Thay

The country of Thay, once a large portion of the Mulhorandi Empire, extends from the borders of Thesk and Aglarond in the west to the Sunrise Mountains in the east. It stretches nearly 500 miles from north to south and 450 miles from east to west. Rashemen is directly to the north, across Lake Mulsantir, while the Alamber Sea and Mulhorand form Thay’s southern edge.

Most of Thay consists of a great plateau almost 350 miles across. These arid tablelands are about 2,000 feet above sea level at the outer edges and slope up to an elevation of about 4,000 feet in the vicinity of Lake Thaylambar and the foothills of the Sunrise Mountains. The plateau’s southern, western, and northern borders are a band of broken cliffs and rugged canyons known as the First Escarpment. While few of these cliffs are more than a couple of hundred feet in height, the Escarpment rises on a dozen or so such precipices in the space of ten or fifteen miles, like the tiers of a wedding cake. A small party on foot can pick their way up the Escarpment over a day or two of difficult paths and short scrambles, but an army of any size is limited to a small number of passes and roads, which the Thayans guard well.

Atop the Plateau of Thay, the land consists of broad, rolling vistas broken by low mesas and chains of jagged rocks. Within its bounds rises the Ruthammar Plateau, a second, smaller plateau roughly 150 miles in diameter, which is more often referred to as the Thaymount (its most prominent feature) or High Thay. The Second Escarpment, a chain of cliffs and gorges even more forbidding than the First Escarpment, bounds High Thay. It averages almost 6,000 feet in elevation and is noticeably colder and more arid than the tablelands below.

At the center of High Thay stand the volcanic peaks of the Thaymount, in actuality a hundred-mile chain of fang-like ridges and smoldering cinder cones whose highest point is more than 17,000 feet high. In the youth of the world, basalt flows from these now-slumbering giants formed the mighty plateaus of Thay. While a number of people live in High Thay, few settlements stand close to the peaks of the Thaymount—minor eruptions are common, creating ash falls and clouds of sulfurous fumes that drift northeast, rendering a large area of the plateau virtually uninhabitable.

At the eastern edge of the country, amid the foothills of the Sunrise Mountains, rises a third series of cliffs—the Surague Escarpment. This forms a shelf atop the First Escarpment, and like the plateau of High Thay, averages about 6,000 feet in elevation. Numerous streams spill down from the heights of the Sunrise Mountains, creating a tangled maze of gorges and canyon lands in this corner of the country.

Just east of High Thay, near the eastern foot of the Second Escarpment, lies Lake Thaylambar. Fed by the River Surag, born of the snow melts of the Sunrise Mountains, this deep, cold body of water is nearly eighty miles across. Its outlet is the River Thay, which flows north to Lake Mulsantir near the Surmarsh. The Sunrise Mountains also give rise to two other great rivers—the Thazarim in the south and the Gauros in the north. The soot-covered glaciers of the Thaymount feed two more great rivers—the River Umber, which flows west to Aglarond and the Sea of Dlurg, and the River Lapendrar, with flows southwest through the Priador to meet the Wizards’ Reach at Escalant.

Thay is a naturally warm, dry land whose lofty elevation prevents the moisture-laden winds from the Sea of Fallen Stars from bringing much precipitation to the interior. Never ones to be satisfied with their lot, the Red Wizards have created a network of spells that maintains pleasant weather conditions all year round. This plays havoc with the weather in Thesk, but the Thayans do not concern themselves with the difficulties of their neighbors. The days are warm but not unpleasantly so. The plains are regularly soaked with rains, but only in the dead of night. Just about every day in Thay is a fine one, in stark contrast to the miserable lives most people lead here. The weather spells ensure fine growing conditions for vast croplands, worked by the uncounted thousands of slaves upon whom the Thayan economy depends.

Major Geographic Features

Thay is blessed with many special natural features, from the glaciers and volcanoes of the Thaymount to the beaches of Bezantur. Those traveling along one of the few main roads are treated to breathtaking views as they mount first one escarpment and then another. The distant snow-covered peaks of the Thaymount seem to watch over it all like sleeping kings, a landmark visible from almost any spot in the country.

Most travelers enter Thay through one of five major routes. In the north, those following the Golden Way come first to the port city of Surthay on the southern shore of Lake Mulsantir. Traditionally, travelers ride or walk the Long Portage from Surthay up to the top of the Plateau of Thay. The River Thay is one of the great highways of the land, and slave-pulled barges ferry goods and passengers from the First Escarpment to Lake Thaylambar. Once on the lake, it’s an easy voyage to Eltabbar, the capital city, located on the southwestern shore.

In the southeast, travelers forge their way up the River Thazarim to the First Escarpment. An old Mulhorandi road leads through the gorge of the Thazarim and meets a track bound for Pyarados. From there, one can either take the path along the Sunrise Mountains to Lake Thaylambar, or go by the well-maintained Eastern Way to Tyraturos, then north along the High Road to Eltabbar. Few people enter Thay by this route, as the tharch of Thazalhar is a desolate and forbidding land, plagued by restless undead and hungry monsters from the mountains.

Most people bound for Thay put in at the great port of Bezantur, one of the largest cities along the Sea of Fallen Stars. The High Road leads straight north through Tyraturos to Eltabbar. The Thayans expect visitors to enter by this route, so inns and taverns catering to foreigners are common along the High Road—as are spies and agents of the Red Wizards, who keep a close eye on folk of other lands.

In the past, armies seeking to invade Thay have come by way of the River Lapendrar. The Lapendrar itself is not navigable past the First Escarpment, as a waterfall tumbles over the edge of the Plateau of Thay, preventing passage. However, the gorge of the River of Sorrows is one of the broadest and most gentle ascents of the First Escarpment, at least for travelers on foot. When Halacar of Aglarond led his ill-advised expedition into Thay a century ago, this was the route he chose. Lastly, some prefer to sail up the River Umber to Nethjet, located on the eastern side of Lake Umber. From here, one can follow the Eastern Way until it meets up with the High Road at Tyraturos, then head north to Eltabbar. Monsters haunting the passage through the Dragonjaw Mountains make this route somewhat dangerous, and the Nethjet end of the Eastern Way is poorly maintained, a magnet for gnoll brigands and similar undesirables. Folk from northerly lands along the Inner Sea find this a faster but more dangerous route than the long walk up the Golden Way to Mulsantir and Surthay.

In addition to the natural defenses of Thay, a number of small citadels sprinkle the slopes of both the First and Second Escarpments. These well-built stone structures ostensibly keep out enemies, but in truth, they are home to patrols of humans and gnolls who spend more of their time keeping Thayan slaves in. Most roads on the Plateau itself (especially the Eastern Way and the High Road) are impeccably maintained. Raised a few feet above the surrounding land, they are covered with an alchemical tarmac for durability and ease of use. Work crews constantly repair the roads, keeping them in near-perfect shape. Small fortresses known as tax stations line the roads and appear at all other points of entry into Thay.

Provinces (Tharchs)

• Alaor

• Delhumide

• Eltabbar

• Gauros

• Lapendrar

• The Priador

• Pyarados

• Surthay

• Thaymount

• Thazalhar

• Tyraturos

Other Geographical Features

• High Thay

• Plateau of Thay

• Lake Thaylambar

• River Thay

• Sunrise Mountains

• River Umber

Thay is a land of divisions, many of which determine a person’s place in society and her access to power. While the vast majority of Thayans are human, there is a substantial humanoid population as well. Most of the nonhumans are either slaves or warriors in the various armed forces of the Red Wizards, but some have earned their emancipation.

Races and Cultures

Gnolls and orcs are the most common nonhuman humanoids in Thay. They form the backbone of the Thayan armies, especially the gnolls, who are often placed in city garrisons to keep the populace in line. The less-controllable orcs are usually employed as shock troops.

With the zulkirs’ current policy of peaceful trade, the orcs often sit idle, itching for a fight of some sort. If one doesn’t come quickly enough, they end up rioting among themselves. To keep this violence from overflowing into the rest of the population, the Red Wizards have set up a regular series of gladiatorial games. Orcs, gnolls, and other violent humanoids are pitted against one another in blood matches for the enjoyment of ever-growing crowds of spectators.

Goblins and halflings are also not uncommon in Thay, although they are almost always slaves. Their lives may not be as violent as those of the gnolls and orcs, but they are just as short. Tieflings and other planetouched creatures can be found here as well, although these rare folk are judged more by their human ancestry than their physical appearance. In addition to the nonhumans, Thay is home to two distinct human cultures: the Rashemi and the Mulan.

• Mulan

• Rashemi

Life and Society

There are four levels of Thayan society. They are, in order of increasing influence: slaves, commoners, nobles, and Red Wizards. It’s no coincidence that this is also the decreasing order of population. There are far more slaves in Thay than any other group, but they have the least power. The Red Wizards, on the other hand, have few members but easily the most power.

Slaves

The lowest level of Thayan society is, of course, the slave. The economy of Thay is built upon slave labor, and without it the country would quickly collapse. The current trade in magic items has changed this only a little, and it has not improved the lives of slaves one whit. Slaves are not considered citizens and have no rights. They are chattels, like livestock. Killing or harming a slave is not murder or mayhem. It is merely damaging someone’s property. A slave’s owner can do with his own slave as he wishes, but if he harms someone else’s property, he is expected to make reparations. Slaves are costly (a young human field slave sells for about 50 gp in the markets at Eltabbar), so few commoners have the means to own them. Since slaves represent a significant investment for a small farmer or artisan, common Thayans take good care of them. Slaves consigned to the broad estates of noble Thayans face a harder existence, and those unfortunate souls sold off to the vast state-run fields or mines are treated as nothing more than beasts of burden. Thay imports slaves from all over Faerûn, and just about every race is represented among the servile population. Those who survive the trip are usually the hardiest, but most do not last long in their job. House slaves live in relative comfort, caring directly for the needs of their Mulan masters. Those consigned to the mines rarely survive a year of scratching metals from the unforgiving Underdark.

Commoners

As a whole, commoners do not have much better lives than slaves do. However, they are citizens, not property, which means they can’t be indiscriminately tortured or killed. The Red Wizards can usually get away with such behavior, but they usually have to invent some sort of pretext for their actions. Commoners have a far better life expectancy than slaves and better prospects overall. The worst jobs go to slaves, so by default, the commoners are a slight step up. Some have even managed to claw their way to the top of the heap, usually by becoming successful adventurers or wealthy merchants. A few are actually wealthier than most of the nobles and even some Red Wizards. Most commoners are Rashemi, although there are a few members of this class from more distant lands.

Nobles

Most of Thay is owned by ancient noble families of Mulan descent. The dividing line between a well-off Mulan commoner and an impoverished Mulan lord is starkly defined by ancestry. Certain Mulan families are noble, and others aren’t. The nobles of Thay are content to be governed by the Red Wizards (after all, the most influential mages in that order are nobles themselves), but they jealously maintain control over the elevation of commoners, even heroic ones, to noble status. Nobles enjoy two paths to comfort, power, and wealth: land and service. Wealthy nobles often own vast tracts of land and make money by leasing it to those who reside upon it, whether they are farmers, ranchers, or miners. Land ownership is not restricted to the noble classes, but in practice, most land in Thay is already owned by a noble, so it is difficult for a commoner to acquire land of his own. Landless nobles (or those who simply wish to make something of themselves) often take up service in Thay’s army, bureaucracy, or clergy. While any free Thayan can become a soldier, official, or priest, leaders are most often drawn from the ranks of well-off nobles who purchase their rank or title. For example, in a typical Thayan garrison, the captain is a minor landed Mulan noble, his officers are landless Mulan nobles, and his sergeants are Rashemi veterans. The troops, of course, are mostly Rashemi. A noble who buys a good post can enrich himself just as easily as one who owns a great estate: It is expected that a powerful official or highly-placed officer will divert a certain amount of “taxes” for his own use.

The Red Wizards

At an early age, noble children are carefully examined for any signs of arcane talent. Any who are shown to have even a small aptitude are immediately inducted into wizardry school, followed by a long and arduous apprenticeship to a Red Wizard. Those who survive their apprenticeship and are ambitious, resourceful, and talented are invited to join the Red Wizards. Some refuse the red robes, but this is rare: Becoming a Red Wizard is such an obvious path to power that the zulkirs don’t need to recruit anyone. The Red Wizards are the ruling class of this magocracy. It’s illegal for any Red Wizard to take on an apprentice of other than Mulan blood. Some still do, however, and it’s usually an open secret. At any given time, most Red Wizards claim up to a dozen apprentices (in game terms, wizards who have not yet acquired their first level in the Red Wizard prestige class), whom they keep at one another’s throats to advance their own schemes. Apprentices exist to serve as the master’s agents, minions, and thralls. What magical training they gain in the process is determined solely by their own ambition and initiative. Only Red Wizards are permitted to wear red robes, their badge of office. The penalty for posing as one is instant death at the hands of the first Red Wizard to uncover the deception. The Red Wizards are ruled by a council of eight zulkirs, one representing each of the eight schools of magic. These positions are for life—the only way a zulkir would ever deign to leave office would be feet first. Within each school exists an elaborate pecking order, in which standing is determined by magical ability and the patronage of more powerful wizards. The current leader of the council is Szass Tam, the zulkir of necromancy. The Red Wizards are evil through and through. Their ultimate goal is nothing less than world domination, and they have spent much of Thay’s history in pursuit of that effort by military means. It’s only within the past few years that they have set aside the ways of war in favor of more insidious, economic methods.

Thay’s economy has traditionally been borne on the backs of the vast number of slaves who are brought into the country in chains. With the increase of trade in magic items over the past few years, the number of slaves sold in Thay hasn’t gone down one bit. In fact, now that Thay has enclaves in just about every major city of Faerûn, its merchants have even more access to slaves, and the slave population is actually growing.

Revenue from the sale of discounted magic items in the enclaves has far exceeded expectations. Thayan merchants have long traded their nation’s goods throughout the world, but they are finding their wares in high demand these days. Before the change in policy, the vast bulk of Thayan exports were raw foodstuffs, timber—including that of the highly prized blackwood tree—and Thayan artwork, jewelry, and crafts, mostly fashioned by skilled slaves. Such trade continues to this day, cementing Thay as a mercantile powerhouse.

Everyone the Thayans do business with is aware of their horrible history and their evil ways. The prices and quality of their wares, however, are just too good to turn down. This suits Szass Tam and the rest of the zulkirs, who have not given up their goal of world domination. The current plan is to use the greed of other people as a tool against them. Bearing discounted goods, Thayans should be able to work their way into every major economy on Faerûn. Once the Red Wizards have become entrenched in a nation, they can learn enough about the locals to dismantle them quietly from within. Not all the zulkirs agree with this policy. This is particularly true of the more aggressive leaders such as Aznar Thrul, as well as those who aren’t in a position to line their own pockets with the wealth brought in by this new venture, such as Zulkir Nevron of the school of conjuration. As with most large projects in Thay, this one could be brought low at any point by the bickering of the zulkirs.

Main Article: Laws of Thay

Anyone, foreigner or Thayan, traveling in Thay must carry a pass issued by a tharchion allowing the traveler to use specific roads and visit specific cities. All tharchions delegate the task of issuing passes to minor officials and officers, which means that a travel permit for most points can be purchased with a suitable bribe (generally, 10 to 50 gp for foreigners). Soldiers, messengers, and officials engaged in the performance of their duties are exempt from the requirement to obtain permission to travel, but they generally carry tokens of their authority.

Outsiders traveling without authorization find it difficult, if not impossible, to move about the plateau. Patrols constantly scour the roads and byways, searching for escaped slaves (and the occasional brigand, criminal, or foreign spy). The penalty for being caught is usually death. Those found inside a Red Wizard’s estate, on the other hand, are in for an even worse fate as the subject of painful magical experiments.

The laws of Thay are simple, and the penalties are brutal. They are mostly concerned with establishing who’s in power. The tharchions and zulkirs consult a set of tomes known as the Library of Law when faced with a serious problem. However, most of the time, the authorities ignore these books in favor of expediency. These are the most important laws of Thay.

• Only Red Wizards may wear red robes, so that all shall be able to identify them instantly.
• Do not steal from other Thayans or harm their belongings, especially their slaves.
• Do not kill or harm another Thayan. (In practice, this means, “Do not kill or harm anyone from your class or above.”)
• Obey the orders of your betters.

The proscription against wearing red robes is unusual, but Thayans take it so seriously that most refuse to dress in any clothing of that color. The penalty for being caught in such garb is execution on the spot. It’s rumored that some of the forces of the Red Wizards always carry a spare red robe or two. This is then supposedly thrown onto the body after the guards have killed someone, giving them an excuse for their actions. The laws of Thay are enforced by whoever claims to have jurisdiction over the people involved or the location in which the disturbance occurred. In Thay, just about every Red Wizard employs slaves or commoners as private guards. The more powerful the person, the more numerous and more skilled the guards. In Thay, might makes right, and the Red Wizards have plenty of might. The trouble comes when more than one group of guards claims jurisdiction over any particular issue. This happens often, and when it does, a fight usually breaks out.

Thay is a military powerhouse, its combined armies outnumbering those of all its neighbors put together. However, due to a lack of cooperation between the various forces, Thay has never been as effective as it should be. Each zulkir and tharchion is expected to form a body of troops known as a legion. Only a sponsor’s resources limit the legion’s makeup and size. Other Red Wizards are permitted household forces or bodyguards, too. The wealthiest of them may have thousands of troops at their disposal. Sadly—or fortunately, depending on one’s point of view—the disparate Thayan forces work together as poorly as do their leaders. Only during extreme threats to the entire nation are the various armies able to put aside their differences and work with one another. Even then, their cooperation is hardly complete. The various legions include a motley conglomeration of races and even monsters in their numbers. Goblin slaves, orc and half-orc mercenaries, and human cavalry are the most popular troops. Gnolls are common, but due to their cowardly natures, they are most often deployed as skirmishers and raiders rather than as front-line troops. Companies of hill giants, ogres, and trolls make terrifying foes on the field of battle.

Cavalry units use many different kinds of mounts, including creatures not ridden anywhere else in Faerûn. Centaurs, manticores, leucrottas, griffons, hippogriffs, giant beetles, and even dragons serve Thay’s elite troops, although horses are much more common. The most notorious units feature female riders mounted on the feared black unicorns bred by the Red Wizards. The best-known army of Thay is the Griffon Legion, a group of some four hundred Red Wizards commanded by the tharchion of Pyarados—currently Tharchion Nymia Focar—soaring through the skies on the backs of griffons.

The most successful soldier-breeding program in recent years has been the blooded ones, or blood orcs. Fierce, loyal, and physically powerful, the blooded ones make excellent shock troops. It’s now rare to find a legion that doesn’t have at least one unit of blood orcs in it. The Red Wizards are experimenting on other races with the techniques used to create blooded ones, too, so it may be only a matter of time before even more “blood” races are seen in the armies of Thay.

Few of Thay’s cities have walls or other defenses. The Thayans regard the First Escarpment as a wall around the entire country and plan to halt invaders at the edge of the precipice. Thayan cities that lie below the escarpment (Bezantur, for example) are often protected by extensive walls. The first line of defense for Thay is the constant and vigorous patrolling of both its borders and its interior. This provides the zulkirs with an early warning system that allows them plenty of time to respond to any massive attack.

Arcane magic is supreme in Thay, but even the most jaded of the Red Wizards can’t deny the power of the gods. Even the zulkirs at least pay lip service to a chosen deity. To do otherwise is to invite retribution. Evil deities—Beshaba, Loviatar, Shar, Talona, Umberlee, and Gargauth the Outcast—are openly worshiped. Veneration of good gods is not forbidden, but it is discouraged. Still, the Red Wizards know that there are times when anyone—even a lawful good deity—can come in handy, so they rarely advocate the burning of any metaphorical bridges. The most widespread and powerful faith in Thay is that of Kossuth, the Lord of Flames. The Thayans find the neutral-aligned elemental deities to be a good match for their oppressive land. The tenets of good deities such as Tyr or Lathander stand in direct opposition to the hierarchy built by the Red Wizards, and evil deities demand the submission of their followers. Kossuth represents power and mastery without constraints, and so he finds favor among the Red Wizards. Kossuth’s faith enjoys a primacy of position and numerous special considerations in Thayan society. Clerics of the Firelord are among the very few people a Red Wizard cannot harm or kill with impunity.

The worship of Bane has had a long tradition in Thay. While the church of the Black Lord suffered after the Time of Troubles—during which Cyric arose to take Bane’s place—the return of Bane has resulted in strong and well-organized churches of both Bane and Cyric in Thay. A number of Thayans venerate Mask, and this number has been steadily but quietly growing in the past few years. Shar’s faith is also strongly ensconced in Thay. The brutal humanoids in the service of the Red Wizards continue to worship their own pantheons. Orcs venerate Gruumsh, much as they do elsewhere, and gnolls worship the demon-god Yeenoghu. A common misconception outside Thay is that the Red Wizards worship demons and devils. Actually, many ambitious Red Wizards do make regular contact with such evil outsiders, but only to strike bargains with the creatures. The Red Wizards consider themselves the equals of such beings—at least, when they band together as a group, just as they did when they summoned the demon Eltab to help them in their quest for independence from Mulhorand.

Outlanders are observed suspiciously throughout Thay. The zulkirs have done enough spying of their own over the centuries to know they are likely being spied on too. This is especially true because of the anti-scrying magic that covers most of the country. The only way for most foreign governments to learn what is happening in Thay is by sending in spies to handle the investigation personally. Thus, it’s hard for a party of adventurers to get into Thay without being watched. Those suspected of espionage are summarily executed, and most Red Wizards aren’t above accusing troublesome innocents of espionage just to have an excuse to kill them.

However, the zulkirs have realized that there are times during which a group of adventurers might come in handy. There are many ruins scattered about Thay, for instance, especially in Delhumide and in the Sunrise Mountains. The zulkirs and tharchions permit adventurers to poke around in such places, as long as they get a cut of any profits. They manage this in several ways, from overcharging for supplies to selling permits to actually demanding a share of treasure.

Adventurers can stay at many inns across Thay. However, the locals are wary of people who are ignorant of the ways of the nation. There are just too many ways to run afoul of the Red Wizards and their cronies for most people to feel comfortable around visitors. On the other hand, many commoners and even some nobles see such newcomers as the perfect pawns in their schemes, unschooled as they are in the art of Thayan politics.

In Thay, politics and power are inextricably related. Those in charge are those who have the power to take charge. Most of the Red Wizards (essentially the ruling class) are of noble birth and would command obedience and fealty in any land by virtue of their bloodlines alone, but those at the very top—the zulkirs—have to claw their way there. The growing wealth of the Guild of Foreign Trade may be changing this time-honored tradition. The Guild’s officers have been catapulted to astounding wealth by the success of the mercantile enclaves. The wisest among them realize that such power can be ephemeral, especially if the more warlike tharchs and zulkirs get their way, so they are doing everything they can to secure their long-term positions. Chief among these is Master of the Guild Samas Kul (LE male human Tra7/Red8), the organization’s top officer. He has made himself one of the most influential and powerful Red Wizards, second only to the zulkirs.

History of Thay

Main Article: The History of Thay

Ever since its founding, Thay has been ruled by ambitious wizards who believe their ultimate destiny is to rule the world. Although they have extended their rule into the Wizards’ Reach and the Lapendrar vale, they’ve had less success in subjugating the neighboring realms of Aglarond and Rashemen. However, with the opening of Thayan enclaves in cities across Faerûn, the Red Wizards can finally claim to have extended their territory across most of the continent. Before an enclave is built, the Red Wizards insist that the local government cede the land to Thay, and Thay’s laws apply within the walls of these disparate and far-flung places.

Government

In Thay, the eight zulkirs run the country by consensus, built through debate that sometimes borders on open feuding. Of them all, Szass Tam has the most influence over his fellows. He is the most powerful of them, and in his long years as a lich he has entrenched himself so deeply that he could never be forced from office by anything short of a very permanent death.

The zulkirs appoint tharchions, or governors, to run the eleven tharchs. These tharchions in turn appoint a number of local bureaucrats called autharchs to oversee various locations and projects for them. Autharchs are often replaced quickly, always at the whim of their tharchion. Those who are incompetent are removed soon after being discovered. Those who are successful are promoted to tharchion as soon as there’s an opening, but many of the current tharchions, not wishing to lose their jobs, engineer the downfall of such hopefuls to eliminate contenders. Only the truly ruthless and resourceful manage to work their way up to the rank of tharchion, and they’re not going to go down without a fight. The leader of a trade enclave is called a khazark. This position is supposedly equal in rank to an autharch, but in practice, it is even more respected, because only Red Wizards can hold such rank. Members of any class can become tharchions, the highest post in the land to which a Thayan can aspire who is not one of the Red Wizards.

There is supposed to be a chain of command in which the zulkirs hand orders down to the tharchions and khazarks, and they to their inferiors, and so on until commoners boss around slaves. In reality, the zulkirs order around whomever they like, whenever they like. None dare tell them they should work differently. The problem is that the zulkirs end up being the only ones who can see the big picture. Since there are eight of them, each with their personal agenda, each issues orders that are often in direct conflict with others. It is then up to subordinate Thayans to choose which master to follow and hope they can escape the wrath of the zulkir whose orders they were forced to ignore.

This inherent problem with the Thayan government has proved to be its weak point again and again. Because there is no one in charge of everything, no one responsible for making it all work, the various factions in Thay end up spending more time battling one another than carrying out their plans for world domination. This has been a saving grace for the rest of Toril. Should a single zulkir ever manage to take full control of the nation, the rest of the world is in for a rough ride. The latest example of Thayan disharmony is the fact that not every zulkir and tharchion is behind the “make trade, not war” doctrine the zulkirs are currently following. Tharchion Homen Odesseiron of Surthay, for instance, is planning to launch an invasion of Rashemen soon, largely at the urging of Tharchion Azhir Kren of Gauros, who is itching for a fight. Both tharchions feel they have been shut out of the prosperity brought about by the trade boom, and they are desperate to reestablish themselves as the figures of importance they were during Thay’s more warlike years.

Both Odesseiron and Kren have been massing their forces for months. They plan to take Mulsantir before anyone, zulkirs and the Rashemi alike, realizes what is happening. They believe that if they succeed, there will be no complaints from Eltabbar. If they fail, they hope to be dead enough to be beyond even the necromantic grasp of Szass Tam.

Enemies

From Thay’s point of view, every other nation in the world is its foe. It used to be that the Thayans expressed this belief openly, making diplomatic efforts pointless. In recent years, as a part of their trade plans, they have toned down their rhetoric. The Red Wizards see themselves and their way of life as superior to all else, but they are circumspect enough not to tattoo this on their own foreheads or on those of their defeated foes—for now.

Aglarond

Over the centuries, the Aglarondans have been Thay’s most implacable foe. From the Thayan point of view, the peninsula of Aglarond must be theirs. It’s a perfect point from which to launch offensives into the other lands surrounding the Sea of Fallen Stars. If the land is not in Thayan hands, it’s the primary spot from which any counteroffensive against Thay would likely begin. Despite their best efforts, the soldiers of Thay have never been able to penetrate Aglarond. The Dragonjaw Mountains and the Yuirwood defend the country almost as thoroughly as the First Escarpment guards Thay, and the Aglarondans have made the most of these advantages. The primary example of this is the Watchwall, which keeps the Red Wizards from sending undead troops through the treacherous Umber Marshes into Aglarond. The Red Wizards have an especially cold hatred in their rotten hearts for the Simbul. It frustrates them to no end that a woman—and a sorcerer to boot—can thwart their combined efforts. The zulkirs are elated that the Simbul agreed to the most recent truce, but they are suspicious at the same time. They hope she will soon permit them to place an enclave in Glarondar, but they know it will require far more to worm their way into Aglarond than simply asking.

Mulhorand

To the Thayans, Mulhorand is the gateway to southern Faerûn. Also, it is the motherland of the Mulan people, whom the Red Wizards would love to unite under a single banner. However, Mulhorand, once a nation in decline, is on the rise once again. Thay has tried to invade Mulhorand a number of times over the centuries since winning its independence. The largest problem has always been the geography of the region. Only a narrow strip of land along the Sunrise Mountains allows Thay to march an army south. The Mulhorandi always patrol this territory, so the Thayans have a hard time getting far into the country. Likewise, the Mulhorandi Empire has attacked Thay on more than one occasion, hoping to recapture their long-lost northern province and forge an unstoppable giant in eastern Faerûn. Foiled by the stalemate in the north, Mulhorand recently turned west and invaded decrepit Unther. Like everyone else, the Red Wizards have little love for Gilgeam the Tyrant, but they also have no desire to see Mulhorand accomplish anything easily. They hope to mire the Mulhorandi army in years of anarchy and chaos in the wreckage of Unther and are funneling gold, magic, and mercenaries south to prop up the remnant of Gilgeam’s domain.

Rashemen

Rashemen has been the subject of more Thayan invasion attempts than any other country. The land itself seems to work against the Red Wizards. The reason for so many invasions of Rashemen—and so many failures—is that the tharchions of Surthay and Gauros usually hurl their forces across Lake Mulsantir with little to no preparation. They often have some sort of “guaranteed” scheme that never works out. Some of the darkest jokes told around Rashemi inns concern foolish Red Wizards and their latest plans. If Tharchions Azhir Kren and Homen Odesseiron have their way, though, the Rashemi will soon trade their laughter for tears. The two leaders have been secretly massing forces along the southern shore of Lake Mulsantir with an eye toward a lightning strike on the city of Mulsantir itself.

Thay is a large and long-settled country. Its great plateau is covered with towns, settlements, and villages, as well as a number of major cities. The cities of Thay are crowded and dirty, mostly because great portions of the population—the slaves and their humanoid guards—live in filth and squalor. The poor and enslaved live in little better than hovels made of adobe.

The wealthy and the powerful inhabit a completely different world. Their sprawling villas are surrounded by walled gardens designed not only to provide privacy but also to keep out the noises and smells of the city. These brick or stone buildings are often several stories high, emphasizing the fact that the powerful in Thay are above the rabble physically as well as metaphorically.

• Amruthar

• Bezantur

• The Citadel

• Delhumide

• Eltabbar

• Escalant

• Nethentir

• Nethjet

• Tyraturos