1380 DR - The Year of the Black Star
(RL: 2019)
- A bizarre series of disappearances, kidnappings, and murders were tied back to fiendish activity across the Forest Kingdom, eventually culminating in the destruction of a mining system in the village of Minroe by a woman named Henrike Millerson, an apparent participant and benefactor of the fiendish powers at play. The name or title "Ba'Orman" has also been associated with these atrocities, though further details are unknown. While further information is as of yet still being investigated by authorities, Millerson has been posthumously charged with most of the associated crimes.
- A strange blot of darkness appeared in the sky over Suzail, visible by day as a slightly-rotating disc of pure darkness and by night thanks to a corona of golden fire that surrounded it. Dubbed "The Black Star" by locals, observing the object directly was determined to cause strange hallucinations and to tamper with mortals' sanity. War Wizard authorities warn citizens to avoid looking directly at the Star, and to report any unusual occurrences due to accidentally doing so to clerical aid.
- A series of conflicting events orchestrated - apparently - by fiendish and celestial powers with the aid of various groups of local travelers and adventurers began to play out over the early months, particularly in areas around the fringes and farthest reaches of the kingdom or just beyond its borders. While the full details are unknown to all save the participants, it is known that one group was led by tanar'ri, one by baatezu, and one by some manner of celestial, with a possible fourth faction of yugoloth somehow involved. Just as quickly as the conflicts began, they seem to have ended, or at least reached a point of quiet dormancy; how and where this will play out in the future is as of now unknown.
- With a cataclysmic burst of light and magical power, the Black Star over Suzail erupted into activity, spearing the Dragonmere with green light that eventually resulted in the creation of a huge tower, composed of various materials (natural, unnatural, and outright impossible in some cases), building itself out from the ocean. This Emerald Spire, as it came to be known, quickly was revealed as a primary launch point for the Far Realm's attack, including a visit from the Far-transformed lost regent Alusair Obarskyr herself. Now a twisted creature of rust-iron bones and molten-metal flesh, the "Steel Royal" declared herself the rightful ruler of both Cormyr and her territory in the Far Realm, Xanthe, and demanded the surrender of the Prime kingdom. When such was refused by the king and council, the Spire began to produce living islands from its interiors, which Cormyrian military saw to the destruction of with adventurer aid.
- Once the islands were dealt with, it was quickly revealed by magical investigation and divination that the Spire held some manner of connection to Xanthe by means of the Black Star, which itself was an active portal between the Far and the Prime. Two groups of adventurers were dispatched into the heart of the Spire, one to descend to its base and destroy its root system as the various islands it created had been destroyed, the other to ascend to its peak and disrupt its communication with Xanthe and, if possible, see to the closing of the portal.
- Upon the completion of both tasks, a segment of both groups were captured by the Spire's defenses, the power of the Far Realm, the magic of the missing "Mage Revenant" Caladnei, or some combination of the above, and caught in a bubble of "un-time" that forced them to navigate their way through the Spire's crumbling interior and up to the face of the Black Star's portal itself. There they found themselves face to face once again with Alusair, but after some communication and display of their martial and magical prowess as well as their bravery and devotion to Cormyr's well-being, the adventurers were able to convince her that Xanthe and Cormyr should remain separate, and that her place now was to rule over their Far Realm neighbor and leave the Prime to its own devices. Alusair seemed to accept this declaration with some regrets, but returned to the Far Realm without further hostilities, closing the portal behind her and allowing it and the Emerald Spire to collapse dead and powerless into the sea.
- Another fallen Netherese ruin, Edasseril, was found buried deep in the Vast Swamp, lost amidst the various other remnants of bygone ages swallowed by the mire over the years. The city was found in a state of total petrification, including even vegetation and environment, though signs of the magic fading were discovered by the adventurers and the archeologists who hired them. A single de-petrified survivor was recovered, and investigation into the enclave is ongoing.
- An elaborate auction for a Netherese relic found in the ruins of Shalast is held in Saerloon in Sembia. Among the participants is Cormyr's own Lady Tesseril Winter, Lord of Eveningstar, who eventually wins the bidding for the object. The auction is then attacked by a mysterious group of cultists, though they are eventually stopped and slain or captured by local authorities with the aid of Winter, her entourage, and local adventurers. Winter returns to Eveningstar with her prize and rumor has it she will be soon seeking adventurer aid once again to investigate its origins in greater detail.