The Transition
The year was 1372, Dale Reckoning (DR) when a group of adventurers known as “Dragon’s Demise,” were tricked into removing the Stone of Corbinet (also called the Apocalypse Stone due to the damage its removal caused) from its rightful place in Castle Pescheour. These adventurers were operating out of Goliad in the Barony of Brandiar. This action severed the connection to all other planes of existence, and the Realms began to tear apart.
Once the Realms
shifted out-of-alignment with the other planes, many events unfolded. First, King Bunkey and the rest of Damage,
Inc. were stranded in the Abyss. The brave
companions: King Bull Bunkey, Stone, Misery, Methos, Niteshade, and Thoryn had
decided to strike out at the heart of the Witch-King’s power. They struck at Orcus himself, ruler of the
lower planes. The friends traveled to the Abyss to steal the demon-lord’s wand,
leaving the Realms about one week before the Stone was removed.
Meanwhile, Dragon’s Demise spent a week helping
people harmed by the sudden appearance of Castle Pescheour, and arrived back in Goliad to discover things
horribly amiss. With information from
Lord Broden of Helmsdale, they traveled to Maynard’s tower. Maynard, a former member of Dragon’s Demise,
had been working with the Witch King against the party. Prince Garloth had also approached Maynard to
aid him in capturing the stone. Once the
Witch-King’s power was diminished due to the severing of his ties to Orcus,
Maynard switched allegiance to the Prince.
Maynard was protecting a rod of great power – capable of destroying
plague and pestilence in a 200-mile radius once activated. Dragon’s Demise captured the Rod and
activated it, temporarily staving off many deaths in the Cold Lands.
Meanwhile, the exiled Grand Duke of Hell Moloch (former viceroy of Baalzebul and Lord of Malbolge, the sixth circle) had been stranded in the Realms just prior to his armies attacking Malbolge to reclaim it. Unable to gate back and lead his forces, his armies were destroyed. He killed the friends and relatives of Dragon’s Demise, and then attempted to kill the party. He was unsuccessful. Once he was driven off, an Avatar of Tyr teleported the party to a location near Castle Pescheour. The party was subjected to several tests to determine if they had the capacity to right their own wrongs and save the Realms.
Meanwhile, with Damage, Inc. missing, his own
power weakened, and so much in flux, the Witch-King turned his eyes back to
Damara and lashed out in panic. Zhengyi
sent his vast army south. He pulled the bandit army back into his fold, and
attacked across the Galenas. But the swelling
army of Bloodstone, under the temporary leadership of the former Knights of
Mistmore, Lady Katia and the Ranger Liljanna, and
from Lord Broden of Helmsdale, fought fiercely and drove back the Witch-King’s
soldiers.
The forces reached a stalemate at the Ford of
Goliad—ironically, the very site of the Witch-King’s first victory over
Damara. With each army in firm control
of one bank of the river, there seemed no end in sight. The stalemate was shattered by two events –
the return of the Stone, and the theft of Orcus’ wand.
First, Dragon’s Demise passed Tyr’s tests and were made aware of their horrible mistake. King Alain provided them the means to find
his elder brother Garloth and correct their error. Fighting a horrific battle against terrible
odds, Dragon’s Demise reclaimed the stone and returned it to Castle Pescheour. Unfortunately,
Lyryn was killed in the process.
Second, King Bunkey and his companions had struck
out at Orcus by stealing the demon-lord’s wand, taking the vile instrument to
the Seven Heavens where it was ultimately destroyed. Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, gave King
Bunkey the Tree-Gem, and sent the victorious heroes back to Bloodstone. Once planted, the gem grew into a beautiful
white tree, a symbol of hope with the power to forever banish Orcus and the
other monsters of the Abyss from the Bloodstone Lands.
By returning the Stone, Dragon’s Demise had redeemed themselves and saved all existence. Tyr appeared to them, and gave them a choice. Now that they knew too much information about the Stone and its powers, they could either go to their final reward as Lyryn had done, or they could swear the oath to become the new Knights of Pescheour. Only Sir Phinneas elected to accompany his deity back to nirvana, where he was made an avatar for the god of justice. The rest of the party was made guardians of the very stone they stole, their existence now confined entirely to Castle Pescheour. The rest of the world was never to learn of their heroic actions.
Additionally, with the defeat of the demon-lord,
the Witch-King lost the source of his dark power. Castle Perilous crumbled into ruins, the
priests of the goat’s head religion lost their strength, and the undead of the
Vaasan army fell to dust. King Bunkey,
Lord Broden, Katia, and Lilijanna drove the confused
remnants of the wretched forces of
Ten years have elapsed since the Year of Wild Magic when the Realms were nearly torn apart. The current year is 1382 DR. It is 24 years after the Time of Troubles, and is also known as 1357 in Cormyr Reckoning (CR). The fabric of the Realms was altered during its separation from the other planes. People fled into the hills to escape disease and pestilence, leading to a rise in the number of half-orcs in the land. People with an innate, magical nature suddenly found that nature enhanced to the point of enabling spell casting without spell books. The very spells of the Realms were altered, and mages found their spell books subtlety changed. Demi-humans found classes and abilities closed to them in the past suddenly open. These changes had a profound effect on the Realms.
Daria, who left Dragon’s Demise prior to the adventures with the Apocalypse Stone, is still married to the Baron of Brandiar, Dormythyrr. Their son is only five, but already showing a devotion to Tyr as strong as that of his mother. As the last surviving member of Dragon’s Demise, Daria has inherited the Keep, the Bar, the Store, and all other possessions. The income from these activities greatly enhances the treasury of the Barony. With the death of Dart’s friend Sarah, leader of the Thieves’ Guild in Goliad, the Guild quickly fell to in fighting and collapsed. The Baron outlawed the Guild within a few years and organized thievery was driven out of Brandiar.
Damara and
Vassa are now united under a single King—Bull Bunkey. King Bunkey has
forsaken the old name and declared the current Kingdom to be the Kingdom of the
Bloodstone Lands (which is a separate entity from Bloodstone Barony, which also
still exists). King Bunkey
quickly moved the capitol of the newly reunited Kingdom to Heliogabalus,
the original capitol of Damara. Sir Niteshade
continues to serve as Chief Counsel and Court Mage. Sir Stone is still the Supreme Commander
General of the Bloodstone Army and Master of the Hunt. Sir Misery has been appointed Steward of the
Bloodstone Barony, and is responsible for running the local affairs of the
Barony. Sir Misery has moved into the old Baronial Manor, and a
Sir Methos is the Commander General of the Home Guard, responsible for the protection of the King and his senior counsel. Sir Thoryn remains Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary for the entire Kingdom, and is working hard to restore trade with its neighbors. Lord Broden is now Baron of Soravia, the previous, puppet leader having been killed by the populace upon the witch-king’s demise. He leads from Kenbrace, keeping an eye on the troublesome Baronies to the south.
King Bunkey and Lady Catherine have had a son (Randolph Tranth Bunkey) who is now 10 and the heir apparent to the Bloodstone Lands’ throne. Steelheart, the young steel dragon rescued by Dragon’s Demise in Vassa and raised by King and Queen Bunkey, is his constant companion. If King and Queen Bunkey have a second child, that child will become the heir of the Bloodstone Barony.
Katia was appointed Baroness of Vassa, and now lives in Darmshall, the new capitol of the Barony of Vassa. All is not peaceful in Vassa, however, and Katia is quite busy these days. Dragons have nested in the wreckage of Zhengyi’s old keep, and reports have surfaced of a wild-eyed priest of evil who is seeking to unite the non-human tribes under his own banner. He calls himself the son and heir of Zhengyi. What will come of this remains to be seen.
Lilijanna is now an open member of the Harpers, supervising all Harper activity in the Cold Lands from the Keep. Her agents are very busy in Vassa, maintaining the balance for good and keeping Katia safe and in power. Lili and Niteshade have a daughter who is also often found with young Lord Bunkey and Steelheart.
A
notable event in Bloodstone is the construction of “the Gates.” These two
massive fortresses secure the entrances to
Kingdom of the Bloodstone Lands