Felonil

> *'Waterdeep my home, where the bay's slicker than the folk. A cigarette's in each breath of the air, bitter like cheap whiskey, just as grey as the buildings that fade into the sky.'*
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- The words of John Cadence, a famous Waterdhavian poet.

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This page is about the city of Waterdeep during its existence from the early centuries until 1561. For then onward, see Halcyon.

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**Waterdeep,** **City of Splendors**, **Capital of the State of Scarossar**, was the largest city, later its own state, in the western Danderillon. It was surpassed in size by Datria, until the The Violet Catastrophe of 1490 - since then, it has been the capital, boasting almost 600,000 inhabitants within its walls and under its ward. It was ruled by a Lord for seven year terms, elected by popular vote in the autumn (Flamerule 21) - the first day of a Lord's term was the harvest festival. There were many interesting places in Waterdeep.

It was known to Vortais speakers as **Watredipes,** to the Vreigardts as **Wapădi Laţcăn,** to Nethir speakers as **Watardiip** and to Rakki speakers as **Vätterdeepen.**

Sometimes, its alternate names were used: in Euluska, *Katena Luskandria*, meaning "Luskan's City"

The city was situated at the twin estuary of the rivers **Reiros** (**Râroşu)** and **Reidos** (**Râdoţu).** Under Lord Silverhand and early Lord Cassalanter, canals were built to control and funnel the rivers, giving it its iconic outline of the Narrows island, and Neverember's Headland, with the bastion fort of Maeldaf upon it.

Waterdhavian authority included the neighbouring lands, encompassing the Scarossar Fields, Hextorr Fens and the town of Jarren's Well. This area was also known as Greater Waterdeep contrasting the City of Waterdeep.

It was famous for its Waterdhavian (cheese).

## Early Waterdeep

> *For among the cities of Faeruna, Waterdeep is by far the most fair - her harbour stark blue, painted with beautiful ships, many sails higher than I have seen anywhere on my travels. Her buildings tower so high you might think the Waterdhavians desire to live amongst the heavens. Her citizens are a proud people, knowing they belong to such a fine city of such a great empire.*
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> The Xantic explorer Ysabella Querellos in her book, 'The Land of Faeruna (Year 877)'.
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Millennia before Luskan, in Waterdeep's place was a large town (large for its time, anyway), called **Reimostek,' *meaning* 'Bridge over the two rivers'**.

Waterdeep earned its title of **City of Splendors** for good reason. It was initially a city of the Lusken empire founded in the early few centuries on Vriegardt land at the mouths of the two rivers, but earned the title of a city state in the 1300s. It grew as the commercial crossroads of the Danderillon, a bastion of trade on the west coast of Faerun, and its proximity to The Vortic Isles. Naturally, it would develop more and more as time went on. It was initially similar to Luskan until it gained its own unique identity.

## Under Lord Neverember and Lord Silverhand (1500s)

> *Waterdeep's like a big old Midwinter cake. Coins in every slice ripe for the picking, as long as you're willing to be the one with the knife in your hands.*
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> The founder of the Adventurer's Guild of Waterdeep.
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Dagult Neverember (1495-1500) of house Neverember was Lord of Waterdeep during these years. He wasn't a great leader, and was secretly siphoning off funds, but that's it's own story. He was succeeded by Laeral Silverhand (1500-1507) of house Silverhand, a cold and calculating woman whose rule was marred by the rioting of 1502-4. Nonetheless she laid the groundwork for her successor to crack down.

During this time, Waterdeep was a place rife with magic and adventurers, often going unchecked. Things were still developing and prospering, but many adventurers staked a claim in the city, such as The Last Crusaders and The Naysayers. After the Riots of 1502-4, it was clear that things would have to change for Waterdeep to progress and become a city of its own. Silverhand began constructing the canals and waterways of the city, funneling the Reiros and Reidos, diverting it around the Narrows - this included the demolishing of many homes to dig the canals.

## Under Cassalanter and the Lordly Council (1510s)

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Main article: Waterdeep in the 1510s.

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In 1514, under Silverhand's successor Amelio Cassalanter (1507-1514) of house Cassalanter, Waterdeep completed its waterways. It cracked down hard on crime, on adventurers and more. It later declared its independence from the weakening Lusken Empire (after losing Lakay and failing to secure Rakkimar), now the capital of Scarossar. Amelio's leadership was wildly successful, and he was up for re-election again, against several other interesting candidates. After the secession from Lusken, Waterdeep's lordship system was changed. Instead, elections would be every five years.

From 1514-1519, Waterdeep was ruled solely by its council of Lords, until the first elections in 1519. The candidates were Amelio Cassalanter again, Warad, Renaer Smytt and Lucrezzia Calinezzi. Factions like The Thavians, the old Naysayers & Harpers, and The Loveridge Family picked favourites and controlled the dirty city. In addition, the council ruled that a Lord's term would

## Under Lord Smytt (1519-1524)

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See article: Waterdeep in the 1520s

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In 1519, the West Marchers uncovered Scoop McClean's findings - of Warad's involvement in Vittoro Cassalanter's death. They stopped this becoming exposed, and stole Cassalanter's Spear, destroying the north wall of the Dinas Drych in the process.

In the 1519 elections, Smytt narrowly won, just barely beating Warad and easily beating Cassalanter and Calinezzi. He began work to ally with The Vortic Mercatorium, and moved to integrate Naysayer into Scarossar.

In late 1520, Luca Calinezzi forced Amelio Cassalanter to sign over Cassalanter Industries to Calinezzi Company Limited. This single signage made the Calinezzis the richest family in the city. This was somewhat dented by the death of Lucrezzia Calinezzi and Luca Calinezzi around the same time, early 1521, though.

By the turn of 1521, war was inevitable. The formation of the Pătrat led his government to force Smytt to declare the Moor Wars on the Sword Vreigardts led by Warlord Burad to protect the 'home interests' - the many factories in the Čer Fields provided Waterdeep with her oil, coal, gas, metal, salt and other things.

Because of the war, the forces of the Mercatorium were integrated into the city, supplementing the Guardia as the Vortic Army.

Warad turned from becoming dejected at his loss, to campaigning strongly against Smytt's warmongering, gaining somewhat of a fame as 'Papá Warad, father of the poor'.

### The Land Grab

In summer 1522, the Teal Brotherhood attempted (and failed) to assassinate Warad at the The Polished Pump, but Arnaud DuPont Leroux stopped this.

Also in summer 1522, the Calinezzi house and the three leaders (Blanco Calinezzi, Coronita Calinezzi and Matteo Grante) were eliminated by the West Marchers's mortar bombardment of the New Bristi district, which would succinctly come to be known as the **Bombardment of New Bristi**. With no deed signage left or recoverable, the Calinezzi's properties were up for a complete land grab.

The Loveridge Family, led by the now-richer Edward Loveridge, snagged many of the factories in the north of Waterdeep.

Remnants of the old Di Lamendolio Family yet left in the city, as the secondary mafia family, rose to the top and managed to hold some of the old southern Calinezzi properties. Many properties in the Narrows were left for squatters and to rot. Waterdeep was also on high alert since the attack.

On the same night no less, Cassalanter Kerosene and Tar was heavily damaged by Vreigardt sappers. The Moor Wars ended after, with heavy casualties on both sides, and the Pătrat holding their new, more favourable borders. Scarossar's territory had shrunk considerably.

## Under Lord Zaretti (1524-1533)

Caused by a mixture of crackdown reforms against dangerous magic and adventurers, combined with the Moor Wars having massively harmed the city's imports and materials, the city focussed its sights more and more on economic development and less on social reform. The industry boomed, with factories powered by mass imports of Serite everywhere (like Waterdeep Small Arms, Lanchester Steelworks, Sparkbrooks Metal and Vehicle Works and more becoming the most prominent), and Waterdeep was soon rough and sooty. Its moniker, the **City of Splendors**, had become an ironic joke if anything. The lord during this period was Lord Don Zaretti, an ex-Luskan army commander whose reforms promoted the city as the powerhouse of the world.

During the end of Smytt's rule and the ushering in of Zaretti's, Waterdeep was a city still wounded by the events of the Moor Wars and the Bombardment of New Bristi. Amongst the common people in the central and north districts, Papa Warad and Edward Loveridge were some of the most well-known faces, striving for a better life for the less fortunate. At two points during 1524, Arnaud and the Spear and Soot both separately also returned to Waterdeep to lend a hand for some time. Conditions were improving, but Waterdeep was becoming more unsafe, and more industrial to compensate for the losses of its factories in the Moor Wars. Scarossar was dwindling too.

## Waterdeep's Industrial Revolution

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See page: Inventions

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The city's industry boomed, with factories powered by mass imports of Serite everywhere (like Waterdeep Small Arms, Lanchester Steelworks, Sparkbrooks Metal and Vehicle Works and more), and Waterdeep was soon rough and sooty.

Its moniker, the **City of Splendors**, had become an ironic joke if anything. The notable Lords during this period were Don of house Zaretti, and Arthur of house Axehelm. Axehelm was known as the **Sober Lord** for his harsh militaristic reforms that really made Waterdeep worse for the wear, causing many gangs in the streets and other problems.

## Communications

As with all good communication inventions, the Waterdeep Commercial Company was in charge of the phone and telegram lines of the city. They used Gunn's Rotary Phone for most internal affairs and MacKenzie's Alternating Telegraph for external affairs.

Each district was assigned a short phone number code, and each address with a linked telephone would then have a short personal number. To ring up someone, you would call the operator and ask to be connected. The area codes were as follows, but you could just ask for the area, too.

For example, you might ring up and ask for 'Clarkenwell 1921', please'.

## Waterdeep Deprived and Rejuvenated Again

> *"This body of water is more body than water"*
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- Morgan Belphane about Waterdeep's canals.Many notable groups sprung up during the later year of the industrial boom , such as the The Loveridge Family, The Rapscallions, The Moonstars, The Red and Blacks, The Di Lamendolio Family and more - people capitalising on the opportunity of social climbing. The city was dirty and rife with crime, as the Lordship focused more and more on trying to pull itself out of the pit and keep the factories pumping.

Train lines were built spanning to major cities across the Danderillon and, by slight extension, Faerun, though not to as much extent.

In the 1550s under Lady Corinna Fellbranch, groups like The Agents of Chaos made a name for themselves amongst the other gangs by trying to clean up the city, to some significant avail - cleaning it of agitators like The Red Hand for instance, and uniting the Loveridges and Rapscallions to protect most the working classes of Waterdeep in the west and north. With the exit from office by Lady Corinna Fellbranch, she marked the final Lord of Waterdeep, and the city agreed to govern by way of an elected assembly of merchants, legislators and other plutocrats, the **Convocation of Scarossar**.

## Waterdeep, City of the Eye

> *Jesus, Waterdeep must have more government change-overs than Italy at this point...*
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- Jude (ooc).

But this didn't last long. The Oracles set their eye on Waterdeep in 1557, a movement that began Aresilia Decimus's assent as Minister, and with the slow infiltration of the Waterdeep City Watch and several small cells in the rough districts. This grew by low winter 1560 until it was time for their terrorist plot to take place. They killed Eothain Blackstone, 'attacked' Aresilia at Éothain's Funeral, and killed Perennial Althier to spread terror. It worked, and the Convocation of Waterdeep agreed to allow Aresilia emergency powers. She immediately used these powers to have her now-loyal guard round up the nobles and stick them in the Waterdeep County Jail.

The Oracles' martial law persisted for several months under Aresilia Decimus. In spring 1561, the Night Watch returned along with the Lakayan Navy. The Navy blockaded the city briefly, before bombarding it and unleashing the Setting Sun device. The day-long bombardment destroyed much of the docks and some important places like the Old Minster were turned to rubble, as was Fort Laeral, the site of the last stand of the Oracles. With the city freed yet powerless, and order slowly restored, the Lakayan Federation annexed the city and Scarossar proper in the summer of the same year, and moved its administrative capital to the city. Waterdeep was renamed as Halcyon, City of Splendors.

For what happened next, see Halcyon.