Unther

Unther was one of the Old Empires in eastern Faerûn. The Untherite were brought to Toril from Earth by the Imaskar Empire looking for some manpower. After countless praises, the gods of the Untheric pantheon were able to manifest into Toril by sending physical avatars. With the help of their deities, the former slaves freed themselves and settled that lands that later became Unther. Ironically, their rival in the millennia to come was another human tribe captured by the Imaskari and freed at the same time, which founded the empire of Mulhorand.

Government
After the foundation of the First Untheric Empire, the god-kings of the Untheric pantheon ruled the land without opposition. After Enlil left the Realms in -734 DR, Gilgeam became the inmortal ruler of Unther until his death in 1358 DR. In the chaotic period before Gilgeam's death, Mulhorand conquered most of Unther, and a group of spellcasters known Northern Wizards were able to maintain the north free of the presence of the occupation force.

Then, the Spellplague ravaged the land and Unther was transported to the world of Abeir, and a second incarnation of Gilgeam appeared to lead them against the Abeiran genasi before the Second Sundering returned Unther to the world of Toril.

People and culture
The populace of Unther before 1358 DR was primarily composed of humans of the Mulan ethnic group, with a few humans of other ethnic groups as a minority. A few demihumans also were also part of the Untheran populace, but only as slaves.


 * Nobility :Members of Unther's nobility took up positions in the nation's government, often as priests, wizards, or bureaucrats. They were either Gilgeam's priests or his most trusted non-clerics followers. All nobles of Unther were of the Mulan ethnic group and they practiced marriage between members of the same family to maintain their Mulan bloodlines "pure". Despite Unther's long history, its nobility was rather small in numbers. During Gilgeam's long rule, families fell from his favor and were sold to slavery, and he elevated a few "pure-blooded Mulans" to replace them.


 * Middle Class :Mulhorand's middle class was composed of human, mostly foreigners, who were freeholders, traders or members of the military.


 * Slaves :Slaves in Unther were either members of those families who fell from Gilgeam's favor, or members of demihuman races. Their lives were worthless in they eyes of those in power and typically were bought from other nations, or given slavery as a sentence for crimes, imagined or real.

This situation changed after the death of Gilgeam, in 1358 DR. Mulhorand quickly conquered the land and most slaves became property of the Mulhorandi clergy, gaining the rights of the Mulhorandi slaves. The surviving nobles fled and became fugitives in their own lands.

When the Spellplague transported Unther to the world of Abeir, both the Untherans and the Mulhorandi became slaves of the Shyran genasi. With the return of Gilgeam as the ruler of the 15th century's Unther, the laws and culture of Unther became more or less the same as they were before his death.

Military
Members of the Untheric military usually became officers. Untheric battle tactics and methods were considered to be old-fashioned by the standards of other faerûnian nations, because the army of Unther was poorly trained and used mostly bronze weapons and armors.

Navy and seafaring
Vessels from Unther were named after sea creatures or sea-related myths.

Post-Spellplague
Like its neighbor Mulhorand, Unther was completely wiped out by the Spellplague. The Untherans and the occupation Mulhorandi armies in Unther were almost entirely erased, and a fragment of the dragonborn nation of Tymanchebar was transplanted from Abeir onto Unther. As of 1479 DR, these dragonborn have formed the realm of Tymanther, named in honor of their native realm and the realm that they believed they destroyed.

After the Second Sundering, it was revealed that the people of Unther had actually been shifted to Abeir. During their time there, the survivors became slaves of the Shyran genasi. Hearing the pleas of the people of Unther, a second incarnation of Gilgeam arose to defend them. In order to win against the Abeirans, Gilgeam struck a pact with the demon lord Graz'zt in exchange for a demon army. On the eve of a great battle against the Shyrans, however, they suddenly returned to Toril. Gilgeam took advantage of the new situation and quickly led them against the dragonborn, starting the First Tymanther-Unther War.

The Untherite army, bolstered by the demons, was able to reclaim most of their old northern territory and even put the dragonborn city of Djerad Kethendi under siege. But when they tried to conquer the territories south of the River Alamaber and to siege Djerad Thymar, the Tymantherans were able to retaliate thanks to the unlikely arrival of a devil army from Malbolge sent to destroy Gilgeam's demon allies. Without the advantage of numbers and facing the unified force of the dragonborn and the threat of the Second Sundering trying to return Tymanther to Abeir (a process that was stopped by the god Enlil), the Untherite armies were forced to retread to Unthalass.

Although he was defeated, Gilgeam didn't relent from his plan to retrieve all of the former lands of Unther. As of 1489 DR, Tymanther and Unther were waging a new war, although the Untherite army was unable to defeat the dragon turtle that protected Djerad Kethendi.

Locations

 * Shussel: In 1372 DR, this city hosted a Shou Town