Illusk

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Illusk
| | | --- | --- | | colspan="2">{width=300px} | | | Capital | Illusk | | Largest City | Illusk | | Languages | Illuskan, Netherese, Dwarvish | | Government | Chieftain (c. -3,000 to c. -2,000), High Arcanist (-427 to -111), Grand Cabal (-108 to 96), Highlord (96 to 152), Grand Prince (205 to 611), Witch-Queen (806-841), Grand Prince (842 to 1244) | | Predecessor | Ruathym, Netheril | | Founded | Tribal Period (c. -3000 DR)- (c. 2,000 DR), Netherese Rule (-427 to -111), First Orcish Interregnum (-111 to -108), Rule of the Grand Cabal (-108 to 96), Rule of the Highlords (96 to 152), Second Orcish Interregnum / Argrock (152-205), First Rule of the Grand Princes (205 to 611), Third Orcish Interregnum (611 to 806), Stornanter (806-841), Second Rule of the Grand Princes (842 to 1244), Fourth Orcish Interregnum (1244 to 1302) | | Successor | Icewind Dale, Gauntlgrym, Rashemen, Dambrath, Tavaray, Bloodhand Hold, Argrock, Stornanter, Luskan | | Land Area | - | | Population | - |

Illusk was a human kingdom of the [[Sword Coast North] that occupied the mouth of the River Mirar. One of the most ancient human civilizations in the North, the Illuskan culture and language would eventually go on to spawn innumerable human kingdoms and settlements across the continent. Illusk itself was a powerful, militaristic, and deeply troubled realm that attempted to fuse martial might with magical power, all with mixed results. Constantly wavering from military dictatorship to militant mageocracy, the kingdom of Illusk eventually fell for the final time in 1244 DR to an orcish horde. When eventually recovered by mercenary expeditions sponsored by more southerly lands, the ruins would be restored as the new city-state of Luskan.

History

The Age of Humanity

Year Name Event
c. –3,000 DR None Illuskan humans of Ruathym found the settlement of Illusk at the mouth of the River Mirar and displace local Ice Hunter tribes.
–2368 DR None The Terraseer establishes Quesseer [–2095] north of the Sword Mountains. The settlement becomes a trademeet for Netherese expatriates, the elves of Illefarn, the seafarers of Illusk, the nomadic Ice Hunters, and the dwarves of fallen Haunghdannar.
–2103 DR None A horde of orcs from the Spine of the World, led by giants and their ogre generals, crushes the human civilization of Illusk despite aid from Netherese arcanists led by Jeriah Chronos the Chronomancer.
–2100 DR None Survivors of Illusk travel to Icewind Dale, where their descendants become the Reghedmen.
–2095 DR None After refusing divine healing for the injuries he sustained in the defense of Illusk, the Chronomancer dies. The Netherese enclave of Quesseer is abandoned.
–427 DR Year of Ancestral Voices Netherese settlers refound Illusk as a magocracy. The ruling group of arcanists, known as the Grand Cabal, names Fynran the Flamelord as high arcanist and ruler.
–354 DR Year of Many Maws The arcanist Melathlar flees Netheril and travels to Illusk. Fearing phaerimm assaults, he sacrifices his life to power a mighty work of the Art that raises the great stone Host Tower, walls, and powerful spellwards around this fledgling settlement.
c. –350 DR None The Netherese migration to Illusk reaches its peak as settlers from many towns in Low Netheril travel west to escape the depredations of the phaerimms.
–335 DR Year of Seven Spirits The arcanist Maerin of Illusk commissions Immar Fardelver and many other artisans of Delzoun to begin construction of the great subterranean city of Gauntlgrym in the Crags, to the east of Illusk.
–321 DR Year of Hollow Hills Gauntlgrym is completed by the dwarves of Delzoun in this year, and the arcanist Maerin of Illusk welcomes humans from Illusk, Netherese refugees from Runlatha and Sundabar who have made the long trek west, and dwarves of Clan Goldspire of Delzoun to live in the city.
–111 DR Year of Terrible Anger The Orc Marches: The entire North erupts as great orc hordes stream south from the Spine of the World and the Ice Mountains to lay waste to all in their path. Illusk and Gauntlgrym fall to this onslaught, and Delzoun is devastated by countless orc assaults. Most of Illusk’s population manages to escape by sea or by magic and is spared. The elves of Iliyanbruen, Rilithar, Siluvanede, and Eaerlann unite to shatter the strength of the orcs and halt their rampage south into the High Forest and Dessarin Valley.
–108 DR Year of Wands Humans displaced by the Orc Marches rebuild and resettle Illusk. The city again operates as a magocracy under the Grand Cabal.
–105 DR Year of Bloody Goad An Illuskan tribe known as the Rus arrives in eastern Faerûn by means of a malfunctioning portal that deposited them on the eastern shore of Lake Ashane. Although quickly integrated into the native Rashemi population, the Rus were powerful berserkers who sparked an insurrection among the native Rashemi against the court of Eltab. The arrival of the Rus coincided with the emergence of the Witches of Rashemen, a secret sisterhood formed in the dying days of Raumathar to preserve that empire’s magical lore.
–69 DR Year of No Regrets An Illuskan tribe from the island of Ruathym travels through a portal to the Council Hills in the Eastern Shaar. Over time, the Illuskans mingle and join with the Arkaiuns who fled the fall of fabled Shandaular, capital of Ashanath, in the lands west of Rashemen centuries before. In time, this mingling of people leads to the establishment of the realm of Dambrath in the Shining South.
–50 DR Year of Phandar Illuskans from Ruathym settle at the mouth of the River Delimbiyr, founding the city of Tavaray.
–15 DR Year of the Embrace Gripped by the imperial urge, the leaders of Illusk expand their nation southward and eastward.
–12 DR Year of Laughing Lovers The elves of Iliyanbruen resist further Illuskan expansion in the south.
–10 DR Year of Burning Glades Led by Lord Halueth Never, the elves defeat Illusk, although skirmishing persists.
–4 DR Year of Pacts The elves of Iliyanbruen and the humans of Illusk make peace, setting the River Mirar as the boundary between their kingdoms.
52 DR Year of the Thundering Horde Illuskans begin farming the plateau above Deepwater Harbor, and for two and a half centuries their rule of the area is uncontested.
95 DR Year of the Reluctant Hero Ruathens, led by Uthgar Gardolfsson, sack Illusk. The Grand Cabal retreats to the Host Tower, abandoning the city to the raiders. The Illuskans eventually burn the invaders’ ships and drive Uthgar and his followers into the interior.
96 DR Year of the Mournful Harp Stefan Blackspear becomes Highlord of Illusk and exiles wizards from his city-state.
141 DR Year of the Impenetrable Mystery Gauntlgrym is resettled with aid from Highlord Narandos of Illusk.
152 DR Year of the Severed Hand The orcs of the Severed Hand tribe capture Illusk and rename it Argrock.
177 DR Year of the Troublesome Vixen The elves of Iliyanbruen destroy the orcs of the Severed Hand and Argrock, though the effort costs much of their strength. Within three years, Iliyanbruen is no more. Many of its moon elf inhabitants travel west to Evermeet or south to Ardeep, leaving only scattered wood elf settlements and the abandoned capital of Sharandar.
205 DR Year of the Greengrass Settlers from Uthtower, Yarlith, and the Mlembryn lands recolonize Illusk. Taman Steeldrake becomes Grand Prince of Illusk.
256 DR Year of the Thousand Snows The Ffolk of the Moonshaes concede the northern isles to Illuskan invaders from the island nations of Tuern and Gundarlun.
306 DR Year of the Fanged Horde The kingdom of Grimmantle in the Mlembryn lands falls to the Thousand Fangs orc horde, which then assails Illusk and Neverwinter. The horde is eventually blunted and scattered by a mercenary army led by Grauth Mharabbath, “the Knight of Many Battles.”
611 DR Year of the Normiir The rampaging orcs of the Everhorde erupt from the Spine of the World, engulfing the North in war. Illusk and Yarlith are left in ruins, but the Host Tower survives. Neverwinter survives, thanks to the aid of Palarandusk the Sun Dragon.
806 DR Year of the Warrior's Rest The realm of Stornanter is established in the North with Laeral the Witch-Queen as its ruler and Port Llast as its capital. Realizing the importance and strategic location of ruined Illusk, Laeral sees to the rebuilding and resettling of this city. After personally exploring the Host Tower and encountering the lich survivors of the Grand Cabal, Laeral erects magical barriers around the structure to bar entry.
812 DR Year of the Gem Dragons Illusk is largely rebuilt by this year and construction begins on its defensive walls. Trade from the mines of Mirabar soon brings great prosperity to both Illusk and Stornanter
841 DR Year of the Hunted Elk Laeral the Witch-Queen of the North unknowingly comes into conflict with her sister Syluné. The goddess Mystra appears to both of them and offers them the mantle of Chosen. They both leave Faerûn for a time to travel the planes, and the departure of Laeral sees the swift collapse of Stornanter, as greedy nobles attempt to seize power for themselves.
842 DR Year of the Maverick Duke Daragos Wolfstar of Stornanter becomes Lord of Illusk.
957 DR Year of the Entombed Poet Illusk repels attacks by Uthgardt barbarians.
1023 DR Year of the Pirate's Trove Grand Prince Galnorn of Illusk fails to conquer Mirabar.
1046 DR Year of the Twilight Campaign An Illuskan garrison is sent to the Ice Lakes to rid the area of kobolds but is forced to retreat.
1064 DR Year of the Stranger The wizard Melaeth Ashstaff of Neverwinter slays a doppelganger posing as Grand Prince Galnorn, the age-old ruler of Illusk. Corigan Aveldon of the fallen realm of Stornanter becomes Lord of Illusk.
1244 DR Year of the Defiant Keep After a nine-year siege, Illusk finally falls to the orcs of the Bloody Tusks tribe. The orcs reside in ruined Illusk, using it as a secure base from which to raid nearby human settlements.
1276 DR Year of the Crumbling Keep Duergar from Gracklstugh establish an outpost beneath Illusk to probe the underground defenses of Mirabar.
1301 DR Year of the Trumpet A mercenary army sponsored by merchant interests in Waterdeep and Neverwinter rides against orc-ridden Illusk.
1302 DR Year of the Broken Helm Illusk is retaken and rebuilt with aid from Neverwinter, then renamed Luskan. Duergar beneath Illusk retreat to the Underdark.