The History of the Harpers

The roots of the Harpers of today can be found in the beginnings of Myth Drannor, when the wise ruler of the elven realm of Cormanthor realized that humans were too numerous, adaptable, persistent, and skilled to ignore or defeat. He decided that welcoming them was the best policy for the elven race.

By the time the Mythal was laid and the city of Myth Drannor opened for dwarves, gnomes, halflings, humans, elves, and their various halfbreeds to dwell together (DR 261, the Year of Soaring Stars), there was an active policy of promoting friendship between the races. Good people of all races worked against evil folk and rebels such as the Starym elven family, whose deeds might shatter the delicate peace between the races.

The most experienced elven generals, in consultation with the most trusted of the human rangers and druids they’'d invited into their realm, determined that a secret organization was needed to work for the causes of good. Not a band loyal to any ruler, for that way leads inevitably to oppression and self-interested intrigue, but a band of “friends of freedom” who could work secretly, outside laws and politics, to put down evil.

An idealistic and powerful elven mage, who took the name “Lady Steel,” agreed to head this band, making decisions with the help of a council of elven elders and three humans, of whom one was a young adventuring mage known as Elminster.

Lady Steel'’s common name was Dathlue Mistwinter; she was the last living member of an old elven family whose symbol was a silver harp between the horns of a silver crescent moon, surrounded by a circle of stars, on a black background. The band of human, elven, and half-elven warriors, mages, rangers, druids, and even a few thieves took this badge as their own. Since they met at twilight in hidden places deep in the Elven Court wood, guided by the sounds of a lone harper once they’'d drawn near a known landmark, they became known as “the "Harpers at Twilight.”" From the very start, there were more female than male Harpers, and their ranks included folk from all walks of life. They shared a love of nature and freedom-and enough inner fire to fight for such things.

Orcs, cruel mages of all races who dabbled in experimentation on intelligent beings, brigands (especially those large and well-armed bands aided or led by elves unfriendly to humans), and slavers were the chief foes of the Harpers. There were many nasty encounters in the woods as the years passed and Myth Drannor grew in wealth and power, attracting the unscrupulous (mainly humans from the South, but also subterranean evil races such as the drow and illithids) to its vicinity.

Down the years, the Harpers fought on, growing fewer at the hands of their foes-but certain watching eyes approved of what they did. Their aims were essentially the same as those of the Harpers of today. They worked against tyrants of all races and faiths, aiding those in need and even trying to settle local feuds and grudges, to foster peace among all. Then came the dark time of Myth Drannor'‘s fall, when tanar’'ri roamed the Dragonreach lands, thrones fell, and the rule of the sword returned as desperate folk fought each other for the crumbling remnants of shattered realms.

Lady Steel perished fighting Myth Drannor'’s attackers, torn apart limb from limb even as her spells claimed the lives of her slayers. Spell contingencies triggered by her death caused her body to destruct in a magical explosion that slew more of her enemies.

She was not the only Harper to die that day. Few survived the months that followed, fighting openly for the first time to protect the folk they'’d watched over. The power of the elves was broken forever in Faerun. From this point on, their races were in a steady decline on the continent. At the same time, a new wave of human invasion and settlement came from the South. The lands around the Inner Sea (particularly the Vilhon Reach) have always been fertile and over-populated, sending forth periodic waves of explorers seeking their fortunes elsewhere in the Realms, as things become too crowded.

Unlike the orcs, who do the same thing in the North, sweeping south in vast raiding hordes whenever overcrowding makes them restless (usually about once a decade), these men came to settle. With them they brought all the concerns and doings of men in the Old Empires— including the cruel faiths of evil gods, often driven out of their warmer homelands by their fearful neighbors. These included those who worshipped Bane, Bhaal, Loviatar, and Myrkul, and these decadent faiths joined the followers of Malar, the Lord of the Hunt, in the ranks of “priesthoods that are violent” in the North.

These priesthoods moved swiftly to consolidate power in the developing Dragonreach. Their cruelties shocked the elves who'’d not yet withdrawn westward to Evereska. They called together what they could of their folk and began training all their younglings in the arts of war (notably in encampments around the shores of Lake Sember, and in the thickly wooded area known as “the Tangletrees”). They also founded a trading center - —Elventree— - where they could meet with other races. In an unprecedented act, they contacted certain other human priesthoods, asking for a secret meeting.

The meeting was convened in a remote spot that could be defended from attack— - a wooded hill in the High Dale known as “the Dancing Place” because korreds had once dwelt there in numbers.

The human druids who lived there now were astonished when a score of dryads appeared from trees all over their hill. These bid the druids make welcome the priests of other faiths who would come. Dusk came early that day, and a moon rose bright and full and clear on a night when no moon should have shone. It was four nights before Midsummer in the Year of the Dawn Rose (720 DR).

The frightened druids saw a strange assortment of folk come to them, some riding winged horses, others stepping out of empty air, and still others trudging up the mountain passes with well-worn staves and weary feet.

When the assembly was complete, the druids of Silvanus saw that clergy of Deneir, Eldath, Lliira, Mielikki, Milil, Mystra, Oghma, Selune, Tymora and the elven gods had gathered on their hill. A certain irascible mage by the name of Elminster stepped out onto the height and spoke of why the elves had called for this parley. They wanted the support of the priests gathered here for “a shadowy band of heroes” that would work against those who served the Cruel Gods, before all lands were plunged into war and slavery and tyranny, and no man or elf would dare trust his neighbor. A band who would work against any realm that grew too large and proud to respect its neighbors, or tend the trees and the beasts they shared the land with. A band serving no one lord or god, but with the quiet support of many, so that those whose tastes did not run to armies and the lash of the tyrant could fight back against the rule of the sword.

None of the priests were much used to working with others, and none liked to give in on any matter without the direct guidance of their deities, for fear of displeasing those they worshiped. The debate began coldly, and soon grew hot. The mood of the gathering changed to awe, however, when manifestations made it clear to all that some of the deities represented on that hill were interested enough to take control of their followers, and speak directly through them. Before long, the frightened faces of mortals stared at each other in the moonlight as all the gods involved dealt with each other through them. The lips and hands of the priests moved to divine will.

Such a gathering of godly power has not been seen on the face of Faerûn in mortal memory since, even at the end of the Time of Troubles, in the air above Waterdeep. Some priests aged years that night from the powers that coursed through them. Not a few were changed utterly, or twisted in their wits, by the bald knowledge of what certain deities believed— - or thought of their mortal servants.

In the end, the gathered gods agreed to support an organization that worked for all of them and served none of them. Each god gave of his or her divine power, that certain of these Harpers would be able to call on their divine blessing as a reward for work, and to enable them to accomplish greater tasks. (This is the origin of the special powers granted to Master Harpers, and why they are referred to as “blessings. ”) The belief that sick creatures who sleep overnight in the Dancing Place will be healed— and given a mission or task by the gods to boot-dates from this time. (For beings who worship the deities listed, and woodland beings watched over by Mielikki and Silvanus, this legend is true). The meeting also encouraged the human settlement of the High Dale (cynics say control of the mountain passes played a greater role, but Elminster merely smiled at that and murmured, “"Harper control of the passes, please"”). The High Dale’s badge is “the High Harp” because of this meeting, too. To preserve the safety of the folk of the dale, the Harpers have avoided locating agents or a stronghold there, preferring instead to establish concealed caches of food, gear, healing potions, and other magic in mountain caves nearby. (It is also likely that the treaty with Cormyr that keeps one war wizard always watching over the dale, with the promise of defending it in time of war, was arranged by a Harper agent in the Royal Court of Cormyr. As one of the oldest surviving treaties of the present ruling family of Cormyr, the terms of this agreement are proudly and diligently carried out, even today.)

The few “Old Harpers” who'’d survived from earlier times (“more than a dozen,” Elminster says, “but not much more...”) took the blessing of the gods and the support of the priesthoods to establish a secretive, underground information-gathering service. This slowly and cautiously spread its reach throughout the North, from Neverwinter to Baldur'‘s Gate to Suzail, Sembia, and Aglarond. The Harpers also used the seclusion of the larger fortified monasteries and religious strongholds to train a handful of agents, and as places to rest and recover when wounded. When the priesthoods saw the usefulness of this silent news-gathering and messenger service— - and saw that its agents were to be trusted, and weren’'t brash enough to bring down open warfare with all who served evil in the North - —their support became whole-hearted. Many years passed thus, with the Harpers growing very slowly in numbers over the generations and keeping as secret as possible. The active Harper agents (“"we'’d passed 40 in numbers by then— - perhaps sixty if ye count all the young hopefuls, few of whom survived long,”" Elminster says) perfected their technique of cultivating friends and allies who did nothing more than watch and listen and learn. These allies would pass on all they'’d gathered from time to time to a single agent (while doing little that could draw the attention of Harper foes to them, and knowing little of the greater doings of the Harpers and nothing of the identities of other Harpers). There were scores of these “Harper friends.”

During this period, the offices of the Heralds of Faerûn were created (in the Year of the Watching Helm: 996 DR). Harper agents worked hard behind the scenes to influence the rulers who thought they'’d come up with the idea themselves. The Harpers were supported by the same priesthoods who stood behind the Harpers. The Heralds fulfilled a real need for keeping accurate records, genealogies, and histories in the North. They also gave Harper agents cover identities for traveling and gathering written information openly. The Heralds presented themselves as strictly neutral in all dealings with folk of Faerûn. But active Harper agents used their livery and their strongholds. The folk saying “"wound a Herald and ye'’ll find a bleeding Harper”" dates from this time.

Where Harpers worked in subtle, secret ways, followers of the Dark Gods used the way of the sword, openly and brutally. Much of the early history of human exploration and life in the North is shaped and driven by the cruelty and greed of the followers of Bane. The worshipers of other evil creeds fell over each other in an effort to compete with the faithful of the Black Lord. The foes of the Harpers grew mighty, amassing wealth, armies, and influence —and growing increasingly aware of the shadowy organization that opposed them. The slavers of Thay sent agents into the North, and became open enemies of the Harpers. The clergy of Bane (under the ambitious man who was then the High Imperceptor, their titular head of all mortal clergy) moved to establish their own kingdom in the Moonsea North. Hunting Harpers became a popular sport among these evil brotherhoods— - especially after the Harpers inadvertently attracted the attention of clergies in the North by destroying the Wearers of the Skull, an elite circle of wizards sponsored by the priesthood of Myrkul, Lord of Bones.

The furious priesthood sent liches loyal to it to destroy the “upstart” Harpers. Other powers in the North opened their eyes in amazement when lich after lich was destroyed throughout the long, hot summer of the Year of The Howling Axe (1021 DR). Armies were then sent out after the Harpers, and the senior Harpers hastily took what they could of their organization into hiding.

Elminster and his friend and fellow archmage Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun agreed that the Harpers must change again, becoming "“an underground army of adventurers.”"

To understand why the Harpers became what they did, it is necessary to look back into the Long Years and learn about the Chosen. The reader is warned: These are secrets few in the Realms know; to speak of them in an unguarded manner is very dangerous. As wizards tell their apprentices: "“Heed, if ye would live.”"

Elminster and Khelben were both Chosen of Mystra: members of the handful of mortals who all bear within them a part of the divine power (“the silver fire”) of the Goddess of All Magic. This special status works changes on mortals that will be revealed more fully elsewhere, but one important one is longevity (perhaps immortality, if a Chosen escapes violent death). Few mortals are strong enough in spirit not to be corrupted by carrying such power. One early failure was Sammaster, a mage who acquired delusions of godhood and set himself up as a seer. His teachings started the Cult of the Dragon, which believes that in times to come "“dead dragons shall rule the world entire."” The cult set out to fulfill this prophecy (and gain favored status for themselves) by creating dracoliches and serving them by bringing them treasure— - goods raided from everyone else around. The Harpers dealt with Sammaster and earned themselves another group of enemies.

It is not even certain that Elminster has survived his service to Mystra unscathed. Some of his early memories, recounted as fact here and in his accounts of Myth Drannor, may in fact belong to another, older wizard (such as Azuth), placed in the mind of Elminster later, to shape him into the wily, wise, hardened being Mystra needed.

Whatever the truth about Elminster'’s early years, Mystra soon saw how rare noble mages like Khelben or wily rogues like Elminster are. She took the breeding of Chosen into her own hands, possessing a certain half-elven woman and using her powers to seduce and take as her husband Dornal Silverhand, a noble of the Sword Coast North (a retired Harper who ruled over lands near Neverwinter). The couple had seven daughters in as many winters. Mystra'’s determination to breed fit Chosen killed the woman; the last birth was a dark disaster.

When the embittered father spurned and neglected his girl-children, Mystra used her influence to see that some of the more rebellious among them found their way into Elminster'’s care. There they were raised and trained in magic and the ways of the Realms. The Old Mage watched over Storm, Dove, and Laeral of the famous “Seven Sisters.” All of the siblings grew taller than most men and had silver hair. All had a natural affinity for, and skill at, magic. Sylune and the sister who became known as the Simbul found their own ways to mastery of magic, and Alustriel remained with her father, under the tutelage of a Harper in her father‘s household. As the years passed, these long-lived women have grown in power and influence. Today, the Simbul is the “Witch-Queen” of Aglarond, her magical strength holding Thay at bay. Alustriel is High Lady of Silverymoon, ruling that city as a friendly refuge for Harpers. Sylune died defending Shadowdale from a dragon sent by the Cult of the Dragon (but she lives on as a spectral Harper). Laeral is Khelben'’s consort and senior apprentice in Waterdeep. Dove is wife to Florin Falconhand, of the Knights of Myth Drannor adventuring band. Storm Silverhand, the Bard of Shadowdale, runs the senior branch of the Harpers.

At the time of the next chapter in the history of the Harpers (“The Founding”), the young ladies under Elminster’s care had shown promise in the use of magic and a growing thirst for adventure. Their success in defeating local priests of Bhaal may have strongly influenced Elminster in his decision to go looking for an adventuring band to refound the Harpers.

Elminster and Khelben spent most of the Year of the Wandering Wyvern (1022 DR; a name that would turn out to be a prophetic) searching for a suitable adventuring band to take up the mantle of the Harpers and provide the heart of the organization in the years to come.

They needed adventurers who were skilled in the ways of the wild and of battle, and who had the hearts and backbone to dedicate themselves to a cause— - but they had to find heroes who hadn'’t yet dedicated themselves to one. All too often they found that corruption had outpaced them. The most promising adventurers were bowing to the cause of enriching themselves and seizing power.

Elminster finally found a band of adventurers in northern Cormyr that fit his exacting requirements. Due to the long, long arm of coincidence (or the dark humor of the gods), he came upon them in Espar, a place that was to be the cradle of another great adventuring group years later - —the Knights of Myth Drannor.

A royal Cormyrean charter fresh in their hands, the nameless band of bards, druids, and rangers had begun exploring the deep central forests of Cormyr and the Stonelands, seeking to defeat brigands and win royal favor. They sometimes called themselves “the Wanderers of Espar,” and were led by a bard of charm, confident arrogance, and skill, Finder Wyvernspur, and Ulzund Hawkshield, a grim ranger of great strength.

All of the Wanderers were young sons and daughters of noble or wealthy merchant families. All were desperate to prove themselves to their parents and peers. There were always at least ten Wanderers, and usually a dozen. From time to time one perished, or decided that adventuring was too dangerous and not glamorous enough, and left. Finder'’s charm attracted two restless, beautiful daughters of noble houses, musicians both, but despairing of any chance to see the world before they were married off to swaggering sons of local nobles. They slipped away from their grand houses to join the Wanderers. The key to swaying the band, Elminster decided, lay in luring these three young bards into his influence.

With Khelben’'s aid, the Wanderers were steered unwittingly into a meeting with an aging minstrel when they were tired and hurt (after a hard-fought escape from brigands too numerous for them). They were drifting, with no clear aim or purpose ahead for them. The minstrel, old Gochall the Harper, was Elminster in magical disguise. He played his part with cunning, calling on all his experience. (He assumed a similar role much later, in the Time of Troubles.)

Within a month, the Wanderers had become the Harpers, and adopted the old minstrel'’s dream as their own— - a dream of freedom for all, upheld by a shadowy band who fought for good across the North.

Certain eyes watched this and approved. Several of the rangers and druids in the Wanderers had private encounters with messengers or manifestations of their deities in the woods, bidding them follow and be true to the dream of the Harpers.

Gochall introduced these new Harpers to his “friends” (some of the surviving earlier Harpers) and got the two groups into the habit of working together. He guided the young adventuring Harpers into several successful missions in and about Cormyr (notably destroying a community of killers-for-hire dedicated to Bhaal, based in the Hullack Forest and operating into Sembia). He was soon satisfied that the young adventurers were capable and that the new Harpers and the old had been melded together into a working organization.

Gochall was then “killed” by agents of Bane. The young Harpers found the smoldering remains of his body, and they furiously set about taking revenge. The trail (carefully laid beforehand by Elminster) led into the Sword Coast North, and the Harpers followed it. Where they went, their foes rose against them, and the Harpers dealt death across the wilderlands. Those Who Harp had become a force to be reckoned with in the North.

Satisfied, Elminster faded into the background, letting the organization grow in its own way. He and Khelben did not turn entirely to their own affairs, however. They continued to manipulate the growing ranks of Those Who Harp as subtly as the Harpers were later to operate in the wider Realms, drawing them into trade alliances and a recognition of the need to make enough money to support themselves. Caravan-running and merchant shipping was the route they chose, as it offered Harpers regular (and sometimes covert) transportation without saddling them with stationary business establishments and goods that enemies could readily attack.

Elminster and Khelben named certain Harpers as “Master Harpers.” Through Mystra, these individuals received the blessings the gods had promised long ago at the Dancing Place. They were also entrusted with the power to name others to their own ranks. Any Harper could sponsor a person to become a Harper; the dangerous tests soon revealed evil agents and those who lacked the will or skill to wear the sign of the silver harp. Khelben and Elminster together crafted harp pins with magical powers. They then sent dreams that led some of the Master Harpers to Gochall’'s Tomb, where a generous handful of the pins were found on the stone slab that covered his remains-actually those of a poor shepherd— - arranged in the outline of a crescent moon). Dreams sent to the same Master Harpers after they found the pins told them three things: they were to call on the best wizards and smiths in time to come to make more pins of their own; all true Harpers— and only true Harpers-should bear the pins; and only Master Harpers could name a senior Harper to the ranks of Mastery.

In disguise, Elminster (and increasingly, the sisters Dove and Storm) went about the Realms as wandering minstrels, painting an attractive picture of the mystique and adventure of the Harpers to the bored and idle offspring of the nobility. Many younger sons and daughters of Waterdhavian noble families soon found themselves plunged into adventures far from home (even as Mourngrym Amcathra would at the behest of Khelben, years later; a road that led him to the lordship of Shadowdale). Their usual destination, when they went to find the Harpers, was an inn west of the Bridge of Fallen Men, on the edge of Tunland, an inn they’'d heard sung about by wandering minstrels in hauntingly beautiful ballads - —The Sign of the Silver Harp.

Eventually, an enemy of the Harpers decided to strike against them. The followers of Bane in Sembia contacted the wild baatezu Gargoth (who’'d been summoned to Faerûn long ago, and preferred to wander, working evil in the Realms, to dwelling on his own plane) and enlisted his aid in an attack on the inn.

Elminster had been waiting for such an attack (though Gargoth was a surprise); he'’d prepared the inn as a gigantic trap, with spell triggers everywhere. One released an enraged beholder from a magical vortex Elminster had imprisoned it in, long before. When the forces of Bane attacked, they found not frightened fops running about with swords and lutes while dream-witted maiden harpists screamed and fainted, but instead earth-shaking spells going off without warning or sources that could be attacked, a rampaging beholder, and two archmages hurling spells in full fury.

Gargoth fled and the forces of Bane were routed, gaining the Harpers a dashing, dangerous reputation. The ruined inn remains a landmark today— - though each time some enterprising merchant rebuilds it, clergy of Bane swiftly burn it to the ground again.

Shortly thereafter, Harper agents, following Cult of the Dragon raiders, found the lair of the dracolich Alglaudyx and managed to destroy the undead creature, seizing its hoard of treasure to swell Harper coffers. Khelben began a careful, covert process of investing such funds in valuable properties and businesses in cities up and down the Sword Coast, to ensure the Harpers of a permanent income (the Harpers are the largest “secret landlords” in Waterdeep today).

At this time, the followers of Malar, led by a fanatical human priest by the name of Belegoss Wolfwynd, began a rampage through the civilized lands. This was known as “the Great Hunt.” To the greater glory of Malar, they hunted the rich and powerful, rulers and wise councilors. They sought to plunge all the lands into lawlessness so that they could hunt at will and bring greater might to Malar (who then, as now, hated and feared the spread of roads, farms, and cities— - which lead to fewer beasts, less hunting, and less power for the Beastlord). The Great Hunt began well in the cities on the southern coast of the Lake of Dragons, smashing their power permanently. It spread into Sembia, with the followers of Malar slaying and pillaging at will. Elminster was determined that none of the Hunters would survive the bloodshed they'’d begun. He set his Harpers to stalking and slaying every follower of Malar involved in The Great Hunt. It took two winters, but in the end, Belegoss himself was slain. By then, folk all over the coastal lands of the Sea of Fallen Stars knew that the Harpers had delivered them from the killing madness of Malar'‘s faithful.

With the good, however, came bad. Finder Wyvernspur, always arrogant, seemed to have turned to evil in his advancing age. Searching for a way to immortalize his songs, he dabbled in magic that brought about the deaths, of two of his apprentices. Appalled, local Harpers called a tribunal of three senior Harpers: Morala, priestess of Milil, Dundable Mistrin, a druid dedicated to Silvanus, and Muoreth Talanstar, a half-elven ranger who worshiped Mielikki. By their verdict, these judges made it clear to all that the Harpers would police their own. The Code of the Harpers was not empty words, but a creed that made Harpers different from brigands and thieves, that all who had dealings with them could rely on. Finder’'s music and name were to be forgotten. Powerful spells stripped the memory of the man'’s own name from him, and “the Nameless Bard” was exiled to a solitary existence on another plane - a sentence that would last almost 300 years.

Worse was soon to come. As Harpers smashed brigand strongholds on the long overland caravan routes linking the lands about the Sea of Fallen Stars with the Sword Coast, the Heralds broke with the organization. All of the influence senior Harpers (including Elminster and Khelben) could bring to bear was in vain. The Heralds were adamant. They saw their role as peaceful and neutral - —they could not function as trusted Heralds if they were part of just another power group, striving to make its own way in the Realms, meddling in the affairs of others.

The archmages could see no way of keeping the Heralds in the ranks of Those Who Harp short of using spells to control their minds— and that was the first step on the swift road to becoming no better than the priesthood of Bane! They bent their efforts instead to bringing about a dignified and friendly parting, salvaging some usefulness from the split. It was agreed that the strongholds of the Heralds (notably the isolated Heralds' Holdfast) would always be open to Harpers, as places to eat and rest and recover from wounds. In return, the Harpers agreed to continue to gather information for and take messages to and from the Heralds.

The priesthood of Bane and the Cult of the Dragon promptly began spreading rumors that the Harpers had turned so evil that the Heralds had left their ranks in disgust. Most folk hadn'’t known that most Heralds were Harpers, and they thought the whole tale a fabrication. Angered, the foes of the Harpers began to hunt for Harpers in earnest.

In Selgaunt, priests of Bane caught a Harper and tortured her to death in public. In retaliation, the Harpers unleashed all the agents and magic they could muster, and succeeded in killing the High Imperceptor of Bane— - in an establishment he frequented in Tsurlagol. A many-layered spell that took four days to break emblazoned the body with a glowing silver harp symbol. Not only did this enhance the reputation of the Harpers, it turned the attention of the priesthood of the Black Lord away from the Harpers for a time, as the usual power struggle ensued to seize the vacant office of High Imperceptor.

The chaos enfolding the clergy of Bane was fortunate for the Harpers, who rapidly found themselves caught up in a war they hadn'’t anticipated. Their efforts to increase the safety of the trade-routes by exterminating brigands had hurt rich interests in Calimshan. These folk had made much gold over the years shipping goods from the Sea of Fallen Stars to the Sword Coast and back again via “the only safe route”— down the Vilhon to the Golden Road and thence to ports on the Lake of Steam (which was actually an arm of the sea). The ships that sailed from those ports belonged to Calishite interests. Some of them had even been sponsoring the brigands, who served the double benefit of making competing overland travel perilous and destroying or stealing items that could only be replaced by more trade with the South.

Certain Calishite merchants hired a circle of sorcerers to end this threat to their coffers. The Mage-Lords of Mintar were a cabal of wizards interested in breeding monsters with domestic servants and livestock, to provide ever-more-powerful beasts of burden and guards. The stock was expensive (the wizards couldn'’t just seize it without arousing the hostility of their neighbors), so the Mage-Lords needed cash. The Harpers also offered an attractive source of beings to experiment on.

Harper agents also unwittingly trampled on other toes, earning themselves a war on another front at the same time. While trying to trace agents of Thay who were using the pirates of the Fallen Stars to ship slaves, they came upon slave-caravans going to tiny anchorages along the coast of Turmish. From there, the slaves were taken a short way to mines that seemed to produce very little ore. Harper investigators found the slaves weren'’t working the mines, but merely disappearing down into them in a steady stream. The delvings were really tunnels leading down to the Underdark, to a growing kingdom of drow! This dark realm was ruled by a drow queen, Nathglaryst, a powerful sorceress. When the Harpers tried to cut off her supply of slaves, she sent agents up to the surface world to slay the Harpers— - or to hire folk who could. On some occasions, these hirelings were mistakenly captured or slain by the Mage-Lords, but they did score some successes. The harried Harpers hired a mercenary army of their own to invade the drow realm. As this army drew near, the drow scrambled up to meet them - —which was what the Harpers had intended them to do. Explosive spells cast by Elminster, Khelben, and the growing ranks of Harper wizards caused the mine to collapse, closing the surface linkages and literally crushing the drow queen’'s power.

The Mage-Lords saw the hired Harper army as fodder gathered especially for their taking, and so they struck. Khelben had anticipated this, however; it was the reason he'’d gathered all the wizards of the Harpers in one place. They challenged the MageLords directly, in a spell-battle that ravaged miles of the Turmish coast. Several Harpers perished in the fray, but the Mage-Lords hadn’'t expected to ever find so many wizards massed against them, and they had no inkling of the sheer magical power Elminster and Khelben commanded. Only two escaped, and they never dared cross spells with the Harpers again.

The Harpers were being drawn into ever-more-open conflicts, and their casualties were rising alarmingly. When talk began of founding a Harper kingdom, the Master Harpers were gathered in an urgent meeting called by Elminster and Khelben. They determined it was best if the Harpers “went underground ”again. They moved swiftly.

Within a month, the senior Harpers had vanished from public life in Faerûn. Only the most junior Harpers continued meeting with the “friends” all over Faerûn who gathered information. The other Harpers were kept busy by the Masters mapping and establishing trails through the backlands, building and supplying storage caches and hidden cave-holds. They gave to the Heralds the most extensive and detailed wilderness maps of Faerûn ever made, over two decades of diligent work. Harpers with magical skill were set to devising new spells and crafting magical items. Others were established as covert agents within the important ruling courts across Faerûn. They worked through the established rulers to thwart the traditional foes of the Harpers, who were growing in strength again, unchecked by Harper missions sent against them.

The Cult of the Dragon and the priests of Bane set several traps, hoping to lure the Harpers into attacking them. Several Harpers, acting on their own, were taken and slain. "“We all have the freedom to find foolishness enough in ourselves to be killed,"” said one old Harper (the ranger Bedelve Grimnar, of Iriaebor) grimly, as he reluctantly held back from charging into a hopeless rescue. Many Harpers grew restive, hating their new “skulking and dying” role. Elminster diverted the most bloodthirsty among them into a new conflict: the Harpstars War.

Like many archmages who’ve grown old and successful, Elminster had taken to traveling many worlds and planes, seeing them in all their diversity, and learning much.

In the opinion of some, too much. On a demiplane of shifting shadows dwelt a clan of shapechanging beings, the Malaugrym. They gloried in having power over others, in being master manipulators driving those they viewed as “lesser beings” to certain ends and situations, to amuse themselves.

Called Shadowmasters by some sages, these cruel beings had no love for anyone who challenged their freedom to walk many worlds, shaping each to their will. Elminster caught their attention, and one of them attacked him for sport. That one died.

Angered, others of the clan attacked. Elminster slew some, and fled back to Faerûn in haste, pursued by the Malaugrym. There he tricked them into attacking Blackstaff Tower, and with the aid of Khelben and the apprentices there (as well as certain wizards in Waterdeep at the time), hurled back the Malaugrym. He warned them never to enter Faerûn again, upon pain of destruction, but they replied with contempt and defiance.

Realizing the Malaugrym, with their great powers and demonstrated cruelty, were a threat to freedom everywhere on Faerûn, Elminster decided to unleash the more restless Harpers against them. His view was proven right when Harper agents in both Thay and Calimshan (countries that had the largest standing armies at the time) reported shapeshifters infiltrating the Red Wizards of one country and the senior satraps of the other.

Elminster created an enchanted bauble, the Harp of Stars, let word get about that it was an item of powerful magic precious to the Harper cause, and let the Malaugrym steal it. Then he asked the Harpers to get it back. When played, the Harp of Stars made shapeshifting easier, enabling the Malaugrym to take on larger and more powerful monster shapes when they went hunting (a favorite sport). It did this, however, by causing the life-forces that bind together the bodies of every living thing to rage at random— - giving short-term strength, but over time weakening the constitution of a being employing the Harp. Whatever forms the Malaugrym chose, as long as they used the Harp'’s aid, would be increasingly unstable.

The Harp also appeared to act as a magical beacon (Elminster expected the Malaugrym to check for this), but this power was easily turned off-the hidden cost being that most of the thoughts and memories in the mind of the being turning it off were recorded by the Harp at that moment. If the Harpers could regain the Harp, they would learn much of the history, habits, and plans of their mysterious, powerful foes. Many Harpers were eager for greater challenges, a hunger that most who survived later came to regret. Elminster and Khelben needed Harpers of power and experience to take over from them the hard role of repeatedly saving the Realms from evil tyranny. They also needed the Harpers to lie low for a time, seeming to diminish greatly in power. They wanted the younger Harpers to have a chance to learn the perils of following the code of the Harpers without relying on having more powerful colleagues nearby to rescue them whenever they blundered.

What came to be called “the Harpstars War” took care of all of that. Fought across many planes, in places most folk of Faerûn would flee from in fear, this long and vicious struggle ended with the Malaugrym reduced to a bitter, hardened handful. The Harpers involved were reduced to about two score veterans. The long war came to an end when Khelben managed a mighty magic that allowed him to blast the mind of a Shadowmaster and take over her body. In it, he infiltrated the remaining Malaugrym and helped to persuade them that to continue the struggle now would mean their certain destruction. Reluctantly, they agreed. Khelben used the female Malaugrym’s body to take the Harp, ostensibly to hide it (really to bring it to a place where he could study the mind-secrets it had gathered). Another treacherous Malaugrym pursued the female Khelben was controlling and destroyed her. Khelben only recovered his own wits through Elminster’'s prompt magical aid. The Harp was lost— - presumably destroyed, but perhaps hidden somewhere in planes far from Faerûn.

As the Harpstars War ended with the Malaugrym withdrawing to their demiplane and walling it about with potent magic to prevent attack from their Harper foes, new powers were arising in Faerûn.

The Followers of the Scaly Way (the Cult of the Dragon) had grown strong again, this time through control of the new merchant organizations known as “costers” and by infiltrating local guilds in key cities throughout Calimshan and the Vilhon. Their activities upset traditional power balances in many cities. Thieves’' Guilds began to appear in most of the affected centers. At the same time, a Harper bard of middling powers and great ambitions had decided to reshape the Harpers to his own ends. Rundorl Moonsklan had dreams of commanding a shadowy brotherhood that would rule all of the major kingdoms in the North from behind the throne, so that a "Harper King" dwelling in the woods somewhere (himself, of course) could “whisper something, and all the lords of the North would hear and obey.”

Rundorl believed Elminster, Khelben, and most of the senior Harpers were dead or retired. In his own short career with the Harpers, he’'d never seen any of them, or heard of a Harper meeting or receiving direct word from them. It was time the skulking, drifting Harpers had a strong leader again.

Moonsklan needed some way to make himself rise in importance and influence within the Harpers. He happened to encounter a Red Wizard of Thay (one Szass Tam) who was also looking for a path to greater power. A dark bargain was struck, and the Harpers suddenly learned of great evil rising in Thay— - a land traditionally beyond the areas they were most interested in, and largely left alone by Harper agents.

Those Who Harp corrected that neglect with a vengeance, slaying many zulkirs and Red Wizards whom they were led to believe were working on a great magic. Known as “the spell of Undeath,” this magic would enable its caster to transform whole cities of men instantly into undead servants, raising armies overnight to menace the entire Realms.

Rundorl Moonsklan, who'’d “discovered” this danger, rose rapidly in influence within the Harpers. His information seemed always to be right, and his ability to anticipate enemy tactics seemed uncanny. Thay intended to enslave all of Faerûn, he said— - or at least all who hadn’'t been personally made immune to the spell. The only things holding the Red Wizards back, Rundorl said, were the inability of the Red Wizards to perfect the means of making themselves immune to the Undeath castings of a rival (experimentation was understandably risky)— and the Harpers.

Red Wizards who’'d ignored goings-on in the “backward, savage” lands of the North suddenly woke to the threat of this reckless band of would-be Red Wizard assassins. They struck back. Thay worked its will in other lands; folk from other lands did not dare to work their own plans in Thay! Many and strange were the magically-transformed monsters hurled at the Harpers; terrible were the crawling magics unleashed. The schemes and tactics of the Red Wizards grew ever more convoluted and many-tentacled. Harpers died, now, far more often than the wizards they sought to destroy— until at last Rundorl reluctantly withdrew the remnants of the Harpers from Thay.

They were proud of the evil they'’d slain— - many Red Wizards were gone forever - —but they’'d made no great change in the power of Thay; ambitious new mages had merely risen to take the places of those who'’d fallen. Rundorl then discovered the treachery of his secret Red Wizard ally. Agents of Thay had followed the exhausted Harpers back to the Dragonreach and were slaying them slowly and cruelly. Someone or something then turned the dying Harpers into undead of unusual powers and forms, and set them to hunting down and slaying their former comrades. Harper after Harper fell. Frightened now, Rundorl looked for a way to divert this growing army of undead who were all too familiar with Harper ways and strongholds from continuing to strike down Harpers— - or his own death would inevitably come soon.

Rundorl knew of a lich too powerful for the Harpers to overcome, who dwelt in the Thunder Peaks north of Daerlun, in a cave on the edge of the Vast Swamp. In desperation, he went to that undead lord to bargain, promising the unwitting service of the Harpers (and all the magic they’'d seized from the Red Wizards and brought back from Thay) in return for the lich’'s aid in intercepting the undead Harpers and wresting control of them away from Szass Tam. The lich would also gain a small band of capable undead servants in the process...what could be better?

The lich, one Thavverdasz, agreed. Already an ally of the Cult of the Dragon, it saw itself commanding the Harpers into wresting what it wanted from the lands around, through Rundorl. Taking over his mind, Thavverdasz was amused by Rundorl'’s dreams of becoming a Harper King, and he assumed that title himself. The Harper King quickly took control of all the undead Harpers (the hapless Rundorl joining their ranks) and set about finding their living comrades. The Cult of the Dragon unwittingly aided him, until he openly wrested away a great quantity of gems from them destined for the dracolich Khalahmongre.

The Cult gathered its forces and struck back. In Thay, Szass Tam, smarting at how easily Thavverdasz had broken his own control over the undead, had been waiting for a chance for revenge. He waited until the Cult armies had driven the Harpers back almost to the enlarged lair of Thavverdasz, now called “the Court of the Harper King.”

With battle raging in the swamp outside, Szass Tam suddenly appeared in the Court and confronted Thavverdasz in his Great Spellchamber. The two liches hurled spells at each other, but the clever defenses set in place by Thavverdasz against any invasion of his Court diverted the magical attacks on him out into the swamp - —destroying most of the Cult and Harper forces. His own spells did far more damage to his Court, for they were cast at a foe who wasn'’t really present. Szass Tam had perfected a magical image of himself that could cast spells and that had physical presence, but whose mind was elsewhere. Oblivious to pain or attempts to control its senses, this image was unaffected by the lich'’s spells until Thavverdasz destroyed it by using a powerful magical item. Its force drove Szass Tam’'s senses from him, back in Thay, and it was many years before the great Red Wizard recovered.

Thavverdasz stood in triumph over his fallen foe. By means of his magic he saw that the decimated Cult forces were in full flight, outside. Picking up the skull of a Harper he'’d slain long ago, he told it proudly that victory was his now, and the rule of the Harper King secure.

“

"On the contrary,"” the skull told him, “"your troubles have just begun - —but they’'ll end soon enough.”" Then it twisted in his hand into the features of Elminster, and exploded.

The shattered lich was swiftly disposed of when Elminster arrived in the Court, returned from the Harpstars War. Transporting the injured Khelben and the other senior Harper survivors to a refuge in the woods near Elventree (where they were tended by the pacifist Sylune of the Seven Sisters and friendly elves), Elminster used spell triggers to make the Court of the Harper King a deadly series of traps, to await the next attack from the Cult of the Dragon. He then set about rebuilding the Harpers. The network of “friends” was intact and largely ignorant of the corruption that had grown at the heart of the organization, but the body of experienced Harpers of middling power that Elminster had hoped would lead Those Who Harp into the next century was shattered. Grimly he set about recruiting and rebuilding, aided by the sisters Storm and Dove.

Those three seemed immortal (few in the Realms knew of the Chosen, as few know today), but the other senior Harpers were old indeed when the century passed. Those Who Harp regained their former reach— - if not numbers and battle-strength— - from the islands off the Sword Coast (notably Mintarn) to the borders of Thay. Elminster called in a long-standing debt owed him by the rulers of Rashemen (the “witches”), and they responded by raiding Thay with magic and slave-freeing missions, keeping the attention of that evil empire away from thoughts of taking any revenge on far-away Harpers. The heir of Aglarond, the Simbul, also worked against Thay, and she began a tentative friendship with the Old Mage. It was many years before Elminster realized her way of working behind the scenes, flitting about Faerûn in many shapes and disguises to guide and influence rather than to slay and compel, was modeled after his own deeds and manner.

The near-destruction of the Harpers left them too weak to move openly against the fast-rising power of the Zhentarim. Elminster worked against the schemes of Manshoon alone, devoting most of his efforts to drawing the church of Bane into open battle with the Dark Network. The rich and powerful temple of Bane in Zhentil Keep, under Fzoul Chembryl, had changed its name from “the Dark Shrine” to “the Black Altar” (not to be confused with “the Black Lord’'s Altar” in Mulmaster). It had broken from the authority of the increasingly decadent and corrupt church of Bane to join the Zhentarim. The renegade priests under Fzoul did not lose the spells and powers granted them by Bane, and they saw this as vindication of their defiance.

The High Imperceptor of Bane, head of the church, was a weak man (chosen as a figurehead by senior priests locked in bitter rivalries with each other). He did not wield the might of the church into any immediate attack on Zhentil Keep until it was too late. The Zhentarim had grown far too strong and easily defeated the tentative attacks mounted by the clergy of Bane.

Elminster set out to manipulate individual priests of Bane into launching their own small efforts against the Zhentarim, concentrating on the caravans the Zhentarim hoped to enrich themselves with. The Old Mage saw at once that the Zhentarim wizards intended to control the shortest and safest trade-route between the Moonsea North and the Sword Coast - —an aim that has kept them busy to this day. The ongoing struggle between the rival followers of Bane kept both busy, so the lands around retained some freedom, and the Harpers could rebuild.

In the Sword Coast area, Khelben took over direction of the Harpers for a short time, supporting the senior Harper Cylyria Dragonbreast (a veteran of the Harpstars War who'’d grown sick of battle and longed to establish a place of peace in the Realms for folk to dwell in) in her bid to become ruler of Berdusk. With the aid and protection of the Harpers and Waterdeep'’s friendship and financial support, Cylyria became High Lady of Berdusk. There she founded Twilight Hall. The Harpers were immediately called on to defeat brigand, Zhentarim (out of Darkhold), and mercenary (hired by Amnian merchant interests) attacks on Berdusk.

Thus founded in war, Twilight Hall became the base for a new breed of Harpers willing to fight for a peaceful haven. They were accustomed to authority, organized ranks, and clearly established responsibilities. Under Khelben’'s guidance, Cylyria drew up their code and ranks with an eye to preventing future abuse or tyranny, calling her formal organization “the Order of the Silver Moon and Harp.”

Khelben withdrew abruptly from the affairs of the fledgling Twilight Hall when he learned that Laeral of the Seven Sisters, who had pursued her own career in the North as the head of a powerful adventuring band known as the Nine, had fallen afoul of evil magic.

The Crown of Horns was a mighty item of magic created by the god Myrkul. It had been lost for many centuries in a crypt under Yulash in the Dalelands (the resting-place of a long-ago, outcast cabal of magicians). Its fell powers included a “ray of undeath” that closely resembled the imaginary threat Rundorl Moonsklan had set the Harpers against in prior years. Over time the item turned its wearer into a lich, while keeping him or her ever under the influence of Myrkul. (Many sages believe it was at work in the downfall of Netheril.)

Laeral had found and donned the crown; it turned her actions (which had often worked in accord with those of the Harpers down the years) to evil and shattered the Nine. Many former friends were attacked. Shocked Waterdhavian nobles turned to Khelben for help.

With Mystra'’s aid, Khelben succeeded in shattering the crown, ending its powers forever. This involved the sacrifice of some of his own power, and left him in custody of a wild-witted Laeral. To nurse her back to health (and to keep her from evil influences), the weakened Khelben took her back to Blackstaff Tower in Waterdeep, to be his apprentice.

Over the years, Laeral recovered and both she and Khelben grew in magical power. They came to love each other. Today, Laeral is Khelben'’s consort.

While Khelben was rescuing Laeral, her sister Alustriel was busy in the Sword Coast North. Fighting orcs and local Zhentarim agents (as well as the greater evil of Hellgate Keep), Alustriel led a band of rangers, druids, and half-elves of all sorts into local politics, rising to become High Lady of Silverymoon. Like Cylyria, she was interested in establishing a haven of peace amid dangerous lands.

Storm Silverhand led her senior Harpers in aiding Alustriel’'s rise to power and fledgling rule. This entailed scouting missions that led to the deaths of many orc and hired human spies, the slaying of the wizard Shaloss Ethenfrost, who sought to raise his own rule over the area, and an open battle against a large orc raiding band. Known as the Battle of Tumbleskulls, this victory is famous in Silverymoon as the beginning of the city’'s pride and power. It was crucial to Alustriel in retaining power, and it succeeded because Storm'’s Harpers roused the warriors of Silverymoon (who were beginning to argue seriously among themselves about which of them should rule instead of Alustriel) against the orc threat. The Harpers lured the orc band into a narrow valley, where they fell on an “unprotected” human camp that turned out to be a trap. When they turned to flee, the only way back was through a narrow cleft held by the Harpers, who fired arrows and hurled spells at will, slaughtering the trapped orcs. Those who tried to scale the walls of the cleft were beheaded by the weakest of the Harpers, lying on the rocks with blades ready. The heads falling and rolling back into the fray gave the battle its name.

After the defeat of the orcs, Storm established a hidden Harper stronghold in nearby Everlund. The Heralds looked on this local rise in civilization with great pleasure. They sent financial support to both communities, to help in fortifying them and improving roads linking them with the Holdfast and thence more southerly lands.

Elminster and Storm worked together to build friendships and lines of communication, so that the Harpers would grow slowly in power throughout Faerûn. In the Dales and the lands to the north and east, he preferred to encourage many small, independent adventuring bands that could stand between the Harpers and open involvement in local politics (and open confrontation with the Zhentarim, agents of Thay, and The Cult of the Dragon).

In contrast, the Harpers based in Twilight Hall, located on a long and dangerous overland trade route that was falling under increasing Zhentarim dominance, worked openly in Harper adventuring bands (and sponsored, aided or led other groups, such as the Riders with Red Cloaks of Asbravn). Belhuar Thantarth grew to lead them, becoming Master of Twilight Hall, while bards such as Obslin Minstrelwish and Caledan Caldorien gained experience and personal power in the service of Twilight Hall.

As the Harpers flourished, so did the need for them; interests and groups whose aims and methods were evil grew in strength and numbers all over the Realms. Evil rose and fell in the Moonshae Isles, prompting the Harpers to strengthen their presence there. Orcs and worse were on the move in the North, keeping Dove of the Seven Sisters and the senior Harpers Sharanralee and her half-elven consort Eaerlraun busy.

The Zhentarim grew mighty indeed, to the point where Khelben and Elminster regarded Storm and Sylune of the Sisters, dwelling in Shadowdale, to be in grave personal danger. Elminster openly settled (in a base he had often used before) in Shadowdale, to make the two Sisters less likely to be casually attacked by any ambitious Zhent underling who wanted to make a name for himself.

Elminster’'s work against evil all over Faerûn and on other planes kept him absent from the dale so often that Khelben sent a fledgling band of adventurers (who were to become famous as the Knights of Myth Drannor) to Shadowdale, to rule there and defend the dale against the Zhentarim.

The Cult of the Dragon and the Zhentarim had begun to act openly and often in the Dragonreach lands. Evidence also came to light in Cormyr that the “dead god” Moander the Darkbringer was alive and stirring. Then the rare and awesome power of spellfire was revealed in the person of one Shandril Shessair. The Cult of the Dragon and the Zhentarim scrambled to gain control of this weapon. So did the forces loyal to the High Imperceptor of Bane - —and the younger, more reckless Malaugrym (who'’d taken to watching over events in Faerûn). The Knights of Myth Drannor took Shandril to Shadowdale under their protection. Elminster —with the aid of the Simbul— - protected her until she came to terms with her power. Storm offered her the protection of the Harpers, and she set out for Silverymoon, where Alustriel had agreed to train her consort, Narm Tamaraith, in magic.

Love developed between Elminster and the Simbul. The Harpers were kept busy battling many forces for evil - —only to find magic going wild. Then order and much of the Realms split asunder in the widespread chaos of the Time of Troubles. Many Harpers perished in the tumult of the Fall of the Gods, and in the brigandry and orc raids that followed.

In the days that followed, the senior Harpers again set about rebuilding their organization. The Nameless Bard (Finder Wyvernspur) reappeared in the Realms, freed from his otherplanar exile. Elminster, desperate to add some muscle and experience to the Harper cause, used his influence on Storm, Cylyria, and other senior Harpers to have Finder’'s sentence reviewed. Ultimately, the Harpers found themselves battling the awakened god Moander. The god was vanquished in the Realms, but his defeat cost the lives of several Harpers— - including, it seemed, that of Finder Wyvernspur, whose name and music the Harpers restored. The Time of Troubles, with its widespread death and destruction, left much of the Realms lawless, in need, and restless. It was a time for adventurers, in which both the Harpers and their foes flourished. For the first time, folk traveled to Twilight Hall, to try and join the Harpers, in numbers. Despite the dangers of belonging, and of the treacheries of those would-be Harpers who were agents of the enemies of Those Who Harp, the ranks of the Harpers grew— - and continue to do so.

The Realms had been reshaped. As the struggle began to build a new world, Harpers were determined to be a part of it.