1485

## **War is Unleashed**

As predicted, and as Stonehearth warned about, the Shadovar-Netherese kicked over the dominoes around the Kingdom of Cormyr. Sembia and the Dalelands were embroiled in war, and the Netherese had now attacked Cormyr directly.

Notably, the Cormyrean action well avoided Stonehearth's Esparean Barony. While the Purple Dragons were stretched thin, and could've accepted Stonehearth assistance at any time, it was the pressure of the baronage that kept them from doing so. On the other hand, Stonehearth's strong defensive stance in the barony kept the area comparatively safe for war refugees from Cormyr and the Dalelands alike.

Similar chaos was unfolding in the Silver Marches, just as Stonehearth had warned. A Drow-Orc combined offensive was ravaging dwarven allies, and there was less that Stonehearth could do. While Stonehearth never specifically articulated an "I-Told-You-So," they didn't have to. The orc siege was broken that year, and open hostilities settled, but at great cost.

### **Behind the Lines**

Even in reclaimed, green Netheril, battle erupted as the middle class ("Lower Netheril") rebelled. Lower Netheril was stuck on the ground, and largely with Bedine roots, but they were thoroughly mixed now. Lower Netheril was traditionally repressed by Upper Netheril, the entitled floating-city nobility, and with the Bedine cultural influence, struck back against targets of opportunity.

The opportunity came from the Shadovar logistics: they were now spread thin between Cormyr and the Dalelands fronts. Unlike the Silver Marches or Cormyr, Lower Netheril was *not at all shy about asking for help*. The Bedine-influenced Lower Netherese went as far as seeking emergency audiences at the Esparean Court, and using that as a slingshot to the Marquis' Court in North Point.

Stonehearth had to walk a careful line here, too. This was exactly what Cormyrean nobility was afraid would happen to them, as well. Ultimately, Stonehearth could not accommodate Lower Netheril – it would technically violate the Armistice – but thinly veiled, covert support soon landed across lower Netherese territory...

## **Cormyr's Resistance**

The Cormyrean resistance to Stonehearth assistance didn't come from the people – *and that was the point*. The baronage was less afraid of a regime change than it was of the egalitarian "Charter of the Light" – the foundation of both the Stonehearth Marquisate and the Commonwealth. Masters could change, but the oligarchy would remain the same. Stonehearth, on the other hand, *would make changes*.

Stonehearth already had a significant minority of Cormyrean nobility in their camp, including the Crown itself, but it wasn't a majority. The majority, on the other hand, was in hysterics about *not* accepting military assistance from the West because once the famous Battalions were in place, they would "simply steamroll all parties and take over on their own terms."

What Stonehearth could do: supply the Purple Dragons (the Cormyrean army) and associated Houses with combat scrolls and potions. This began to turn the tide – until Sembian merchants imported the same Stonehearth scrolls on a mass scale from neutral importers from Tethyr to Calimshan. The result was that the two sides tore into each other with terrible ferocity.

And still, Cormyr's baronage pressed the royalty to keep Stonehearth out of it...

## Timeline Exploration

* Go back to the Primal Magic timeline...
* Check out 1485 in the Forgotten Realms original timeline...