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| Brotherhoods of Evil |
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| "Law 1: To defeat your enemy, you must first know him. Learn how he thinks, what he wants, why he fights. To pretend that they are simply evil and oppose you for no reason is an invitation to miscalculate him, underestimate him, and thereby commit some strategic disaster. Come to know your enemy, his strengths and his weaknesses, and you can then choose the time and the place of battle. Play on your own strengths, press his weaknesses, press your advantage, and victory is certain." Saint Arbruth wrote those words nearly one thousands years ago. I memorized them when I was six, studying his Strategos: The Seven Laws of Warfare at the Citadel. They come back to me now, automatic. We are beset by enemies, so many of them hidden, their motives uncertain. Knowledge is in short supply these days. I must make the best of what we have, so that I do not miss something vital. --Atreides Bloodhawk Tactical Notes: 1373 DR |
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| Cult of the Dragon Few of us knew much (or cared much) about the Cult of the Dragon until we met Anthynian. He had a past, to put it mildly, and the Cult had always had an interest in him. They were Anthynian's enemies, so they became our enemies--and while we don't go out of our way to disrupt their plans, we relish every opportunity to do so when it comes up. The Dragon Cult is a group of fanatics following the prophecies of their founder, Sammaster the Mad, who came to believe that one day "Dead dragons will come to rule the world entire." Now his followers seek to obtain positions of wealth and power for themselves by grovelling before their future rulers, the dracoliches. As we have discovered, they are also a party to all kinds of petty criminal activities, as the slaves beneath Aencar's Manor attest. We first tangled with the Cult in the Fane of Scales, but that was mostly the Black Covenant. Only a few regular Cultists have passed our way--the small group in Antharikkan's lair, and we made quick work of them. Since Anthynian's brief fall to the dark side, the Cult hasn't bothered us--but we remain implacable enemies, and it seems sure that we we will cross swords again. Black Covenant An offshoot of the Cult of the Dragon, the Black Covenant is an elite group of half-dragons believing that they will be the ruling class when Dead Dragons come to rule Faerun. Not if we have anything to say about it. We killed some of their most powerful members in the Fane, including Ravus and Synder, Disarion's right-hand men. Since that clash we have neither seen nor heard from Disarion and his minions, but we can bet that he's watching his favorite pupil still. Eldreth Veluuthra Xenophobes, human-haters, or just plain murderers, the Eldreth Veluuthra are fanatics who hunt and kill humans and half-elves in elven lands. Naturally this makes them our enemies. Some of us used to be human, at least, and we have all worked for several months now to foster cooperation and coexistence between all the races of the Dales. It was on just such a mission that we first encountered the Eldreth. We wondered why Tangled Trees, once a haven where elves and humans lived together, worked together, and raised families together, had suddenly become so racist as to force all non-elves out. We talked to the Amathor there, but it was soon clear that Norionil, the bad tempered doorkeeper, was the one calling the shots. And he was Eldreth, along with his personal guard. We were able to end his influence by dagger-point and restore Tangled Trees to its former tolerance. Only a fool would think that they're just going to roll over, though. If the Eldreth are going to press for elven domination by terror and murder, then we will fight them every step of the way. People of the Black Blood Savage lycanthropes devoted to Malar the Beastlord, the People of the Black Blood have a long history with the Hand of Valor. Appar- ently they trespassed on their first journey together, and were ambushed on their back from the gauntlet by two werewolves. It was not until much later, as we searched for the Wyvernstones of Hullack, we ran into a snag when it turned out that the Black Bloods had taken control of the ancient circle of menhirs and perverted it with their bloody rituals. It would have been nice if they had just let us take a look around and get what we wanted, but they're fanatics, and fanatics are somewhat difficult to reason with. Plus they mostly seem to have embraced their bestial nature, which no doubt encourages a kind of territoriality. We were forced to kill the majority of the Circle in order to get access to the Wyvernstones, but we achieved our objective. The People of the Black Blood are adherents to a foul religion, but they are preoccupied with hunting and bloody carnage. They seem mostly to prey on foolish adventurers that wander through their realms, making them a minimal threat to surrounding communities. I doubt we will see the Black Bloods again, unless we have further reason to invade their territory. Shades What more is there to say about the Shades... I have studied them now for nearly two years, and my best strategic instincts tell me nothing. As an enemy they are completely inscrutable. I can find no patterns in their tactics, no overarching strategy to their moves, no clear objective from the pattern of their strikes. Shades are Shadovar, citizens of Shade enclave, the sole surviving Netherese community after the Fall and the Phaerimm Wars. Somehow the Shades escaped into the Plane of Shadow, where eldritch energies altered their magic, their bodies, perhaps their very minds. They returned to Faerun in Hammer of the 1372 DR, the aptly named Year of Wild Magic, summoning their floating city near the Shoal of Thirst between the Scimitar Spires of the Anauroch. At first they seemed like a godsend, sending legions of crack sorcerer-soldiers to fight the phaerimm besieging Evereska. Then it all went bad. The alliance collapsed, and their threats turned into carnage in Tilverton. But still I do not understand. If they have the power to level cities, why have they not continued the conquest of Cormyr? Why block out the sun, why attack the grain supplies at the Abbey of the Golden Sheaf? They have been silent since then, waiting in their invulnerable fortress city, sending out occasional agents to probe our defenses. I firmly believe that we will have to fight them someday, but why? What do they want? And how will we fight a foe so powerful, so foreign, so mysterious? If war comes, how can we hope to win? Zhentarim The Zhentarim, at least, I understand. Intent on domination through trade wars and military might, the Zhentarim have only been energized by the apparent demise (or removal) of Manshoon and the complete dominance of Fzoul Chembryl and his Banites. Previously a massive network of competing interests and power players at odds with each other, they now appear to be a disciplined and coordinated organization ideologically devoted to tyranny and with a firm grip on power. Events have only increased the danger that the Zhentarim pose. Any check on their power in the Moonsea appears to have been eliminated in the brief Moonsea War of 1370; Melvaunt can do little more than protect its own city and Mulmaster seems to firmly under Fzoul's thumb. The creation of the Zhent Alliance in response to the flights of dragons and the subsequent destruction of Hillsfar, the last remaining opponent of Zhent empire, make them very, very dangerous. Recently they moved into Harrowdale and and Scardale, but seem to have ground to a halt. Whether this is a calculated strategy to avoid overextending their forces or a tactical retreat, I am unsure. Their powers grow, their armies swell, and the forces capable of opposing them seem to be weakening. Apparently the Hand of Valor made enemies of the Zhentarim long ago, when they first destroyed the mage leading terror teams throughout Deepingdale. We dealt with them briefly, and surprisingly cordially, in order to end the occupation of Harrowdale. If Lhaennyl Stormfist is an indication of the Zhentarim's new character, then the Heartlands have much to fear. Intelligent, fierce, and honorable enough to keep her word, she demonstrates how ruthless and efficient the Zhentarim have become. I fear that we cannot help but face down the expanding Zhent Alliance before long--and it will be a long, bloody war. |