Tablets in Dark Alliance are a type of Collectable. Tablets can be found throughouts Missions and their main objective is to provide Lore and context, by telling stories or past events.
All Collectables in Dark Alliance
All Tablets in Dark Alliance
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Bryn Shander is the economic and civic centre of Ten-Towns, where merchants from the south come to trade for knucklehead trout, mead, and dwarven steel, and the spokespeople of the town gather to discuss policies and treaties. It is the only one of the towns not on the shore of a lake, and the easiest to reach from the south. The town grew around a single but that was founded as a trading post by a half-elven merchant named Rendaril. Rendaril's Emporium is now the largest building in town, facing onto the central market, and still run by its founder. The Emporium buys trade goods from the people of Ten-Towns to sell to southern merchants, and imports sundries and luxuries from the south to sell to the locals. Although the townsfolk can occasionally get a better price by dealing directly with the merchants, Rendaril provides convenience by being open all year. Rendaril also buys and sells in large enough quantities that his prices are often as good as direct from a trader. |
A Feast for all Cretins |
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During the wars to drive the goblins, orcs, and verbeeg from Dwarven Valley, a young warrior rose to prominence among the dwarves. He was styled Bruenor Battlehammer, and was a scion of the kings of the lost dwarven homeland, yet he refused to claim his birthright through any means other than merit. Bruenor fought alongside the common soldiers, earning their support and respect, and rose to ever greater positions of authority, but still he declined to claim his ancestral crown. Then the Orc King Irontusk organized the tribes that had been broken and driven from the valley, uniting them for the largest assault the dwarven settlement had faced since its founding Irontusk besieged Clan Battlehammer with twenty times the number of warriors as the defenders could muster. Rather than withstand a potentially long siege, Bruenor Battlehammer sallied with a small force and assaulted the Orc king's position. He slew Irontusk, shouting "Who is your king now?" The orcs fell into disarray, and returned to fighting among themselves, but the dwarves cried their own answer "Bruenor Battlehammer!" and thus did he finally claim his birthright. |
A Feast for all Cretins |
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The exploits of the frost giant hero, Hjurnur, are celebrated in songs and poems, although these days they are only popular among his own kind. The Saga of the Dragon Dueller is the oldest of these songs, the second in a series of twelve sagas about Hjurgen and his descendants, the remainder of which are lost to time. Hjurnur fought against dragons during the Thousand Years War, and is credited with many notable deeds, and with slaying many of our ancient enemies. He once killed an adult blue dragon with a single blow of his axe, and legend tells how he broke the spine of a black dragon over his knee. His final battle was against an ancient gold dragon general - a destroyer of giant cities. Hjurnur led the giant into a deep and narrow pit he made to limit the dragon's mobility. There they fought. But the dragon called upon its twelve lieutenants, and turned the trap on Hjurnur, for there was not escape. Still, this was Hjurnur Dragonslayer, and he slew them as they came. But the pit had no cracks for the dragons' blood to drain, and after all thirteen were slain, Hjurnur drown in their blood. |
A Feast for all Cretins |
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The sorcerer Akar Kessell uncovered Crenshinibon and used its power to achieve his own twisted goals. For five years he plotted and schemed in Cryshal Tirith in the mountains, preparing to make war on Icewind Dale. His ultimate goal is unknown, as he was defeated in his attempt to conquer Bryn Shander. Many questions remain unanswered about Kessell. He seems to have been very secretive in his rise to power, as there is nothing written of his life prior to finding the Shard. It seems unlikely that he found Crenshinibon by chance, but it is possible. It is more likely that he sought the artifact, perhaps having read of Kelvin's reign and subsequent fall. If so, it is likely that he had access to the lore of the Stone Giants, so surely we would have learned of him. The third possibility is that the Shard sought out Akar Kessell. If so, Crenshinibon must have believed that the mage was the ideal person to wield its power, which seems to have been an error. Perhaps the Shard chose Kessell as part of a more complex long-term plan. |
Designs of the Duergar |
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When Kessell gathered his army in preparation for his invasion of Ten-Towns, the verbeeg joined him in droves. The verbeeg were quite eager to fight for Kessell. Some of the outlying goblin tribes may have even been brought to Kessell by the verbeeg who lived among them through either coercion or threat of force. It may be that verbeeg are more susceptible to Crenshinibon's power of domination, but it seems more likely that they joined Kessell by choice. Their ancestors fought beside Kelvin, who also carried Crenshinibon, so they may have seen this as an opportunity to relive their past glory, or a second chance to improve their status in the world. Alternatively, they may have hoped that Kessell would help them exact vengeance on the smallfolk who displaced them from the lakes and from Dwarven Valley. Kessell used the verbeeg as scouts as he prepared for his assault on Ten-Towns, but made less use of them in the actual attack. Perhaps he held them in reserve, but only a small number of verbeeg were present at the siege of Bryn Shander, and their numbers seem undiminished in the aftermath of Kessell's war. |
Designs of the Duergar |
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The Dwarven Valley had been home to many animals and small folk before the dwarves arrived. Yeti and crag cats were a danger to the settlers, but not an organized one. Goblins and orcs presented a greater threat, and the growing dwarven stronghold suffered many raids and assaults at their hands. Perhaps the greatest threat was from my lesser cousins, the verbeeg, who developed a particular taste for dwarven flesh, and treated Clan Battlehammer's stronghold as their own personal larder! The dwarves were steadfast in the defense of their new home, building fortifications against their numerous enemies, and eventually leading counter-raids against them. After many battles and trials, the dwarves eventually drove out or destroyed first the goblins, then the orcs, and finally the verbeeg. Now the savage tribes populate the hills around the valley, living among the crag cats and yeti, watching for opportunities to invade the dwarves' territory, but seldom organizing themselves enough to present a true threat to the dwarves. |
Designs of the Duergar |
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The verbeeg enjoy a good fight, and to their way of thinking, a good fight involves tricks and treachery. It is foolish to assume that the verbeeg will fight honourably or even predictably, although they do have a number of tricksthatthey currently favour. Verbeeg are surprisingly mobile, and use their speed and bulk to slam into smaller opponents, or to shove them around. They also use harpoons and large traps to limit their opponents' ability to maneuver. The traps keep their enemies stuck where they are, and the harpoons keep them close to the verbeeg, and they can even reel in enemies from a distance. These particular tactics are less effective against larger opponents, such as true giants, but quite useful against the smallfolk, their main prey. The verbeeg have also adapted a side effect of their diverse diet to combat. Since they will eat almost anything, they regurgitate whatever they are unable to digest. Verbeeg are known to intentionally vomit up the contents of their stomachs onto their opponents, burning them with caustic mess that they produce. |
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The settlers in Icewind Dale are industrious in their search for new resources, and since fishing for knucklehead trout is limited to the warmer seasons, they have always looked for opportunities that can be exploited in the colder seasons. There are not many valuable mineral resources outside of Dwarven Valley, but some of the first fisherfolk on Maer Dualdon began mining tin east of the lake. They discovered valuable tourmaline mixed in with the ore, and realized that they had a valuable secondary income. The town of Termalaine grew near the mine, and I have always wondered at the similarity between the name of the town and the name of the gem; is it mere coincidence, or miscommunication of spelling or accent? As relations between the citizens of Ten-Towns and the dwarves of Clan Battlehammer improved, the townsfolk asked the dwarves to assist in expanding their mining operations. This was a benefit to both the townsfolk and the dwarves, although it almost led to disaster. |
Designs of the Duergar |
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One of the greatest wonders of Ostoria was Vonindod, the titan of death. Vonindod was a magical construct three times as tall as a titan, almost as tall as Annam himself. Vonindod was crafted entirely of adamantine, with massive rubies for eyes. The horns on his helmet were long enough to pierce through the body of a dragon, and his sword could cleave a mountaintop. Vonindod fought against the dragons for most of the Thousand Years War, and slew more wyrms than even the mighty Hjurnur. Vonindod's weakness was that he was earthbound, so dragons could avoid him if they flew above his considerable reach. He was highly effective in raids on dragons' lairs, but he travelled slowly. In the later half of the war Vonindod was deployed to defend the cities of the north, as the dragons could not attack without coming within reach of his sword. He sustained significant damage during the war, and it became increasingly difficult to repair him. When the war finally ended, Vonindod was disassembled, and the pieces were shared among the surviving giant cities. |
The Verbeeg Jamboree |
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The dwarves that had settled into the valley, expanded and improved it to suit their needs and wishes. They dug new passages, both to provide more space and in search of ore and other buried resources. By chance, they discovered the remnants of Surtr's Crucible, the great forge of the buried city of Cindrheim. Unable to comprehend the scale of the forge or the skill of the Ostorian fire giants, the dwarves mistook it for a natural formation. In the dwarves' defense, the original forge had been crafted so finely as to leave no sign of having been worked by hammer or chisel, and had lain buried for millennia after destruction of Cindrheim. The dwarves rerouted the lava streams to rekindle the forge, bringing the sound of ringing hammers and roaring fires back to the valley. They found rich veins of iron to smelt, not knowing that much of it was the remains of the fire giant's tools and workshops. Thus the dwarves gained a fortuitous advantage in their struggle to build a new home. |
The Verbeeg Jamboree |
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I have never set one foot on the ice of the Sea of Moving Ice, no matter the season. A plain of shifting, unpredictably-solid frozen water is no place fora Stone Giant, for nimble though we are, we are a people of the earth, of the stability and consistency of the bedrock of Icewind Dale. The sagas of Skald Fjellafar of Svardborg are sung far and wide, recording centuries' of victories and challenges of life on the ice. Our frost giant kin roam the pack ice in winter, hunting seal and walrus, and when the ice loosens in summer, they utilize ships for hunting narwhals, dragon turtles and the rare, gargantuan plesiosaurs. Below the ice is where the giants' prey feed on the bountiful cod, sculpin and ice shrimp that populate the depths. Missing from Fjellafar's lore is mention of rumored great shoreline changes, rumors from long ago, concentrated on the steep cliffs that bank some portions of the Sea. The Reghed glacier's incremental movements, responsible for many features in Icewind Dale, could not have created sheer rock faces. Could it be another consequence of Kelvin and Tempus' battle? |
The Verbeeg Jamboree |
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The first settlers of the hunting and fishing camps that would eventually become Ten-Towns struggled to survive in the harsh, cold wilderness of Icewind Dale. They did not travel with the reindeer as the Reghed barbarians did, instead building permanent homes along the shores of the lakes. Fishing those lakes started as a simple means of providing food for themselves and their families, and they went to great lengths to make the maximum use of every resource they had. The fatty knucklehead trout proved a valuable source of oil for their lanterns, and their bones could be used for sewing needles. Their th ick skull-bone had no immediate use, so the fishermen began carving images into the ivory-like blocks to allay their boredom. They called this art "scrimshaw," and offered their best pieces for sale to the southern traders. In a surprising turn of events. Knucklehead ivory became a much-sought luxury resource in the south, fuelling a rush of new settlers seeking their fortune in the scrimshaw trade. Ten-Towns expanded quickly, with immigrants from many vaned regions of the south. |
The Goblin Tower |
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Despite being almost twice as tall as verbeeg, hill giants bear some similarity to their giant-kin cousins. The more ignorant of the small folk have difficulty distinguishing between the two species, and even sometimes confuse them with ogres. The most important distinction, of course, is that hill giants are true giants with a place in the ordning, whereas the verbeeg have no true status in giant society. Hill Giants are savage brutes who seldom have the intelligence to learn to read, and little knowledge of their history. They are cruel by nature, with short tempers, but with memories too short to carry grudges for long. By comparison, verbeeg are highly intelligent, if uneducated. Some scholars believe that verbeeg have more natural intelligence than we stone giants, and they simply lack the resources to establish academies of learning. Unlike hill giants, they carry grudges for generations, and believe that their exclusion from the ordning is an offense against them. Verbeeg also seem to be completely without compassion, and their acts of cruelty tend to be conscious choices, not angry reactions. |
The Goblin Tower |
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Crenshinibon is known to communicate with its wielder, both in subtle dreams and in overt threats and demands. We have no evidence that it speaks out loud, so I believe that it sends telepathic messages to those who control it, and to those whom it seeks to control. It has been known to communicate over great distances and to a large number of different creatures. It doesn't seem to be able to directly command or control its wielder, but those who have held the Crystal Shard have used it to dominate the minds of weaker beings. Crenshinibon uses manipulation and coercion to convince people to follow its will. The truly righteous and the strong-willed have been known to resist the Shard's will, so it often calls to those with dark and secret desires, or works to gradually erode the resistance of the strong. Although the Shard seems to need a bearer to wield its greatest powers, and presumably to achieve its secret purpose, it does not hesitate to conspire against its wielder for its own gain or amusement. |
The Goblin Tower |
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Good Mead is one of the smaller settlements in Ten-Towns, situated on the shore of Redwaters, south of the Eastway. The first building in Good Mead was a hunting lodge, one of the first in Icewind Dale. Although the residents of Good Mead fish for knucklehead trout, the town has always had other, larger industries. Hunting and trapping were profitable in the first years, but as the town expanded, the hunting territories and traplines did not. New settlers brought new skills and new business ventures to the town, and the most successful was the Mead Hall. A group of brewers developed a recipe for mead, and bought wild honey gathered by the hunters and trappers. The Mead Hall became a popular stopping place for travellers along the Eastway, even if it was a little out of the way. As the mead's popularity grew, the people of Good Mead began exporting it to Bryn Shander, and more than a few casks have made their way south from there. The people of Good Mead still hunt and fish, but these activities are often considered hobbies there. |
Goffin's Door |
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In the first full-scale assault by the dragons against the Jotun, an avatar of the dragon god, Garyx, led a flight of red dragons to burn and destroy a cloud giant city. Our ancestors retaliated in force, and we turned away from architecture and music to take up the art of war. Cloud cities became flying fortresses, and sculptors became weaponsmiths and armourers. New heroes arose, like Hjumur, Wyrmrever, who slew so many dragons that he drowned in their blood. New wonders were forged, like Vonindod, a living statue stronger than any giant, built to defeat our enemies. And yet the dragons drove our ancestors out of southern Ostoria, leaving us only the northernmost part of our kingdom. In the end, as legend tells, Annam himself intervened, and challenged Garyx to a game of wah-ree to settle the conflict. The game ended in a stalemate, which ended the war, but allowed the dragons to keep the territory they had conquered. Historians among the smallfolk claim that the dragons abandoned the war for reasons of their own, but since none of their people were present, their suggestions are dubious at best. |
Goffin's Door |
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The dwarves of Clan Battlehammer conquered the canyon that came to be known as Dwarven Valley, not knowing that it had an older name, or what once stood upon that ground. Before it was Dwarven Valley, it was Cindryc's Rift, where Kelvin's flying city, Skyefjell, tore the ground open when it fell to the earth. Before that, it was Cindryc's Boneyard, the site of the ancient fire giant city, Cindrheim. No one knows what cataclysm destroyed Cindrheim, the Clanging City, but not a trace of it was left on the surface. In the Ostorian Age, Cindrheim was the pinnacle of fire giant artifice, home of molten metal and stone. Neither the dwarves nor the verbeeg who lived among the crevices of the rift knew that mightycivilization had risen and fallen here before them. I learned the tale from an ancient song sung by the frost giants that told of a mighty battle with the fire giants Cindrheim, although even they have forgotten that the city once stood beneath their feet. |
Goffin's Door |
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During the warmth Dragons, Othea gave birth to voadkyn, firbolg, fomorian, and verbeeg, now known as the giant-kin. Initiallythey were welcome among the Jotun, although they had not been given a place in the ordning. They learned the ways of giants, and Othea nurtured them as she had her previous children. When Annam All-Father learned that they were the children of Ulutiu the sea god, he cast them out in a rage. Othea tried to protect them, but they were excluded from the society of true giants. The verbeeg had been the most clever of Ulutiu's children, and had learned the ways of the Jotun. They tried to build their own cities and works of art, but the true giants, especially the titans and storm giants, would allow them no place of their own within the borders of Ostoria. Over generations they grew more savage and vicious, and the verbeeg we see today would be unrecognizable to their ancient ancestors. Those verbeeg who make their home in Icewind Dale are the most degenerate and cruel of their fallen species. |
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The dwarves of Dwarven Valley mined their canyon home for iron ore and precious minerals, but frequently uncovered treasures that they did not fully understand. Beneath Kelvin's Cairn they found two valuable minerals left behind by Skyefjell's crash, and they assumed that these were natural crystal formations. The chardalyn crystals had been part of the magic that kept Skyefjell aloft, while the more abundant 'crystal remnant' had formed when Kelvin's crystal towers shattered in the snow. The dwarves of Clan Battlehammer delved deep into the ruins in search of these treasures, extracting much wealth from the mountain. To their great dismay and regret, the crystal remnant proved to produce a necrotic aura which had gone unnoticed. Among other harmful effects, the crystal remnant produced undead spirits which would attack the miners, and many dwarves had their very essence drained from them before the cause was known. The dwarves wisely abandoned Kelvin's Cairn, leaving the undead to their tomb. |
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The road between Ten-Towns and Luskan is long and treacherous, and many travellers lose their lives upon it. There are many natural hazards in the pass through the spine of the world, and there is little to hunt or forage. What wildlife a traveller may encounter is more likely to hunt than to be hunted. Settlers and merchants have long considered these risks a reasonable exchange for access to the wealth of Icewind Dale. As caravans brought more and more wealth in both directions along the road, a new danger presented itself. Enterprising bandits decided that it was less risky and more profitable to steal these goods along the road than to work or trade for or travel for them. Ores and giants often raid caravans along the mountain pass, but further south humans are the more common threat. In response, the merchants have been forced to hire more protection, and more than one gang of bandits has moved to a more honest living as caravan guards. |
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Annam the All-Father and his wife Othea had many children, and those children are the ancestors of all true giants. Even so, All-Father is perhaps an ironic title for Annam, since Othea was the mother of the verbeeg and the other so-called "giant-kin," but their father was the sea god Ulutiu. Annam slew Ulutiu in a rage and denied the sea god's children a place in the ordning. The verbeeg were abandoned to find their own way. Of course, Annam had his own affairs and produced many more offspring, and rivalries formed among them. Annam's son Karontor was envious of his half-brother Stronmaus, and his jealousy twisted his physical form into a hideous monster. He lashed out at his siblings and was exiled into darkness. The fomorian and verbeeg felt a kinship with this twisted god, and took him as their patron. The verbeeg worship Karontor because they hope he will bring them into the ordning, rather than because of any true faith, and even their priests would abandon him if they found a better option. |
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As the dwarves of Clan Battlehammer expanded their mines and tunnels, they inevitably found both natural caverns and older excavations. These passages held ore and other valuables, but the dwarves were wary after the disaster that had driven them from Mithral Hall. They continued forward with caution, and built defenses that would allow them to protect Battlehammer Hall from anything that they might find. In a particularly large cavern, they found tunnels that led deep into the Underdark situated on the far side of a deep chasm. King Bruenor Battlehammer ordered the construction of mighty bridges across the gap, and named it Bangor's Span. The roadway gave them access to the valuable minerals on the far side while providing a nigh-impenetrable fortress against anything that might attack from the depths of the earth. Bangor's Span is a testament to dwarven engineering, craftsmanship, greed, and persistence. They persist in the face of great challenges, and they persist in letting their desire for wealth lead them into danger. It remains to be seen whether it will be enough to protect them from the things they unearth. |
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North of the Spine of the World is the Reghed Glacier, a vast lifeless icefield. Yet lifeless is an untrue designation, since many nomadic species reside there temporarily, including polar bears, migrating seabirds, elk herds, Reghed tribesfolk who hunt the elk, remorhazes tunneling through the ice to ambush any surface walkers, and the rare Great Snowy Roc who hunts all others. Legend tells of another icefield wanderer, Auril the Frostmaiden, Goddess of Winter. Few who suffer the misfortune of a chance encounter with her return home, bolstering her well-earned reputation for misery and cruelty. Long ago, a vent under the glacier opened, releasing hot water from deep within the earth. The water pushed upwards, melting passages and caverns as it travelled, finally reaching the surface. The still-hot water pooled and melted a caldera-like basin, with a hot turquoise blue lake in the bottom. This oasis of warmth became known as Evermelt, and judging by artifacts found on the lakeshore, the Tribe of the Bear stayed here and considered it a sacred site. For many decades, until his recent death, the dragon, longdeath, nested in the cavern below, killing all who trespassed on his Evermelt. Who will claim this refuge next? |
Goblins at the Gates |
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Although many verbeeg were slain in the battle of Bryn Shander, a disproportionate number of them seem to have foreseen the turning point in the war and fled the battlefield. Although they scattered during their escape, they quickly regrouped into bands and looked for what opportunities lay before them. Some raided the empty halls of the Battlehammer dwarves, some fled for their homes, but a large number rallied onder the frost giant jarl Utaar. Utaar was not part of Kessel's army, but it appears that he organized his own force and kept a close watch on the wizard's machinations. Perhaps some of the verbeeg who marched with Kessell actually did so on behalf of Utaar, and returned to their true leader when Kessell was defeated. Utaar claims to be a descendant of Kelvin the Great, and seeks to reclaim Kelvin's legacy. Whether or not he truly descends from Kelvin's line, he is offering the verbeeg another chance to upset the ordning and gain a position within it. Time will tell if the verbeeg are truly loyal to Utaar, or if they will abandon him as they did Kessell. |
Goblins at the Gates |
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For three years the ancient white dragons Icewind and langdeath relentlessly assaulted the smallfolk of Ten-Towns in an event that came to be called the long winter. The wyrms were indiscriminate in their attacks, not limiting them to the folk of the towns, but freezing lakes and fields, yeti and crag cats, and orcs and goblins. Fishing was all but impossible, and nothing grew in the dale. More people died of starvation than from dragon attack, and many settlers fled back to the south. Rumours persist of a small settlement on the eastern shore of Lac Dinneshere that was so thoroughly buried in snow that it sank into the lake, or that it remains frozen. There is no name given for this village, and I suspect the story is false, although many hunting lodges and outposts did disappear during those years. In spite of the many tragedies caused by the rampaging dragons, one of the most well-known legacies of the long winter is a humorous song about a lazy halfling who froze to death, only to revive and "finally feel warm" on his funeral pyre. |
Goblins at the Gates |
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To the untrained eye, Icewind Dale is a barren land where the greatest danger is being unprepared for the environment. In reality, the traveller must be vigilant for other unique dangers. An innocent cloud of fog, hanging in a gully where moist air contacted cold ground, could easily be the deadly Breath of Auril, a magical fog which will freeze a living creature in seconds. Throughout the dale, goblins indiscriminately scratch sheltering holes and burrows, capped by small concealed doors, into any hollow and embankment. A single goblin is more than a pest, but a warren of many united goblins create serious ambush hazards for passersby. Similarly, a traveller must be wary approaching warm mud pools, and should never climb in, regardless of impending frostbite or hypothermia, for these are frequently troll puddles, stagnant mud holes favoured by trolls for their fetid dens. Equally dreadful in appearance are Poison Shriekers, nightmarish mushroom creatures which look like a grotesque fusion of a sea anemone with a bloody eye. Any rapid approach triggers a blood curdling shriek, followed by a spray of fatally-poisonous spores. Hence, one must always be watchful, for regardless of how empty the land appears, it rarely is so. |
The Goblin Valley |
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The verbeeg of Icewind Dale have degenerated since Kelvin's fall, to the point that travellers from the south might not recognize them as the same species as verbeeg that dwell in other lands. Many factors may have contributed to this decline, and it is hard to blame any one cause. The verbeeg had been dealt a devastating blow in Kelvin's death, many of them left without hope fora better life. Their environment was harsh, and they took up the habits of their goblin allies to survive. It is also possible that Crenshinibon whispered to them and tainted their minds. Whatever the cause, they turned the cleverness that had once been used to scheme and plot their way into the ordning towards the single goal of reaching new heights of cruelty and depravity. They made totems of flesh and bone to intimidate their enemies, and fashioned facial masks from the hides of their captured enemies and prey. These cruel acts may once have been rooted in tradition or necessity, but the verbeeg no longer recall their origins. |
The Goblin Valley |
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Long ago, a forgotten historian named the ruins of the lost-mages' only settlement "Netherhall", to differentiate it from the ancient ruins which that settlement straddled: our own culture's hallowed site, the ruins of Kelvin the Great's terrestrial home, Norwaald. Some jotunkind view the newer ruins as an affront to our history, prompting periodic vandalous and destructive acts of retribution over the centuries. The current local residents of Ten-Towns don't bother the site, because a surface-dweller's quick glance reveals naught which they would value, and those peoples generally dislike digging. Since it remains the best preserved site of the lost society, my fieldwork began here. To shield myself from Ten-Towns notice, my exploration and excavations took place nocturnally or subterrainally, where after many months I discovered a network of intact halls. I wintered on-site in these halls, a controversial choice within the historian community, but never would I have uncovered the greatest treasure of my career otherwise. In a collapsed warren of tiny chambers, buried in a small sealed vault, was a text, a journal left by a citizen of the lost people. learned quickly that they called themselves the Netherese! Many answers will I find within these fragile pages! |
The Goblin Valley |
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When Ostoria was young a cataclysmic event occurred, although its worst consequences took centuries to manifest. Strange meteors fell from the skies. Though they caused some damage where they landed, they each had a curious nature -one that would spell doom for Ostoria. The objects found at the impact sites were not stone or metal, but organic. When the first of these meteors hatched, it became clear that they were the eggs of a new species: dragons. After a few centuries, enough of the dragons had grown to maturity that the giants realized that they were a threat. There were many minor conflicts between the two peoples, and then the dragons launched an all-out assault on Ostoria, which grew into a war that lasted more than a millenium Jotun legends tell us that the first dragon eggs came from the stars themselves, and that the lights in the night sky are distant dragons, more ancient than any known to the world. Some foresee a day when dragon eggs will once again rain down upon us. |
The Goblin Valley |
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Kelvin ruled the skies of his kingdom from the throne of his floating city, Skyefjell, which was not won in battle, but in love, it being the seat of his wife, the cloud giant, Baromassa, who was herself a warrior mage of some power. Some say it was for her that he endeavored to upset the ordning, believing it an affront that those who live in the clouds above should be judged beneath those who dwell below, which is an odd perspective compared to my own and those of my kind, whose lives are rooted in stone, and who would consider life with the insubstantial nothingness of clouds a true hell. Together, Kelvin and Baromassa conquered these northern reaches to the extent of Old Ostorian boundaries. The union is remarkable not only because of the mixing of two separate jotunkind, but for the mind of a frost giant to be open to such, given not only to inherent prejudices between jotunkind, but for that of the normally battle-focused mind of the frost giants. Perhaps my surprise is a function of my own prejudice. |
The Face of Kelvin |
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When Kelvin the Great rose to power in the north, the verbeeg of Icewind Dale saw that they at last had an opportunity to improve their lot in life. The verbeeg of Icewind Dale had sent tribute to Kelvin early in his reign. Some scholars see this as evidence of their foresight into Kelvin's destiny, but it is more likely that they sent such gifts to anyone who might become a worthwhile ally. Many stone giants received such tribute, and while we were not above accepting them, we always viewed them with caution. It is possible, although unlikely, that the verbeeg played a part in driving Kelvin's ambition to overturn the ordning. Kelvin's promise to include verbeeg in the order of true jotunkind may have been a sincere belief he held, or a necessary price to gain their allegiance, or even a cunning manipulation of the frost giant king by the verbeeg. It was the verbeeg's greatest opportunityto enter the ordning, and every giant saw it. When Kelvin fell from power, the verbeeg were left with their plans exposed and with no patron to protect and support them. |
The Face of Kelvin |
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Following the coast of the Sea of Moving Ice eastward, I have unexpectedly found undocumented Netherese installations which other cultures have built around. I found a Netherese levitating platform required to access the tomb of Akharu the Fierce, who is unknown to me, but murals of necromantic imagery kept me from stepping beyond the platform's endpoint. A long abandoned warren of goblin tunnels were burrowed around one of the ominous portals. The tunnels did not span far, so perhaps citizens tried the portal before the settlement had a chance to grow and they suddenly found themselves elsewhere. The best example of this integration of Netherese works was in the Dwarven Valley. When Clan Battlehammer constructed their community's original tunnels and mines, they discovered stray Netherese installations and incorporated them into the fabric of their infrastructure. I have heard stories of deep chasm-spanning bridges strategically utilized to connect distant regions and levitation platforms that can travel a long shaft from Kelvin's Cairn to their deepest mine in mere seconds. The dwarves are practical that way, unbothered by tapping inexplicable magics to advance their delving. |
The Face of Kelvin |
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The story of the creation of Chrenshinibon, the Crystal Shard, is older than ancient Ostoria, and may predate the creation of this world. It is no surprise then, that there are conflicting accounts of its origin, and that many of the facts are lost to time. The most detailed stories come from the mad cultists of the Order of the One Light, but their raving diatribes can be easily dismissed. The one reliable element of the various tales is that the Shard was created by seven Ides, who were themselves absorbed into the shard at the end of the ritual that gave it form. No one knows who they were or for what dark purpose they forged Crenshinibon, and as they were absorbed by it, a burst of magical energy obliterated their temple and destroyed or banished all of the demons who served them. When one of the banished demons located Crenishinibon millenia later, the angel Al Dimineira wrested it from him, and unable to destroy it, hurled it across the planes of creation. |
The Face of Kelvin |
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Kelvin the Great, sought godhood - the power of the divine being the only means to reorganize the ordning as he desired. One step in that process was to achieve immortality. To that end, he had his court wizard, a cloud giant, Karokaagi, who was the sister of Kelvin's wife, Baromassa, to construct the Temple of Blaadvohl, the Everspring Tree, therein to contain the Spirit of the Forest, that which jotun call, Oraan. Kelvin's purpose - to siphon the essence of Oraan, channeling it into his own life force such that his soul would become eternal. It is said that Baromassa objected to this work, considering Oraan a creature of good and the act of its destruction, immoral. It is said that it caused a rift between Baromassa and her sister, and with Kelvin himself. Perhaps this explains why we scholars know so little of Baromassa. Kelvin and Karokaagi proceeded, regardless. Unfortunately for Kelvin, the process was not complete before his battle with Tempus. Kelvin's spirit was sealed into a tomb by the magic of clerics of Tempus, deep beneath Kelvin's Cairn. |
The Floating City |
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Mages are rare in Icewind Dale, and those who settle here tend to do so in search of solitude and anonymity, so it was a surprise to everyone when Akar Kessell amassed an army in an effort to conquer Ten-Towns. A heretofore unknown mage, Kessell located and mastered Crenshinibon - the Crystal Shard - and used its power in his mission to rule the north. He raised a tall crystal tower in the Shard's image, and gathered an army of goblins, orcs, and giants beneath the glittering spire. He even forged an alliance with the remains of the Reghed barbarian tribes, although forcing them to fight side-by-side with goblins and orcs could never last. Kessell's army marched against Ten-Towns, sweeping down from the mountains like an avalanche. They razed Caer Konig and Caer Dinneval, leaving only the ships that were already on the lake, and a few citizens who fled for Bryn Shander. The refugees were protected by Agorwal of Termalaine and a small force of his townsmen against the raiders, sacrificing themselves, but slowing the advancing horde. |
The Floating City |
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Spanning from the western Cold Run to the eastern Ice Spires, the Spine of the World, known as The Wall to some southern cultures, divides the far north from the rest of FaerOn. Four uniformly soaring peaks in the midst of the chain are known as the Four Sisters, some legends claiming these peaks supported the very sky. The region is rich with ore, drawing dwarves to establish the deep cities Ironstar and Mithral Hall, while the Svirfneblin rose from the Underdark to found Blingenstone in the mountains' roots. Jotunkind have always dwelt in these mountains, enjoying the riches and the varied environs found in the secluded peaks. Of particular importance, on a soaring peak high above the Valley of Khedrun, is one of the last intact vestiges of Ostoria, the sacred temple Eye of the All-Father, where worthy jotun could seek guidance from Annam's oracles. The secret location is arduous to reach, keeping it safe from the multitudinous orc clans that have thrived and died in the Spine of the World. Orc reavers live short lives, slaughtering each other and endlessly battling the dwarves, townspeople and Reghed tribes that inhabit the mountains' fertile foothills. |
The Floating City |
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After the Netherese were marched from Netherhall at Azendrus' command, the only records of their continued presence were a scant few ancient oral legends of uncertain credibility. The Reghed had a legend passed from the lost Tribe of the Seal, which spoke of a hidden city of magic. The boundary of the realm was marked by Watchposts and described as "unbreakable metal lantern-posts of evil manufacture". Although the wizards were rarely seen, whenever arrogant youth would foolishly attempt raids beyond the Watchposts, none would ever return. The Watchposts disappeared during a great earthquake which shook the land, and no sign of the wizard city was ever seen again. My friend, Dainan Stonefinger, discovered a similar tale, researching as my proxy in the dwarven city Ironmaster. Many generations ago, mage raiders from a city called New Netheril would pillage outposts east of Ironmaster, stealing resources, equipment and workers, yet missions of retaliation could never find the hidden city. Raids became so common that eventually the settlements were abandoned. The mages were seen again after the terrible earthquake which preceded the devastating Great Ice Tide, leading legend to assume that New Netheril was washed away into the Sea of Moving Ice. |
The Floating City |
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Akar Kessell used Crenshinibon to create three of the crystal towers known as Cryshal Tirith. These structures were images of the Shard, and channelled its power. Crenshinibon's power seems to be linked to the towers, and it had lain dormant for millennia, so it may have been diminished when Akar Kessell found it. He raised his first tower in a hidden place, and gathered an army there. Rumours of its existence spread through the spine of the world, but the smallfolk of Icewind Dale were oblivious to its existence. When he was ready, Kessell created a second tower as an embassy to the Reghed barbarians, and expended more magic to bind his army to his will. When he created a third tower at Bryn Shander, it seems that the Shard could no longer sustain the first two, and they shattered like fallen icicles. Kessell must have expended more of the Shard's power to destroy Targos, and after he was defeated, the third tower fell. I suspect that Kessell had depleted the Shard's energy, and it was no longer able to protect him from his unknown attackers. |
The Floating City |
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Although Dwarven Valley withstood sieges and raids, and created dangers for themselves at every turn, perhaps the greatest trial that they faced was "the long winter". The long winter lasted three years, and although the weather was not, in fact, unusual, the mighty dragons lcingdeath and Icewind made it their purpose to keep the valley frozen. It might be that when the dwarves rerouted the lava flows beneath Dwarven Valley, they caused an environmental change that discomforted the ice dragons, but it might as easily have been a draconic mating dance. Whatever the reason, Icewind and lcingdeath enacted near-constant attacks across the dale. The lakes remained frozen during summer, and the ground was too hard to plant and too cold for anything to grow. Few individuals were killed directly in the attacks, but many starved, and many more fled for the warmth of the south. After three years the dragons inexplicably ceased their attacks. Perhaps Icewind returned to her lair to brood over a clutch of eggs, leaving lcingdeath to fall back into his more usual lazy slumber. |
Crystal Harvest |
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In recent years, my dwarven collaborator Dainan Stonefinger has been mapping the shoreline of the Sea of Moving Ice, prompted by historical discrepancies regarding the location of the northern city Ironmaster. While I pondered Azendrus' forced northern migration of the residents of Netherhall, Dainan sent word of numerous non-dwarven artifacts she discovered in her travels. Intrigued, I traveled north. The land was predictably barren, but sections of shoreline feature dramatic, sheer drops into the fathomless sea. The artifacts Dainan found are fragments, perched at the edge of these cliffs, each one appearing truncated, as if our god Skoraeus Stonebones had split the land with his great stone-cutting chisel. Weather-eroded cobble roads stopped at the brink, a canal dumped a trickle of meltwater tumbling to the sea, a netherese gateway perched not even a step from the precipice. I excavated a knot of chains, track and a broken crucible, sure signs that once a foundry existed nearby. Dare I hypothesize that this is where the Netherese resettled, but that their settlement was somehow missing? Inconceivable, but with no evidence otherwise, could it be plausible? Was there once land where the Sea of moving ice now is, explaining Dainan's contradictory Ironmaster documentation |
Crystal Harvest |
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Kelvin's ambition to change the ordning was the main driving force behind his attempt to ascend to godhood. He forged an alliance of giants of frost, cloud, and stone, and with him brought the giant kin, verbeeg, creatures almost as fit for life in the freezing north as frost giants themselves. Verbeeg were a surprising choice, but the verbeeg of Kelvin's time are not so like the ones that inhabit Icewind Dale in our time. Undoubtedly, the frost giants were to top the new ordning, followed by cloud giants. Though my kind were among those to join Kelvin's effort, we were to be placed below the storm giants which was still a rise in our standing. Below us were to be the verbeeg, then the remainder below them with the hill giants at the bottom, though some wonder if Kelvin meant for the fire giants to remain within the ordning at all. The alliance was able to tame the wilds of these lands and build upon it a mighty civilization, now fallen to ruin thanks to that same ambition. One wonders how long Kelvin's kingdom would have thrived if he had not attempted his ascension. |
Crystal Harvest |
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Kelvin built his kingdom long before he claimed the Crystal Shard. How Kelvin claimed the Shard is a subject of much debate and little substance, but it was the Shard that allowed him to reach the heights he did, and the main tool he used in his effort to raise himself to godhood. With the Shard, he pushed the borders of his kingdom to the southern slopes of the Spine of the World, from the Reghed Glacier to the shores of the Sea of Moving Ice. He marked his territory with towers of crystal, created with the power of the Shard. Kelvin would have undoubtedly ruled all the Sword Coast had he not met an early demise at the hands of Tempus, Lord of Battle. There is speculation about how large a role the Shard played in Kelvin's rise, and indeed, his fall. This speculation comes largely from a lone text that suggests that, at the time of his near ascendance, Kelvin lost his most trusted ally - his wife, Baromassa. These scholars claim to have evidence that Baromassa believed that his ascension to godhood was the Shard's ambition, not his own. |
Location goes here... |
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Kelvin's Cairn stands alone, rising high above the rolling expanse of tundra that stretches below the great Reghed Glacier. The cairn is a monument to past jotun glory, to that brief moment when Kelvin united our fractious tribes into one strong kingdom, yet it also reflects the folly of his quest for godhood, for the cairn is a rough tombstone, not a proud architectural cenotaph. Enraged by the insolence of Kelvin's quest for godhood, Tempus attacked the frost giant king, smashed the floating stronghold Skyefjell to the ground and buried the slain Kelvin therein beneath a towering mound of boulders. Tempus must have raged across Icewind Dale, hewing chunks from the land to mark Kelvin's grave, because the cairn is composed of distinct types of rock: great sea-worn rounded boulders, enormous slabs of local wind-pocked bedrock, and huge chunks of ore-veined granite from the Spine of the World. In the millennia since, those boulders have compacted and caught blowing soil and organics, creating a mountain riddled with networks of tunnels and dens, ideal shelter for wildlife. Notorious hunters, crag cats silently prey on the snow hare and mountain goat inhabitants, while ice spiders prowl the dens for voles and hares. |
The Hunting Grounds |
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Even with my strengthening grasp of Netherese language, the endless days recounting Azendrus' monotonous daily lessons of tundra survival were a chore, until one day, a revelation: completely without warning, the Netherhall mages could suddenly harness the power of the Weave once more! Celebrations erupted with arcane fireworks and conjured feasts free from local staples like trout, hare and vole. Revitalized, the populace began discussing plans to resume their quest for the mysterious Ythryn, which I previously misinterpreted as "icethrin". Inuzora worried about these brazen discussions, as she feared the command Azendrus held over their people ever since she had quietly supplanted their original leader, Tarajaba. That fear was warranted the very next morning, Azendrus called a gathering, announcing that her side of their contract was fulfilled, and the Netherese now owed their side. What contract was this? Reviewing these Testaments and confirming absence of any contractual mentions, I suspect Azendrus represented an infernal patron. Only the Lords of Hell wield a deceptive contract like others might wield a sharp sword. No time allowed for preparations, Azendrus marched the beholden populace north from Netherhall, to begin their repayment wherever and however she chose. Thus ended the Netherese Testaments. |
The Hunting Grounds |
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When Annam the Allfather divided the lands of Ostoria among the jotun, he gave no place to the giant-kin, the descendants of Othea and Ulutiu who were not a part of the ordning. This included the verbeeg. The verbeeg were left to survive as well as they could in the unclaimed spaces and in the margins between the territories of true giants. They did not have a true dominion to call their own, so they broke into small hunting bands and scattered themselves between the lands of the true giants. They were clever and inventive, and managed to thrive, even under these difficult circumstances. And yet they could build no lasting homes, and had no time to develop art or the other finer aspects of a civilized society. Living on the fringes, they saw how the true giants built cities and monuments, history and culture. Even seeing the hill giants squander the territories they had been granted must have frustrated them as they struggled to survive. It should be no surprise that they grew to resent the true giants and covet a place in the ordning. |
The Hunting Grounds |
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Outraged by Othea's betrayal, Annam confronted and defeated her lover, Ulutiu the sea god. Ulutiu's amulet fell into the northern ocean, which began to freeze, and the ice spread over the northern parts of Ostoria. Othea would not be reconciled with Annam, and their dispute grew and spread among their children. In the conflict Othea and most of her first children were killed, and Ulutiu's ice spread over their kingdom. Annam withdrew from the world, and the structure of the ordning collapsed along with the empire. The lands that had been lost to the dragons were never recovered, and the remainder now lies frozen under the great glacier. Our libraries and academies were lost with our cities, and the giants broke into factions of quarreling tribes who no longer remembered their glorious past. Our history was reduced to song and story, and as legends passed from mouth to mouth the details faded and the truth was twisted. It was not until Kelvin' rise that we reclaimed some of our lost culture and history, and even now there is more forgotten than remembered. |
The Hall of Judgement |
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Though Kelvin had been defeated by Tempus and lay buried under a mountain of rock, rumours spread that his spirit endured, that Kelvin sought to reclaim what he'd lost, live again, reclaim the Crystal Shard, and try again to become a god. Clerics of Tempus then travelled to Kelvin's Cairn, and there constructed a sarcophagus, sealed with the symbols of giants and of Tempus himself, trapping within it the remnants of Kelvin's essence. And there his spirit has remained. There are those who claim to feel the presence of Kelvin in those catacombs. Some even claim to have heard the voice of Kelvin, his spirit, longing to be set free to resume his work. |
The Hall of Judgement |
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After Kelvin's fall, the verbeeg of Icewind Dale faced greater struggles than before. Those allies that they had among other jotun began to turn them away, some fearing the verbeeg's treachery, some fearing reprisal by the higher orders of true giants. The verbeeg were forced to rely on their lesser allies among the orcs and goblins. Over time, many of them integrated with goblin tribes and took up goblin ways. They became more savage and vicious, using their strength and intelligence to bully and manipulate the smaller goblins. In good years the goblins would provide for their verbeeg allies, and in lean times the goblins themselves became a good source for the cunning giant-kin. In some extreme cases it appears that the verbeeg allies of different goblin tribes conspired to instigate wars among the goblins, reducing the number of mouths each tribe had to feed and providing goblin bodies for the verbeeg to eat, all while posig little ganer to the verbeeg themselves! The verbeeg took great advantage of the goblin tribes, but association with them may have caused them harm in the long run. |
An Infernal Dispute |
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In summer, the trickling braided streams that run from beneath the Reghed Glacier become wide and strong with meltwater, causing variable seasonal flooding in the lakes. These bright turquoise Reghedwash rivers remaini unbearably cold all year, and cannot support life due to the water's dense suspension of silt and clay, minerals ground finely under the weight of the glacier. Downstream, these silts settle to the river and lake bottoms, making habitable environs for knucklehead trout and the grey minnows they feed on. Beyond the lakes, neither the Redrun nor the Shaengame River, which flow from Redwaters and Maer Dualdon respectively, offer rich opportunities for settlement or transport and thus are undeveloped. Near the eastern end of Lac Dineshere, high on the crest of a canyon, which was cut long ago by torrents of summer meltwater, sit the ruins of Fort Onarammac, a stronghold from Kelvin's empire. Only the stumps of old stone walls remain, but built upon that foundation are a pair of rough posts made of Nerherese steel. When approached, a shimmering Netherese portal Materializes between the posts, with a companion portal then visible across the canyon, apparently still functional a thousand years later. |
An Infernal Dispute |
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The giants of Ostoria competed among themselves to create wonders both practical and artistic, each working in the manner of their kind. The hill giants constructed a great stone circle which acted as calendar and oracle, and the shadows cast by it took the forms of hunters and animals. The ettins tended gardens with pools that reflected the faces of viewers from other pools. In deep caverns, my stone giant ancestors carved the stalactities and pillars to resonate in the winds that sang a song attuned to whoever stood before them. The fire giants tamed volcanos into forges, and built entire cities of adamantine and mithral. The frost giants built sculptures of ice and snow that would melt and freeze, changingshape to form scenes of their life in the north. The cloud giants are most well known for their flying castles and cities, but few know that with crystals, prisms, and the mist itself, they painted images on the ground below from fractured sunlight. The storm giants and titans built the greatest of our cities, with mechanical conveyances and galleries that housed artistic tributes to the rest of the jotun. |
Order of the One Light |
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Beneath the ruins of kelvin's terrestrial city, that which was founded as Norwaald by Kelvin himself, but which has since been named Netherhall by ignorant folk, lay the remnants of Kelvin's Hall of Judgement. There, he kept criminals, his rivals, of which there were few, and creatures who he deemed unfit for life within his domain - namely, draonkind. Kelvin's slaughter of dragons was legendary, and one of the reasons he first rose to prominence among the jotun. Kelvin constructed elaborate traps, placing riches that would lure dragons within and in their own attempt to secure the treasure for their hoard, the dragons would spring the traps, killingthem. In his later years, Kelvin took to simply trapping the dragons so that he could use them in blood sport to entertain his citizens. Remains of those vile beasts can still be found within the ruins, a reminder to their brethren that the jotun once ruled these lands and will one day again. Some of those traps still remain sprinkled across there lands - many as yet unsprung, so the rumors say. As like, those rumoers are traps themselves, set to lure unsuspecting adventurers into traps meant for dragons and their kin. |
Ghosts of the Past |
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When Akar Kessell's crystal towers shattered, the broken remains scattered far and wide across Icewind Dale. Where the crystal contacted snow and ice, it fused into the same crystal remnant that formed from the towers that shattered when Kelvin was struck down by Tempus. The remnant is widely dispersed over the Dale, some from Kelvin's towers and some from Kessell's, but I suspect that either Crenshinibon has somehow moved the remnant, of that someone has made intentional effort to spread it. The mad cultists that worship Crenshinibon are known to use crystal remnant in dark rituals, and they may be responsible. Crystal remnant is a hazard to all living creatures, jotun or smallfolk, so if it is being spread for some dire purpose, it would be wise for someone to prevent it. The toxic necrotic power of crystal remnant is already affecting the land, and this danger will only increase until it is purged. Unfortunately, gathering it together will only make matters worse where it is stockpiled, and if there are already pockets of concentrated remnant, they are likely already dangerous to approach. |
Ghosts of the Past |
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