bane dynasty, while his peo-
ple complain about his tyranny and the growing threat
from demons across the country. In Narfell, skilled rid-
ers and archers hunt, raid, and are gradually reclaiming
their heritage as a great nation of mages who treated
with devils. The Warlock Knights of Vaasa threaten to
break the bounds of their nation and invade Damara,
the Moonsea, or both, while some of its members sus-
piciously eye the ominously silent Castle P erilous, per -
haps planning another excursion to the place. The tiny
nation of Sossal trades with its neighbors, but shares
little of itself with the wider world.
The Dale/ands. The humans who call the Dalelands
home want nothing more than lives untroubled by the
concerns of larger nations. They take great pride in
their pe aceful coexistence with the elves of Cormanthor,
and in their ability to remain largely s elf-sufficient and
autonomous even when their home land was used as a
battlefield by Cormyr, Netheril, S embia, and Myth Dran-
nor in the recent conflicts. Featherdale and Tasseldale
have reasserted their indepe ndence since the end of the
war, and rejoined Archendale, Battleda le, Daggerda le,
Deepingda le, Harrowdale, Mis tl edale, S cardale, and
Shadowdale on the Dales Council. The High Da le did
the same shortly afterward.
Dalesfolk are mistrustful of anyone unwilling to sac-
rifice for the common good, but those who put in good
work-whether in defense or labor-are accepted as
equals, entitled to share in the rewards from their toil.
The Horde/ands. Formerly known as the Endles s
Wastes, this land has gained a new name among
Faerunia ns, s tyled after the vas t Tuigan horde that roared
out of the east a nd rode agains t Faerun more than a
century ago. After these tribesfolk were defeated, some
of the fierce, mounted warriors who survived the conflict
gathered to form the small nation ofYalmunnaha r. Some
others cling to the old ways, mas tering the sword and the
bow a nd riding across the steppes on their short-legged
horses. Brave merchants still traverse the Golden Way
to and from Kara-Tur, but those who return from such a
voya ge are fewer than they once wer e.
lmpiltur. With the rising of the water s of the S ea of
Fallen Stars, some of Impiltur's wealth and influence is
returning, leading to whi s pe rs among the populace th at
a lo st king of the line of old will rise up to lift Impiltur
out of its woes and back to the great nation it once was.
Impiltur is a nation of huma ns with pockets of
dwarves a nd halflings among its populace. Whe re once
a long royal line sat its throne and ruled over a unified
kingdom, now a Gra nd Council s its around a table and
struggles to combat the pres ence of demons, and demon
worship, within the nation's border s.
The Moonsea. The s hore s of th e Moonse a have long
been home to cities that rise swiftly, r elying on vigor-
ous trade and gathering powerful me rcenaries to their
banners, only to ove rextend the mselves and fall-some-
times crumbling over time, and sometimes dropping
like stones from the sky.
CHAPTER 1 I WELCOME TO THE REALMSNow tha t Ne theril and Myth Drannor have fallen,
those two great powers can no longer exert their in-
fluence over th e Moonsea , allowing the city of Hills far
to spre ad its wings and eye southward expans ion, and
Mulmaster to once aga in further th e worship of Bane.Phlan, Teshwave, Thentia, and Voonla r-all Moonsea
cities where greater powers jockeyed for influence-now
work to find their own id e ntities before an unchecked or
malevolent r ealm swallows them , one by one.
This region is also home to the ruins of the Citadel of
the Raven and Zhe ntil Keep, former s trongholds of the
Zhentarim, which the Black Network s hows occasional
inte rest in restoring.
Mulhorand. Since the Chosen of the gods began to
appear in the las t f ew years, Mulhorand has become
a la nd transformed. Its deities m a nifested fully in the
forms of s ome of their descendants, and swiftly rallied
the Mulan to overthrow the Imaska ri. Aid ed by the
mighty wizard Nezram, known a s the World-Walke r,
the Mulhorandi overthrew the ruler s of High Imaskar,
who fled into the Plains of Purple Dust or to extra planar
safeholds.
When the upheaval ended and the Chosen began to
disappear, the gods of Mulhorand remaine d to rule
their people, focusing the ir a ttention on defending the ir
restored homela nd to keep th e wa r in Unther a nd Ty-
manther from s pilling over its borders. For the first time
in centuries, the people in Mulhorand are free, with the
gods declaring that slavery shall no longer be practiced
among the Mulan s ince their return.
Rashemen. A harsh, cold land filled with hardy folk,
Rasheme n is a fiercely traditiona l nation. It is ruled
by its Iron Lord, Mangan Uruk, who s peaks for th e
powe r behind the throne: the Wychlaran, the society
of masked witches that determine Ras hemen's course.
These witches wield great powers tie d to the land and
its magic and guard aga ins t evil fey and ve ngeful spirits.
A small number of male spellcasters, known as the Old
Ones, create magic ite ms and weave arcane rituals for
the witches. Rashemi witches rever e the Three, a trium-
virate of goddesses they call Bha lla (the Den Mother),
Khelliara (the Forest Ma id en), and the Hidden One.
Over the centuries, schola rs in other l a nds have specu-
lated that thes e de ities might be faces of Chaunte a , Miel-
ikki, and Mystra, respectively.
The nation's warriors are a fierce, s toic lot, famed for
the ir stre ngth , endurance, and stubbornness in battle.
Rash em en is a long-s ta nding ene my of Thay, and has
often thwarted that nation's a mbitions to rule Faerun.
Little pl e ases a Ras he mi wa rrior more tha n the chance
to s trike down a Red Wizard in battle.
Sembia. Following a period of s ubjugation a t the
ha nds of Netheril, S embia is already on its way to
becoming th e economic power it was in prior years.
Although r elations are cool with th e Da les and Cormyr
following the most recent wa r, S embia n merchants a re
quick to dis miss previous conflicts as the work of the
Neth er ese, and remind their forme r trading partners of
th e long and mutually profitabl e r elations hips they previ-
ously enjoyed. To prove its good inte ntions, S embia has
"allowe d" Featherdale and Tasseldale to regain their in-
de pendence, even though S embia n investors had owned