Page 128 - Serpent Kingdoms

REALMS

Empire in the Year of Erupting Crypts (–304 DR), human When the Shoon Imperium fell in the Year of the Corrie Fist
resistance against the newly resurgent serpentfolk was weak and (450 DR), a quick death for the reigning viceroy of Tashluta and
disorganized. By the Year of Sunned Serpents (–189 DR), the his haughty Shoon wife marked the Tashalans’ return to inde-
lizardfolk armies of Serpentes had conquered all of the Tasha- pendence. Backed by the Rulnadeen, the merchants of Tashluta
lar, and most of the wealthy Calishite expatriates had fl ed back quickly formed a ruling oligarchy to administer the Tashalar
to their native land. and keep the peace. Soon afterward, angered by the Knights’
After Sseth’s disappearance in the Year of Dreams (10 efforts to take over the Rulnadeen (and hence the Tashalar),
DR), infi ghting among the yuan-ti tribes enabled the enslaved leaders of the Tashlutan-based faction confronted the Knights
Tashalarans to overthrow their yuan-ti satrap and drive the and demanded that they sever all ties with one group or the
Se’Sehen tribe from the Tashalar over the next ten years. The other. Most stayed with the Rulnadeen.
resurgent Tashalarans then marched eastward, liberating the The Tashlutan merchant consortium, which had became
Cities of the Seabreeze one by one. In the Year of Purloined known as the Rundeen, then began extorting protection money
Power (34 DR), the Oligarchs of Tashluta proclaimed the Con- from ships sailing the Shining Sea. All who resisted were “coin-
federation of Tashtan and claimed dominion from the town of cidentally” set upon by pirates from the independent city-state
Narubel to the Sheir Peninsula, plus all the Shining Sea coastal of Narubel, which was secretly fi nanced by the Rundeen. By the
lands in between. The diverse Lapalians, Calishites, Chultans, Year of the Crawling Vine (502 DR), the Rundeen had estab-
and Shaarans dwelling in these areas became known collectively lished a monopoly on all trade entering or leaving the ports in
as Tashalans. Calimshan and the Chultan Peninsula, as well as all slave trade
For two centuries, the merchants ships of Tashtan plied the along the southern shores of the Shining Sea.
warm waters of the Lake of Steam and the Shining Sea, making Rundeen-backed rule by the wealthiest merchants of the
their owners fat and wealthy. This period of prosperity came to Tashalar continued for centuries, although the Rage of Wizards
an end during Ergith Klavulgrun’s reign as Magister (276 DR briefl y threatened the status quo in the Year of the Sword’s Oath
to 278 DR), when “the Kingslayer” slaughtered nearly a dozen (1142 DR). In the Year of the Bridle (1349 DR), the Harpers
merchant lords of Tashalaran cities and neighboring realms. The succeeded in killing three Rundeen leaders and fi fty lesser agents.
resulting leadership crisis left Tashtan ill-prepared to handle de- This “Treacherous Stab” broke the Rundeen monopoly in Chult
mands from Qysara Shoon V (281 DR to 300 DR) that the and Calimshan but left the organizational heart in Tashluta
Cities of the Seabreeze each garrison a legion of imperial troops. whole. Today, Rundeen-backed merchant ships still dominate the
A failed uprising in Untisczer in the Year of Wasteful Pride (285 traffi c across the Shining Sea, but the Rundeen’s centuries-old
DR) was all the excuse the qysara needed to initiate the long- monopoly on such shipping and its control of Calishite ports has
planned Tashalar Campaigns. been shattered.
After destroying Untisczer in a show of imperial might, Eager to regain control of Calimshan’s port cities, as well
the qysara’s troops quickly installed military governors in as Lapaliiya and the cities of the Lake of Steam, Rundeen has
every city along the Tashtan coast. The reach of the Shoon recently begun to take a more active and visible role in the
Imperium was then extended westward into the savage land of region’s affairs. To that end, the ruling Yrshelem (leaders of the
Thindol, which had long been claimed by the barbaric humans Rundeen) have reforged their old alliance with the Knights of
of the Thinguth tribe and certain warring tribes of lizardfolk the Shield. In a deal of unprecedented treachery, the Rundeen
(loosely controlled servitors of the yuan-ti tribes in Serpentes). has also forged a trade pact with the yuan-ti of the Se’Sehen
The Lizard Wars in Thindol marked the end of the Tashalar tribe and admitted several yuan-ti into its rank-and-fi le.
Campaigns and sharply reduced the number of lizardfolk on
the central Chultan Peninsula. Plots and Rumors
By the death of Qysara Shoon V in the Year of the Late Sun
(300 DR), Shoon satraps ruled greater Thindol, the Tashalar, The unstable trade situation in the Tashalar may give rise to a
the cities of Lapaliiya, and all the major settlements of the number of adventuring opportunities.
Shaar as far east as the Landrise. A steady stream of tribute Troubled Scryings: The clergy of the House of the All-
fl owed west and north to the coffers of Shoonach. Less than a Seeing Orb have a long-standing rivalry with the House of
century later, the crumbling of the Imperium under the careless Night’s Embrace and often work to expose the evil schemes
reign of Qysara Shaani (367 DR to 427 DR) left the Shoon sa- of Talona’s priestesses. In recent years, however, the temple’s
traps all but independent. Of all the Shoon Imperium’s southern diviners have found hints of a greater danger brewing in the
holdings, only Tashluta remained strictly loyal, largely because neighboring jungles, so they have been hiring adventurers to
the wife of the reigning satrap was Shaani’s youngest daughter. investigate. The truth of the matter is that the yuan-ti tribes of
Despite the increasingly unstable situation, trade still fl owed be- Serpentes, led by the Se’Sehen tribe, have recently begun emerg-
tween the Chultan Peninsula and the heart of the Imperium to ing from centuries of somnolence. Spurred by the sighting of
the north, thanks in large part to the alliance of the Tethyr- and Sseth during the Time of Troubles and the subsequent thrashing
Calimshan-based Knights of the Shield with a local Tashlutan of the bound and slumbering god, the serpentfolk now seek to
merchant corporation known as the Rulnadeen. reestablish their ancient domain. To that end, they have been

127

620_96566_SerpentKin92-135.indd 127 5/12/04, 4:22:16 PM