The Gorge of the Fallen Idol, formerly known as the Gorge of Nomog-Geaya the Warrior, was a deep canyon carved by the River Ith in the county of Hazamarch in Tethyr.[1]
Geography[]
The gorge was formed at the point where the Idolflow merged with the River Ith,[1][3] at the southern border of Hazamarch.[4] The cliffs of the gorge contained many caves.[1]
The place was formerly the site of a massive idol of the hobgoblin god Nomog-Geaya.[1]
Inhabitants[]
The region around the Gorge of the Fallen Idol was once the home of a civilization of hobgoblins or other large goblinoids. By the late 114th century DR, young dragons instead lived in its caves. They took shelter there from older and larger wyrms and took delight in playing pranks on (or enslaving or eating) those who came to use the fallen idol as a place of worship.[1]
Other monsters seemed to congregate near the Gorge, causing security problems to the county of Hazamarch, even sending attacks against Iltarghal Keep a few times each summer.[5]
History[]
Between −5400 DR and −5300 DR, during the Clash at Earthrift (an older name for the gorge), a battle of Shanatar dwarves and their Tethir elven allies against the giants and humans, the dwarves intentionally set off a landslide to fall upon their foes. The falling earth buried alive more than a score of giants, but the destruction also accidentally killed two elven princes. This event triggered the abandonment of their dwarven allies by the elves of the Forest of Tethir, and the tide of the battle turned until the day was ultimately won by the humans and giants. Over the next century from this event, relations between the elves and dwarves continued to deteriorate.[2]
Around −3778 DR,[1][6] long before the existence of either Tethyr or Calimshan as a kingdom,[1] the goblinoids began to settle in this region. They grew advanced enough as a civilization to enslave nearby dwarves and in that manner constructed for themselves the great statue of Nomog-Geaya the Warrior.[1] The monolith was completed some time around the year −3400 DR.[1][7] No fewer than three separate tribes, led by shaman rulers inhabited the gorge for 1500 years.[1]
The dwarves of Shanatar tried several times to defeat the hobgoblin tribes but were never successful, nor were the elves or humans.[1] It was not until the year −1931 DR that armies from the newly founded nation of Calimshan were able to fell the great idol,[1][8][9] but only after four separate battles.[9] After its fall, the humans were able to slaughter the goblinoids of the region.[1]
Rumors & Legends[]
Some believed that a power still lingered in the remains of the once great idol and claimed it as their own god.[1]
Some suggested that the Idolflow had a drainage point the led below the surface of the gorge, which was why that river once contained a lake and no longer did.[3]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book One: Tethyr”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 88. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book One: Tethyr”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book One: Tethyr”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 56. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1997). Lands of Intrigue: Book One: Tethyr (back cover). (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book One: Tethyr”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 87. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (October 1998). Calimport. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 0-7869-1238-3.
- ↑ 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. 33. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.