Narrative
Events Around Faerûn
Amn, Tethyr & the Wealdath
See Narrative Introduction: Local Events.
Candlekeep
The famous library-fortress withstood the Longest Year, and, perhaps surprisingly to some, even thrived. The Sword Coast looked to Candlekeep for answers, and the longer magic's absence stretched on, the more people came in search of clarity, from lands both distant and near. Though countless visitors and aspirants proved fleeting and fickle, many nonetheless stayed behind with newfound purpose, dedicating themselves to the pursuit of truth and knowledge. This bolstered the numbers of Candlekeep significantly, bringing its importance to greater heights yet.
Over the next few years, not only would Candlekeep expand to keep up with its growing numbers and influence, but they also sent out hundreds of Avowed out into the world to further the research into the Longest Year. All the while, thousands of books, scrolls and various other texts of value were gifted to Candlekeep by the clueless and learned alike, in the hopes of hastening research and, hopefully, the return of magic. It was widely believed that the sages and scholars of the library-fortress were the world's best hope, despite their efforts yielding little results.
Faith in Candlekeep began to fade and dwindle in the face of lacking results, until in 1363 DR, an apprentice of Candlekeep proved to be the first to cast a spell - a cantrip - in years. Word of this spread like wildfire, and soon enough the smallest signs of magic pervaded all of Faerûn, spurring on a time of hope for some and a time of despair for others. Some saw the First Spellcasting as proof of Candlekeep having discovered a solution, and regarded it as a sign of progress. Droves of people began making pilgrimages to the library-fortress, deeming it a sacred site. This would continue for several years to come.
In 1365 DR, Alturiak, Candlekeep announced the Thirteenth Conclave of the year. The attendance was the highest yet, full of prominent emissaries and dignitaries, all hoping for the best of news. Much to their chagrin, Candlekeep speculated that the Weave may not return to what it once was, and subsequently encouraged the heads of countries and kingdoms to treat magic with appropriate caution and pre-emptive measures to combat rumoured mishaps and differences in functions of magic compared to before its collapse. The message of Candlekeep was misinterpreted by some of the attending parties with less sense than understanding, a skewed view that - in spite of Candlekeep's efforts to the contrary - would set in motion increasingly more cautious and restrictive laws and perception of magic in pockets across the continent, with hope replaced by wariness, a wariness that, when spiralled into paranoia by those with narrow minds or goals of power, would ironically come to caused more fatalities magic itself in the early years.
Candlekeep continues its diligent efforts, and though there have been fewer and fewer Conclaves ever since, some still hold out hope for the solution that never came, assured that the library-fortress and its sages will be their salvation.
Calimshan
Despite many challenges related to its underworld and tradition of slavery, and some political upheaval, Calimshan has managed to stay mainly stable, especially since the return of minor magic, and besides the one obvious exception of having lost a city, Almraiven, to a slave revolt.
Just like in Amn, the Shadow Thieves have come to an end in Calimshan as a result of the Time of Troubles and the following Dark Stalker Wars. Calimshan’s underworld was upended, and as a result, Ralan el Pesarkhal was able to rise to power and overthrow the Djenispool dynasty, exerting almost complete control over both the government and the criminal underworld of Calimshan. Through this day, he brings growth, prosperity, and strong national defense to Calimshan. As Tethyr stabilized in 1369, trade on the Trade Way has grown in the last six moons with both neighboring nations working on their relations slowly, but peacefully.
Unlike Thay, Calimshan fared much better at controlling and maintaining their slave populations through the Longest Year. Despite being outnumbered in most places, slave owners were able to use propaganda to keep the slaves divided just enough to avoid uniting. There were revolts here and there, the largest being in Almraiven in 1360. Little is known about what occurred there, but the revolt happened after the sinking of the Pasha’s Palace and the arrest of the city’s leadership, including its high vizier. In the chaos that followed, the slaves, with the help of some of those arrested, seized control of the city and its naval ships. The city has successfully remained independent since, though it suffers from its lonesome and unique position, forced to make hard choices that go against its goals as a bastion of the oppressed. Many of the former slaves struggle to adapt to a new way of life, countless still shackled in a mental prison of their erstwhile masters' making.
As for the state of magic in Calimshan, the Longest Year has meant change for the desert as well as the everyday lives of people, given the high amounts of magical gadgets in use in Calimshan. However, as a result, these objects and the Calimshites were some of the first to benefit from the return of magic. Meanwhile, the Calim Desert has become eerily quiet. The rumbles and winds that usually torment the sands have ceased, making repair and upkeep of the Trade Way through the desert one of the most important projects for Calimshan. More of the stone road is uncovered now than has been since the Shoon Imperium and despite the loss of magic protecting the road from dangers and increased banditry, the Trade Way is as safe and easy to travel on as it’s ever been.
The Moonshae Isles
The disappearance of magic had a smaller impact upon the peoples of the Moonshae Isles than most. Though many of its denizens were as shaken as any Faerûnian, the majority of the islanders were simple folk, and martially inclined besides. Many bided their time, watching the world with detached acceptance, while keeping largely to themselves.
In 1363 DR, a segment of the Iron Fleet raided the coasts of Alaron, the Korinn Archipelago and some of the Norheim Isles. While the Ffolk were content to simply repel the invaders, the enraged Northlanders took to their longships after chasing the Fleet back out to sea in the name of revenge and glory. This led to them targetting a great galleon captained by the lizardman warlord Zass'thirr. Though the Northlanders themselves sustained many casualties, they emerged victorious in the great sea battle and dealt a devastating blow to the Iron Fleet without even fully realising. Claiming the warlord's head, they returned home as conquerors, and the galleon was left in ruins.
Ever since the Moonshae Isles have known relative peace. The conflict between the Ffolk and Northlanders has been steadily waning in the face of a mutual threat, and though raiding and skirmishing still occurs to some extent, High King Tristan Kendrick has been hard at work in unifying the isles. Some hopefully claim that he will surely succeed in the years to come, yet feuds of old seldom relinquish their hold...
Waterdeep
The City of Splendors held its collective breath for the Longest Year. Though the city was home to very many mages that practiced freely, little of the infrastructure of the city was supported by magic. Due to its casual relationship with magic the city was nonetheless limited, and so both sent out and received fewer travelers from the Trade Way or the Sea. The naval presence of the Iron Fleet and Luskans did not help matters.
No major shifts of power occurred in the city during the Longest Year or since, though occasional earthquakes below the city as well as internal strife caused fleeting unrest in Alturiak of 1356 due to indecision and uncertainty around Candlekeep's request to increase restrictions of magic across the lands. Waterdeep adapted a similar stance to that of most cities, but not to the extent of Neverwinter or Amn nor with the zeal of the latter.
Now, the Lords' Alliance threatens to dissipate, with most of the merchant cities beset by both internal and external conflict. Though Waterdeep is better off than most, its direction is unclear in the face of the south and north alike experiencing ordeals of varying magnitude. Some speculate that Waterdeep will turn its attention south, whilst others hope they'll look to holding together the crumbling Lords' Alliance, yet the sheer scale of aiding each merchant city is said to be beyond the scope of any northern city, even Waterdeep's. All that remains is for people - both abroad and in Waterdeep - to see where the winds of change blow.
Yet some Waterdhavians keep a wary eye upon Luskan, concerned that escalation would see raids upon Waterdeep's trade routes on the sea extend further and further. Thus far the Luskan are only a small thorn of Waterdeep, but a thorn nonetheless.
Skullport
Due to the dampening of magic, Skullport’s portals closed in 1358-1358 DR. The mantle that assisted in the protection of Skullport was weakened and any physical passage into Skullport was impossible after the Longest Year concluded. Some survivors managed to escape the Port, however, the vast majority held out some hope that the tethers to the Weave would be re-established and remained behind. No contact has been made with Skullport since the Longest Year and explorers have been incapable of making contact with anyone who may be inside of the city. It is assumed the Netherese Mages (The Skulls) were killed off due to the dampening of magic and that the beasts maintained by Halaster were roaming free, unchecked.
Neverwinter
The City of Skilled Hands, as it was commonly known in the Sword Coast, plunged into a wariness greater than that of any other city in the North following the fall and return of magic. Having relied heavily on magic to protect itself from its warlike rival of Luskan and the orcs of the North, its citizens grew watchful on the verge of paranoia of an impending attack of a scale yet unseen. Many believed that the Lords' Alliance could no longer support one another with each merchant city facing its own troubles, and none were keen to put the notion to the test, when so much was at stake.
This pressured its ruler, Lord Nasher Alagondar, to invest profoundly in all things martial. This undertaking proved a tremendous success over time as the region was not only overfull with eager native youths, capable warriors as well as foreign mercenaries, but it also proved to have unanticipated natural resources that had remained untapped due to their former reliance on magical defenses and exports. Bolstered by reinforced numbers, time and again the Greycloaks repelled the orcish incursions of 1366 and onwards known as the Second Black Horde, which emerged emboldened by the Longest Year. The Luskans did not once encroach upon Neverwinter's lands again, much to the confusion, wariness and cautious relief of locals.
The longer the absence of magic stretched on, the more accustomed its people grew to the new status-quo. In time many among the citizenry and nobility alike began to give voice to a wide-scale assault against Luskan, taking its apparent silence and inaction against Neverwinter as either a sign of weakness or as one of impending doom. No such initiative against Luskan ever took root in a meaningful way in spite of calls to action, nor did Luskan yet fulfill any doomsayers' dire warnings of a secret, grand assault in the making. Some attributed this uproar to boastful patriotism, more bark than bite, though others muttered of a secret pact of peace between Neverwinter and Luskan to fuel the flames of animosity.
In 1363 of Alturiak, the first spellcasting took place, and with it came both fears old and new. Lord Nasher Alagondar, along with his compatriots in the upper echelons of society, were supposedly loathed to return to the old ways in the wake of their newfound success and growth in power. Some whispered that he was simply traumatised by recent events surrounding magic that apparently resulted in the death of his wife. Whatever the truth, the Lord heeded Candlekeep's universal request to increase regulations of magic with great eagerness and some would say even outright zeal, banning all public displays of magic and issuing harsh laws against "rogue" magi and divine servants alike - only those licensed were allowed to make use of magic in any fashion, and even then it was said that the Lord was distrustful of any that rose to prominence through the aid of magic.
These events gave rise to the Order of the Unblinking Eye, a sect of Helmites who perceived the return of unsupervised magic as a great danger to the world. The beliefs of the individuals within this order were often mere ignorance of nuances and any different way of life combined with a conviction in law above all, or of cold pragmatism that Neverwinter's apparent success gave life to, and yet others were fuelled by blind bitterness from loss at the hands of magic. Even paladins were known to be part of the cause, espousing more goodly and peaceful methods to achieve the same goals, effectively acting as the Order's mediators and steadying hands when zeal threatened to boil over. The Order swiftly became a recognised one within the city of Neverwinter itself, and its members came to be known as the de facto peacekeepers alongside the Greycloaks, supposedly with the quiet approval of Lord Nasher Alagondar. With the city largely secure and rooted in anti-magic beliefs after four years, some of the Order began to look outwards, carrying its agenda to lands bereft of anti-magic laws, as well as to those with already such rulings, to ensure that chaos and discord would not again take hold of such civilised lands - or so they claimed.
The common people of Neverwinter felt little negative change due to how long magic had already been gone, embracing their ruler's decision especially given the city's recent prosperity, deferring to his apparent wisdom on matters of statecraft. Neverwinter remains thriving, isolationist and relatively peaceful to this day, barring magical incidents and the handling of dissidents, of which there has been an increase in recent memory - for better or worse.
Luskan
The City of Sails had its fair share of strife, but also success, after the Longest Year. Its leadership was drastically altered: The Arcane Brotherhood - immediately severely weakened and nigh powerless - lost their tenuous grip on the city as each of the High Captains saw an opportunity to seize and attempt to claim absolute rulership for themselves, resulting in a year of civil war. Most of the Brotherhood were subsequently killed or banished in the name of either vengeance or pragmatism, forcing the remnants of the magi to scatter far and wide. A daring few bided their time in the shadows, waiting for their moment to strike, but the majority of the lingering vestiges of the Brotherhood left the north behind entirely, never to return.
Already infamous for a difficult way of life and its tendency of housing all kinds of scoundrels, pirates, and lowlifes, the Longest Year nonetheless managed to transform the city into an utter den of vice and survival of the fittest once the High Captains found common ground and unity once more, naming Beniago Kurth as the First High Captain. Despite this and the presence of the Ten Towns in Icewind Dale, Luskan was still considered by many to be civilisation's farthest reach.
Luskan had a history of waging war against lesser powers, both naval and land-locked ones. This warlike demeanour only became an increasingly prevalent trait of the city's, partially due to the High Captains being fully in charge, but also because of the sudden power those of martial inclination found themselves in possession of. After all, there was only an abundance of warriors in the north. Mirabar and the tribes of Uthgardt were the most common of victims, both prior and post the Longest Year, so that they would be kept submissive. The city of Luskan was once known to raid the lands of Neverwinter, its rival, and at times they even staged attacks on the city itself when feeling emboldened by recent triumphs, though none proved successful.
Though Neverwinter's recent prosperity forced the leadership of Luskan to err on the side of caution in any incursion that entailed committing large forces outside of the city, it nevertheless became common knowledge over the years that both cities evidently stayed out of one another's paths now, which sprouted many a rumour of secret pacts and invasions to be on both sides, yet none seemed to know the truth for certain.
The nearest merchant cities and other powers meanwhile found themselves either unconcerned by Luskan affairs or proved stretched too thin to oppose its continuous raiding and attempts at expansion. Waterdeep in particular was said to be far too wary of an attack by the Iron Fleet, should they have committed armies northwards, and few expected the Lords' Alliance to interfere as long the Luskans focused on the islands and northmost settlements.
In 1361 DR Luskan defeated Ruathym (not for the first time) after a large and bloody naval battle in the Trackless Sea. Intent on annexing the island this time around, their forces were forced to withdraw when faced with what seemed like it could become a war against the Moonshae Isles. The Northlanders appeared with a considerable fleet in the far distance, looming in the horizon. Some said it was only a show of force, a bluff, whilst a paranoid few were assured of imminent war, whispering of envy and greed that would surely see the Northlands wage war against the Luskans despite their retreat. No such war ever came.
In recent memory, Luskan has been harrying Waterdeep's sea trade and continues their oppression of northmost tribes, yet they've retained their distance from the Iron Fleet and Neverwinter, showing no signs of beginning hostilities against either. Though the future is unclear, one thing is certain: the city of Luskan tests its luck and the mettle of others, exploiting weakness where it is found.