Aglarond

The Aglarondan peninsula is roughly 540 miles long from the westernmost islands off the peninsula’s tip to the eastern edge of the Umber Marshes. At its widest point, it’s around 180 miles across, but this narrows to practically nothing at its western tip. The vast portion of this length of land is roughly 150 miles across from north to south. Much of the Dragonjaw Mountains are also part of Aglarond, although the northwestern range is generally considered part of Thesk. However, the lands beyond the fortress at Emmech are past the direct protection of the armies of Aglarond and are thinly populated for this reason among others. This is an unforgiving part of the country, beset not only by monsters but by the ever-encroaching forces of Thay. Today, the minions of the Red Wizards are more rare, but the area’s monsters still pose a grave threat to homesteaders and travelers alike.

Although Aglarond is at roughly the same latitude as Cormyr, its weather is much more moderate. No place in the country—even the heart of the Yuirwood—is farther than ninety miles from the sea, and most of its cities are actually on the peninsula’s rocky coast. The waters moderate the weather, so the seasons are rarely as harsh as they are elsewhere. Aglarond is isolated from the rest of Faerûn by the plateau of Thay to the east and the Sea of Fallen Stars on three other sides. Thus it separates the Easting Reach of the north from the Wizards’ Reach and the Alamber Sea of the south. The Pirate Isles lie only a hundred miles or so off Aglarond’s own western islands, but since piracy is punishable by immediate execution in Aglarond, most buccaneers give the land a wide berth. The length of water that separates Aglarond from Thesk is known as the Sea of Dlurg. This is more of a bay than a proper sea: At its narrowest point, about midway down its length, only fifteen miles separate the city of Furthinghome from the Theskian shore. While the Yuirwood covers much of Aglarond, the land between the trees and the shore consists of fertile, rolling hills that make excellent farmland. Farms are rarely more than ten miles from the shore. The half-elves who make their home under the Yuirwood’s leafy canopy discourage large-scale settlement of the forest with a mixture of compromise, diplomacy, and the occasional veiled threat. Despite such efforts, though, the woods continue to recede every year. Grasses, shrubs, and vines quickly reclaim abandoned farmsteads, but trees are slow to return to territory stripped from the Yuirwood long ago.

• Altumbel
• Dragonjaw Mountains
• Tannath Mountains
• The Wizards' Reach
• The Yuirwood

Two different peoples inhabit Aglarond: those who live along the coast and those who live beneath the trees. The shore dwellers are predominantly descended from the humans of old Velprin, while the folk of the Yuirwood are mostly half-elves. The two cultures have learned to live and work beside each other over the years, sometimes together but most often in parallel, each ignoring the other. Aglarond’s

humans prefer to work and live along the coast, while those with elven blood choose to remain hidden in their ancestral woods, so there is little reason for the two cultures to interact. Also, neither has something that the other is ready to kill for, and so peace has endured ever since King Brindor first donned his crown.

The geography of the land has made this strange symbiosis possible. Its isolation means that threats come from only one direction: Thay. This single threat has been a unifying force: If the people of Aglarond weren’t willing to stand together, they would surely die alone. With no current threat from Thay, some feel the time is ripe for dividing the nation.

Ambitious human merchants and nobles dream of logging the Yuirwood, while the more elitist half-elves hope to shift the kingdom’s balance of power away from the teeming human cities and back to the old elven forests. Fortunately, Aglarond has been blessed with rulers of unusual personal vision and wisdom, and under the governance of House Olóssyne (and more recently, the Simbul) these bitter divisions have rarely given rise to acts of open rebellion.

Races and Cultures

The humans of Aglarond are descended primarily from the people who settled Altumbel, Thesk, and the Wizards’ Reach ten to fifteen centuries ago. Most of these folk were Chessentans,

Chondathans, and Damarans, but with the passage of time, these cultures have blended into a unique national identity.

Aglarondans have a reputation as honest and hardworking, slow to make friends but quick to come to their aid. Despite this, they enjoy raucous revelry during their off-hours. Aglarondan beer and liquor is brewed for potency rather than taste, and the inhabitants take advantage of this fact as often as possible.

In the early years of the nation, humans and half-elves harbored mutual resentment, and echoes of these old divisions still resound. The two cultures tolerated each other’s company only grudgingly, and every meeting of the Royal Council threatened to dissolve into chaos without the strong guiding hand of the monarch. Today, open racial strife is a thing of the past. Most of those humans who refused to share the land with the half-elves left for the western part of the peninsula, settling in either Altumbel or the Fang. Neither region has much of a say—if any—in Aglarondan politics or culture these days.

Human Aglarondans are sturdy, dark-haired people with brown or blue eyes and ruddy skin from regular exposure to the elements. The men average about 5´8˝ tall, while the women stand around 5´2˝. Aglarondan half-elves, descended from humans and wild elves, have coppery skin, sometimes with a greenish tinge, with black or blond hair. Their ears show a subtle elven point, and their eyes tend to be gold-flecked and wise. Aglarondans of both races are stoic by nature and harbor a deep love for the woods and shores of their peninsula. Most take any chance they can get to hike or travel along the rocky coast or the eaves of the Yuirwood, although few without elven blood find the forest’s depths comforting.

Aglarond’s half-elves include both wary foresters, living as simple, nomadic hunters in the heart of the Yuirwood, and cosmopolitan city-dwellers living alongside humans in shore-side towns. Most fall somewhere between these two extremes: They live under the forest’s canopy but are schooled in the ways of the outside world; they treasure their own culture while recognizing those of others. They participate in governing their nation, because if they fail to moderate the commerce and expansion of their human neighbors, open strife between the races may one day return to Aglarond.

Life and Society

Aglarondans prefer to live alone and in peace, but they've rarely been given that opportunity. The rest of Faerûn does not think much of the peninsula nation (if they think of the place at all) but the same can’t be said of the Red Wizards of Thay. Before the recent cessation of hostilities, Aglarond lived under the constant threat of invasion by the zulkirs, who saw the peninsula as the first stepping-stone in their ongoing campaign toward world domination.

Despite this, the outside world rarely touched Aglarondans who weren’t part of the nation’s well-trained military force. While not ignorant of foreign affairs, most Aglarondans chose not to be affected by distant events. The humans quietly fished the Sea of Fallen Stars and tended the broad fields and pastures between the shore and the trees. The elves harvested nature’s bounty beneath the Yuirwood’s leaves.

Coastal and arboreal Aglarondans have differing attitudes toward magic. Those who live under the trees have a healthy respect for and appreciation of magic. Those who don’t are fearful of all things magical, especially if they come from outside the country, an attitude likely rooted in generations of trouble with Thay. Even native Aglarondan spellcasters are regarded with suspicion until they have demonstrated their trustworthiness.

The Simbul is aware of the coastal attitude to magic. She personally takes in citizens who display a talent for spellcasting and arranges for their schooling in the art. The most promising she instructs herself. These spellcasters are known as the Simbul’s Hands. Once they are ready, the Simbul scatters her students as both ambassadors and spies throughout the wider world.

Economy

Aglarond’s economy is traditionally self-contained and selfsufficient. The recent peace with Thay has made the ports more open every day. While the people here still have few needs from the outside world, they are happy to open up new markets for their goods.

Aglarond’s main exports are grain, gems, copper, iron, textiles, and produce, as well as lumber milled from trees fallen throughout the Yuirwood and cleared out by the half-elves. The most commonly exported gemstones are the black pearls that divers harvest off the northern and eastern coasts. These are highly prized in distant lands, as is the Aglarondan blood wine favored by the half-elves.

The nation has no merchant fleet to speak of, although a number of noble merchants own a ship or two. Most goods that come in and out of Aglarond are carried in Impilturan or Sembian vessels, and foreign merchants maintain warehouses and mercantile emporiums in large cities such as Velprintalar and Furthinghome.

Law and Order

The people of Aglarond follow a simple set of laws that proscribe most acts of violence against people or property. The local ruler settles all matters of justice, often through punitive fines, unless someone has been hurt or killed. There is no national police force, but any officer in Aglarond’s army can enforce the laws of the land and apprehend anyone breaking them. Technically, anyone can appeal a local sentence to the Royal Council or even the Simbul, but in practice, this rarely happens.

The written laws are kept in the library of the Royal Council. However, they are often misunderstood, so local officials often apply common sense to any situation. If the city watch believe an action to be a crime, they treat it as such. One universal law is compulsory enlistment in the army, served when an Aglarondan reaches the age of majority. Service is at least one year, but many youths choose to serve for several. Many conscripts are assigned to local militias and garrisons and never serve in the distant border fortresses of Emmech or Glarondar.

Defense and Warcraft

Aglarond has often been a country at war but is not a nation of soldiers. The Aglarondan fighting force consists of three small armies, almost all of which are stationed along the border between their home and Thay. The Army of the Green Drake consists of 4,000 troops stationed at Glarondar Keep and the Watchwall, while the Army of the Lion numbers 1,500 soldiers in Emmech. An additional 500 soldiers garrison Velprintalar, and the Simbul’s navy (a fleet of a dozen warships, crewed by about 1,000 sailors) is based there as well.

While there are only 6,000 troops on the Simbul’s payroll, the farmers, hunters, and fishers of the land are ready to fight. In times of war, the number of available troops can easily swell to 30,000 or more. Invaders who reach Aglarond’s cities can expect to fight against every able-bodied man and woman in the region. As residents of a peninsula, the Aglarondans have few places to run.

Aglarondan soldiers are mostly infantry armed with bows, pikes, and swords. About 15% of their forces are mounted, including an elite guard of about a hundred griffon riders stationed at strategic points around the country. These elite units are normally used as scouts and messengers rather than in open battle. They are too precious to risk unless absolutely necessary.

Despite being surrounded by water on three sides, Aglarond has a small navy. To reach its cities, a fleet from Thay would have to circumnavigate the entire peninsula, well out past the cape of Altumbel and the archipelago of the Thousand Swords. Thus. the Simbul’s ships are primarily intended for pirate-chasing and spend most of their time at sea patrolling the western coasts. Aglarond’s army uses small “coastboats,” shallow, cheap boats like long canoes propelled by oars and a lateen-rigged sail. These can move up and down rivers as well as along the coast and are particularly useful for hit-and-run attacks

against invaders.

The half-elves of the Yuirwood have an elite corps of rangers known as foresters. These men and women are loyal to the crown, but they are more of a police force than a military unit. They patrol the edges of the Yuirwood, keeping an eye out for invaders or even travelers who have lost their way. They also help keep the peace between nonnatives and the more xenophobic half-elves who live in the forest’s deepest parts.

Religion

Aglarondans are not particularly devout. The typical Aglarondan believes the gods are not directly involved in ordinary daily events and does not pay them much mind. Aglarondan farmers favor Chauntea, while fishers pay tribute to Valkur, patron of sailors, and Selûne, who is in charge of the stars by which they navigate. Half-elves often worship forest gods like Mielikki and Silvanus or any members of the Seldarine, particularly Rillifane Rallathil.

Adventurers

In the past, adventurers have passed by Aglarond for what they thought were richer lands, ignoring the dozens of ancient ruins scattered throughout the Yuirwood in favor of betterknown locations. With the recent influx of trade in this part of the world, rumors about the hidden treasures of Aglarond are spreading.

The people of Aglarond aren’t hospitable toward adventurers. As the local saying goes, “It’s better to leave some stones unturned.” Besides the coast-dwellers’ traditional suspicion of spellcasters, folk here believe that poking around in ancient ruins can only lead to trouble. There’s a reason why such places have been undisturbed for so long, after all.

The people of the Yuirwood are no less suspicious of intruders tromping through their lands. Any foreigner is a potential Thayan spy and is generally treated accordingly until proven otherwise.

Ever since half-elves prevailed in the racial wars that tore the country apart over three hundred years ago, a monarch has ruled the people of Aglarond, starting with the legendary King Brindor. The Simbul has been Aglarond’s queen for a little over fifty years, and during that time she has built up an informal hierarchy of trusted officers, civic-minded merchants, and noble allies who serve as a civil administration. The Simbul’s cult of personality has drastically increased the monarch’s ability to get things done, but she has so far neglected to formalize any of her appointments or arrangements, so her death or disappearance would signal the end of effective centralized rule in the country, at least for a time.

A Royal Council of powerful nobles and representatives from participating Aglarondan communities advises the monarch. Not all take advantage of the opportunity, preferring instead to chart their own course, distinct from that of Aglarond as a whole. The Simbul keeps her own counsel, despite what her advisors may have to say. They are not often privy to her larger plans for guiding the land’s destiny. Instead, they handle the daily affairs of the nation. The council numbers thirty-three members, some of whom are the designated representatives of cities and towns, and others of whom are nobles with hereditary seats. About a dozen council members are close allies of the Simbul and part of her administration, but a handful oppose her rule and constrain her ability to do as she wishes.

Aglarond’s ruler has traditionally chosen his or her own successor. Often this is the monarch’s heir, but the last few rulers have not been related by blood. Since the Simbul has no children of her own, it’s anyone’s guess as to whom she might name to follow her. Given her penchant for disappearing for months on end, the Simbul has acceded to the council’s request to tentatively name a successor. She hasn’t been so foolish as to make public the identity of this individual, however. Instead, she has given magically sealed envelopes to several trustworthy Aglarondans (including her High Steward), to be opened only upon conclusive proof of her death. On several occasions in the past, various of the Simbul’s sisters impersonated her during some of her absences (at her request, and with her later support of their ruling decisions), so proof of her death may not be readily accepted by Aglarondans.

History of Aglarond

Main Article: History of Aglarond

The past of Aglarond is filled with strife, both from without and within. The nation has existed since the battle of Ingdal’s Arm in 1065 DR, ruled by a line of mostly half-elven royalty until the Simbul came to power.

Government

“Loose” is a generous description of the governments of Aglarondan towns and cities. They are chiefly concerned with only one thing: staving off invasion by Thay. In many ways, Aglarond is not a nation so much as a defensive league—one reason the people of Altumbel and many of the cities along the nation’s southern coast consider themselves independent. With the rest of Aglarond between them and Thay, they are confident of weathering any Thayan storm.

A lady or lord governs each Aglarondan community. Hereditary nobles hold many of these positions, while others are awarded by acclamation (whether given willingly, extracted by blackmail or force, or taken simply because no one else wants the thankless job). The chief duty of an Aglarondan lord is to represent the community on the Royal Council. Some eschew this to set themselves up as petty lords answerable to no one, but most take their duties seriously.

The Royal Council meets once a month, so local rulers spend a great deal of time traveling to Velprintalar and back. Some live in the capital most of the time and come back every other month or so to report what’s happening in the court and to check on events at home. Those who have earned the Simbul’s trust carry out most of Aglarond’s administration. While the Simbul does not intervene in the selection or accession of council members, she is not above dispatching one of her apprentices or elite captains to act as her surrogate in a town, thus circumventing troublesome individuals. Some view the Simbul’s willingness to ignore the council as tyranny and worry about the precedent she is setting.

Aglarond’s relative isolation should mean potential enemies pass it by, but that hasn’t been the case. A number of different organizations would love to see the downfall of the Simbul and her people. Four of the most prominent are described here.

The Red Wizards of Thay

Main Article: The Red Wizards of Thay

The Red Wizards of Thay are by far the most consistent thorn in Aglarond’s side. They have tried to invade at least ten times since King Brindor began his rule, and three of those attempts have come during the Simbul’s reign alone.

The Thayans have chosen commercial expansion over military conquest, but that doesn’t mean they no longer covet Aglarond. Their desire to conquer this land stems from two reasons. First, the zulkirs believe they can’t attack other parts of the world while leaving their western flank exposed. And while Aglarond may not have much of a navy, the Red Wizards would gladly clear-cut the Yuirwood to build one. They see Aglarond as the perfect base for further advances, providing Thay not only the needed routes and resources, but also a buffer against any retaliation from the western powers, which would have to fight through the peninsula to reach Thay.

The current Thayan plan is to cozy up as close to the Aglarondans as the Simbul will permit. The zulkirs hope that the Simbul will be impressed by the benefits of trade and allow Thayan enclaves in Aglarondan cities. Then, when the time is right, the Red Wizards can attack Aglarond from within.

The Cult of the Dragon

Main Article: The Cult of the Dragon

The Cult of the Dragon has a secret cell in the village of Glarondar. These evil souls venerate Nartheling, the fang dragon of Umbergoth, and hope to persuade the wyrm to become a dracolich. Small bands of cultists regularly make the pilgrimage from Glarondar to the top of the icy peak, bringing the dragon news of the town and opportunities to enrich itself by providing information on caravans and patrols.

The current leader of the Glarondan cell is a half-elven necromancer by the name of Winn Kardzen (CE male halfelf Nec7). He is plotting an attack against the fortress at Glarondar by reanimating corpses in the Umber Marshes to simulate a Thayan attack. This is designed to draw the patrols from the Watchwall, giving Nartheling a chance to ravage the town while the army is off chasing decoys.

The Nilshais

Sinister creatures from some far dimension, the nilshais are alien sorcerers who have constructed dark gateways into Sildëyuir, the extraplanar refuge of the star elves. Worse yet, some of the elven realm’s portals linking it to the Yuirwood have fallen into the hands of the nilshais, and the invaders have dispatched marauding bands to scout out the ancient forest and learn more about the world beyond. The nilshais are contemptuous of Material Plane life and hunger for new lands to conquer; it is only a matter of time before they gather their strength for a major incursion, bringing madness and vile sorcery to the green haven of the Yuirwood.

The Sons of Hoar

The Sons of Hoar are a newly formed group that aims to peacefully remove the Simbul from her throne and install a “normal” person on the throne. In their parlance, “normal” means a high-born human noble of Velprin’s old line, preferably one who isn’t a spellcaster. This group plays on Aglarondans’ natural distrust of magic, even that used by their neighbors. They want a real hero on the throne, one of the people, not someone catapulted to power through pacts with unnatural forces.

The Sons of Hoar have great support in the nominally independent regions of Aglarond, particularly in Altumbel and the Fang. While some of the Sons are cynical racists acting out of naked ambition, they have also attracted misguided idealists to their cause. The cold, hard core of the secret society plans a well-orchestrated coup to seize power over their homeland, while the rank and file believe their leaders are honorable.

The leaders of the Sons are carefully feeling out the appointed rulers of every major settlement in the nation, convincing them to side with them or step aside for someone who will. They call for the oft-absent Simbul to give up her throne. When she does, they plan to install one of their own as ruler

over a human-dominated Aglarond.

The coast of Aglarond is dotted with dozens of fishing communities, but few are substantial. Most of the larger settlements are along the northern coastal plain. These include the cities of Velprintalar, Furthinghome, and Emmech. The one major exception is Glarondar, which rose up around the fortress at the near end of the Watchwall. Delthuntle and Laothkund, on the southern coast, are independent cities of the Wizards’ Reach and not under the Simbul’s rule. All these cities are populated mostly by humans, but they are also home to a substantial number of half-elves.

The small settlements of the Yuirwood, on the other hand, are almost exclusively elven and half-elven. Most are not even permanent, consisting of shelters erected for a season or two and then abandoned when the forest folk decide to move on. The largest of these communities, and one of the few permanent ones, is Relkath’s Foot, the unofficial half-elven capital.

Locations of Altumbel

• Spandeliyon - Capitol of the Free Peoples of Altumbel

Locations of the Mountains

• Glarondar - Southern Fortress city of Aglarond

Locations of Velprin

• Emmech - Northern Fortess city of Aglarond
• Furthinghome - Trade Metropolis of Aglarond
• Velprintalar - Capitol of Aglarond, Seat of the Simbul.

Locations of the Wizards' Reach

• Delthuntle - Free city of the Wizards' Reach.

Locations of the Yuirwood

• Relkath's Foot - Informal Settlement of the Masters of the Yuirwood