Westgate Timeline

Westgate Timeline

-349 DRYear of Bold Poachers

A Netherese/Halruaan wizard by the name of Saldrinar of the Seven Spells, thought to be the creator of Saldrinar’s Slow Gem, uses a preset sequence of seven spells (so that the casting of one sets off the next) to destroy Kisonraathiisar, the topaz dragon ruler of Westgate, and win himself the throne as the city’s first human king.

The death of Kisonraathiisar marks the beginning of a gradual southward migration of black dragons across the Lake of Dragons. The progeny of Thauglorimorgorus the Black Doom seek their own domains outside the lands claimed by the King of the Forest Country, in time giving name to the Dragon Coast among humankind.

-307 DRYear of Illuminated Vellum

King Saldrinar vanishes suddenly, leaving the throne of Westgate to his only apprentice, Mather, known posthumously as “Wyrmshroud.”

-301 DRYear of Wafting Sorrows

Mather Wyrmshroud dies defending Westgate from the concerted attacks of three black dragons from the lands of the Forest Kingdom. Glaurauth, a warrior who is Mather’s closest friend and the captain of the city guard, succeeds the fallen wizard-king. Known as “the Great,” Glaurauth becomes monarch of Westgate at a time when the city is still the northernmost human settlement in the western Inner Sea lands.

297 DRYear of the Scrying Orbs

Thieves who manage to loot most of the royal treasury steal King Glaurauth’s regalia, the Crown and Scepter of Saldrinar. The king’s wizards pursue the thieves inland from their anchorage at what is now Procampur, but the wealth of Westgate’s monarch is eventually lost in Elvenblood Pass, located north of the Vast, when a horde of orcs falls on Glaurauth’s agents.

291 DRYear of Setting Suns

King Glaurauth dies of heartstop. As his three offspring all died before reaching their tenth year, the aged monarch leaves Westgate's throne to his captain of the city guard, Thorndaer of the Golden Helm.

286 DRYear of Foul Awakenings

Westgate falls during the course of a single night to a small army of elite mercenaries who emerge from catacombs beneath the city. By morning’s light, King Thorndaer and his entire family are dead, and King Orlak rules over the oldest port in the western Inner Sea region. Until the end of his reign, the Night King holds court only after the sun has set, is never seen during daylight hours, and always keeps his entire face (except his eyes) shrouded with a black-and-white-hatched porcelain mask, leading many to suspect (correctly) that the long-lived monarch of Westgate is a vampire.

153 DRYear of the Starry Shroud

Proeskampalar, later renamed Procampur in the Year of Trials Arcane (523 DR), is founded by dwarves and quickly becomes an important trading partner of Westgate.

137 DRYear of the Blooded Sunsets

A company of paladins from the Vilhon Reach in service to the Morninglord overthrows the Night King. Following the vampire’s destruction, the group’s commander, Dawnknight Gen Soleilon, is crowned king of Westgate. The Radiant King rules wisely for many years, rebuilding Westgate’s fortunes and establishing the Soleilon dynasty. The paladin-king’s most notable accomplishment is the erection of the city’s first stone walls and the construction of an extensive sewer system.

Unbeknownst to the general populace, Westgate’s deepest catacombs remain home to at least a dozen vampires created by their former monarch. The undead legacies of Orlak war amongst themselves for nearly a year before a new Night King is chosen to rule Westgate’s underworld. From this day forward, the Argraal of Orlak and the Fangs of the Night King are held by the preeminent vampire “descended” from the original Night King. Any vampire that slays the Night King assumes the bloody chalice, the dagger with twin poniard blades, and the title. On those rare occasions when the Night King is not slain by a rival vampire, all of Orlak’s existing “descendants” war amongst themselves for the title until a single candidate reigns supreme (a feat most commonly achieved by killing all potential rivals and then creating a new group of servitor vampires).

91 DRYear of Old Crowns

King Gen dies in his sleep, leaving the throne of Westgate to his eldest child and only son. The reign of King Lemere I, known as the Merchant King for his unceasing efforts to promote trade, is notable for the rapid increase in commercial activity between Westgate and southern realms such as Tethyr and Calimshan.

74 DRYear of Splendor

Marsember is founded (for the first time), and Westgate cedes its status as the northernmost port in the western Inner Sea region. Trade across the Neck and into the Lake of Dragons begins to slowly increase.

Late in the year, King Lemere I dies of a wasting disease carried to Westgate by trade emissaries from the newly founded port of Marsember. The throne of Westgate passes to his only child, Crown Prince Lemere II. Within a year, the newly crowned monarch concludes a whirlwind courtship of Lady Lharida of Tethyr, the eldest child of Rhynnel Ithal, the head of Clan Ithal.

68 DRYear of Discordant Destinies

The Dawnmaid, the newly built flagship of the royal navy, is scuttled in Westgate’s harbor by merrow from the aquatic kingdom of Khuur. King Lemere II and much of his court either drown or fall prey to the sea ogres’ talons, as the attack is launched during royal ball held aboard the ship to commemorate its christening.

The crown of Westgate passes to the only son of King Lemere II, the four-year-old Crown Prince Ryndarth. The Boy King survives the tumultuous early years of his reign thanks to the wise regency of his mother, Queen Regent Lharida Ithal-Soleilon.

55 DRYear of Traitorous Thoughts

Queen Regent Lharida consumes a virulent poison concealed within her supper during a state dinner with representatives from Tethyr’s royal court and dies immediately. Her only son, King Ryndarth I, takes up the mantle of leadership. Much of the Boy King’s reign is consumed with his fruitless hunt for his mother’s killer(s). Diplomatic relations with Tethyr collapse during his reign, although mercantile activity between the two realms continues to flourish.

29 DRYear of the Corpulent Mount

Starmantle is founded, beginning a mercantile rivalry with Westgate that lasts for centuries. Despite the efforts of the rulers of both cities to crush their trade adversaries, the ensuing competition actually makes both ports wealthier by increasing the overall volume of trade passing through the Dragon Coast region.

–27 DRYear of the Masquerade

King Ryndarth I dies suddenly, as his heart stops one night while he is asleep. His eldest son, Crown Prince Ryndarth II, is apparently crowned king and rules Westgate unchallenged for nearly a year. Before the year ends, however, an army of Mulan mercenaries, led by Great Lord Ashtukzu of Unther, deposes King Ryndarth II. The Untheric noble reveals that his predecessor was actually a doppelganger who had secretly slain both King Ryndarth I and the Crown Prince and then assumed the identity of the latter. Best known for initiating the tradition of Masquerade Balls in Westgate, the doppelganger monarch is known posthumously as the Masque King.

As monarch, King Ashtukzu I ignores Gilgeam’s orders to make Westgate a vassal state swearing fealty to Unther’s god-king, choosing instead to preserve the city-state’s traditional independence. The first king of the Mulan dynasty also is instrumental in improving Westgate’s trading ties with ports on the eastern Inner Sea.

-8 DRYear of Wraths

Great Lord Thunn, nephew of King Ashtukzu I, arrives from Unther on a trade mission from Unthalass. Within a tenday of his arrival, Thunn’s uncle dies suddenly, several hours after naming Thunn his heir to the throne. King Thunn’s reign is marked by incessant civil strife as Westgate’s populace fiercely resists the usurper king’s efforts to impose the authority of Gilgeam on this distant port city.

4 DRYear of the Slaked Blade

Ashtukzu II, son of King Ashtukzu I and a Turami noblewoman, besieges Westgate with a force of mercenaries from Alaghôn. The inhabitants of Westgate rise up in open rebellion, and King Thunn is drowned in the small river that drains into Westgate’s harbor and forever after bears his name.

37 DRYear of Dark Venom

King Ashtukzu II is slain by assassins, although their employer is never discovered. The royal line of succession is thrown into dispute as the stepson and the illegitimate half-brother of Ashtukzu II battle for the crown of Westgate. After three months of civil war, both men are slain on the same night, mere hours after the arrival of a trade envoy from Unther, Great Lord Hurnmul. Fearing that Hurnmul seeks once again to impose Gilgeam’s will on the city, Westgate’s senior nobles blame Gilgeam’s agents for the king’s assassination and for fomenting the chaos that ensued. After a week of battles in the streets between the trade envoy’s “bodyguards” and the nobles’ private militias, Great Lord Hurnmul and his troops are driven from the city. Within the hour, the late king’s seneschal, Kergaard Twinblade is crowned as king of Westgate.

King Kergaard is universally acknowledged as a weak king, wholly beholden to the nobility. His reign marks the beginning of a period of decline for Westgate as royal authority slowly unravels.

75 DRYear of Clinging Death

More than half of Westgate’s inhabitants fall victim to a deadly plague spread by sailors from the Vilhon Reach, including King Kergaard, who dies without an heir.

Hygaarth Croam, an itinerant priest of Ilmater, is instrumental in organizing the city’s priesthoods to combat the epidemic. By the first frost, the plague has run its course and Westgate’s surviving populace demands that the humble Hygaarth assume the mantle of kingship, thus establishing the Croam dynasty. Seeing the duties of rulership as another trial to be borne in the name of the god of suffering, Hygaarth rules ably for two decades until his death in the Year of the Mournful Harp (95 DR).

137 DRYear of the King’s Destiny

King Dalious Croam, after two short years on the throne of Westgate, sets sail for the eastern reaches of the Sea of Fallen Stars on an extended trade mission. The heirless king appoints a member of the city’s nobility as Croamarkh, a title that means “Voice of Croam,” to govern in his stead during his planned lengthy absence.

The Errant King, as King Dalious comes to be known, never returns to Westgate, although the nobility maintains the fiction that Westgate’s absent monarch continues to wander the Realms long after he most certainly would have died of old age. For over a century, under the aegis of the absent Croam Dynasty, Westgate is governed by a series of Croamarkhs selected from the ranks of the nobility.

257 DRYear of the Speaking Mountain

The eruption of Mount Ugruth in the Vilhon Reach indirectly leads to the fall of the Croam dynasty in Westgate and the end of the rule of the Croamarkhs. The volcano blackens the skies above Hlondeth with ash for months, leading the various churches of the city-state to conclude that the gods are displeased.

In short order, House Gestin of Hlondeth loses its grip on power after more than a century of rule, replaced in turn by House Illistine of neighboring Chondath. This in turn leads to the abrogation of a treaty between the city-state of Hlondeth and the pirates of the Inner Sea that grants the latter group safe harbor. Before the arrival of winter, a vast fleet of pirates descends on Westgate, determined to seize it as their new home and replace their base in Hlondeth.

The arrival of the pirates leads in short order to the death of the reigning Croamarkh and much of the city’s nobility. Thus began the reign of the Pirate Kings in Westgate, a period in which no less than 77 pirate lords rule the city in rapid succession. Some of the pirate lords reign no more than a few hours, and the longest-serving pirate king lasts only a little more than five years. One of the few whose name is not yet forgotten was Unamundass "the Butcher," a bloodthirsty rogue slain by an unknown wizard employing a spell known as Irithra's spelltouch. During this period, Westgate’s role as a trading hub declines precipitously, and much of the city falls into disrepair.

383 DRYear of the Quelzarn

Tales first spread throughout the city of a sea serpent haunting Westgate’s harbor and sewers. The quelzarn, as the eel-like beast is known, becomes a nigh-legendary denizen of Westgate’s underworld and the favorite subject of bard’s tales.

429 DRYear of the Cat’s Eye

Mulsantir Illistine, a Chondathan mercenary lord distantly related to the royal family of Chondath, overthrows the last of the Pirate Kings. Mulsantir’s expedition is backed by a consortium of merchants in the city of Chauncelgaunt (later Selgaunt) seeking to improve prospects for trade with lands to the south and west.

Mulsantir besieges the city during the winter months, and wizards in his employ freeze Westgate’s harbor solid with ice. When spring arrives and harbor finally thaws, the pirates, greatly reduced in number, flee the centuries-old port, and Mulsantir claims the throne of Westgate. As king, the new monarch restores Westgate’s role as the preeminent port of the western Inner Sea. He does not accede to the commands of the merchants of Chauncelgaunt, but he does grant them very favorable trading terms.

One unintended consequence of Mulsantir’s successful siege is that the surviving pirates need a new port to call home. Within a matter of months, King Duar of Cormyr loses the city of Suzail to Magrath the Minotaur, the most prominent of the surviving pirate lords.

452 DRYear of the Rolling Heads

Myntharan the Magus, one of the many courtiers fleeing the collapse of the Shoon Empire for the Inner Sea region, arrives in Westgate, at the time ruled by King Mulsantir Illistine II. Before year’s end, the Magus King is firmly ensconced on Westgate’s throne, and his unfortunate predecessor’s skull is affixed to the end of the Maguscepter of Myntharan. In the decades that follow, King Myntharan assembles the largest army ever seen along the Dragon Coast in his bid to form the realm of Mynth with Westgate as its capitol. At its greatest extent, Mynth encompassed the Dragon Coast from Starmantle to Teziir, skirting the northern edge of the Gulthmere Forest and the Lake of the Long Arm.

480 DRYear of the Winter Sphinx

King Myntharan’s attempted conquest of the entire Dragon Coast comes to a sudden end along the eastern shore of the Lake of the Long Arm in the Battle of the Winter Sphinx. The Magus King is slain and his army defeated by a disparate array of forces assembled under the command of Lyonarth, a white-furred androsphinx from Nathlekh, City of Cats. Lyonarth claims Myntharan’s crown, although the Maguscepter is not recovered, and the androsphinx rules Westgate wisely for many years thereafter.

614 DRYear of the Shattered Scepter

Nessmara, a lamia noble skilled in the Art who dwells amidst the ruined city of Illimar in the Gulthmere Woods, recovers the broken fragments of the Maguscepter. Once reassembled, the sentient scepter twists its mistress’s desires towards its own ends: ruling the city of Westgate.

615 DRYear of the Lamia’s Kiss

The Winter Sphinx of Westgate falls to prey to the charms of Nessmara, who has assumed the guise of a gynosphinx using the powers of the Maguscepter. Within a fortnight, Westgate has its first queen in nearly two centuries.

616 DRYear of the Ensorceled Kings

A visiting wizard from the north, who identifies himself only as the Handweaver, is one of many individuals granted a public audience with the monarchs of Westgate on Midsummer’s Day at the annual Commoner’s Court. Despite numerous wards protecting the monarchs, the Handweaver’s spells shatter Queen Nessmara’s charms, revealing her true nature to all. The ensuing combat pits the aged androsphinx king of Westgate against the lamia noble, resulting in both of their deaths.

The death of the Winter Sphinx and his unmasked mate throws Westgate into chaos, disrupting trade and undermining the profits of the city’s merchants accustomed to over a century of relative stability. Most expect the Handweaver to proclaim himself the city’s next king, but the wizard, who many suspect to be an avatar or proxy of Azuth, demonstrates no such intentions. After several months of instability, a group of prominent merchants approaches the Handweaver regarding the empty throne. The sorcerer declines their offer, suggesting his most senior apprentice might be more suitable. Before the year’s end, Farnath Ilistar has been crowned king of Westgate, and his mentor, the Handweaver, has vanished from the city.