The Magister's Guild: A Brief History of Ymph (First Edition)

[Aldrick Tanith]

[SIZE="5"][FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]The Magister's Guild:  A Brief History of Ymph[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT="Book Antiqua"]First Edition[/FONT]

[COLOR="Red"][FONT="Arial Black"]By:[/FONT][/COLOR]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]Aldrick Tanith[/FONT]

[FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]Prelude:[/COLOR][/FONT]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]The Age of Netheril[/FONT]

"Here is a place of punishment, here is a place of justice, here is a place of education.  They who were idle in their freedom, shall labor in their death."  -  Chamber of the Marching Dead

Nearly four thousand years before the Dale Reckoning a great empire known as Netheril was born.  So vast was this Empire that it dwarfed all others.  So arrogant was this empire that they believed themselves too good to walk upon the land below.  So powerful was this empire that they built cities in the clouds, and as they gazed down upon those below, their arrogance and power grew, until in the end it destroyed them.

However, even the most powerful societies have undesirables and criminals.  Some of their criminals were dangerous, powerful wizards driven insane by the power they sought to wield, or those who were too ambitious even for their already arrogant fellows.  Yet, there were also the mundane:  the thug, the murderer, the pick pocket - they all were sent here to this island that you now call home.

Here on this island, thousands of leagues away from the Empire, they were to rot away for all time or until death, whichever claimed them first.

[FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]Chapter 1:[/COLOR][/FONT]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]The Prison Colony of Nebedzzos[/FONT]

"Here is a place of education. May fire cleanse them, may work strengthen them. By the authority of the Warden, may this work be done." -  Chamber of the Marching Dead

There are many scholars here who believe that this island was nothing more than a prison.  This is not true.  This island was once a thriving colony of the Netherese Empire, although it is true that it's primary purpose was to house prisoners.  The majority who lived here were not prisoners themselves.  This city was built by colonists.

The colonists came from all walks of life and from every corner of the empire.  Some were adventurers seeking to explore and tame the temperate jungles.  Others were frontiersmen seeking new opportunities.  Still, others (particularly wizards and scholars) were lured here by rumors of Illythiiri ruins and artifacts.  Although the primary purpose of the colony was to contain and punish prisoners, it became a small part of what Nebedzzos would eventually become.

The colony was ruled by a strong central authority, an enigmatic figure known only as the Warden.  He ruled the colony with an iron fist.  His duties were three fold:  to ensure that proper punishment was dealt to prisoners sent to the colony, to ensure the protection and safety of the colony, and to ensure the stability of the government which he led.

Much is unknown about the Warden, and it is possible that there may have been more than one over the course of many generations.  What is known, however, is that Nebedzzos ultimately embraced the power of undeath as a means to protect themselves from an ever growing and present threat.  This act was led by one of the colonies most influential individuals, a necromancer by the name of Porenius Herasus.  This act would have profound consequences that to this day still play out all around us.

[FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]Chapter 2:[/COLOR][/FONT]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]The Decline of Nebedzzos[/FONT]

"We, the guards and soldiers of the city that nurtures and shelters us... seek this unsleeping service to defend when others cannot, to protect where others will not.  We are the Nightrisers, and great is our duty, serious our purpose.  We wish to defend the living, we who are not." -  Nightriser Oath

This was the charge and pledge made by the Nightrisers, the sentient skeletal undead that we have encountered here on this island.  They are the most visible and publicly active remains of the Nebedzzos Colony.  Yet, it is clear those they pledged to defend no longer live.  Does this mean they failed?

At its zenith Nebedzzos established colonies of its own on the other islands, one of which would continue to thrive and eventually become known as Old Port.  Yet, in many ways it was still dependent upon the empire.  In the empire's waning days, before the Folly of Karsus, more and more prisoners began to arrive.  Many were some of the most dangerous the colony had ever been required to hold, and some required special prisons all of their own.  

This influx of dangerous individuals led to the creation of the Nightrisers, which in turn fractured the community.  A fractured community was of little importance to the Empire of Netheril.  Even near the end, dealing with an uprising was hardly a problem.  Yet, things were not going well back in the homeland.

[FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]Chapter 3:[/COLOR][/FONT]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]The Fall of the Empire[/FONT]

"Even after being abandoned by all of Netheril, I cannot fathom the idea of leaving the brotherhood. It is to I, Lotheri, to continue the work of my Church, even in this place, this... prison..." - Journal of  Lotheri Sanq

Those were the words written by Lotheri Sanq after Karsus' Folly.  To the colonists of  Nebedzzos, thousands of leagues away from the imperial seats of power, they had been abandoned.  They knew something had changed, that something awful had happened, but they could not fathom what had taken place.  So here, alone on this island, cut off from all others, a sense of desperation and dread began to fill the hearts of the populace.

The community was fractured over the creation of the Nightrisers.  The churches openly squabbled.  The faith of Targus saw them as instruments of war, as ultimate warriors.  The faith of Jergal fractured into several sects, one embracing undeath as the ultimate expression of eternal service to Jergal, and the other viewing it as an abomination and a corruption of the deities teachings.  Lotheri Sanq was of the former group.

Yet, outside of the Netherese shrines there were others whose ambition was only matched by Karsus himself.  They scorned the gods as was common during the end of the Netherese era.  They viewed the gods as competitors and saw themselves on par with them.

These individuals included the Netherese Archwizard Barakat Djaraenus, who would eventually embrace Vampirism.  They sought to become gods, and to potentially become even greater.  Ambition clouded their judgment, and it was inevitable for these radical ideologies to clash violently.

[FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]Chapter 4:[/COLOR][/FONT]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]The Colonial War[/FONT]

"There is only one path of action that I could possibly take while faced by this heresy. Murder. To end the heresy with my hands, I will follow the path of your Hands and strangled the fool while he has his back turned to myself. This, this I will do for you, My Lord." - Journal of   Lotheri Sanq

It was this act that began the war.  As Lotheri Sanq strangled the life from the Warden, the conflicts facing the colony were approaching their boiling point.  Without a central government, without the Warden, and without the Empire there was a large power vacuum to fill.

The war between the factions of Jergal began, but they were not alone.  Others of ambition fought, be they the faithful of Targus or the Vampiric spawn of Barakat Djaraenus.  With the death of the Warden and the city fractured, the Nightrisers were bound to protect, but it was uncertain who was the enemy.  This question stretched the boundaries of their oath, and this in turn caused the Nightrisers to fracture into competing groups as they took one side or another.

Countless died as the war poured out into the streets, with the living fighting during the day, and the undead fighting during the night.  It ended only when the undead remained.

[FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]Chapter 5:[/COLOR][/FONT]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]The Prisoners of Ymph[/FONT]

"We commend ourselves to this service, the lessons of Porenius Herasus, the endless service that awaits. May the city never fall." -  Nightriser Oath

The city fell, but even to this day the war continues quietly unseen by the new arrivals here.  It is unknown how many of the once prominent members of the Nebedzzos Colony became imprisoned.  We theorize that the Nightrisers are behind this act, which brings everything full circle.   Nebedzzos was built to house prisoners, and that is what became of those who remained.  It is possible that the Nightrisers, bound by their oath, came to a truce or compromise.  By imprisoning all who remained they could carry out their eternal service without interruption.  

That is until we arrived.  We are not the first to come to this island, and we will not be the last.  For the prisoners here are powerful, capable of drawing people here from vast distances.  Our appearance here is not an accident, they have drawn us here for a single purpose.  Their freedom.

The Nightrisers, once charged with protecting the living, now turn upon all things alive in order to continue to carry out their eternal service.  Yet, if one or more of the prisoners become free the war that has gone cold shall find a new spark and wage openly once more.  Countless colonists will die, and there is no telling how things shall end.

[FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="Red"]Chapter 6:[/COLOR][/FONT]  [FONT="Book Antiqua"]The Magister's Guild[/FONT]

"The Magister's Guild exists to learn what others must not, so that it may defend against what others cannot." - Grand Magister Aldrick Tanith

This is the knowledge that the Magister's Guild passes onto the people of the Colony.  Some may dismiss our warnings and prefer to eternally live in the domain of theory and conjecture.  We have learned the truth, and have assembled to defend the colony against what only a well trained wizard can - against other wizards.

We do what we must to ensure that the prisoners remain imprisoned, to ensure the protection and safety of the colony, and to ensure the stability of the government so that those who arrive here may create safe and prosperous lives.

We know the evils and dangers that exist on this island, and no mundane man can face them alone.  Your swords are not enough.  It will not save you from a Netherese Archwizard.  Your faith is not enough.  It will not save you from enthrallment.  Only knowledge will save you.  Only those with knowledge of the arcane can unlock the mysteries of this place.

Those of the colony who are of like mind are encouraged to join with us.  By pledging to our cause you shall help us learn what others must not, and aid us in defending against what others cannot.  Only with your assistance shall we be able to carry out our duty.