Glaurachyndaar

Glaurachyndaar (formerly Myth Glaurach, the City of Scrolls) is a ruined Eaerlanni city situated on the river Starsilver, a tributary of the river Delimbiyr, in the Nether Mountains. It was a garden city with ornate buildings and white domes, built on the ruins of an Aryvandaaran city. Founded ere the rise of Netheril, Glaurachyndaar, in eastern Eaerlann, sits near the confluence of the River Aulantrar (Deepingstream) and the River Starsilver. Set high in the Evenglim Hills, at the feet of the Nether Mountains, Glaurachyndaar is a gleaming garden city of ornate manors and climbing terraces, built upon the ruins of the former capital of Arydandaar, Sharlarion. Rebuilt by the founders of Eaerlann to prevent the rise of another Vyshaan empire, the city guards the northern and eastern approaches of the realm.

The city itself rises from the conifer covered slopes of Tor’sharlarion alongside roaring cataracts of the Silver Falls, overlooking the Delimbyr Vale to the south, with the snow capped Nether Peaks to the north. The view from the highest towers of the city allows one to see the signal beacons of Asclahorn, Elvenport (Teu’tel’Alu), The Far Forest, North Peak and Turn Stone Pass. First site of Glauarchyndaar reveals a many terraced garden city with white stone walls, and many white stone, blue, white and gold domed buildings and towers. Visitors to the city are met by the imposing towers and gates of Everwatch Keep, home of the Vil’nikeryma, and the soldiers of the Akh’velahrn. Passing through its adamantine portals guests of the city are greeted by the Jewel of the Vale, the City of Scrolls. Visitors pass along tree lined boulevards lined with tall many balconied apartments and private homes that rise four stories or more and are covered with spectacular theurglass windows and life like exterior relief carvings. Most of the city’s structures are built using elven magic to literally grow buildings the ground, transforming natural materials into stone, wood, or organic material magically seamless, incredibly strong constructs subdivided into rooms, hallways, and courtyards. Wooden buildings are roofed with magically grown bark or leaves. Stone structures are picturesque and graceful in counterpoint to the solid functionality of the human and dwarven built structures of the city. The tree dwellings of the elves are quite often artificially constructed treehouses resting on platforms amongst the branches or against the tree trunks. Some tree dwellings are magically created and are actually living trees arcanely hollowed and shaped to create the dwelling. In either case, the dwellings are never closer to the ground than 20 feet, and some have their lowest levels hundreds of feet further up into the trees canopies.

History
Myth Glaurach was built on top of the pre-existing ruins of an Aryvandaaran city whose name is presumed to be lost.

The city was raided by orcs in 864 DR and sacked.

The daemonfey of House Dlardrageth moved into the ruins of the ancient city after being freed from their magical prison beneath Nar Kerymhoarth. Sarya Dlardrageth found the mythal stone of the city buried in a deep pit to protect it from attackers, and she used the magic of the stone to summon demons that could remain permanently in Faerûn. Araevin Teshurr subsequently restored the mythal and altered it in such a way that it can now withstand fiendish intervention.

Locations
There are a number of portals beneath the grand mage's palace.

Mythal
In its original state, the mythal barred all fiends and anyone who had ever eaten the flesh of elves, dwarves or humans, but this was destroyed by Sarya Dlardrageth and remains so. Other aspects of the mythal still function. It is not possible to cast acid, conjuration, death, evil, or fire spells within the mythal, and spells that calm animals and prevent weed growth are active.

Glaurachyndaar’s mythal extends 500 yards past the outer curtain wall, 500 yards beyond the top of Snowcrest Spire, and 500 yards below the deepest Aryvandaaran chamber. Myth Glaurach’s mythal was raised in the Year of the Turning Leaf (590 DR) over the Eaerlanni city of Glaurachyndaar, known in that era as the City of Scrolls. Elven and human wizards from Ascalhorn, Eaerlann, Evereska, Silverymoon, and Myth Drannor participated in the casting, employing a variant of Mythanthar’s create mythal spell based in part on the earlier work of Mythanthar. Major participants in the raising of the mythal were Ecamane Truesilver, Khelben Arunsun, Tisharu Craulnober, and Tellshyll (Starsong) the Aged. At least three wizards are known to have studied from The Srinshee’s Specular ere it disappeared: Elminster Aumar, the legendary Sage of Shadowdale, the Nameless Chosen, who later took the name of Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun the Elder, and Tisharu Craulnober, an Eaerlanni female moon elf of House Craulnober. (Tisharu was an elder sister of Elanjar Craulnober and great-aunt of Elaith Craulnober, as well as the last of her clan to dwell in Eaerlann.) The Craulibram contains the only known record of Lady Tisharu’s discoveries, said to advance the art of mythal construction beyond what Mythanthar achieved in one key aspect: Myth Glaurach’s mythal seems far more resistant than Myth Drannor’s mythal to the desecration of its natural environs and the proximity of lower planar creatures.

The mythal that envelops the city of Myth Glaurach is a wizardly mythal. At the time of its creation, Myth Glaurach’s mythal was imbued with 5 major powers and 19 minor powers. As implied previously, the central caster of the variant of Mythanthar’s create mythal spell in this instance was Tisharu Craulnober. She imbued one major and one minor power into the mythal. Four secondary casters participated in the raising of Myth Glaurach’s mythal, including Aelynthi of the Eagles, a female moon elf of Eaerlanni ancestry and Clan Archmage of House Alenuath, Isinghar "Feyrune" Ironstar, a dwelf runecarver and archmage of Ammarindar, the Nameless Chosen (see above), and Tsaer "the Horned" Nyamtharsar, a male moon elf of Eaerlanni ancestry and Clan Archmage of House Nyamtharsar. Each added one major power to the mythal. Six tertiary casters also participated in the raising of Myth Glaurach’s mythal, including Caerthynna of the Swirling Stones, a female moon elf of Eaerlanni ancestry and noted creator of ioun stones, Durngrym, an itinerant human male incantatar, Ecamane Truesilver, a human male who later became the first High Mage of Silverymoon, Jaluster of Ascalhorn, a human male archmage whose orizon later survived the fall of Hellgate Keep, Nyaalsir the Stareye, a male moon elf of Eaerlanni ancestry, and Symrustar Auglamyr, a Cormanthan gold elf female and Chosen of Mystra. Each added three minor powers to the mythal.

The Powers of the Mythal

1) The mythal bars the entrance of any being that has knowingly and deliberately consumed elven, human, or dwarven flesh at any time in the past from above, below, or at ground level. The mythal acts as an effective magical barrier as solid as a mountain of stone against their entry. Anyone doing so for the first time within the city’s confines or anyone who manages to enter by unknown means suffers an automatic 10d8 hit points of damage as the mythal crackles around them and then randomly teleports them more than five hundred miles from the city. In addition, the mythal has a calming effect on creatures of Animal or Semi intelligence (i.e. Intelligence scores in the range of 1 to 4). Animals will not attack other creatures while within the mythal’s confines, no matter how hungry, unless attacked or specifically trained to do so and ordered by their masters. This property of the mythal ensures the safety of the numerous animal companions, familiars, and other pets that make Myth Glaurach home.

2) The mythal wraps all spellcasters in a mantle of up to three spells of their choosing. As the spellcaster enters the mythal, up to three spells of his choosing are drawn from memory to form the mantle, although they can be subsequently rememorized if desired and no spell slots are consumed in the process. The spells contained within the mantle can then be triggered by silent act of will with a casting time of 1 once per twenty-four hour period for as long as the spellcaster remains within the mythal.

3) While within the confines of the mythal, a spellcaster need not rememorize wizard spells. Wizard spells return to memory exactly twenty-four hours after being cast, if the spell was cast or otherwise lost while the spellcaster was within the mythal’s confines and if the spellcaster has not exited the mythal since casting the spell. Of course a spellcaster can rememorize wizard spells if desired and must do so in order to change a spell in the roster of memorized spells. Priest spells, magic items, and innate spell-like abilities are unaffected by this power of the mythal.

4)Myth Glaurach’s mythal enhances the elven ability to enter the reverie. (The reverie is a state akin to dreaming experienced only by elves, as described in the Complete Book of Elves, p. 34.) If desired, any full-blooded elf entering the reverie while within the mythal’s confines can voluntarily control which memories rise to the fore to be vividly relived. Many Teu’Tel’Quessir use this property of the mythal in the twilight of their lives to aid in the recording of their past experiences, a practice that has greatly enhanced the fabled libraries of Myth Glaurach.

Minor Powers

1) Any unmounted gemstone within Myth Glaurach’s mythal can be placed in orbit around a being’s head, and, by doing so, a being can draw on the innate, latent magical properties inherent in most, if not all, kinds of gemstones in a manner akin to employing an ioun stone.

2) Any being that knows the secret can use the mythal to provide a meta-magical boost to a single spell, innate ability, spell-like effect created within the mythal. This boost in effectiveness is equivalent in effect to one of the following spells (or their reverses), as determined by the being unleashing the base effect: augmentation II, dilation II, extension III, or far reaching III. For example, a wizard casting a fireball or triggering a wand of fire might use this power of the mythal to add a point of damage to each die (i.e. augmentation II), extend the area of effect by 50% (i.e. dilation II), double the duration (i.e. extension III), or extend the range by 150% (i.e. far reaching III). It is not possible by means of this power to affect a spell, innate ability, or spell-like effect cast or triggered by another being, nor is it possible to boost the power of a magical effect if it is of too high a level to be affected by the above-mentioned metamagic spells.

3) At will, any being that knows the secret can direct the mythal to recharge a magical item with charges in a fashion identical to that of Myth Drannor’s mythal. See Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves, p. 146, for further details on this power of the mythal.

4) Any being knowing the secret within Myth Glaurach’s mythal can adjust the effective ambient temperature and humidity they experience as desired.

5) Any female cat impregnated within Myth Glaurach’s mythal has a 10% chance of giving birth to a litter of elven cats.

6) Anyone capable of casting wizard spells can read magical writings as if under the effects of a read magic spell while within the mythal’s confines.

7) Any being that knows the secret can use the mythal to seal a wholly enclosed structure within against scrying and teleportation. By means of this power, all manner of magical or psionic divination into an enclosed space can be blocked. Similarly, all manner of magical or psionic transportation into an enclosed space can be blocked. If any means of entering a structure exists, whether it be an open window, an open door, or a hole of any size in the wall of an otherwise enclosed structure, this power of the mythal will not function. An aperture is considered sealed if any form of material wholly blocks it, whether it is a wooden door, a glass window, a piece of cloth, or a magically created wall of iron. Gases and force fields do not constitute sealing an opening, so a wall of force or a wall of fire would not suffice to block and aperture. Examples of closed structures might range from a sealed subterranean chamber, to a cloth tent with the flaps tied shut, to Daern’s instant fortress.

8) Any being that knows the secret can use the mythal to project image (as the 6th level wizard spell) at will. Only one projected image can be maintained at any given time, and a projected image can range anywhere within boundaries of the mythal as long as it remains within sight of its creator.

9) Anyone who knows the secret can cause the mythal to provide appropriate musical accompaniment to any lyrics sung or any tune played on a musical instrument.

10) Anyone who knows the secret can cause the mythal to cloak them with the effects of an iron-guard spell (as the 5th level wizard spell) at will.

11) Any spellcaster capable of casting wizard spells and who knows the secret can use the mythal to cast legend lore (as the 6th level wizard spell) at most once per twenty-four hour period. In cases where a legend lore spell takes more than twenty-four hours to cast, only one legend lore spell can be in progress at any given time.

12) Anyone who knows the secret can cause the mythal to fashion a shimmering swordlike plane of force (equivalent to the effect of a Mordenkainen’s sword, a 7th level wizard spell, but with unlimited duration as long as concentration was maintained) at will.

13) Anyone who knows the secret can use the powers of the mythal to heal themselves at an increased rate, burns heal, scars disappear and limbs re-grow. Natural healing time for such injuries is tripled whilst within the mythal’s bounds.

14) Any being tuned to the mythal is granted darkvision out to 60 feet, those with it already have their sight extended by 30 feet.

15) Many of the city’s inhabitants are poets, bards and spellsingers the mythal records all words spoken in peom or song.  Any inhabitant of the city who can recite the first verse of a poem or song can call to mind the rest of the words and their intonation. This includes spell songs, ballads, poems, sagas and entertaining ditties.

16) The mythal prevents the use of death magics and powers, whilst at the same time allowing healing spells to work at their maximum effects.

17) Any beings within the city are protected from deadly falls by a permanent feather fall effect.

18) Any being who knows the secret can invoke a spell turning effect once per day.

19) Being a city of Lore, the Mythal over the city allows anyone attuned to it to speak with shades of those buried within its walls. The souls have passed onto whatever afterlife they were meant for, but an echo of them remains.  This allows for scholars to consult with long departed lore masters about obscure matters and histories.  The effect is quite draining on both participants and can only be performed once a ten day, for a maximum of eight hours.  It helps to know the shades name.  They are quite harmless and may speak in half truths or riddles if they feel that their knowledge is likely to be abused.  This power is secret, carefully, and sparingly used by the city’s High Mages, Temple High Priests, Chief Librarians and nominated leaders of the city.  The Grand mage can cut a person off from this power at any time.