1261 DR


 * Furious Talos-worshipers from the Vilhon Reach burn down the tavern in Kurrsh that holds the Chanting Chain. Their return journey is marked by looting and butchering all who they meet along the way. Their travels are dubbed the "Slaughter of the Crazed" but they are stopped by militiamen near Shamph. Many of the Talassans escape, including the one with the Chain, but their depredations, at least, are halted.


 * Azoun III assumes the throne of Cormyr.
 * Manshoon and Chess claim their seats as Lords on the Zhentil Keep council.
 * Halacar, king of Aglarond, is poisoned and dies. His sister, the sorceress Ilione, becomes queen of Aglarond.
 * An evil spirit steals the soul of Emperor Wai Juku A'ti of T'u Lung and he dies. Initially, wu jen of Shou Lung are blamed, and Shou natives are persecuted, but evidence later points to a rival family or cult within T'u Lung.
 * Wai Chi Con, eldest son of Juku A'ti, dies in a boating accident shortly after his father's death. Wai Lo Yan, the young and sickly second son, becomes T'u Lung's seventh emperor. Finding him weak, politicians at court and baronial clans work intrigues and prosper.


 * Ashemmi leaves her home in Neverwinter Woods, traveling to Neverwinter and joining the Bright Banner Brandished.


 * Manshoon establishes the covert organization known as the Zhentarim.


 * Lord Ulsan Baneservant of Zhentil Keep is killed by the combined efforts of Manshoon, Chess, and Fzoul Chembryl.