High Harvestide 1371 DR to Mirtul 1373 DR
 T
HIGH HARVESTIDE 1371 DR a spell caster, known as “Nemini Deathweaver”,
made his first appearance in these parts. It wasn’t to be his last
and over the next year both he and his plans were a constant thorn
in Sarbreenar’s side, as he tried time and again to bring down the
city. The reason for Nemini’s appearance was unknown, as was his
motives. However, his attacks did not deter Sarbreenar’s High Council
from sending a delegation to High Haspur to cement trade relations
and to sign a “mutual defence plan”. No one hoped that Sarbreenar
would need to call in help from High Haspur, but a year later that
all changed when the city was attacked by a large force of evil.
Even though the cold weather was well and truly established,
in Uktar 1371 DR, Lord Joshua Lightsblood sent a team of Sentinels
to investigate a dwarven burial ground to the north-east of the
city. Nothing was found in this first investigation of the area
– it was only on a subsequent investigation, in Alturiak 1372
DR, that led to the discovery of a forgotten lost dwarven enclave
– Cityguard – a place which is being rebuilt and repopulated.
Arkel Stonecrusher, a dwarven warrior and leader of the Wyverns,
Battle commander of the Battleguard), seems to be the leader of
this newly rediscovered enclave.
With Nemini’s constant attacks, and the rebuilding
of Cityguard (which was moving some of the city’s forces away from
city patrols), some felt that Sarbreenar was stretching itself too
thin. One of those who felt this way was “Dark Omen”. A being unknown
by any member of the city, he first tried to take over the city
by trying to corrupt the major elections. Dark Omen’s history is
unknown; some have said this Dark Omen is a creature that has forgotten
its own origins, or spurned by someone who lived in Sarbreenar –
Whatever his history, the dark hearted creature has wanted to destroy
everything related Sarbreenar. Many within Sarbreenar considered
this ‘creature’ a great threat, but he seemingly hadn’t acted against
the city with his own hand – only working through others to
achieve his aims. His attacks on Sarbreenar then got darker. The
darkest Dark Omen’s attacks was when a group of shape-changers managed
to infiltrate Sarbreenar by ‘impersonating’ important citizens.
Chief among them was Anvil Whiteflame, a creator of great weapons,
and it was even alleged that the plans of Dark Omen attributed to
the sightings of Lord William Lightsblood, but this was never proved.
It has been rumoured that the Cult of the Dragon
were also making their presence felt in ‘The Vast’ when they attempted
to kidnap a young Elven female by the name of Angkar. It wasn’t
until a couple of months later, when members of the 1st Elven were
leading an assault against Dark Omen’s supposed headquarters that
Angkar revealed herself to be a bronze dragon, trapped in Elven
form when an attempt at polymorphing herself went wrong. By coincidence
the 1 st Elven saved the day, and were allowed to ride on the back
of Angkar into Sarbreenar – and thus now they are known as
the “1st Elven Dragonriders”. This act added to the intense, but
friendly rivalry between themselves and the “1st Dwarven Wyverns”–so
called because they had killed a Wyvern.
In the latter part of Ches 1372 DR, Dark Omen made
another attempt at the conquest of Sarbreenar. For some unknown,
and unfathomable, reason, Dark Omen felt that Christophe du Garcén,
Warden Commander of Sarbreenar, was a threat and decided to discredit
him by framing him for murder. Thankfully, vigilant citizens of
Sarbreenar found that another of Dark Omen’s shape-changers was
to blame and cleared Christophe’s name.
Following this, Sarbreenar was quiet and the months
leading up to Midsummer were uneventful. However, to those within
the city’s council this could only mean one thing – trouble.
Sure enough, rumours started telling of forces gathering around
the city. Mayor Ja’Lac Mars sent out scouting patrols to ascertain
the extent of these forces. The news was not good – both Nemini
and Dark Omen were gathering their forces to attack Sarbreenar.
The only good news was that they were not acting jointly. Martial
Law was declared and the city raced to be ready to meet the forthcoming
threat.
What followed was the greatest battle many have seen.
Supposedly, Minions of Nemini and Dark Omen assaulted the city of
Sarbreenar from all sides. Thankfully, Sarbreenar’s allies, including
the Gnomes of High Haspur, the Brynwood Elves, Goblyn Da Hood and
his Merry Band, and Angkar, came to the city’s aid and helped to
repel the Goblins, Wolves, Ogres and undead. However, victory came
at a high cost. Many of Sarbreenar’s most famous citizens perished,
such as Warden Commander Christophe du Garcén, and others were horribly
mutilated, such as Basilican. Perhaps the greatest loss though was
Angkar, the Bronze Dragon. Engaged in a fierce battle over the city
with a red dragon, Angkar was mortally wounded and crashed to the
ground – but not before her chased the red dragon away from
Sarbreenar. Before anyone could rush to her aid though, a Dracolich
rose from her ashes and flew off to the north—the Cult of the Dragon
had finally struck! Or it has been rumoured to have all been an
illusion to aid the escape of Angkar into the sewers of Sarbreenar,
but that has yet to be confirmed. At the same time, a large force
of Sarbreenar citizens bravely fought off an incursion through Low
Gate of an unknown evil mage and his guardians. With the arrival
of the Gnomes from High Haspur, with their contraptions, the City
became reinvigorated and claimed the city back, but sadly the losses
were heavy, but the city won through. The siege of Sarbreenar was
over, and all were thankful that in the end Sarbreenar Lived.
Out of the ashes of the battle, Sarbreenar’s citizens
rose up and re-built. The north of the city had taken the brunt
of the attack and the damage was repaired. Part of the wall was
renamed a monument to the fallen of Sarbreenar – The Goblin
Wall. In fact, not only was the damage repaired, but also the city
expanded further north. A new temple district, named Temple Gate
(after the new gate in the north wall of the city), and the location
of the Celestial Plaza (the central area of the Temple Gate area),
was built and the old temple Gardens were renamed the Garden of
Enlightenment. The latest additions to the city includes a small
dock built on the banks of Elvenblood River, fortified within the
walls of Sarbreenar and also a new market bazaar near the docks.
With the forces of Nemini and Dark Omen fleeing in
retreat, the citizens of Sarbreenar rejoiced. For a time after the
attack, Sarbreenar was free from assault, although some of Sarbreenar’s
heroes travelled into the Realms to beat back evil. Such is the
reputation of Sarbreenar and her citizens that the city of Xorhun
requested their assistance, and, yet again, Sarbreenar’s citizens
assisted with the victory, by searching for a magical weapon of
great power, and breaking through to the besieged city of Xorhun.
Recently, there have been murmurs of discontent from some within
Sarbreenar due to the continued effects of Martial Law. Despite
the victory in the last battle for Sarbreenar, Mayor Ja’Lac Mars
has not rescinded his order to invoke Martial Law, stating that
he believes that the city is not yet safe from attack. What he is
basing this decision on is unknown, but what is known is that the
citizens of Sarbreenar will, no doubt, do their utmost to prevail
victorious. History will continue to be made here in the most vibrant
city in the Vast.
Next: The Zhentarim Invasion
1375–1376DR
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