Anphillia Storyline
From Anphillia
Anphillia Pre-History
Eons ago Lord Ao, god of gods created the universe and everything which lies within.
After a period of timeless nothingness two beings formed from the void. The twin goddesses of darkness and light, Shar and Selûne respectively, soon joined forces and fashioned a world from the ether. This material embodiment of the Earthmother was rocky and barren but contained great power.
Selûne, wishing to warm the planet and nurture life on its surface, summoned the Yellow God into being. Outraged at her sister’s affront, Shar summoned the Stormstar to destroy the sun god and keep Toril cold to fuel her own dark powers. As the two goddesses and their lieutenants battled across the cosmos, other powers formed from the void to aid one side or the other. Among the newcomers were the Rotting God, the Reaver, and Lady Doom.
The conflict came to an end when Selûne separated a chunk of divine essence from herself and hurled it at her dark sister. Upon striking Shar, the goddess Mystryl was formed composed of both light and dark magic. Mystryl forced an uneasy truce among the powers allowing life to quickly flourish on the Toril.
~ Source: A Grand History of the Forgotten Realms by Brian R. James
During the tempest which created the world, great volcanoes erupted across the planet and numerous islands were formed as many of the volcanoes rose out of the ocean and spewed forth countless tonnes of lava. Several such volcano’s created an lonesome island in the great watery expanse which became known as the trackless sea. This island is today called Anphillia.
This island still bears the marks of its fiery creators, several weather smoothed mountains strike high into the sky and as from 1374DR the largest of these mountains, Mount Tarnor1 lays host to the island’s only Blue Dragon, Taluk2
1 - The name Mount Tarnor is derived from the elven phrase taurn orod meaning high mountain 2 - Taluk’s name is also elven in nature, tal = city and luk =to swallow.
c. -37000DR during Toril’s most recent ice age, much of the trackless sea was covered by an enormous glacier which stretched for thousands of miles and encompassed Anphillia. It was during this time that Anphillia received it’s first humanoid inhabitants in the form of giants, orcs, trolls and the like.
As this ice age came to an end, Anphillia once again found itself isolated in the ocean and the creatures that had taken residence on the isle dominated the landscape. The island was not found again by humanoids for several dozen millennia.
It was around -7600DR, following the fall of the Telantiwar Drow empire that Anphillia was discovered by its first civilised race through a connection to the underdark deep below Mount Tarnor. Drow scout parties visited Anphillia noting the rich ore and mineral deposits, untouched since the formation of the island.
The Drow did not stay to form a city however, considering the underdark area under the isle to be too readily accessible from the surface.
Several years after the Drow departed, rumor reached the eleven council of Illefarn of this remote isle many leagues west of Aelinthaldaar. A portal between the two lands was established and this isle was seen as a perfect place to imprison the empire's most fearsome captured foes. As the centuries passed the existence of the island fell from both Drow and Illefarn common knowledge, but the myth remained of a distant island rich in untapped resources that the Drow would one day claim.
In 1339, some 20 years before Hestus Anphil discovered Anphillia, the isle itself was still dominated by hostile humanoids, most notably the Rauts and Red Tribe Orcs.
The Red Tribe controlled much of the open plains and lush lowlands of the west, while the rauts controlled the Grand Forest, allowing their ogre kinsmen the much smaller(and much more dangerous) Loriette Forest. The rauts eventually sought expansion, and began migrating into the red tribe's territories. The red tribe was obviously furious with the encroachment, and sent out a force to destroy the rauts. Heavily outnumbered, the small group of rauts sent from the forest were no match for the red tribe. Word of this reached the Raut leader, Memnol, and he gathered much of his force to wipe the red tribe from the face of Toril.
The Rauts cut a swath through the red tribe, decimating their ranks and suffering almost no losses. The battle was thought to be lost for the red tribe until a young orc warrior named Khaz'grin lured the force of Rauts into a large, natural cave under the guise of a feigned retreat. Once inside the caves, many of the orcs scattered through the tunnels and found their way to the surface, though those left inside were quickly cut down by the rauts. Khaz'grin and his allies then collapsed the tunnels, burying Warlord Memnol and most of his force alive.
After the conflict, the few remaining Rauts were either killed or fled back to the safety of the forest. The Red Tribe, nearly destroyed by the Rauts, gathered their forces and settled to the northeast
Anphillia II - Recent History
Our story begins shortly after the infamous 'Time of Troubles' with a man named Hestus Anphil in the city of Waterdeep. Hestus, a wealthy merchant noble held in high regard by the Lords of the City, was charged to revive the city's fortunes through the means of leading an expedition in search of a rumored continent far to the west of the city over treacherous seas.
Hestus departed Waterdeep in the spring of the year 1359 with a trio of ships led by the city flagship 'Lady Hawkwinter '. After many moons on the ocean they came to an island; the three ships weighed anchor in deep water upon the southern edge of the island and proceeded to explore. The trip was difficult, with thick brush covering many parts and untamed monsters roaming free. However, even in their short trip they found many interesting artifacts and mineral deposits.
Although he soon realized it was no continent, Hestus decided that this resource rich isle was just what he was looking for, Hestus ordered the construction of a small port at the spot where the expedition had initially landed island upon the southern coast and proceeded to explore the rest of the isle finding many interesting herbs, minerals and ores scattered around the isle. The newly found colony is named Ranzington in honor of his son, Ranzing.
At the end of the year, Hestus sailed two ships to return to Waterdeep with a collection of rare furs, hides, spices and treasures that have been found on the island, leaving his son, Ranzing, in charge in Ranzington, so they could report their findings.
A detachment of the city guard was sent, along with many prisoners to be used as miners. The captain of this regiment was Gord MacCleaven, a noble warrior whose father had also served Lord Piergeiron, and in whom the Lord had great trust. MacCleaven was a good man in their eyes: wise, strong, and dutiful. They believed that no one was more capable of this task than he was. MacCleaven appointed one of the more respected of the prisoners, a dwarf by the name of Gredius Thundarmane, to oversee the mining and construction operations when they arrived.
The flotilla of Waterdahavian navy and merchant vessels sailed the long voyage back to Anphillia. Their orders were to complete the setup of a port there, and begin harvesting the treasures of the land; meanwhile, the Lords would send boats periodically to bring the gathered treasure back to the mainland.
Shortly after arrival in Anphillia, Hestus and his son, uncomfortable with the presence of convicts being used as slaves within the city, came to an agreement with MacCleaven. MacCleaven accepted the provision of substantial supplies in exchange for the regiment and prisoners to set-up camp some distance northwest from the port, which was eventually named Fort Cleaven.
Shipments of ore, gold and valuable minerals were regularly sent back to the mainland, much to the glee of the Waterdahavian Lords. The rumors, of course, were also shipped back. The Lords of Waterdeep believed they had succeeded in keeping the discovery of Anphillia a secret, so that nearby merchant cities, such as Amn and Baldur’s Gate, will not try to compete for what riches Anphillia might contain. However one of the Lord's servants unknowingly called upon the help of a Drow, who would disguise himself in order to trade in the city. This Drow learned of the rumors and the general location of the island, promptly returning with the news to his House .
The Drow had their own ancient knowledge of such a place, but this piqued their interest. Eventually two Drow houses, Tarik and Kazar, left for the island to find and take the island for their own in an attempt to gain Lloth’s favor. The voyage would take several years, traveling through the Underdark in an attempt to locate it.
During the year of 1362, MacCleaven noticed a gradual change in behavior of Gredius. For two long years, Gredius oversaw the works and reported to MacCleaven, albeit against his desire to do so. The slaves were treated harshly by MacCleaven's men, under the pretence that they had all been found guilty and deserved little better. After the attacks by the Rauts and the Red Tribe, Gredius and his fellow convicts saw an opportunity to break free. News of this plot leaked to MacCleaven, and concerned that Gredius could no longer be trusted, he appointed a promising young guard Lieutenant, Avris Galeint, to take over from Gredius in looking after the mining operation.
Gredius was livid with the appointment of a new mining operations commander and growing increasingly frustrated with the great riches of the island sent back to the mainland while he and his men received nothing. With the promises of great riches and freedom for all, he convinced the prisoners to rise against MacCleaven’s army and earn the freedom they rightfully deserve.
While mining, some within the mine would instead craft, creating weapons and armor for the battle ahead. They would hide them in the deepest recesses of the caves at night for fear MacCleaven’s militia might find them.
In the final months of 1363, the Drow arrived at Anphillia and set-up their lair deep under the roots of the Anphillian mountains. The Kazar set about locating ancient treasures on the island. They found several locations, which seemed to have strong magic, and created golems to excavate these sites. Meanwhile, the Tarik sent out covert scouting parties at night to determine the surfacer’s strength and locations. The surfacers remained un-aware of the Drow presence on the isle for almost a decade until the summer of 1373.
Gredius continued to plot with the convicts and received word of a fellow clan from his home of Mithral Hall setting up a camp named 'Fellkeep' that he could escape to. To his surprise, Avris Galeint spoke with Gredius in support of releasing the convicts in 1365, and a line of communication was established between Rhun Fellhammer and Gredius. Finally, one frigid spring morning of 1366, Gredius staged an early morning revolt against MacCleaven with the assistance of the dwarf clan, Fellkeep, who staged a diversionary raid against Fort Cleaven. Avris insisted that they stay and fight, slaughtering the people that had kept them prisoners for so long, but Gredius had no interest in slaying them. The slaves were freed, and they marched with Fellkeep to the northeast of Anphillia as Avris had suggested previously. Dismayed by their course of action, Avris fled into the mountains, bearing his obsidian armor where he was last seen.
After removing an outsourced Raut Tribe from its locale, Gredius was appointed the head of the new fort, which they named'Axfell' as a symbol of their ongoing fight for freedom. Axfell and the Fellkeep clan then proclaimed themselves bastions of independence from Waterdeep on Anphillia with Gredius Thundarmane as their general. They were determined never to become prisoners again and, instead, to live like kings in their new home.
Two years then passed without incident, as MacCleaven mistakenly believed the liberated slaves had left Anphillia for good. In 1368, this belief was turned on its head when Cleaven scouts discovered an established Fort (Axfell) at the far side of the isle. Skirmishes between opposing Cleaven and Axfell forces ensued, the Axfell were outmatched in numbers but fought valiantly nonetheless. Eventually in 1369, Gredius decided to end his guerilla tactics and deploy the main Axfell force for open battle upon the Greenfields plains.
As the armies squared up at either end of the battlefield, it became obvious that the outlook looked bleak for a considerably outnumbered Axfell. MacCleaven personally led the first charge against the Axfell lines. In less than a minute after the first sword found its mark, a black shadow had descended upon the battlefield...
North upon the battlefield, a familiar figure clad in all in black watched as the battle ensued. This was the moment he had waited for so long, corpses for his army. As blood was spilt onto the battlefield, the land beneath them slowly began to wilt. The corpses of the fallen rose from the ground and turned the blades on their living comrades. It was not long before both sides were overwhelmed with reanimated soldiers. Both sides blamed the other for such a treacherous act of shame, but as the retreat signal was sounded, Avris the Black was spotted to the north. But not all seemed right. He was surrounded by an unholy aura and his skin was deathly white as if he were no longer living but neither dead as well. Nothing could be done about the traitorous fiend, and so Cleaven fled to their gates and Axfell back into the mountains.
Gredius and MacClaven alike ordered a state of emergency, sealing their gates shut, letting no soldiers in or out. Some soldiers could not bear to leave their fallen comrades on the battlefield, and so against the orders of their captain, they returned back to Greenfield. The field reeked of death and decay – no crows nor vultures to circle the sky in search of food, no patch of green grass to be seen. All that was missing was the bodies of their comrades. Some have even claimed to see the spirits of the fallen still engaged in a never-ending battle with one another, while other spirits wander aimlessly across the battlefield without a purpose. Spirit Shamans came to ease the souls into rest, and druids tended to the wilted land, but to no avail, they failed. And so, they called the land Greenfield no more, but a more fitting name to commemorate the fallen men: the Fields of Woe.
Known necromancers of both forts were chained and shackled and even executed for suspicion of treason. Those who practiced the art of necromancy kept their art a secret from the others in fear of suffering the same fate. The gates were reopened, but each soldier was forbidden to travel north of the Fields of Woe to protect them from (un)death.
Two years more years passed and no signs of Avris or his undead minions were spotted again, but not all was well. Believing Axfell was weak from the heavy defeat upon the Fields of Woe, both Drow houses launched a surprise attack upon Fort Axfell in the dead of night. However the Drow house of Kazar were betrayed by the Tarik and slaughtered. Axfell, not as weak as the Drow expected, heavily defeated the Tarik and captured several Drow as slaves. Only a handful of Drow from the hundreds that attacked managed to escape back to the mountains.
As the months roll by, skirmishes and tension between the two forts began to resume, but neither fort can forget the events that occurred at the Fields of Woe. Outposts from both forts were erected on the Fields of Woe to help fend off the enemy and help warn the forts of any movements from the north.
In 1374, the Great Blue Wyrm, Taluk, arrived on the island and settled on a high mountainside. Less than a month after arrival, the great wyrm is disturbed by an exploration party from Ranzington. Taluk questions then devours the explorers and descends upon Port Ranzington laying waste to the western side of the town, two moored ships and several establishments on the promenade. The blue dragon threatens more death and destruction if he is disturbed again. This infamous day is locally referred to as 'The day of terror'.
And so as the winter approaches and a deathly chill settles on the island. Could it be only the superstition of weary soldiers, or may it be a sign of things to come?
Original Anphillia Origins story by Vico, adapted by the Anphillia Team for Anphillia II.
