Netherese

Netheril was the ancient, magocratic human empire of Faerûn, whose influence was felt across the Realms for thousands of years.

The Netherese were the ethnic group of dark-haired, fair-skinned humans that resided in the Netheril. Many cultures and ethnic groups in Faerûn were either descendants or absorbed into the Netherese people. Although they had humble roots as mere fishermen and farmers, the Netherese were introduced to the Art of the Arcane by the elves - before man quite knew what to think of elves - and came to harness magic power in ways that would shape Toril for generations.

The Netherese lived in a strict hierarchy for hundreds of years, split into the nobles of High Netheril, living in flying enclaves miles above Toril, and the commoners of Low Netheril settled in demesnes on the coast of the Narrow Sea. Few, if any pure-blodded Netherese exist in the 15th century, over a thousand years after the fall of the great Empire of Magic.

The High Netherese language of Loross is considered a dead language.
language_of_loross.png

§ Interactions
34 #TheDevilYouKnow #ADuergarPlot Azgul's patron, the archdevil Levistus, once again reached into his psyche. The speech was fragmented, as though the chardalyn dust in the air disrupted his concentration. "There's no mistake. I taste his acrid vileness permeating the very smoke. Such ego! End his foothold in the North, and I will deliver you to power. To the doorstep of the Netherese." As the chardalyn smoke filled his lungs, he felt his connection weaken. And, for now, silence.
33 #ADuergarPlot #TheDevilYouKnow As Azgul grasped for footing, he felt a familiar darkness overcome him. His mind was no longer at the cavern's waterfall, but in the icy waters of Stygia, the fifth level of the Nine Hell, as his patron Levistus spoke directly to his mind. "Dear Azgul, so desperate for life. Let's reconnect, shall we? I've been watching you these last months. Have these northern lands and Netherese ruins delighted your interest? I hope they have. You may thank me later for leading you north... for sending you to Icewind Dale. Oh. Were you not aware? Of course it was I, the prince of frost and the shepherd of the lost, who guided you through the darkness. You have been up to so much since then, dear Azgul. Quite the hero you've become. Did you think you were fooling me, cutting your soul into thirds? It should interest you that one has died and thus two of you remain. But I digress, for it seems your current predicament lies in dire straits. Letting these icy waters carry you to your doom seems to be such a tragedy. The soul is yet ripe for the taking! While a lesser devil would let nature run its course, I am far too genteel to see a man of your stature drown so pathetically. So you will live, for today. But this gambit of mine will prove useful, yes. You see this duergar stronghold you near? I smell his rancid stench about it. I demand you end the duergar warlock within. Destroy his petulant mongrel."
26 #battle #TheLostSpire Departing from Revel's End, the party set a course towards the Netherese Lost Spire that had been unearthed by Dzaan prior to his execution. Along the way, the party encountered a skirmish between chardalyn berserkers and a pair of Reghed Nomads from the Tribe of the Bear. The berserkers had lost their minds to chardalyn corruption. Azgul began feeling his stone's perturbing presence, as well, and though he was capable of parting with the stone, he nevertheless kept it. As the parties clashed, black ice javelins exploded with shatter magic. The two Reghedsmen died in battle while the final berserker vanished in a blue flame as he adjusted a sapphire blue ring on his finger.
24 #Prisoner237 #RevelsEnd As the prison entered lockdown, the party took the opportunity to talk to Vaelish Gant directly. Azgul got the pompous wizard to talk about his misdeeds - how he masked himself as a merchant and served as Duvessa Shane's aide in Bryn Shander before he tried to overthrow the local government. He was not only imprisoned because of this stunt, but the Arcane Brotherhood had turned their back on him as well. Vaelish still insisted he would've been great for Ten Towns. The best, even. Regardless, Vaelish had learned a thing or two in his time in the north. First, ten years back Auril had a Chosen, a Reghed woman named Hedrun who was dubbed as the Ice Witch. Hedrun had amassed chardalyn weaponry and converted barbarians into a frenzied cult to attack Ten Towns and cow its peoples into worship of Auril. Adventurers had thwarted her at her tower of black ice near the sea Second, during this time Vaelish's study of Hedrun and Auril's cults revealed the presence of a frozen waterfall at the Reghed Glacier. The frozen fall marked the entrance into the depths and a passage to the Netherese ruins of Ythryn.
23 #RevelsEnd #Prisoner237 #Prisoner13 While mulling over options, Fern revealed that she had business at Revel's End. She had been hired by a clan from the Dwarven Valley to open a magically sealed vault. The only known key rested with a dangerous associate of the dwarves, Prisoner 13, whose true name was known to a few as Korra Glintstone. The party agreed to delay adventuring on Angajuk to head to the famed prison, given that another prisoner, Vaelish Gant, could be of use to them. Vaelish, they recalled, was a disgraced Arcane Brotherhood member. Vellynne wished to pry information out of him about a possible entrance to the Netherese city of Ythryn but had been rejected a meeting given her wizarding affiliation.
21 #TheGoldenDawn #TheForgottenRealm Stopping in Bryn Shander, the party made their way to the Temple of the Morninglord. Here they ran into Perilou, the acolyte of Yolanda they rescued from Kelvin's Cairn. She had been studying in service of the priestess Mishann, who was in prayer and who the party did not speak with. After a bit of persuasion about the gnomish artisan Copper, Perilou relented and brought them to the grouch's lodgings in the attic. Copper was dressed in a furry bear suit, had the deepest possible voice, and was oscillating varyingly between grousing and sobbing when pressed about Macreadus. He explained that the Summer Star was a tiny model of a Netherese Mythallar, a weave conduit and engine that powered their magic cities. Macreadus had become obsessed with the idea of controlling the weather to hush the Endless Winter, despite Copper's protest. The Summer Star's core was consecrated chardalyn but had lost its charge with use. Copper admitted he may be able to fix and recharge it with a shiny diamond, but he feared how you dare challenge the gods with such a device.
20 #TheForgottenRealm #ADuergarPlot #TheRimeoftheFrostmaiden Avarice was not all about threats, though. The prodigal wizard was keen to note the party's strength. Perhaps they had aligning, if not similar, goals: She too was after the High Netherese magicks buried in the fallen city of Ythryn; the duergar threat to Ten Towns posed a thorn in her expedition; and Auril's worsening winter made a hostile landscape even less navigable to her pursuits.
17 #TheForgottenRealm #Prisoner237 That night the party took to some downtime at the White Lady Inn, Crank gambled, Oona armwreslted, and the crew chatted up the locals. Vellynne Harpell, who had been staying in Easthaven was present. She humored the party's questions regarding the Arcane Brotherhood, Chardalyn, and Netherese magics. In short, she was investigating the presence of a lost Netherese city and wanted to beat her colleagues to the find. She had one lead that she shared: A disgraced member of the Arcane Brotherhood and prisoner at Revel's End, the wizard named Vaelish Gant. Vellynne was willing to hire the party to extract information from Vaelish, given that she herself was not welcomed at the prison.
10 #TheGoldenDawn The party, stunned by Tetro's demise, resolved to uncover the mysteries of the Black Cabin. Oona swept some turtle ash into a leather pouch as a remembrance. The party discovered blueprints of what is called a Summer Star, a reproduction of an ancient Netherese device to control the weather. The blueprints and runic scrawlings seemed to be the work of a madman obsessed with the Summer Star. They found a scroll sent to the sage by Copper. The scroll confirmed the man to be Macreadus, detailing his maddening obsession as well as Copper's opinion that the device required three of something for stability, not two.