1487

## **Turbulence in the wake of the *Era of Upheaval…***

### **1487 DR: The earth-shattering end of the** **Era of Upheaval**

Abeir and Toril were once part of the same planet. They'd come together long enough to trade landmass and now they were separating again. By spring, the number of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes all over the planet was epidemic.

As these "minor" cataclysms afflicted the globe, other parts suddenly returned to normal. Chasms created by the Spellplague were disappearing. There were weather effects that had to be related, like the winter being longer than any ever recorded, but the reasons why were beyond common knowledge.

Other lands once lost to the Spellplague came filtering back to Toril:

* Evermeet , the elven retreat in the central Trackless Sea, had somewhat returned – with portions still phased into the Feywild plane.
* Nimbral, the illusionist enclave southwest of Chult, also returned.

Both lands sent ships to the mainland and it was surreal for all involved. The elves were particularly concerned about the rise of Stonehearth...

### **The Second Fall of Netheril**

The monks of Candlekeep were revealed to have several agents of other groups among their number, including netherese, red wizards and members of the Moonstars - including Laeral and Alustriel Silverhand. When the Netherese monks attacked their “fellows,” the others revealed themselves and battled for control of the library. Elminster deceived the Netherese into believing that he was Telamont Tanthul. Larloch subsequently convinced him to use the wards of Candlekeep to bolster the new Weave – but then betrayed Elminster by stealing the power for himself.

The flying city of Shade moved directly against Myth Drannor. Telamont Tanthul drained the energies of Myth Drannor's mythal in order to turn the new Weave into a Shadow Weave for his mistress. Larloch struck against the elves in the confusion and the Srinshee appeared to defend them. Shade eventually crashed into Myth Drannor, utterly destroying both cities, but a hastily erected ward allegedly protected the Tree of Souls from the impact.

The Court of Three, a "secret" society made up of Shadovar survivors, was established in one of the more intact towers of the Citadel of the Raven. A few Zhentarim agents were attempting to reclaim what the Shade hadn’t previously razed, making for an interesting interaction…

### **Around Faerûn, there were post-Shade questions…**

The annihilation of Myth Drannor, the destruction and loss of life suffered in Cormyr, and the near-loss of the treasure of Candlekeep, there was a review of lessons learned through all these lands (which extended through arguments and right into blood oaths and duels). Largely: *what could have been avoided by allying with Stonehearth?*

A few approached from the other direction: *was Stonehearth’s containment operations against Larloch the catalyst for his grab for power?* Given Larloch’s failures to destroy or control North Point, it was likely. Did that make Stonehearth responsible or was it inevitable given the track record of the ancient lich?

Cormyr plunged into a post-war depression. Joining the Commonwealth looked better and better – save for the timing and the sunk cost of independence. Did the bloodshed call for change or redoubled commitment?

From inside Stonehearth was tragic knowledge of opportunity lost. *Should the Arms have pursued the Shadovar and ended it before it escalated?*

Regarding Candlekeep, Stonehearth was one the few groups that *didn’t* infiltrate the monks. Rather, they didn't need to: they were regular contributor to library coffers and there was an *official* Stonehearth ambassador there. The one thing the Stonehearth presence wasn't was *militarized*.

That led to the next question, both within Stonehearth and Candlekeep: *Given Stonehearth’s history with the great library, and the knowledge contained within, should they annex the keep…? Was the keep suitable for inclusion in the Commonwealth?*

As the smoke cleared and the wounds healed, as the threat of primordials and demons circulated, hearts grew heavy that this might only be the beginning.

## Timeline Exploration

* Go back to the Primal Magic timeline...
* Check out 1487 in the Forgotten Realms original timeline...