Valashar's Bane was a ship in Cormyr's navy in the 4th century DR, sailing on the Sea of Fallen Stars. It was the flagship of the fleet and carried Crown Prince Azoun I, until it was wrecked and a sunk in a storm in 389 DR, taking with it many great treasures.[1][2][3]
Description
It was a fast-running cog, swift enough to overtake pirate vessels on the Inner Sea along the Dragon Coast, though it was not heavily armed.[1]
As a wreck by the mid–14th century DR, the ship's wooden timbers had all rotted away and the copper fittings had rusted away. The only remains were coins, nails, and cutlasses, scattered about and buried under some 10 inches (25 centimeters) of mud, which protected from corrosion.[1]
History
The ship was named in honor of Prince Azoun's victories over the realm of Valashar in the Year of the Leaping Hare, 376 DR.[1][4] It became the prince's pride and joy.[1]
In the Year of the Wooded Altar, 389 DR, Azoun sailed Valashar's Bane to the Vilhon Reach, on a trade mission to Arrabar. Prince Azoun and the trainee Royal Wizard Amedahast slipped away to explore elven ruins in the Chondalwood, where they ran into Dima, the self-proclaimed Djinni-Lord, a marauding mage. They killed Dima and took away his treasure and magical relics.[2][5]
However, on the return voyage later that year, Valashar's Bane was hit by a bad storm on the Sea of Fallen Stars, which caught the prince and crew by surprise. The ship holed its hull on the rocks of the Neck, around 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of the Darkflow River. Taking on water, the prince and his crew limped back as close to Cormyr as they could, before the ship finally sank 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the shore.[1][2][6][7][8][9]
Fortunately, no lives had been lost in the sinking, much to the prince's relief. He and all the crew escaped in smaller boats and landed on shore west of the Darkflow, a day later at dawn. Azoun described the moment as "the best gleaming dawn seen in Cormyr yet". However, he regretted the loss of Valashar's Bane, which had taken the royal sword Ilbratha with it, along with lesser regalia and the treasures won by Azoun on the expedition.[1][2]
To later generations of Cormyreans, Ilbratha became a symbol of the glory and bounty lost with Valashar's Bane. It became one of the Lost Blades, official pieces of Cormyr's regalia sought for by authorities and adventurers.[9] However, the sword resurfaced very soon after when it was recovered by two fishermen from Teziir, who sold it on.[6][7][2]
Location
On the surface, Valashar's Bane sank 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the shore and 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of the Darkflow River, just within the Lake of Dragons. It came to rest at a depth of around 95 feet (29 meters), on a rocky patch of seafloor, some 39 miles (63 kilometers) due east of Nalufaen, a city of the sea elf realm of Naramyr.[1]
Contents
Valashar's Bane was carrying some impressive treasures back to Cormyr when it went down, much of it taken from Dima the Djinni-Lord. These included:
- A good deal of treasure won from Dima;
- Ilbratha, the Mistress of Battles, the prince's enchanted short sword, later recovered;
- A stone horse figurine of wondrous power taken from Dima, intended to be presented to King Anglond on his birthday; and
- The Silver Scimitar of Amahl the Mad and the magic ring Amahl's Mastering, which Azoun and Amedahast kept hidden in a secret chest concealed within the captain's cabin and only they knew about.
However, at least one of these—Ilbratha—was quickly recovered. The rest were presumed to remain within the wreck and debris of Valashar's Bane.[1]
Appendix
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 19. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 23. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 15. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 71, 72. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 26–27. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ed Greenwood (June 1983). “Seven Swords”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #74 (TSR, Inc.), p. 22.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ed Greenwood, Steve Perrin (May 1988). The Magister. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 57. ISBN 0-88038-564-2.
- ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 126. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Brian Cortijo (January 2012). “Blades of Kings: The Cormyrean Swords of State”. In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #407 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 31.