The Shadovar invasion of Wheloon was a brief conflict fought inside the Wheloon Prison in the mid-1480s DR, which involved the forces of Thultanthar infiltrating the prison and attacking the defending Cormyrean garrison. A key part of the invasion was the Shadovar's use of the Abyssal Planus Mechanus Nether Scroll to open a passage called the Shadowfell Nexus through the Shadowfell that they used to secretly bring troops and supplies into the city. The conflict between realms naturally affected the prisoners who lived there as well, including the Wheloon natives.[1]
For centuries the kingdom of Cormyr has gone unchallenged. Its people have grown fat and careless, its rulers have become blind to the world around them. Yet all that changes, starting now. Starting now, the old kingdom falls and Netheril rises. Starting now, the shadow falls over Cormyr!
History[]
Goals[]
The Shadowfell Nexus meant that the Shadowfell was just a step away.
I know that in the end our operations here may be a feint, and the real, final blow to Cormyr will come from Sembia. Yet Wheloon Prison is now a deadly dagger pointed at the heart of Cormyr. I would not be doing my duty if I did not suggest that we drive it home as soon as possible.
The conspiracy inside the Wheloon Prison was intended to recruit the entire population of prisoners to the Netherese cause, drive the Cormyrean forces from the city, and use it as a base from which to attack Cormyr itself, all while using the Shadowfell Nexus to move in and out of the fortified prison unopposed. This was ultimately designed to provide a distraction from the Cormyrean front with Sembia, where much of their forces were already focused, and allow the real invasion to strike from that direction when the Purple Dragons and War Wizards were drawn away. A third strike would come from the newly-created glacier enclave of Archwizard Amskar, bearing an army of orcs, giants, and other auxiliaries.[1]
Shadovar Infiltration[]
The recruiting center for prisoners to join up with Netheril.
Allow me to commend you on your recent recruitment efforts. It's vital that we train these new recruits as quickly as possible. Prince Telamont wishes to move forward on several fronts, and they will need every man we can put into the field.
By the understanding of the Cormyrean garrison, the population of the prison was simply made up of the Sharran prisoners (those proven to be, or suspected) and the non-Sharran prisoners (typically violent and hardened criminals), who were a threat to each other but not their captors. Patrols of Purple Dragons and magistrates were able to enter the city at will and perform their duties without particular danger, but the secret arrival of the Shadovar and their allies quickly overturned the status quo. Entire patrols of soldiers began to go missing, lone survivors would emerge with cursed wounds and damaged minds, and Oldstone Hall could be seen from over the walls pulsing with a strange magical energy.[1]
The prisoners became far more active as well, with most of the Sharrans quickly joining up with the Netherese forces, and there was nothing preventing the most violent convicted criminals like Zastra from carving out territories at the expense of everyone else. Groups of Purple Dragons, War Wizards, and magistrates were isolated and picked off at the hands of enraged prisoners who had lost their fear and sensed an opportunity to escape. The lesser-known Wheloon natives remained essentially neutral and uninvolved in the fighting whenever possible, as they were hard-pressed simply surviving as the situation deteriorated. They remained fortified within Harvest House and the drainage culverts, under attack from violent gangs.[1]
This early period of secrecy lasted a few weeks, with the Netherese forces hidden behind the rioting prisoners. However, during this time the headstrong adventurer Oriphaun Huntsilver smuggled his way into the prison, chasing rumors of lost relics that he could add to his collection. Although he entered the city selfishly, he quickly discovered that it was no ordinary riot and found the Netherese forces within. Knowing that this posed a grave threat to the kingdom, he pursued an investigation into the shadowy conspirators, eventually uncovering their plans while remaining undetected.[1]
One of the earliest signs that something was wrong had been when the prominent Sharran prisoner Dedryk Black somehow vanished from the prison, only to be rediscovered in the foothills of the Storm Horns while leading a cult. Unbeknownst to the jailors, Dedryk had used the Shadowfell Nexus to simply walk out of the prison. Though Magistrate Abella Toth had managed to capture him, Barthold Moncrief's group was attacked while returning the prisoner a short distance from Wheloon. The raid led by the lizardfolk shaman Srass Marnanr sought to rescue Dedryk Black on behalf of Netheril, though it was ultimately unsuccessful and Dedryk was returned to Wheloon.[2]
On arrival in Wheloon he was taken to the Magistrate's Office for interrogation by Cornelius Latrimor, only for the Shadowfell Nexus to briefly and violently overlap with the docks, depositing a small army of living shadows and enraged prisoners amidst the shocked Cormyrean forces. Though they were warded off, the distraction allowed the assassin Teralyn to slay the Magistrate and send Dedryk and other Sharran prisoners to freedom through the Shadowfell.[1]
Once they were securely established, the Netherese forces were mainly based in northern Wheloon around Oldstone Hall, home of Archwizard Tyrvus, his Nether Scroll, and the Shadowfell Nexus, and the Netherese recruiting center, a fortified building where General Marthir took in and trained prisoners. More Netherese forces were scattered about the surrounding area, including the merchant's townhouse where the shadar-kai Karleth held his twisted court, the Netherese tavern where the invaders could go to relax, the abandoned bookstore, and the aptly-named Shar Manor.[1]
Cormyrean Counterattack[]
At the prompting of the Amaunatori priest Dai Rolno, Knight Faline Abbot sent adventurers to investigate the circumstances of the Wheloon natives in the drainage culverts, who were being assaulted by a large gang led by the Troise siblings. In the process of the grim underground fighting, Porto, Aramiya, and finally Athea Troise were slain, destroying not just the family but the gang itself. The action also led to some cooperation between the Wheloon natives and the Cormyrean forces, who began to acknowledge that many of the prisoners trapped in the city had been innocent of any Sharran worship.[1]
Following that, Wizard of War spymaster Gaspry Bennik acted on reports that an unknown figure was organizing and unifying all the prisoners into a single massive gang. To investigate the situation he sent in a team of infiltrators led by Fordwin, supported by adventurers, to pose as criminals and join the group. On reaching the target, however, the Cormyrean team was captured by the Sharran priest Stanwicke Gall and his assistant Tulla Chymbal, who had been unifying and proselytizing the disparate prisoners. The adventurers managed to fight their way out of the ambush and confront Stanwicke, refused his offer of a job with Netheril, and cut him and Tulla down. In addition to saving the captured Cormyrean agents, this prevented the Netherese from easily recruiting the prisoners that weren't already Sharrans.[1]
Following that, a rescue mission was launched by Knight Hargrove Jalt into the heart of Netherese territory in order to save the magistrates Aloysius Cornwall and Fledren Hull, who had been captured by the shadar-kai commander Karleth. The heroes of Cormyr attacked his base at the old merchant's townhouse that he had fitted with cages, and fought through his shadar-kai and howler forces to save the magistrates. In the end, Karleth fell along with his champions Yzthmeth and Kuttar, and the magistrates were saved from his cruel executions.[1]
With a better understanding of the situation, Swordcaptain Iden Krell sent a group to infiltrate and destroy the Netherese recruitment center. Within, Wheloon prisoners were recruited with promises of glory, revenge, and freedom, and converted to the worship of Shar. With hard fighting the Cormyreans defeated the underofficers Darobard and Rantha, and gained access to the central tower where General Marthir waited. Although he summoned a fearsome nightcrawler from the Shadowfell, Marthir fell as well, ruining the Netherese attempts at recruitment and disrupting their command structure.[1]
The adventurous Oriphaun had completed his own investigations, and had determined that the Netherese had used a Nether Scroll to create the Shadow Nexus. Knowing that the situation was well above his capabilities, he dropped a letter explaining all he had learned with the Cormyrean garrison, asking for assistance. Willing to take the chance, Wizard of War Jacinta Last sent a team into Oldstone Hall itself to meet Oriphaun and find and capture the Nether Scroll. While Oriphaun climbed up the side of the tower in an attempt to sneak in and abscond with the Scroll, the others entered by force, using Mirrors of Shadows to step between the material and shadow worlds and bypass the Netherese defenses. While Oriphaun was actually successful in entering the tower from a window and laid hands on the Nether Scroll, he was immediately caught by Archwizard Tyrvus and magically paralyzed. The Cormyrean team arrived soon after and joined battle with the Archwizard, who used the Shadowfell Nexus itself as a weapon against them, though to no avail. The arcanist was eventually overcome and fell in battle, and the Nexus ceased with his death. Oriphaun recovered quickly from his incapacitation and after a brief thanks and farewell disappeared with the Nether Scroll in order to keep it out of Netherese hands permanently.[1]
Aftermath[]
As a result of the failed invasion, much of the Netherese forces were destroyed along with their commanding shades Marthir and Tyrvus, and without the Shadowfell Nexus the remaining soldiers and local recruits remained trapped inside the prison. The most irreplaceable loss was that of the Nether Scroll, which was carried off by Oriphaun Huntsilver and protected by the Harpers. Although the Netherese pursued in force and briefly recaptured the artifact, they ultimately failed to recover it.[1][3]
The failure of the Wheloon Shadowfell conspiracy and the loss of the Nether Scroll was followed by the destruction of Archwizard Amskar's newly-raised enclave in the Storm Horns and its mythallar (also thanks to Oriphaun). These setbacks meant that the subsequent Shadovar invasion of Cormyr of 1486 DR under Lady Marsheena was severely blunted and eventually failed by the end of that year.[1][4]
Combatants[]
Netheril is the greatest empire Toril has ever seen — a land of flying cities and boundless magic. Then for long centuries Netheril slept and its bounteous fields faded into desert. Yet soon we will eclipse even our former glory. The future belongs to Netheril! The future belongs to you!
Archwizard Tyvrus maintained supreme command of the operation, though his attention was split with maintaining the Shadowfell Nexus, so General Marthir was thus responsible for much of daily command. Beneath them, a number of shades held power, including Lord Monte, Auralace, and Trassex, the strangely masochistic Karleth held much influence over the shadar-kai forces including Nichts Volpe, the Mistress of the Hounds, and priests such as Stanwicke Gall and Sombra proselytized among the masses. They brought in large numbers of shadar-kai fighters, with Sharran priests and arcanists providing magical support. Their forces were supplemented by large numbers of prisoners, initially those who were already Sharrans but then expanding to the general population, many of which had more than enough reasons to fight against Cormyr. They also used shadows, gargoyles, and other creatures like howlers to supplement their forces.[1]
Cormyrean forces were largely made up of of Purple Dragons under the command of Oversword Edric Crastmere and Constal Davny Selkin, supported by War Wizards and priests from the church of Amaunator. They were aided by specialists like Gira Falantine, on Shar, Waric Altamor, regarding the Netherese Empire, Kalo Mandanas, on the Shadowfell, and Jacinta Last, who was an expert on the Nether Scrolls. , allowing the defenders to better understand the situation and develop a counter-attack. They were willing to accept the aid of adventurers in investigating the interior, including renegade shadar-kai, over-enthusastic Amaunatori priests, and disgraced Purple Dragons.[1]
The ongoing connection to the Shadowfell also allowed other shadowy creatures like nightcrawlers and eyes of shadow to enter the material realm and interfere, though Archwizard Tyvrus believed them to be a negligible threat to the operation. Opportunistic night hags were among these interlopers, and many were hired by the Netherese as mercenaries (with significant reservations).[1]
The lizardfolk who lived around and beneath Wheloon had initially been hired by Cormyr to act as a second line of defense and block escapes, especially through the drainage culverts. As the invasion proceeded, some were subverted to the side of the Netherese through extravagant payments, while others like Snake and Salak remained sensibly uninvolved.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Menace of the Underdark (including Web of Chaos) is dated to the period of 1484–1485 DR, as it references the ongoing Darkening. Shadowfell Conspiracy (including Disciples of Shadow, Shadow Under Thunderholme, The Druid's Deep, and The High Road of Shadows) are dated to the same period, as they are stated to take place at roughly the same time as Menace of the Underdark.
Appearances[]
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 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 Standing Stone Games (August 2013). Dungeons & Dragons Online: Shadowfell Conspiracy. Daybreak Game Company.
- ↑ Standing Stone Games (February 2006). Dungeons & Dragons Online. Daybreak Game Company.
- ↑ Standing Stone Games (November 2012). “The High Road of Shadows”. In Dungeons & Dragons Online. Daybreak Game Company.
- ↑ Erin M. Evans (October 2014). Fire in the Blood (hardcover ed.). (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 30, p. ?. ISBN 978-0-7869-6529-8.