The last age of Netheril began with the birth of the mage Karsus in −696 DR, whose actions brought the empire crashing down to Toril. He was a savant among the prodigious arcanists of Netheril, attaining a mastery of spellcraft nearly instantly. During the next 300 years he created the enclave of Eileanar, discovered heavy magic and killed the rogue arcanist Wulgreth, transforming him into a lich.
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During this age, a number of significant of discoveries occurred that adversely affected the Empire of Netheril and greater region of north Faerûn for centuries. In −681 DR, arcanists who came to be known as the Night Parade, traveled to the Demiplane of Nightmares which was scantly protected by the aberrations of the Far Realm. In −553 DR the arcanists of Netheril discovered the plane of Shadow, which became the destination to where Telamont Tanthul would shift his enclave of Thultanthar in −339 DR, when it came to be known as the "Shade Enclave".
While Netheril's flying cities flourished in the sky, magical residue seeped into the earth below and became an affliction for a race of subterranean dwelling creatures called the phaerimm. Eventually, the phaerimm grew tired of their torment and began to retaliate in a war with Netheril. In −461 DR they began draining both life and magic from both Toril and the floating enclaves, creating barren wastelands where there once were lush fields and areas of wild magic. The chaotic effects of magics caused the arcanists of High Netheril to flee the empire for safer lands. The enclaves of Lhaoda and Tith Tilendrothael were destroyed and many of the arcanists of Low Netheril fled for the recently-established magocracy of Illusk, the Tower of the Star in the ruins of Andalbruin, and a settlement in the Northdark founded by Ioulaum. The absence of the arcanists caused civil unrest in Low Netheril, and the commoners fled their home. In −345 DR, Arthindol the Terraseer appeared in the enclave of Eileanar with a warning that goddess Mystryl would challenge Netheril in a manner never before seen.
The Spellplague
Mystra's death caused the Weave to collapse and, without the Weave, the Shadow Weave was unable to be maintained and collapsed as well. The breakdown of the Weave was felt by all wizards across Faerûn. The corrupted madness of Cyric defiled what arcane forces remained from the dissolution of the Weave, resulting in a new magical source of defiling arcane energy in the form of blue flames that destroyed Dweomerheart and continued to spread across the multiverse.
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Anything that came into contact with the Spellplague risked being destroyed or warped by its energies. Creatures and individuals risked becoming "plaguechanged", which entailed massive physical mutations and often a complete loss of sanity, and sometimes bestowed the creature or individual with terrible powers. Those who came into contact with weaker versions of the Spellplague were sometimes lucky enough to escape with only a spellscar, which could also bestow potent magical abilities. Physical places could also be horribly warped by the Spellplague, becoming a changeland.
The Spellplague manifested in Toril as a storm of blue flames in the Mhair Jungles, west of Halruaa, and quickly grew to a massive size. Halruaan wizards, having divined the death of Mystra and the destruction of the Weave, were able to use the energy of the blue fire to save most of their kingdom by shifting it into another world, Abeir. However, the remaining Halruaan lands in Toril were laid to waste due to the heavy wild magic activity in the area, in such a catastrophic way that the explosion was felt as far as Waterdeep. Sespech, the Golden Plains, and the Nagalands were also affected, and those lands were transformed into an unpredictable and surreal place, dubbed the Plaguewrought Lands.
The blue flames also infected portals and planar gates, spreading even further across Toril. Almost every part of Faerûn was affected by the Spellplague and certain areas were eliminated entirely, while others were created anew. Thousands of spellcasters were either destroyed or went insane due to the collapse of the Weave after Mystra's death. In Cormyr, a third of the War Wizards were either killed or driven mad. Those who survived lost their ability to use arcane magic.
In 1386 DR, the Spellplague traveled across time and space, and reached the world of Abeir through the planar gates, and large parts of Abeir and Toril switched places (small, almost imperceptible parts had been switching places since the Time of Troubles but this event was markedly more noticeable). In Abeir, the Spellplague first appeared in Gontal, the southwestern region of the continent of Laerakond, where it made contact with ancient Glaur, the fortress of the Primordial Nehushta. The fortress detonated when the "Blue Breath of Change" ran through it, in an explosion as potent as the Tearfall, rocking the entire planet of Abeir and creating the Glaur Barrens where the old fortress once stood. Laerakond was torn apart in a powerful earthquake, and a portion of the nation of Skelkor, where the capital of the dragonborn nation of Tymanchebar was located, was torn asunder and disappeared amid the blue fire.
That region, where the city-citadel of Djerad Thymar, was located, crashed on Unther, still enveloped in the blue flames. Many believed the Untherites and the Mulhorandi occupation forces were obliterated in the explosion that leveled and reshaped the whole region except for the Black Ash Plain, but actually Unther was instead transported to the world of Abeir to the lands of Shyr, the equivalent continent to Faerûn in Abeir.
The rest of Laerakond was sent to the Trackless Sea, where it was believed it subsumed the lands of Maztica. Actually, Maztica was transported to Abeir, and Laerakond, which became known as 'Returned Abeir', remained on Toril, in a different location in the Great Sea.
New Phanteon
Stars reportedly fell from the sky, gods long thought dead walked the land and armies led by Chosen clashed everywhere. Major geological instability resulted in numerous earthquakes and volcanoes, as the worlds of Abeir and Toril were separated once again, and areas once consumed by large chasms were restored to their pre-Spellplague status. Ships arrived on the mainland continent from Evermeet, Halruaa, Lantan, and Nimbral—all realms previously thought lost to Toril.
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Thanks to the efforts of Farideh, Chosen of Asmodeus, Kepeshkmolik Dumuzi, Chosen of Enlil, and the sacrifice of the War Wizard Ilstan Nyaril, Chosen of Azuth, the gods Asmodeus and Azuth became separate deities again. Due to a pact between Enlil and Asmodeus, the ancient Untherite god Nanna-Sin was resurrected as an immortal dragon turtle (instead of as a god). This allowed the dragonborn and their allies to win the Tymanther-Unther War with a decisive victory, and the Untherans were forced to flee from dragonborn lands, having retrieved just a few of their former territories.
Likewise, the Mulhorandi rebellion against the High Imaskari ended shortly thereafter, with a victory for the rebels. The defeated fled to the Plains of Purple Dust or to extraplanar safeholds. After that, the Mulhorandi gods remained as the rulers of the Mulan people, retaining the Imaskari laws that prohibited slavery and ending that scourge that had long plagued the most ancient of the Old Empires.
In Marpenoth, Larloch started a plot to become the new deity of magic by draining the wards of Candlekeep and the mythal of Myth Drannor. Meanwhile, Telamont Tanthul, who had become the Chosen of Shar, continued his work for the Lady of Loss, seeking to destroy the Chosen of the other deities, and also planning to drain the mythal of the City of Song. The goal was to use its power to transform the Weave into a new Shadow Weave. Intending to move the Shade enclave to Cormanthor and to use a ritual devised by Prince Draethren Tanthul, he hired mercenaries and monsters to support the Netherese forces, and sent agents to kill the baelnorns of Myth Drannor.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to fully restore the goddess Mystra and the Weave, Elminster Aumar began his search for Khelben Arunsun's writings on the Weave, heading towards Candlekeep. Laeral and Alustriel Silverhand had also been hiding within the library: the two sisters' duty was to prepare their own destruction, so that no one could use their power to gain control over the Weave.
The power of the Wards had also attracted other factions to Candlekeep, and many—namely, the Red Wizards, the Netherese, and the Moonstars—had sent their agents, masquerading as monks, to keep an eye on them. When Elminster reached Candlekeep, the Netherese sleeper-agents attacked the other monks to gain control of the library, but a large number of them had already been replaced by agents of the other factions, leading to a battle for the Wards. Elminster managed to trick the Netherese by masquerading as High Prince Tanthul, but he, Laeral, and Alustriel were in turn tricked by Larloch, who pretended to wish to use the energies of the Wards to strengthen the Weave. Instead, the energies of the destroyed Wards were absorbed by the Shadow King, who then left for Myth Drannor, followed by the three Chosen of Mystra.
Meanwhile, in Myth Drannor, Larloch, the Netherese, and the Chosen of Mystra (allied with the elves) clashed in a catastrophic battle. As Tanthul began the draining ritual, his Netherese forces launched an attack on Myth Drannor, and Larloch attacked the baelnorns to drain the ancient magic in their possession. During the battle, Prince Vattick Tanthul was slain by Dove Falconhand, who would then succumb to her own wounds, but not before having awakened the baelnorns of the tombs of Myth Drannor to defend their city and people. The Srinshee herself appeared to fight for Myth Drannor, ordering the baelnorns to protect the Tree of Souls, and sacrificed herself to wrest magical power from both Tanthul and Larloch, then used the wards of Candlekeep and the mythal to strengthen the Weave.
As Elminster defeated Tanthul in a mage duel, the Netherese enclave crashed atop Myth Drannor. Elminster himself was saved by Mystra, who gained full control over the Weave once more, stopping Shar from turning it into a new Shadow Weave. The survivors of Myth Drannor, among them Coronal Ilsevele Miritar and her consort Fflar Starbrow, were rescued by the Srinshee before she disappeared and transported to Semberholme. While Thultanthar was destroyed, the barrier erected by the baelnorns around the Tree of Souls managed to save it and small parts of the city from destruction when the Netherese enclave crashed down atop it. Only the baelnorns remained in the ruins of Myth Drannor afterwards.
On the other hand, only a few Shadovar survived the fall of their city, among them the sisters Manarlume and Lelavdra Tanthul and the arcanist Gwelt. They founded the 'Court of Three,' a society dedicated to saving the surviving Netherese of the Realms, hidden within one of the more intact towers in the Citadel of the Raven.
As 1487 DR came to a close, the Second Sundering ended with the full return of Mystra and the Weave, the separation of the worlds Abeir and Toril.
Hidden treasures of Waterdeep
In Waterdeep there is a legend almost as old as the world itself, the Neverember family treasure of incalculable value was hidden in the city. This legend has attracted countless adventurers in search of that gold, the leaders of the city decided to give with the approval of Lord Reaner Neverember part of the gold and some artifact that was in the treasure.
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Several people formed the group that found it, among them:
Ghilanan'naïn, a druid lost in another world. She appeared in Waterdeep because she went through an artifact called Eluvian to escape a great war when she was a child. She was raised in the city by old Purple, an old man who owned a store of curiosities that shared the characteristic of being all purple. When she heard about the treasure one day in the tavern she decided to accompany the group for the chance of finding another Eluvian or some form of teleportation to return home and save her family.
Gheorghievich, a leonin who left his hometown because of rumors that he belongs to the royal family of Fornax. Following his mother's instructions he went in the wrong direction and ended up in waterdeep, he joined the group in search of noble people who could guide him on his way.
Ember, an assassin seeking to escape from a cult that is looking for her and her former companions. The promise of riches and a desire were too high to pass up to be able to change her life completely and ask them to stop looking for them is the only thing she longed for.
Searching they went on a mission where they were tasked with disenchanting an old building in the city where there might be clues to the whereabouts of the treasure. Upon entering they discovered that the place was inhabited by a specter named Lif, this after trying to throw them out proposed a deal, if they repaired the tavern and returned it to its former glory he would work for free as a waiter and allow them to live on the upper floors of the building.
The group agreed and with the help of some of the leaders of the craftsmen's guild they returned the tavern to a steady flow of customers, Lif was happy to see how his dream of being alive was finally fulfilled and the group had a place to live quietly while they searched for the treasure.
Continuing with the story, an attack occurred in the streets of the city, it seemed that they were not the only ones looking for the treasure. Here they met several important people of the city.
Valetta, a draconic cleric of the temple of Gond who guarded a machine that lives in the temple called Nim, this machine created a clone of her because she felt lonely but this copy ended up escaping and provoking the attack by order of Jarlaxle a drow of Seraldine who seeks the treasure in order to ask for the liberation of his people from the clutches of Lolth, the spider goddess.
While searching for this individual they met Silverhand and his council who confirmed the prize for the treasure. They ended up on good terms with the group and even offered help at specific points in their quest.
Searching for more information they ended up at a party of a noble family, the Gralhund house. During the infiltration they saved Orodond Gralhund from being kidnapped by one of Jarlaxle's lackeys to exchange him for a Golorr stone, a living artifact that knows the location of the treasure chamber.
Following the clues and after some encounter with Jarlaxle they reach the chamber just after Jarlaxle where they defeat him in a final combat. Then they enter the great chamber using the three keys that the artifact told them they needed:
The hand of a severed Drow (Jarlaxle's)
The gift of a queen (A ring of communication that Silverhand gave them)
A bar of Adamantium (Stolen from the village blacksmith)
The group enters the chamber which was protected by a dragon which took the form of a dwarf who finally granted them access to the treasure. Silverhand and the council arrive shortly after and grant them the reward. Ghilan'naïn chooses a staff that allows her to teleport to a place she remembers and the group decides to accompany her back to her world.
The group creates and goes through the portal but something goes wrong, the portal is not stable enough to take them to such a great distance and seems to teleport them to another place...
The forgotten village
After passing through the portal, part of the group splits up: while Gheorghievich ends up in Ghilan'nain's hometown, the rest end up not far from Waterdeep, falling from a great height into a forest.
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The fall leaves them unconscious in front of a camp set up by a succubus named Catryna, who belongs to the cult of the Sovereign of the Twilight Court. Seeing the unconscious group, she notices the elf and the power she has. The Sovereign commands her to steal some of that power for herself, but in the process Ghilan'nain awakens and cannot steal all of her power, so Catryna, posing as an adventurer, treats the group's wounds and offers to help them on their way, though she only wants to steal the rest of her power.
The next day, as they begin to leave the forest, they are assaulted by some small walking bushes who steal several valuables from them, such as the druidess and witch's magic foci. In chasing these bushes, they end up encountering a kobold who scolds them for stealing other people's belongings and will now have to find the people to return them, although, shortly before finishing the sentence, the elf rushes in demanding their items.
After clearing up the misunderstanding, the kobold Kavnu joins the group, as he is looking for some materials in the area and the extra protection won't hurt. Together, the new group leaves the forest and sees, in the distance, a village that does not appear on any map.
The villagers seem to have lost all emotion; there is no trace of it on their faces. This is because the town is enclosed in a magical dome that prevents people from leaving the town and, at the same time, from the outside you cannot see the town until you are inside. The group discovers this after talking to the town's barmaid, Daphne, a human companion of Catryna's cult who was trapped some time ago along with her best friend and companion Cosmos, another succubus also belonging to the same cult.
Together they investigate the cause of her imprisonment and discover a mega dungeon in the town's underground ruled by a mad wizard. The group devotes themselves day by day to investigate that dungeon, where they find a group of thieves on the second floor, a goblin tribe on the second floor and various groups and problems on the subsequent floors.
After several months of investigation, they discover an Eluvian hidden in one of the floors that the wizard probably used to travel between them; upon entering, they find themselves on the top floor, where the wizard resides. The group moves stealthily, as they are unprepared for the dangers of this floor, until they encounter the wizard himself.
In combat, the wizard teleports each member to a traumatic scene from their past from which they cannot emerge until they realize it is a dream. They all eventually awaken to find Kavnu badly wounded, surrounded by his destroyed inventions and turrets, and several defeated elementals. Apparently, he protected the group while they were in the wizard's illusion. The combat continued until the mage was about to be defeated and decided to destroy the entire dungeon with them inside. The group manages to escape and the barrier has fallen, so they head back to Waterdeep to seek help from Silverhand.
