Thay Thay was a nation in east Faerûn . Geography . It was a dark and forbidding land of windswept mountains and badlands . Government . Prior to Szass Tam ' s elevation to supreme ruler of Thay , the land was ruled by a council of eight powerful mages known as Zulkir s , each of whom specialized in a different school of magic . During the chaos of the Spellplague , Szass Tam named himself regent and eventually became the one true power in Thay . The zulkirs thereafter served as Szass Tam ' s vassals . Tharchion s , the civil governors of the realm , ruled over the various tharchs , or regions of Thay . Tharchs . The tharchs were the eleven regions of Thay , each ruled by a separate tharchion . Inhabitants . By 1479 DR , Thay had the largest population of undead in all Faerûn . Economy . The nation relied heavily on slavery , a practice heavily frowned upon by nations throughout northern and northwestern Faerûn . In Thay itself , the zulkirs and other prominent Red Wizards grew rich beyond imagination from this sinister trade . From their strongholds and estates , they used this wealth to constantly scheme and plot for mercantile and military domination of neighboring nations . Slavery . Slavery was a common branch of trade in Thay . Slave markets were restocked with war prisoners , conquered Rashemi , or people who were sold into slavery . While folk of Mulan descent removed all body hair ( at least on the head ) and Rashemi freemen at least clipped their hair short , slaves were not allowed to cut their hair at all . They could be easily distinguished by the heavy and filthy mass of hair they wore . Slaves were used in warfare , where they were given sandal - boots , spears , headscarves , loincloths , and — if they were lucky — a baldric hung with waterskins . Navy and Seafaring . Thayan vessels were named using magic - related themes such as spells , schools of magic , or wizards , such as " Alkammar " , " Black Tentacle " , " Enchanter " , or " Lightning Bolt " . Defense . Thay commanded armies of blood orc s , human s , undead , fiend s , and gnoll s . The soldiers of Thay wore armor of mirror - bright silver to give off blinding reflections ( but also had white cloth slipcovers to prevent heating and betraying location . ) History . The nation of Thay came about when a sect , calling itself the Red Wizards , declared its freedom from the god kings of Mulhorand . The sect ' s center of strength was in the northern provinces where the natives did not have the inbred reverence for the god - kings . After razing the city of Delhumide they declared themselves the free nation of Thay in 922 DR . Since then Mulhorand defended itself , quite successfully , against two invasions from Thay . The armies of Thay marched on Aglarond and Rashemen many times and folk feared that the time would soon come when the zulkirs mobilized again . On the other hand , few invasions ever overcame the great mountains girding the Plateau of Thay , and the secretive and suspicious Red Wizards raised barriers just as formidable to discourage travelers from venturing into their lands . In 1375 DR , Szass Tam set in motion a series of events such as the murder of the zulkirs of transmutation , Druxus Rhym , and evocation , Aznar Thrul ; crafting an undead army with the atropal Xingax from the bodies of slaves and prisoners of war ; and portraying a failed unauthorized Thayan invasion on a Rashemi town by the Tharchions Azhir Kren and Homen Odesseiron as a Rashemi invasion onto Thayan soil stopped by the great casualties of Thayan soldiers and his " timely " rescue of the invading force . All of these actions created a climate of fear within the nation of the Red Wizards and endeared him to the people as a savior who could end the country ' s woes . His plot was uncovered by his former confidant , Dmitra Flass , who put the puzzle together and alerted the remaining zulkirs , obviously excluding the lich . When Szass Tam proposed to make himself " temporary regent " to end all the suffering of the nation and crush the undead forces and other such troubles , the five of the six zulkirs voted against his proposition with only Yaphyll , Zulkir of Divination , abstaining from the vote . Szass Tam immediately had the Order of Necromancy under his control alert the common folk that the beloved hero of Thay had been denied from ending their suffering . Riots erupted in the streets , which he also used to his advantage , taking control over garrison commanders and summoning demon s to kill the rioters . The appearance of the demons did nothing to behoove the reputation of Nevron ' s Order of Conjuration , as they believed his servant had summoned the demons to fight . Szass Tam appeared all over the city to quell the fighting , endearing him to the people even more . Soon afterword , much of the undead force had been destroyed and the nighthaunt and angel of decay leaders had been obliterated along with much of the Burning Braziers , the latter thanks to the rigged magical torches he had given them . Szass Tam openly declared himself ruler of all Thay , thus declaring war against the remaining zulkirs of Thay . Hell had come to Thay . Attitude . Thayans believed that the gods sent luck to the strong and resolute , not to the gentle and compassionate .