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Ammendar, King
of South Athkatla, Dies at the age of 78
Balgazzar II has claimed ultimate power over Amn and executed
Aristander, his brothers young son, on charges of treason. Balgazzar
II is now the sole unchallenged King of Amn.
Time Line
(BR = Balgazzar's Reign)
1BR - Balgazzar I becomes King of Amn at 22 years of age
2BR - Balgazzar II born
5 BR - Ammendar born
53BR - Balgazzar the Great dies at the age of 75, ending the 50 year
Golden Age of Athkatla.
53 - 74BR - The Blood War between Balgazzar II and Ammendar.
75BR - The Truce of Il'ratan, the Blood War ends with Athkatla being
split, Balgazzar II taking the north and Ammendar the south.
83BR - Present day
Present
Day Amn
The reign of Balgazzar ushered in a golden age for Amn. Nestled on one
of the most important trading routes in Fearun, and without the
foreign Emperors taking most of the cities profits, Amn swelled into a
super-power that was rivaled only by Waterdeep. Athkatla saw her
borders quadruple in size to megalopolitan proportions. With his
endless building projects, Balgazzar could truly boast (like a famous
leader from another realm) that he had "Found the city made of brick
and left her clothed in marble." Architecture florished with the huge
sums of money being poured into the city, and Amn reached her artistic
peak. Elegant and sweeping buildings replaced the drab and uninspired
construction of previous ages.
However, King Balgazzar was every bit as formidable a general as he
was an architect, and Amn saw the creation of the El'Quaza'Drin, or
"The Grand Army". At 350 thousand strong, the armies of Amn easily
doubled that of Waterdeep. Using this strong professional force,
Balgazzar extended the borders of Amn in all directions.
Balgazzar had two sons. Balgazzar II, the eldest, and Ammendar, the
youngest. Although their bitter struggle for power after the death of
their legendary father slowed the growth of Athkatla, the city
continued to thrive. After The Truce of Il'ratan, Athkatla began to
grow once more. The two brothers, although greedy and corrupt, proved
to be inspired rulers. Obsessed with their own legacies, their very
greed spurred them on into competition in an effort to out do each
other. Both formidable generals in their own right, the enemies of Amn
are held in check.
History of Balgazzar the Great
For hundreds of years the citizens of Amn had been under the tyranny
of aggressors from the outside. After the purge of the Dragon Princes,
the Council of the Six had become a mockery of its former power and
the Emperors became the rulers of the region. After the departure of
the Dragon Princes, many would claim the crown of Athkatla, but all of
the people knew that these Emperors were also outsiders; despots who
had come to make themselves rich at the expense of the City of Coin.
While the Dragon Princes had wiped out most of the ancient nobility of
Amn, several of the noble families remained. And it was from one of
these, th e
ancient House of Argrim, that Balgazzar the Great emerged.
In the year 536ER* Balgazzar Argrim was born. His father Neothazzar
was an ambitious man, determined to overthrow the Emperors. But in 542
the wily old Drow Emperor Kuth had divined his plan, and had him
executed. In danger of being put to death, Balgazzar and his mother
Elympias fled Athkatla, and under new names started a life in Eshpurta.
Elympias Argrim was a strong willed woman, and not one to be
underestimated. She devoted all of her remaining wealth in having her
young son trained by the finest warriors and mages that she could
find. And in the year 552ER, at the age of 16, Balgazzar began his
plans to retake Athkatla.
With assitance from the Harpers (and with secret funding from Baldur's
Gate to the north, who definately had a reason to see the Emperors
expelled), Balgazzar formed a large army and marched upon Amn. But
Kuth was not one to be taken lightly and immediately mobilzed his Dark
Rune forces and marched out to meet Balgazzar at a site that would
host the famous "Battle of Tro-tan Hill" in the year 558ER.
Badly outnumbered, Balgazzar's infantry was placed in a slightly
diagonal formation, fading in at the right flank, with the bulk of his
heavy cavalry to the far left. With this formation he hoped to break
up Kuth's formation and deliver the knock out blow with his Cavalry.
Smugly confident, Kuth placed his cavalry on his left flank hoping to
completely rout Balgazzar's right flank and end the battle quickly. As
the two armies were about to clash, Kuth's right flank, made up mostly
of Amnian conscript spearmen, turned and charged Kuth's own left. The
Amnians had clearly looked at the situation and decided that they
would rather fight for their own people than against them. Overwhelmed
by this betrayal, and with Balgazzar thundering towards him at the
head of his heavy cavalry, Kuth retreated in wild disorder. Running
into his palace and locking the huge metal doors behind him, Kuth ran
to his treasure room, determined to escape with as much wealth as he
could. Opening the giant palace doors with the help of a Cowled
Wizard, Balgazzar stormed inside. There he found Kuth running out of
the throne room. But Kuth was a cunning and powerful warrior, and he
smiled and drew his Scimitar. In the epic battle that ensued, Kuth was
finally defeated, and Balgazzar stood triumphantly over the body of
his dead enemy.
Delirious with joy, the people of amn declared ultimate power to
Balgazzar, making him their emperor and king for life. The calendar
was changed and that year was known as 1AB, for "the Age of Balgazzar".
Balgazzar accepted this honor, and his reign is known for the many
changes to the architecture of the city. Many new homes were built,
and Athkatla swelled to become a sprawling metropolis. Upon his death,
Balgazzar's will was read to the public. His will stated that the
Council of the Six was to be reformed, and the imperial palace was to
be torn down. The people of Amn praised him and cheered, and all
present called him a God, and a temple in his honor was soon erected.
But his two sons were not nearly as happy about this arrangement.
Naturally, they had assumed that one of them would ascend to the
throne upon his death. And so together they seized power. The people
of Amn, unwilling to harm or punish the sons of their saviour,
accepted the coup. But the two brothers could not agree upon which one
would ultimately become emperor.
The two brothers would fight a bloody war for supremacy for almost 20
years. It finally ended with the brothers coming to a truce. They
split Athkatla, one ruling the north with the other ruling the south.
The year is 83AB, and the two brothers...now grown old, still clutch
onto their power.
*ER is a term from the Amnian calendar which means The Emperors Reign.
This was one of the many insulting changes that the Dragon Prince
Talen-Srei had forced upon Amn. |
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