The World of Telvar

Background on Telvar
The predominant nations of the New World are Dunador and Petethal. Petethal has many druids, rangers, and elves in its forests, while Dunador is mostly farmland. The Realm, which lies to the west, takes up most of the Old World and is at war with all other nations. In ages past, the Realm ruled the entire continent. On the border of the Old and New Worlds, Cromwell has recently become allies with the New World. Internal strife has preoccupied Sark for the past couple of decades. The Keystone Kingdom and Korinn Archipelago are island nations north of Petethal.

Across the sea northeast of the New World is the Far World, which is the homeland of high elves, hill dwarves, and halflings. Much of the Far World has been conquered by the World Empire and has been out of contact with the rest of Telvar for several decades.

Early Relevant History
In 2143, the nation of Sark collapsed when its treasury was stolen overnight. That same year, Lord Eldrin of Drake (a military genius) conquered Latt from the Realm.

The Tangg-Lord, an undead lich, hailed from an unknown land across the sea. In 2020, his armies conquered much of the Far World.

Death of King Halfred
On 30 August 2152, King Halfred of Dunador was killed while hunting at Dunthrane. Officially, he died in a hunting accident, but he was actually murdered by an arrow of slaying. Duke Aimar of Andevar captured Prince Edmund and held him at Griffon castle. A party of heroes rescued the prince, but he was slain by an assassin. Both Aimar and Eldrin (the king's brother) were implicated in the happenings, and each accused the other at a trial. Both defendants lost at trial by combat. Other rumours say that Hollend, the king's elected advisor, was a traitor or that the Realm was responsible.

Although Eldrin's and Hollend’s hatred of each other predates this event, the king's death only intensified their emotions.

Voyage of The Arc
In 2155, Dunstill & Illic (two famous heroes) launched The Arc for the Far World. They set out with the greatest heroes of the New World to try to stop the Tangg-Lord. Hours after they left, the Sarkian fleet arrived at port to stop The Arc, but it wound up burning the city of Teft instead.

Three years later, The Arc returned from the Far World. They had killed the Tangg-Lord's body but had failed to stop him and his invasion. Dunstill & Illic were subsequently tried for treason.
The Intervening Years

On 18 May 2154, Illic's Perch was attacked. Illic's Perch is a heavily defended lighthouse on Outrock Island. The people at the lighthouse were killed by poison, and the assassins stole the magic wand that powered the lighthouse.

On 13 January 2159, an invisible ship from the Tangg-Lord attacked Riverneck. That city is the only production centre of ocean-going compasses, and the invaders stole all of the compasses.

On 17 August 2162, Eldrin returned 5,000 very young children along with the bodies of many soldiers and militiamen to Cromwell. As a result, a cease-fire was established in the Dunador-Cromwell War.

On 20 April 2165, Dunstill & Illic learned about Bear Paw Island, a secret naval base of the World Empire.

Death of the Tangg-Lord
In late December 2165, Duke Konrad of Estwurl set out to exterminate all the gnolls of Southern Dunador. At the end of the battle, Ranto (a mage) teleported with the Tangg-Lord's agents. By destroying an Oracle Sphere, Ranto destroyed the lich's body but also killed himself.

On December 27, Ox (a mage) realized what had happened. He used the Micromicron, a powerful religious artifact, to shatter the Tangg-Lord's soul gem and thus permanently kill him.

After the Tangg-Lord's death, Hrothgmn—a mad wizard and politician—took control of his empire.

Dark Wednesday
A number of tragedies mark 5 January 2166 as Dark Wednesday. On this day, assassination attempts were made on most of the New Worlds’ political leaders.

Queen Valencia of Dunador was killed by an assassin, and her body was destroyed by green slime. The King of Cromwell was also attacked with a crossbow and green slime, but his assassin failed miserably and was captured.

Duke Haermond II of the Keystone Kingdom was also attacked. He was hit by a crossbow bolt but was not hurt bad. When the assassin threw a pot of green slime, a Dunadorian cavalier (Norations) threw himself in the way and died.

The King of Sark was killed by his own military, which subsequently sided with Hrothgmn. Green slime was also involved in his murder.

On the same day, the trees in Petethal started dying, though this was not realized until later.

Declaration of Invasion
When Sark’s military declared allegiance with Hrothgmn, announcements were made of the World Empire's intentions. Hrothgmn planned to invade the New World, though he promised not to harm any nation that would surrender. He furthermore promised amnesty to any sages and bards who wished it.

Hrothgmn made public his long-term plan to conquer the New World and subsequently petition to join the Realm.

Soon thereafter, all of Eldrin’s troops disappeared. He had 2,000 well-trained soldiers in 10-man units who all disappeared from their encampments in Drake.

Koralgesh
On 10 April 2165, the once-ruined city of Koralgesh was reopened. King Plin, a halfling adventurer, intends to set up the city as a base for adventurers. The keep at Koralgesh is set into the side of a dormant volcano.

After Dark Wednesday and the ensuing chaos, King Plin decided to ally with Cromwell. Furthermore, some of the bureaucrats and records from the Petethalian government have temporarily moved to the keep at Koralgesh.

On 13 April 2166, two Tangg-Lord scout ships landed at Koralgesh while most of the people were away. They took away Saker and Lana, two sages who accepted Hrothgmn’s offer of protection.

The Oracle Spheres
Oracle Spheres are powerful artifacts that magnify the power of magic. The people of the now-fallen civilization of Estwurl built the spheres several thousand years ago. There were originally seven complete Oracle Spheres. One was destroyed at the City of the Oracle near the Universitas Arcanum. The Tangg-Lord had one, but it, too, has been destroyed.

Oracle Spheres are believed to magnify magic power ten-fold. Magic spells have increased range and damage when cast in contact with a sphere. The seven Spheres were placed in cities in Estwurl ("the seven even suns"). Burning oil within the balls made them give off enough illumination to light the entire nation all day and night.

Both the New World and the World Empire are interested in the Spheres' magic power. In March 2166, Duke Konrad (who supports Hollend) led a group of heroes to go recover or destroy the remaining spheres.

The Arc Again
In 2165, Dunstill & Illic made plans for a second Arc voyage to the Far World. They intended to leave in March of 2166, but they had difficulty finding heroes to accompany them. Finally, a Sarkian adventuring group (S.M.A.R.T.) and a few others joined on. In April 2166, they were moving The Arc from Teft to a safer harbour at Koralgesh when a sudden hurricane (created by the chaotic Anarchists) destroyed the ship and killed everyone on board.

The Forest of Petethal
In January 2166, it was learned that all the grey elves (the official rulers of Petethal) had been murdered. Petethalians also discovered that their forest was slowly dying.

Mo, a warrior herbalist in the service of Evard (the master of the School of Wizardry), organized a group, including Rasputian’s party, to investigate the dying trees. The heroes gathered on 10 April 2166 and set out from Posidonis soon afterwards. On the 17th, they found an old tree with an undead spirit in it. The tree-bane killed Mo, but then Lorm (the high priest of Aurora) turned it. That afternoon, the group spoke with an ancient treant who offered his knowledge.

That evening, they found the druid-lich feeding on an old tree. Lye (the high wizard of Cromwell) used his Ring of Shooting Stars to summon a meteor swarm, and Lorm used his god-given power over meteors to amplify their force. The creature did not survive the first attack wave.

Invasion Forces
In February 2166, the Korinn Archipelago appears to have fallen without a fight. By March 2165, World Empire forces had invaded the Archipelago. They dissolved the Ventris militia and imposed martial law.

On 21 March 2166, Fistle, the capital of southeastern Sark, fell when the local leader surrendered. The enemy army then moved to surround A-2, the mountain headquarters of the Democratic Revolution (a group dedicated to restoring democracy to the world).

Confirmed rumours tell of dragons, giants, gargantuan orcs, and giant spiders in the World Empire’s army.

The Hobgoblin Assault
On 17 April 2166, the Leg-Breaker tribe of hobgoblins made a surprise attack from their home in Secton. The hobgoblins took Secton City easily: most of the Secton army was killed in the barracks. Casualties were vast. All militia-capable males (i.e., those between the ages of 14 and 60) were killed. About 60% of the townspeople died before they realized that they were under attack. Luckily, one unit of light cavalry and one unit of heavy cavalry were able to escape and bring the news to the rest of Dunador.

The hobgoblins burned the barracks, stables, and most of the town. The castle is still standing, however. They also seized the grain silos at Secton City, which contained most of the stored grain for the province.

The hobgoblins set fire to the woods of the Southern Wilderness. As they advanced their troops northward, they burned the crops by the road.

On April 19, the hobgoblins felled Gyge. On the 23rd, news reached the School of Wizardry of the hobgoblins' advances. This was the first the outside world knew of their threat.

The Leg-Breakers are flying the Tangg-Lord’s banner and thus must be working for him. Hrothgmn claims not to be involved with them, but this is quite doubtful.

Current Status
The Dunadorian Church has sympathy for the Democratic Revolution but wishes to reestablish the Dunadorian monarchy to help the people. Bards, monks, sages, Trent, Latt, and the School of Wizardry remain officially neutral.

Lord Eldrin has requested that he be crowned as king of Dunador soon, but the church has insisted on waiting until the traditional day of June 3. Till then, Eldrin and his ally the Duke of Andevar are at odds with Hollend and his supporters in Dunthrane and Secton.

Hrothgmn claims to only want order and unification, and the megalomaniac is certainly not as destructive as the Tangg-Lord. Only Sark has allied with Hrothgmn's empire.

The Democratic Revolution is trying to survive and restore the ancient democracy that is now the Realm. World order is the main goal of the Realm. The Anarchist Anti-Federated Front wants fun and anarchy.

Cromwell and Koralgesh are trying to save the New World, while the druids and rangers of Petethal wish to save the woodlands.

--Gramaliustranstalus

For more information on many of the countries, places, and individuals mentioned herein, consult The Telvar Gazetteer, a reference work available through the Kingdom of Koralgesh.

Copyright © 1992 David Thomas Chappell. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
Used here by permission of David Thomas Chappell.