I have woven materials from Forgotten Realms lore into my own work here for many reasons, and I'd like to share my fretwork and rationale with you. The official books do not specify which forces were part of the Thayan armies that attacked before the fire elementals were called. While Thay is known to have many smaller armies under various leadership (Zulkirs, tharchions, nobles, cities, etc.), in a country that is run on slavery, it makes sense that those of noble blood - the high-born - are the only ones trusted at the top of the armed forces. I specified that the armies were made up of slaves, humanoids, and undead led by nobles from various families. Most if not all of the noble houses would have been involved in some way, either in support of the action or working secretly against it. Although much of the Salamander War was between the free cities and Thay, when allies of the free cities saw how vicious Thay was being in taking over the area, they sent what aid they could. There was a lot of smuggling and many battles at sea, as some of the cities had ports to receive aid from. Piracy was used to get supplies to besieged cities, and battles with the Thayan navy were plentiful. This led to the damage and loss of many ships on all sides. Since the books did not provide a ready explanation for why the islands of the Alaor was damaged in the war, I came up with one that fit the narrative. Since the Alaor is a good distance away from the Priador and the islands are, well, islands, the devastation mentioned in the books didn't add up. If you look through the secrets in my other posts, it should make sense. On a personal note, I had to name the unnamed Zulkirs who were responsible for the trouble; it was driving me crazy to have unnamed villains of such importance being referred to. It strikes me as a sad statement on Thay, and yet another way that the country is left half-developed in order to keep them as villains in the mustache-twirling vein (or is destroyed in order to undercut their power as an evil nation, which was done in 4th edition). In my Thay, everyone has a name, everyone is a person, and though most Thayans are quite evil, there are various reasons for it. There is nothing simplistic about them or the mustaches (when they grow them). Please do not continue beyond this point if you are a player; the rest refers to secrets that are best left in the keeping of the DM. Thank you!
Next, I decided to make both of the Zulkirs women. Thayan power is based in arcane magic, intimidation, smarts, and social power, rather than sheer physical brutal strength, and gender is no impediment. Thayan women are equally as dangerous as men. For their failures, however, the Zulkirs faced harsh penalties as their war fell apart around them. The Canos family, invested in shipping as they are, suffered a great deal due to the disrupted trade and the attacks on their ships. The few Canos nobles who knew who the Zulkir of Conjuration was decided that they would not allow her to remain in any kind of power after such a mess. Likewise, Ivania had the seat that Aznar wanted - Evocation - and the might to serve as a fine sacrifice to the Fire Lord. And then there's the case of Mari Agneh. In the official materials, she has her own power but is taken down by Thrul easily and for keeps. She exists only as his "plaything" after the war and supposedly vanishes from the public. As a woman of means and station, she was undoubtedly a noble, and I have established her family as such, using the Agneh name in my writeup of noble houses in Thay. No noble simply vanishes without their kin either agreeing to let them go or going after them with real resources, let alone one as important as Mari was. Her fate has never made sense to me, and I finally have the chance to change it. I gave her more prominence as a conspirator in the war for the Priador, since she was the Tharchion of Bezantur, a great port city and the greatest point of contention. And though she was no match for Aznar's arcane might, she was not a stupid woman. She knew things Aznar didn't and provided the backing he needed to make his moves. While he was powerful, he would not have seized Zulkirship or the Tharchion title on his own or without local aid. Since she was noble and part of a powerful house, the Zulkirs used her against Aznar as best they could. I used the war to establish Szass Tam's rivalry with Aznar Thrul but Aznar's movements were such that there wasn't much the Zulkirs dared to do against him. He was the hero of Thay, the one who saved the day. The Zulkirs figured they could distract Aznar with her and/or use her against him. What they weren't counting on - and what one of the best kept secrets of the war is - is that Mari and Aznar are on the same side. His domination of her, and her act as a lovely puppet is a ruse. She hears and sees more than anyone realizes, and remains a potent mover behind the scenes. Neither of them are as simple as others believe. Taken together, I hope these changes introduce an additional level of nuance and humanity to this chapter of Thayan history and to all of the participants.
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