New Neverwinter

New Neverwinter is a proposed 'city' being built around the ruins of Neverwinter, but in reality it is a simple propaganda movement by Lord Dagult Neverember to annex the city to Waterdeep. The movement to create New Neverwinter is being headed by Neverember, whose titles include the Open Lord of Waterdeep, the Lord Protector of Neverwinter, and the heir of Nasher. The propaganda has gone on from 1462 DR to 1480 DR.

The backplot of the movement is headed by a war between the nations of Thay and Netheril caused due to the activation of a Dread Ring in Neverwinter Wood. This 'shadow war' also serves as the basis for the Ashmadai and Waterdeep's activities in Neverwinter.

Factions
There are many factions involved in the New Neverwinter movement, with Waterdeep being the faction that started the movement, taking advantage of the doings of the Ashmadai, Shadovar and those of Thay. All four factions are the main powers in New Neverwinter, though others such as the Aboleths and Many-Arrows are also involved.

Shadovar-Thay War
The Shadovar-Thay War was the conflict that resulted during the New Neverwinter movement. Ironically, while the two main participants were Netheril and Thay, the war was actually an all out war between several factions for the jewels of Neverwinter. As a result, while all the conflict in the war was undoubtedly centered around the Netherese and Thayans, there were in fact, several factions all at war with each other.

The War Starts
In 1451 DR, the city of Neverwinter was crumbling due to the Spellplague. Seeing potential in the area, Szass Tam commissioned the elven warrior Dahlia Sin'felle to create a Dread Ring for Thay around the area. Around the same time, the Shadovar received reports that Xinlenal could potentially be located somewhere within Neverwinter Wood. Although aware of the boons it could provide to Netheril, the Shadovar were preoccupied by High Imaskar and the attempts of Brennus Tanthul to find Vasen Cale. Thus, Draygo Quick was given the privilege of choosing who would lead the excavation. Selecting Herzgo Alegni, Quick sent the tiefling to Neverwinter. There Alegni decided to opt for a more legal approach, forcing the Lord of Neverwinter to rename the Winged Wyvern Bridge the Herzgo Alegni Bridge to allow him unlimited access to Neverwinter Wood. Dahlia, however, allied herself with Korvin Dor'crae and Valindra Shadowmantle to find a way to create the Dread Ring. Arriving at Gauntlgrym, with the help of Jarlaxle and Athrogate, Dahlia activated the primordial Maegra who proceeded to destroy Neverwinter. This was the first bit of conflict between the Shadovar and the Thayans, as the destruction of Neverwinter effectively negated Alegni his claim on Neverwinter. It also allowed Sylora Salm to take control of the Thayan operation.

For eleven years, the Netherese remained idle, preoccupied in their own machinations, while Salm finally completed the Dread Ring in 1462 DR. In order to strengthen it, however, she tried to reawaken Maegra and in order to re-access Gauntlgrym, Salm forged an alliance with the Ashmadai. Sending Valindra to Gauntlgrym, the Ashmadai summoned the Pit Fiend Bealtimatuche who killed Thibbledorf Pwent and fought the death with Bruenor Battlehammer. The Ashmadai and Valindra both remained in service to Salm, although Dahlia began to plot against her with Drizzt Do'Urden. By this time, Alegni and Barrabus the Gray had returned to reclaim Neverwinter. When Valindra Shadowmantle and the Ashmadai attacked the city, Barrabus led the Shadovar against them, marking the first conflict between the two groups in eleven years. With war officially declared, the Shadovar took the first victory. The Winged Wyvern Bridge was renamed the Walk of Barrabus, granting Alegni the claim to search for Xinlenal. Resuming his identity as Artemis Entreri, Barrabus joined up with Dahlia and helped kill Sylora Salm. This marked the most significant event in the war thus far as Thayan power was transferred to Valindra Shadowmantle, whose temporary retreat caused relatively few Ashmadai to remain loyal to Szass Tam.

Due to Sylora's aggression against Netheril and Alegni's operation being close to the Dread Ring, the tiefling was able to seize control and become the lead general of the Shadovar against Szass Tam. Tyrannically taking lordship over Neverwinter, Alegni decided to forge an army to fight Valindra with and created the White Guard, led by Jelvus Grinch, and the Shadow Guard, led by his Netherese lieutenants. Another player had entered the war by this time, the Abolethic Sovereignty. Invadiah had sent Arunika to corrupt the Sovereignty's Brother Anthus, but she had been corrupted instead. Arunika proceeded to work with Thay and seduced Herzgo Alegni. Eventually, Entreri, Do'Urden and Dahlia attacked Alegni, defeating him and forcing him to forfeit Charon's Claw. Arriving at Gauntlgrym once more, the Shadovar started an assault against House Xorlarrin as Entreri destroyed Charon's Claw. There, Dahlia also killed Herzgo Alegni, stalling Shadovar advances, forcing them out of Neverwinter. Brother Anthus later killed Arunika for her relationship with Alegni.

Although the war against Thay had been stalled, Draygo Quick and Effron were given the option of continuing it immediately. Instead, due to Effron wanting to leave the Shadovar and Quick being more interested in finding Chosen for Telamont Tanthul, the Netherese were left with no general against Valindra.

Waterdeep Arrives
By 1467 DR, both the Shadovar and the Thayans had returned to Neverwinter and had resumed their war against each other. This time, however, it took the form of a guerrilla war with Neverwinter in the middle. The war, however, had become much more important for the Netherese, with Clariburnus Tanthul personally taking control of the operation for Xinlenal. Complicating the matters of the Shadovar were the attentions of the Waterdhavian Lords, who sent Dagult Neverember, Open Lord of Neverwinter and heir to the throne of Neverwinter, to assess the situation. Neverember immediately took control of the situation, armed with mercenaries from Mintarn led by General Sabine, the Open Lord became the Lord Protector of Neverwinter. Starting the New Neverwinter propaganda movement, Neverember fortified Helm's Hold to help the plaguetouched of the Spellplague. Clariburnus, hoping to avoid conflict with Waterdeep, forced the Shadovar to take a backstage role in Neverwinter. This temporary retreat allowed the Abolethic Sovereignty to finally be able to arrive in Neverwinter.

With the Shadovar nowhere to be seen, Sabine began to fortify the Walk of Barrabus and took on Jelvus Grinch as her sheriff. Referring to the bridge by it's original name, the sultry Sabine and Soman Galt to cause the citizenry to forget the Netherese. Instead, they started the New Neverwinter propaganda to try and stir the city's population with nationalistic emotions. Erasing all evidence of the Netherese, Sabine inadvertently did what Clariburnus wanted to do: make the Shadovar a thing of the past. Instead, to make the people of Neverwinter love Neverember, Galt and Sabine gave the citizenry an enemy in Thay and Valindra Shadowmantle. Neverember made sure the citizens felt gratitude through facilities, market opportunities, access to work and safety. This was all because he wanted people to believe he was descended from Vans Ner, a son of Nasher Alagondar in order to ensure no conflict when he would become king. Neverember himself was uncaring for the people of Neverwinter, leaving their safety up to Galt and Sabine. Instead he focused on large plots, like finding the forges of Gauntlgrym.

In 1474 DR, the biggest movements of the war happened as Sabine began to take the lead in the fight against Thay. However, while Thay began to infiltrate Neverember's operation, some citizens began to openly oppose the Waterdhavian, namely a member of the Harpers known as Cymril. Forming the Sons of Alagondar, Neverember quickly mounted reprisals which resulted in the death of Cymril. Their relationship with the Harpers shattered, the rebels quickly split into two groups: the Nashers and the Graycloaks. The Nashers then took residency in Neverwinter's Blacklake District, which Neverember had not secured. The Thayans instilled a Red Wizard, Dhafiyand, as Neverember's spymaster. Thus, while Neverember strived to rebuild Neverwinter, the Abolethic Sovereignty wanted to manipulate the Spellplague, the Thayans wanted to raise their undead army and the Netherese desired to raise Xinlenal. By this time, the war had erupted from it's original petty squabble into a gigantic war. Although the citizens of Neverwinter knew little of the war, the battles were happening not only in Toril, but also Shadowfell. It was ironic, as despite the severity of the war, the citizenry remained completely oblivious to it. In order to cover their fights with Thay on Toril, Clariburnus forged an alliance with the Gray-Wolf Uthgardt barbarian tribe. Through the Gray-Wolves, the Netherese also managed to attack and learn more of Helm's Hold. King Obould XVII also took an interest in Neverwinter and sent his scouts, but was unaware the Abolethic Sovereignty began to corrupt them.

By 1478 DR, Neverember's plan had been working, with Sabine's successful campaign against Valindra resulting in Thay becoming little more than a bedtime story. A spy in the employ of Neverember, Seldra Tylmarande created a fake crown of Neverwinter. As the year went on, sightings of the Red Wizards of Thay became more and more popular. Unaware that his spymaster Dhafiyand was a Red Wizard, Neverember ordered the man to take down the Nashers. To do so, Dhafiyand hired Rucas Sarfael, and ordered him to infiltrate the Nashers through Elyne Tschavarz. A Red Wizard, Tolivast, attempted to steal this crown for Valindra but failed. With the crown, Seldra created the persona of the Lost Heir and began to try and take control of the city. The Nashers, led by Arlon Bladeshaper, began growing desperate and forged an alliance with the Dead Rats and the Lost Heir. Rucas Sarfael succesfully infiltrated the Nashers and was present when the alliance with the Dead Rats happened. Due to Tolivast, however, the crown cursed Seldra and began to turn her insane. When plaguewrought abominations attacked Neverwinter, the Lost Heir descended and saved the day. General Sabine then recruited adventurers to look into the Lost Heir on behalf of Neverember. Manipulated by Seldra, the adventurers were sent on a false direction and sent to investigate the Dead Rats. While the heroes fought the Dead Rats, the Lost Heir urged Bladeshaper to attack Protector's Enclave to oust Neverember. After defeating the Dead Rats, the heroes were taken to Bladeshaper himself and allowed audience with the Lost Heir. The heroes defeated the Lost Heir and after a pursuit, learned of the villain to be none other than Seldra. After she revealed to the heroes the crown as being false, Seldra awakened a white dragon. The dragon was defeated by the adventurers. When the Nashers attempted to get the Crown of Neverwinter, they were attacked by a Red Wizard, whom Rucas Sarfael realized to be Dhafiyand. When the Red Wizard attacked Neverember, it announced Valindra's first public attack against Neverwinter in years. Sarfael was subsequently made the leader of the Black Blades.

Heart of War
As a result of Dhafiyand's attack, Neverember became more open to the idea that the Thayans could be active in Neverwinter. As a result, he ordered Sabine to try and take care of it. However, Neverember remained ignorant to those he dealt with and unwittingly began to deal with Shadovar agents. As a result, the Ashmadai began to split off from the Thayans. Under Favria, a sect of Thayans remained loyal to Valindra but under Mordai Vell, the group began to become a rival power to Thay. While Valindra was not ignorant to Vell, the tiefling continued to pay lip service to her all while corrupting Neverember and seducing Sabine. That very year, Tam Zawad, Aubrin Crownsilver, Mehen, Farideh and Havilar arrived in Neverwinter. Arunika's sister, Rohini, was also sent by Invadiah to cause capture an Aboleth. To do this, she killed Anthus, seduced Brother Vartan but was angered to discover Farideh in her city. Mordai Vell also allowed the cults of other devils to operate in Neverwinter, but made sure that none, even the Glasyans, could not become a power. Due to Farideh's arrival, however, the Ashmadai, without Vell's permission, slaughtered some of the Glaysans in the city. This eventually resulted in Farideh and Havilar killing one of Vell's top lieutenants, Yvon Claven. Eventually, Vartan learned the truth of Rohini and used the Hex Locus and converted her to the Aboleths' side. The Ashmadai were not alone in infiltrating Neverember's operation as their dreaded enemies, the Aboleths, used their new tool Rohini to brainwash Soman Galt. While the Aboleths and Ashmadai minded each other, neither dared cross Netheril or Thay, knowing the superpowers could easily crush them. As a result, Mordai Vell was careful when dealing with the Shadovar and made sure Clariburnus did not think twice of him and that Valindra did not discover his extraneous plots. The only group that did not see Thay as a major threat were the Many-Arrows orcs operating under Vansi Bloodscar. One of the groups fully aware of Thay's presence were the Dead Rats, who hoped to rid Neverwinter of the Nashers and forge an alliance with Valindra. Unknown to most was that several Bregan D'aerthe agents were also operating in the city.

The heart of the war, however, did not lay with the smaller factions at work but rather with Thay and Netheril, whose war was apparent to everybody but those in the New Neverwinter movement. Valindra Shadowmantle's main goals were to mine the resources of Neverwinter and repair the Dread Ring, all for the benefit of Szass Tam. She also prepared to strike against the forces of Neverember, hoping to reanimate the bodies of the Neverwinter Nine. Forcing the Cult of the Dragon to aid her, Valindra also excavated the bones of Lorragauth, hoping to create a powerful dracolich. Thus, Valindra sent her forces to capture magical sources to find magical sources to restore the Dread Ring and subjugate the Cult of the Dragon. The Netherese on the other hand too hoped to restore a great source of their power: Xinlenal, the First Enclave. Eventually, with the help of Orthinos Eln, Clariburnus did what Herzgo Alegni neglected to do and found Xinlenal. Sending his men to Neverwinter Wood, Orthinos immediately began to repair the First Enclave while Clariburnus began to seek out creations of Ioulam and other magical devices in order to repair the mythallar. Clariburnus also believed Iolaum to be alive and sent out scouts to find him. These scouts ended up violating the sanctity of Sharandar, angering the Ilyanbruen Fey. The Netherese were also opposed by the Forsworn barbarians, who disliked their control over the Gray-Wolves. The most startling development in the war, however, was Clariburnus sending Kolthunral to Sucross in a bid to end the Thayan presence in Shadowfell.

In 1484 DR, several aspects of the war had settled down. Bregan D'aerthe had stopped operating in the city and was split between Luskan and Menzoberranzan for the Darkening, which had also resulted in the cessation of interest in Neverwinter of the Many-Arrows orcs. Primarily, the Netherese interests had shifted elsewhere and they used their forces of Sembia to capture Archendale. With the deaths of Rivalen Tanthul and Brennus Tanthul, it could be assumed that on the Netherese end, the war began to dissipate. In 1487 DR, the mind of Aglarel Tanthul was shattered, Vattick Tanthul was killed and Clariburnus had been recalled to Thultanthar. With Telamont Tanthul being assassinated and Netheril falling into disarray, the Netherese had been taken out of the war by outside circumstances. It was unknown if Clariburnus survived the fall of Thultanthar, but if he did, was likely recuperating. In any case, Clariburnus would never be able to renew his activities in Neverwinter Wood as his nieces and Arcanist Gwelt had seized of Netheril as the Court of Three.

As a result of most of the factions being forced out of Neverwinter, the war between the Shadovar and the Thayans was won by Neverwinter, as Neverember managed to keep holding the city until 1489 DR.

Significant Leaders
During the entire war, several leaders have arisen:
 * Dahlia Sin'felle - Representing Thay, 1451 DR
 * Sylora Salm - Representing Thay, 1451 DR - 1462 DR
 * Valindra Shadowmantle - Representing Thay, 1462 DR - Ongoing
 * Herzgo Alegni - Representing Netheril, 1451 DR, 1462 DR
 * Clariburnus Tanthul - Representing Netheril, 1467 DR - Ongoing
 * Dagult Neverember - Representing Waterdeep, 1467 DR - Ongoing
 * Soman Galt - Representing Waterdeep, 1467 DR - Ongoing
 * General Sabine - Representing Waterdeep, 1467 DR - Ongoing