Dunwarren/Sanctuary, Second Ed. by Asdon Garlin

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[SIZE="3"]Dunwarren/Sanctuary, Second Edition[/SIZE]

There are many people who deserve the credit for helping me gather all the information for this piece.  While it answers many questions that we previously could only guess at due to the scant presence of survivors, I would like to thank Nilraghar for taking the time to answer our questions at length and Jawl Highwind for compiling the subsequent summary of his information.  With the recent influx in Sanctuarian survivors we now have access to a much more complete vision of Sanctuary thanks in large part to Ebeneezra’s book collection, and as such, it is long since time that the amazing settlement of Sanctuary was given its due.

- The City of Dunwarren -

Many centuries ago, the construction of Dunwarren took place.  While it is most likely that the Svirfneblin who we know lived there accomplished this feat, all that can be said for certain on this topic is that the city was at one point filled with Svirfneblin.  Here they enjoyed defenses that not only shielded their magic use from the enemies beyond their borders but also accomplished other feats as well seemingly, and even went so far as to create animatrons (constructs) that could be used for their protection and utility.

At some point in their history, a lycanthropic disease took hold.  In great numbers the Svirfneblin fell pray to the depredations of their were-rat brethren.  This disease not only made the afflicted more powerful but insane as well, and as a result, their numbers must have declined greatly from in fighting and the like.  It was then a Beholder, known simply as The Appetite, saw an opportunity, and came to forth to subjugate the divided peoples.  Perhaps The Appetite was already a lich, or perhaps planned to become one, but it likely knew that it was going to ‘sleep’ soon and needed creatures that would guard it.  The insane were-rat peoples, or Chosen, accepted this creature as a master and did so.  The defenses of the ancient city served admirably in this respect as well, the animatrons and other devices providing another layer of protection against outside threats.

The unafflicted Svirfneblin had at either perished, fled, or perhaps were fed to this undead beholder in order to give it its namesake.  Only a small group survived, successfully holding off the Chosen menace for an untold amount of time.  By the time the people of Sanctuary had discovered them they numbered only three hundred.

- Early Sanctuary -

In the year 1222 by Dale’s Reckoning the ruined Dunwarren was neighbor to the Drow city of Traensyr.  Here the cruelty of the Drow was well known, and they suffered no shortage of surface slaves.  Considering the proximity of this city to Dunwarren, the multiple entrances that exist into the Underdark on these islands, and that Old Port is known to sell slaves to the Drow, it is very possible there is a business relationship between the two.  Nevertheless, this year remains significant because the slaves rebelled and a small group managed to escape their captors, traveling aimlessly until they happened upon the seemingly abandoned city (it is likely that the war had claimed nearly all the Svirfneblin and the city itself was staggeringly large, so the presence of the Chosen was unknown to them).  Here the survivors found shelter and walls they could defend.  The two brothers who were purportedly responsible for organizing the rebellion, Charles and Frederick Bresley, were seen as the leaders of this group.

The early times of the settlement were hard, consisting of many successes and failures.  The original defense force of the settlement was called the Watcher’s and Warders, their tasks relegated to basic enforcement of a shared set of laws borrowed from the governments and cultures they had once known.  Of these laws, three stood out that were unique; one was that Sanctuary would never tolerate slavery inside its gates, and the other, that the secrecy of their home was of such importance that endangering it became a crime in and of itself.  Reasonable interpretations and punishments for this offense were often made, however.  Part of endangerment in this case, however, was the use of magic.  It was said that using spells and the like would attract the attention of their enemies, and more immediately, Magic Eaters who would teleport to the offender and proceed to “eat” their magics before physically assaulting them.

Charles Bresley went on to form the Watch, a force of individuals responsible for matters both civil and military.  He would later marry Melinda, his military equivalent who founded the Spellguard, a group whose original purpose was to discover more about the workings of Dunwarren whilst simultaneously guarding and policing the settlement.  The union brought about a son, Micheal, who would play a pivotal role throughout the rest of Sanctuary’s history.  Frederick founded the seekers whose ultimate goal was to find a route to the Surface, though they were often utilized for many other scouting purposes as well.

Though the texts and people I have spoken with really did not bring it up, one gets the sense that there was an unspoken feud between the brothers that went beyond them, permeating Sanctuary’s citizenry long after their deaths.  Charles had accepted life in the Underdark and made the best of the situation he could, while Frederick continually dreamed of the surface he had been denied.  Ultimately, Frederick did manage to escape, and though the friends came under suspicion that they may have done devious to him, Charles eventually accepted that his brother had indeed managed his lofty dream and erected a statue in his honor.  Frederick left behind his journal that detailed the path, certain that others would find it and follow him.  Somehow the Spellguard had acquired this text, and deigning not to share what they had discovered, it had remained locked away deep in their tower for over the next century, perhaps unknown to even some of their agents.

- Mid Sanctuary –

Sanctuary enjoyed a relative state of peace after the founders had for the most part moved on.  Of note are the splitting of the society into two camps, respectively known as both Upper and Lower.  While Upper kept to the ways that were established and accepted things as they were, Lower refused to embrace any form of governing and remained a dangerous refuge for deranged cultists and opportunistic gangs.  Although Upper attempted to offer services there, this often resulted in the mysterious deaths of those they sent to keep the peace.

It is written that Sanctuary prospered (used in a loose since) in large part thanks to their willingness to deal with the least hostile slaving races like the Duergar.  Such traders found Sanctuary to be a place they could offer deals in relative peace, and if they were given trouble, the expectation that the offender would be caught and dealt with was realistic.

Sanctuary's system of government was a Council made up of several members to debate and vote on issues in the city.  This Council was reelected every few months by common vote, the most popular candidates gaining a seat.  There was also the position of mayor that apparently held some executive powers.

The son of the founding Ubel would became a Councilor thanks to his ability to appeal to this disenfranchised group.  Ubel continually lobbied for the funding of the Seekers and giving the accused more rights, but he was entirely unable to reach any sort of agreement with his fellow Councilors, making him entirely ineffective at creating any change in the settlement.  When Michael Bresley, the son of Charles and Melinda Bresley and mayor of Sanctuary, disappeared mysteriously around this time, Ubel was arrested on charges dealing with magic use and not registering his abilities with the Spellguard, the result of which was his own son stirring up a revolt.  From Lower raged the people that Ubel had wanted to serve.  They sought to besiege the tower and held camp there for quite awhile, supplied from below.  Eventually the Sheriff of the settlement broke the siege, took upon himself the title of Overseer, and began violent inquisitions in Lower, being stopped by the new mayor and asked to step down.  These events are noteworthy in the fact that they would play out again in much the same way, the brother’s feud raging on.

- Late Sanctuary –

Micheal Bresley returned to his city in the last days, renouncing the ways of his Father and Mother and taking up his Uncle’s call, for he had learned that the Underdark was not a place for a life to be lived.  Though he was an old man by this point, the fact he had survived from what one would assume to be year 15-25 by Sanctuary’s reckoning to year 153 remains interesting.  Although I do not believe Melinda was an elf, (judging solely by her name) that circumstance is not entirely impossible.  This is only a curiosity however.

There was another great rebellion, but this time the battle was not between Upper and Lower. The Watch was divided, some joining the Seekers and some siding with the Spellguard to form "The Regime". In the final hours of the rebellion, several of the rebels including Nilraghar rushed the tower of the Spellguard. Descending into the depths below they discovered bizarre and cruel experiments, as well as much of the truth behind this seemingly corrupt organization. They eventually were able to locate the lost journal of Frederick Bresley. is survived by an heir named Michael Bresley who Nilraghar believes is still alive in the depths below. Ultimately the Spellguard were defeated, their tower ransacked, until they were forced to seal themselves off from the outside world.

Shortly thereafter, citizens of Sanctuary were hired by the Chosen to kill the last remaining Svirfneblin in Dunwarren. At the same time, Drow and Illithid armies began to close in, preparing to capture or kill all the people of Sanctuary. Many people died defending the gates against Illithid-influenced Giants and bizarre pale creatures, until finally they were forced to retreat inside the city.

Preparing for their final battle, they were interrupted by the sound of a great yawn. The Appetite had awoken, and with no time lost it began to devour everything in sight. It is also noteworthy that the Illithid that attacked Sanctuary in its final hours were so powerful they had managed to enthrall a dragon known as Etorix, a beast that had at one time defended Sanctuary. The Appetite and Etorix butted heads in a terrible battle, the Appetite proving the victor. The citizens that managed to escape made their way first to some nearby ruins, then through the Machine to the far edge of Dunwarren. There they discovered "The Way", an ancient portal that lead to a route whose ultimate end was on the Surface.

This is the route that Nilraghar and his associates managed to survive, against all odds. He claims that the surface end of The Way is close to this location. I record here what I learned from Nilraghar in the hopes that it may unlock secrets of our own borrowed home.

Asdon Garlin, Lorekeeper of Oghma along with Jawl Highwind's notes concerning the late period of Sanctuary.

- Theory: A Shared Past –

There exists evidence, albeit a very small amount of evidence, that there is a common history between the Ziggurat and Sanctuary.  The messaging system we enjoy here today functioned very similarly to a device they manipulated in their Town Hall that allowed everyone with a “sending stone” to listen in on sendings that could be heard throughout their city.  While it could be that the arcane advancement was shared, borrowed, or stolen by one settlement from the other at some point, it seems unlikely that the insular Svirfneblin with all their protections would have made trade or theft impossible.

Next we have to consider the interesting note I discovered on the architecture of the settlement.  It claims to be a mixture of cultures from the neighboring regions was obvious by the design.  Considering that part of the attraction of Dunwarren seemed to be the fact that nothing knew about it, it would suggest the city itself was ancient to the point where most neighboring races, if they had known of it at some point, had forgotten of it.  This statement seems to suggest to me that at some time in the far past, many different peoples came together to build Dunwarren.  What is left to be argued on this point is were these many different peoples sent here as a penal colony, were they races of the Underdark, or did the insular Svirfneblin truly possess such a diversity of cultures they were able to achieve this synergy of design?

Finally, there is no record of there ever being a definitive purpose for the Machine, despite the fact that people in the late days of Sanctuary spoke with the surviving Svirfneblin.  There is no suggestion made anywhere that they were actively using the Machine towards any purpose during their existence.

In lieu of this, I would like to offer the following theory.  In the far part when this place was a Penal Colony, there came to be a splinter faction of some sort.  Unsatisfied being trapped with the other unwanted elements of the empire or perhaps the rulings of the Warden, they traveled down one of the many paths into the Underdark and began building, but another possibility is a later settlement of the Ziggurat made the attempt with the magics and technologies they had salvaged here.  They then somehow contracted the beings of the Underdark to assist in the labor.  The people who made the city came and went perhaps having lived out their natural lives, but the Svirfneblin who contributed the bulk of the labor to the project (paid, convinced, or as slaves) remained in the small city they had built in the outskirts, building the city of Dunwarren around it in successive generations.

I believe the Machine’s purpose is to make part of the island of Ymph break away and take to the skies, as did the flying Netherese cities of old.  How the Machine would accomplish this feat I do not know, but this seems the likeliest use of the thing considering the seeming importance of the device and its proximity to our own Ziggurat.  I cannot gauge exactly where it falls beneath us or even what section of the island it would lift (it could very well carry away Old Port for all anyone knows).

Despite what arguments my theory will cause, I can only really say that there is enough evidence that one cannot reasonably discount the possibility of a shared past.  To those that truly wish to know, the answers and the Machine itself wait below us past a myriad of obstacles.

Asdon Garlin, Lorekeeper of Oghma