The Black Chronology, also known as the Shadow Roll,[1] was an alternate prophecy by the Lost Sage, Augathra the Mad, who penned the Roll of Years.[2] In addition to her daytime visions that were recorded in the Roll of Years, she experienced dark visions at night while sleeping and these she wrote down in a book that eventually became known as the Book of the Black.[3][4][5] She believed that the goddess Shar was the source of these revelations and that they were part of a plan by the Dark Goddess to destroy the Weave and its embodiment, Mystryl.[6]
History[]
Augathra began having her nightmarish visions around −400 DR and they propelled her to wander Toril, slowly driving her insane.[3] The Book of the Black was lost for over a millennium until the Year of the Sundered Crypt, 684 DR, when the Dark Diviners of Myth Drannor discovered it[4] in the Fane of Shadows,[5] a multi-planar temple that roamed the planes in service to various shadowy deities.[7] The sages of the Dark Diviners studied the tome and thought they discovered a weakness or vulnerability in Shar's plans or perhaps the goddess herself at some point in the future, and they recorded their deciphering of the Book in their own tome called The Leaves of One Night. When Shar learned of this, she cursed both books to be illegible[8] and then had her followers steal both works.[4]
In the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR, adventurers investigating a false temple of Mystra in Wheloon eventually traveled to the Monastery of the Ebon Dome on the Plane of Shadow. There, they confronted and defeated the Cyricist Skull Servant, Bineera Ethar. On her person, they found an unfinished letter to her superior, Blackwill Haarken Akhmelere, and a piece of parchment that purportedly contained the first thirty-four years of the Black Chronology and, more importantly, the matching names from the Roll of Years.[9][10]
A Portion of the Black Chronology[]
The scrap of parchment believed to have been written by a Sharran monk of the Monastery of the Ebon Dome contained the following list:[9][10]
| Year | Roll of Years | Black Chronology |
|---|---|---|
| 1352 DR | Year of the Dragon | Year of the Lost King |
| 1353 DR | Year of the Arch | Year of Masks |
| 1354 DR | Year of the Bow | Year of Great Reaping |
| 1355 DR | Year of the Harp | Year of Retreat |
| 1356 DR | Year of the Worm | Year of the Drow |
| 1357 DR | Year of the Prince | Year of Spell Flames |
| 1358 DR | Year of Shadows | Year of Ascension |
| 1359 DR | Year of the Serpent | Year of the Carnival |
| 1360 DR | Year of the Turret | Year of Armies |
| 1361 DR | Year of Maidens | Year of the Golden Discovery |
| 1362 DR | Year of the Helm | Year of the Sun |
| 1363 DR | Year of the Wyvern | Year of Winter |
| 1364 DR | Year of the Wave | Year of Lords |
| 1365 DR | Year of the Sword | Year of Joyous Elves |
| 1366 DR | Year of the Staff | Year of Icy Waters |
| 1367 DR | Year of the Shield | Year of Unmasking |
| 1368 DR | Year of the Banner | Year of the Sons |
| 1369 DR | Year of the Gauntlet | Year of the City's Sorrows |
| 1370 DR | Year of the Tankard | Year of the Deep War |
| 1371 DR | Year of the Unstrung Harp | Year of the Toppling Towers |
| 1372 DR | Year of Wild Magic | Year of Dark Returns |
| 1373 DR | Year of Rogue Dragons | Year of Madness |
| 1374 DR | Year of Lightning Storms | Year of the Unraveling |
| 1375 DR | Year of Risen Elfkin | Year of Harsh Goals |
| 1376 DR | Year of the Bent Blade | Year of False Hopes |
| 1377 DR | Year of the Haunting | Year of the Black Banner |
| 1378 DR | Year of the Cauldron | Year of Broken Hearts |
| 1379 DR | Year of the Lost Keep | Year of Lost Wisdom |
| 1380 DR | Year of the Blazing Hand | Year of the Dull Blade |
| 1381 DR | Year of the Starving | Year of the Fool |
| 1382 DR | Year of the Black Blazon | Year of Unwelcome Guests |
| 1383 DR | Year of the Vindicated Warrior | Year of Unjust Rewards |
| 1384 DR | Year of Three Streams Blooded | Year of Stolen Thrones |
| 1385 DR | Year of Blue Fire | Year of the Revelation |
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Rob Heinsoo, Logan Bonner, Robert J. Schwalb (September 2008). Forgotten Realms Player's Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 155–156. ISBN 978-0-7869-4929-8.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 43. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Greg A. Vaughan, Skip Williams, Thomas M. Reid (November 2007). Anauroch: The Empire of Shade. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 4. ISBN 0-7869-4362-9.
- ↑ Greg A. Vaughan, Skip Williams, Thomas M. Reid (November 2007). Anauroch: The Empire of Shade. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 63. ISBN 0-7869-4362-9.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Greg A. Vaughan, Skip Williams, Thomas M. Reid (November 2007). Anauroch: The Empire of Shade. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 146. ISBN 0-7869-4362-9.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 157. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Richard Baker, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan, Matthew Sernett, James Wyatt (March 2007). Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 158–159. ISBN 978-0-7869-4119-3.