Chapter 281 Extra: History of Netheril (Part 3)

The Barbarian Schism

During an unprecedented exodus, the Angod tribe living near Frostypaw befriended a Netherese arcanist. In 2477, the latter began teaching the barbarians magic. He hoped that this would help the Angods resist the marauding orcs. The barbarians enthusiastically took up the task of learning magic in order to defend themselves from the brutal orc tribes. Unfortunately, the neighboring Longoas tribe was very afraid of magic. They drove the Angods from their homes. The Longoas and the Angods fought for seven years until the tribes, who had embraced magic, completely withdrew from the land.

Age of Discovery

In 2654, miners discovered the Childarin gem. They had no idea of ​​its value - it would change the lives of the Netherese forever. Initially, an arcanist named Elorin carefully examined these gems, which were all given to her by miners as useless stones. However, she was surprised to find that these stones seemed to contain some kind of magic. Soon after, she realized the function of this gem - it can store a spell, and then as long as it is broken, the spell will be automatically released. It was this discovery that pushed the Netheril Empire into a frenzy of exploration that lasted for more than 500 years.

The discovery of the Childarin gems made many Netheril floating cities strengthen the exploration and development of surrounding mines. Whoever discovers the gem vein first can obtain immeasurable wealth. The great arcanists have no doubts about this, and they have invested heavily, hoping that they can become the lucky one.

Space (Reamspace)

After the Childarin gems, there is another thing that must be mentioned: magic ships, or "spaceships". The Netheril people drove them into the realm of space (Reamspace refers to the galaxy space where the planet Toril is located, and "space" is used here instead). They believed that the Skyward Realms, or the space that the crew of Yoeman’s Loft (Yoeman’s Loft, the aerospace city of Netheril. Another note: the original meaning of loft is far different, so here we have to combine the nature of the city and reluctantly use “Loft” instead.) would become the next resource-rich territory of the empire. The wealth that the Netherese yearn for includes the minerals, magic, and even various magical treasures there. However, the behavior of many explorers who set sail from Yoeman’s Loft afterwards should be condemned. They often conduct a kind of "experiment", which is actually to perform simple dissections on all the unfortunate creatures they encounter. Because of this, the Netherese—the only human race involved in space exploration in 2795—have a very bad reputation there. The panic they bring is no less than the feeling of the local residents when they see the magic ship of the soul sucker.

This fear served no purpose other than to further alienate the Netherese from the existing magic ship society, almost completely closing the door to trade. In fact, it came to the point where Netherese ships were attacked whenever they appeared. Obern, an arcanist born in this era, spent his life trying to restore his country's reputation in space, but to no avail. One hundred years after the first Netherese ship entered space, the Empire recalled the last magic ship from there. For a hundred years, the Netherese had spent an astonishing amount of money on arming and protecting their ships, far exceeding all the benefits they had gained from space. In addition, they later failed to invent their own ship steering wheel, and magic ships had to rely on a complex component based on it. So the Empire decided to abandon its territory in space.

Watching his beloved space world say goodbye, Obern was worried and almost frantic. He moved to Yuman's Dock, still trying to keep a foothold in space. Even 10 years later, his death did not affect the construction of this Netheril reservation, all thanks to those who were grateful for or benefited from his contributions during his lifetime.

The Shadowed Age

The arrival of the Shadowed Age seemed to foreshadow the doom that was about to befall the Netheril people. Because at that time, the shadow of destruction had already lurked around the empire, quietly reaching out its claws to this beautiful land. Starting from the birth of Karsus (a familiar name, which will be introduced separately later) in 3163, a series of major events occurred in this era: the arrival of the phaerimm, the advent of Olostin, and the birth of even more powerful magic. Karsus’s avatar, an unprecedented magic, finally announced the end of the entire era when it was cast.

Netheril gave birth to countless great arcanists, many of whom lived for hundreds or thousands of years longer than the civilization that raised them. Becoming a lich was a common way to do this. Although the throne of the strongest in Netheril was not absolute, most of them were occupied by great arcanists. However, among these people, those who survived the destruction of Netheril could not be compared with Karsus.

Karsus

At the age of two, young Karsus cast his first spell. Although it was just a cantra, it was enough to show his amazing talent. Young Karsus found that he mastered magic effortlessly, almost learning it at once and mastering it at once, as if he had always known them. This immediately attracted the interest of the local priests of Mysriel, and they began to train the young man. Later, they tried to absorb him into the church of the goddess of magic. However, Karsus himself was unmoved. He refused to devote his faith to any god in the polytheistic system. He believed that there was no benefit. Because Karthus also believed that he would become a god one day. Naturally, this temperament made him a perfect candidate for the position of Grand Master - all Grand Masters are like this, believing only in themselves.

Karthus became a Grand Master at the age of 22. He was the youngest ever. At that time, Ioulaum had completed his greatest spell, the longevity. With this honor, Karthus could have a "Core of Mysera" and a suitable enclave. A floating city was to be built, and the Grand Master would have full control over his new territory. After a few months, the city was completed. Karthus found that no one wanted to come here, and the place was deserted and desolate. This was mainly because he was too young and inexperienced to win the trust of the people. But the crisis became the stage for the Grand Master to show his talents. Since powerful magic alone is not enough to attract people, he thought, then perhaps a magnificent and ingeniously designed city can.

So, Karsus hired many skilled craftsmen to create ingenious buildings in his city. They seemed to completely disobey any physical laws and even get rid of the limitations of gravity. They were like scenes in a dream, so incredible and shocking. The news finally spread to many top arcane schools and magic universities. People were attracted by the charming charm of the unique and wonderful works, and with infinite yearning for them, they flocked to Karsus's floating city. Soon, it prospered.

With a vision of great achievements, Karsus persuaded the Council of Seventon to temporarily send the remaining Nether Scroll to his castle. He planned to study this treasure carefully, and even wanted to find out whether there was a hidden connection between each page of the scroll so that he could find the lost part. However, fate was too unfair to Netheril, and the remaining scrolls were also seized (despite being guarded by over a hundred warriors and arcanists) on their way to Karthus' territory. A great search was immediately launched in 3195, but it ended seven years later with nothing found, and 125 more names added to the record of the dead. At this point, Netheril was left without a single scroll. As for their whereabouts, it was a complete mystery, even to the greatest arcanists and diviners in the empire.

Shadow

Shadow was a student at Karthus's school of magic. He had made public a study of the planes, and was criticized for it. But that was not all. Shadow's work had also made the authorities hate him, and they exiled him and declared a ban on all research on demiplanes and qusiplanes in many cities. However, Karthus secretly kept Shadow and allowed him to continue his research; he felt that Shadow was doing something very important. Shado invited some other "underground" researchers to participate, and all the funds were borne by Karsus. Eleven years later, under the instruction of the Grand Master, Shado once again made public his research results: the Demiplane of Shadow. It was also named "Shdows: The Palpable Cohesion of Formless Corporeality".

Arcanists across the country suddenly realized how important this discovery was. They believed that the Shadow Demiplane was a field of great development value - it could provide endless shadow servants and was also the source of Shado's shadow-magic. The authorities immediately announced the lifting of the previous ban and openly encouraged people to explore similar demiplanes. Unfortunately, they also discovered the "Demiplane of Imprisonment", and several arcanists eventually disappeared in the chaotic imprisonment barrier. Of course, this news was strictly sealed.

Olostin

In the history of Netheril, it was not only the Archmages and those important researchers who had the greatest influence. Many others also left a deep mark in the annals with their deeds. Orosdin was one of them.

Orosdin, a man with bad luck. He felt that his opportunities were always taken away for no reason, and he began to criticize society angrily. He hated his countrymen, but he had a little real sympathy for the bullied non-human creatures - the goblinoid races that had always been in conflict with humans and elves. His hatred grew deeper and deeper, and finally one day, the Netherese expelled him. Orosdin had to wander aimlessly in the desolate wilderness of Netheril alone.

During his wanderings, Orosdin encountered an evil monster. It was like a large cone of flesh and blood, with four arms attached - no legs. This was the Phalanx. Orosdin was sure that his life was in danger, but he was still prepared to complete this futile resistance. But he found that the monster just wanted to communicate with him. The phaerimm told him that some power from the surface was causing their young to die and the adults to prematurely weaken; it wanted to know who was abusing magic on the surface.

Orosdin calmed down and told the monster everything he knew about Netherese civilization, including their extravagance and decadence. After the phaerimm listened patiently to his story, it gave the rebel a powerful magical treasure. It also pointed out the location of a fortress, which he could use to fight against the "evil" Netherese. After doing these things, the phaerimm returned to its home. From then on, Orosdin never saw the strange friend again, but he always felt that it was close at hand and was helping him accomplish his great cause.

Orosdin was named in history for his "great deeds". He and his followers became the most cruel and brutal killers in the history of Netheril. In 3348, he successfully captured the city of Unity, and began a 33-year reign of terror. It was here that he first earned the nickname "the Baron of Dread". The Baron's butchery killed as many as 28,000 people - humans, elves, orcs, goblins, dwarves, halflings and gnomes; he treated them all "equally" and "impartially". In addition, Alostin amassed a huge fortune. In the end, he was killed by an unknown arcanist of more than 34th level, who used only Noanar's fireball to reduce the Baron's group to ash. His fortress was in ruins and everything was destroyed. However, the magical treasure given by Alostin's cone-shaped companion could never be found.

The Phaerimm

After studying the intelligence received from Arostin and various ways to weaken human nations, in 3398, the Phaerimm - the race to which Arostin's cone-shaped friend belonged - began to rampage across the surface world with their "magic drain spell". This permanent drain spell can also absorb life essence, and any living being that enters its spherical area will be slowly drained into a dry corpse. The Phaerimm unleashed this powerful spell throughout the Netherese Empire. (End of this chapter)