Tyrants in Scarlet

The Founding History of the Zulkirs of Thay

By George Krashos and Ed Greenwood

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 Tyrants in Scarlet
Many question why the Lady of Mysteries bestows her
gifts on those crimson-garbed tyrants living menacingly
to the East. But those who worship Mystra know that she
delights in the Art above all, caring little for how it is
wielded in her name. For all their fey posturing, the Red
Wizards serve Mystra well in this regard, and in their
quest for mastery over the Art, they do Mystra honor.
History shows that the Zulkirs are the means by which
this mastery finds order in the chaos that is Thay.
High Spellmaster Ammaloth Bree
in a sermon at the Shrine of Seven Stars
Year of the Blazing Brand (1334 DR)
Introduction
The Red Wizards of Thay harbor a notoriety and
reputation for dark doings that is perhaps
unequaled in the lands throughout the Inner Sea
and the North. For centuries Thay was ruled by a
council of eight wizards known as the zulkirs, a
group of which little was known outside the realm
itself. While the membership and identity of the
zulkirs over the years has always been layered with
secrecy, an even greater shroud of mystery lies
draped over the origins of this dread assemblage.
Revealed here for the first time is the tale of the
founding of the Zulkirs of Thay, providing insight
into the forces that shaped that fellowship and that
may yet still lurk in the shadows.
A Land of Magic
They called themselves the Ba’etith, but to the elves they
were the Aan`Faer`Ister. Human sages named them
simply “the Fosterers of the Art”.
Narlothas, Sage of Neverwinter
On the Origins of Magic: A Postulation
Year of the Awakening (1001 DR)
Legends abound regarding the Creator Races and
their hegemony over all of Toril through their
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mastery of the Art. In that regard, the deeds of the
Ba’etith, that mysterious group of sarrukh, batrachi
and aearee who were responsible for the creation of
the Nether Scrolls, stands in the highest regard.
What is less known is that the Ba’etith constructed
hidden sanctuaries across the breadth of Faerûn
and that one of the most important was located at
the site of the present-day Thaymount. That lair,
known as Assikhath to the sarrukh, was used to
house and safeguard various dangerous artifacts
and items that they had discovered over many
centuries of wandering the planes.
The most secret of these was a truly ancient
magical artifact that the sarrukh Missashak
discovered while wandering the planes and
managed to bring to Toril with the help of his
brethren. There they deposited this huge, twisted
mass of black metal (as large as a good-sized castle)
in a mountain cavern in the south-easternmost area
of Thaymount. The mysterious artifact was “alive”
with magic, radiating power like a small, raging
star and when discovered by Mystra, was swiftly
made one of the anchors of the Weave. This
artifact’s power slowly leeched into the very soil of
the Thaymount, producing random spell effects at
times but most importantly enhancing those
individuals with an affinity for the Art. In the
millennia that followed, as the sarrukh became a
figment of legend, the area of Thaymount became
known as a place of mighty magic, a location for
grand rituals and as unfolding history would
demonstrate, a haven for those who thought to
master the Weave to their will.
The cavern of the Athora
 The Athora
The mysterious artifact beneath the Thaymount was
dubbed Athora by the goddess Mystra (“darkness” in a
now forgotten Elder tongue), who commanded all her
servitors, including the Chosen, to ignore it and not go near
it. As one of the most important anchors to the Weave,
Mystra feared that to bring it to the attention of other
beings was to invite disaster and so “walled it around”
with the Weave to mask its presence from divination magic
and at the same time reflect magic back at it, so as to
prevent someone harnessing its power to blast away the
earth and stone around it and remove it from its “home”.
The presence of the Athora made the Thaymount and
other parts of the Priador Plateau areas of strong magic,
suffusing and saturating both the very soil of the place and
the people who lived there. Individuals born there evinced
a greater potential for the Art and so many were born with
innate talents (see Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical, p.82-83)
that the Thaymount was spoken of in hushed tones,
becoming a destination for spellcasters the Realms over. It
is believed that without the presence of the Athora, such
great workings of magic as the creation of the Orcgate, the
summoning of an avatar of Kossuth by the Raumathari and
the summoning and binding of the demonlord Eltab by the
Red Wizards of Thay would not have been possible.
It is believed that the Athora resisted the Spellplague and
the Sundering and was the prime reason for the survival of
the Weave and the rebirth of Mystra. Today, the Lady of
Mysteries strives to maintain its secrets, knowing that the
Athora remains her first and best weapon against any who
would seek to usurp her divinity again in the future.
The Great Rebellion
The Dark One is no more, for my shining masters have
decreed it so. The maakheren will sing no tales of his
betrayal, for he is kuras and unclean before the gods.
Mesehti, Sepatab of Rauthil
in an address to the slave-prisoners of Thayd
The famed wizard who gave the realm of Thay its
name was born in the Imaskari city of Omhouz
sometime in the Late Period of that ancient realm’s
history. A contemporary of such fabled wizards as
Hilather, Tengar and Nirama “the Shadow
Phoenix”, Thayd placed himself in magical stasis
when the Empire fell to its Mulan slaves, thereby
escaping the disaster. He emerged into a very
different world when his thousand year magical
exile was over, for Imaskar’s slaves had forged
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great empires of their own and prospered under the
aegis of their divine rulers.
Thayd gazed upon the kingdoms of Unther and
Mulhorand with cold and bitter fury and vowed to
bring these upstarts to their knees and re-establish
what he considered to be birthright of the Imaskari.
In that regard he noted that the wielding of arcane
magic was afforded a place of secondary
importance to that of the divine, and that wizards
in both realms chafed at their place in the social and
political framework. Operating from the shadows,
Thayd began to recruit wizards to his cause,
granting them insights into the magic of the
Imaskari, and making promises of power and status
once the rule of god-kings had been overthrown.
From a lair in the Dragonsword Mountains,
Thayd and his followers were soon emplaced in
every city throughout the lands of the Old Empires.
As his plans for rebellion matured, Thayd granted
status to a select group of wizards, an inner circle of
trusted “loyals” known as the zulkirs (from “zul”:
black and “kir”: master in the local tongue) for the
black garb they wore in imitation of their leader.
The zulkirs served Thayd as his messengers,
enforcers and assassins and helped him retain his
power and dominance as he dealt with organizing
the oft-fractious wizards of the South into an army.
Thayd unleashed his followers and launched
his Great Rebellion in -1087 DR catching the god-
kings unawares as many important local rulers and
military commanders were slain in the first flurry of
spellhurling. Marshaling their forces, the god-kings
swiftly ascertained the nature of the threat against
them and responded with might and fury, led by
the manifestation of an affronted Thoth and his
priesthood. The direct threat to the security of both
Mulhorand and Unther was swiftly quelled but
Thayd and his conspirators then began a long
campaign of guerilla warfare, striking from the
shadows the length and breadth of the two realms.
Aided by a portal network that Thayd had created
using his mastery of Imaskari magic, his zulkirs
and their apprentices continued to strike at military
encampments and slay civic leaders until the day in
-1081 DR when the great Thayd himself was
discovered and captured by the forces of
Heshethoth, high priest of Thoth. Thayd was
executed mere months later and his few remaining
followers fled into the northern wilds.
War and Strife
The qabasen beasts are without end, and stream forth
from a glaring crimson “eye” on the escarpment. I fear
they bring with them our doom.
Isetemkheb “the Valiant”
commander of the Golden Spears garrison
in a last message to Mulhorand
The death of Thayd and the failure of the Great
Rebellion did not usher in a period of peace and
prosperity for the Old Empires. In retaliation for the
death of Thayd, the surviving handful of zulkirs
put into motion a plan he had resolved to use only
as a last resort. The Imaskari had discovered many
worlds by means of their mastery of portal magic,
one of which was a barren, wasteland known as
Adzadar to its inhabitants. This wretched place
teemed with orcs and their goblin slaves, and
Thayd saw that their savagery could be harnessed
to bring ruin to the hated Mulan, enabling him and
his followers to gain control over the shattered
remnants of their empires. In their desperation, a
great portal was created and the orcs came forth,
hesitantly at first but then with speed and vigor,
hungry for an escape from their barren home.
So it was that the Orcgate Wars came to pass
and for a time, the Old Empires teetered on the
brink of destruction. Such did not occur however,
for the deific rulers of Mulhorand and Unther
recognized the threat posed by the orcs and
unleashed their full fury against the grim horde
that marched against them. In the terrible battles
that followed, gods were slain and a multitude sent
to the afterlife before the Mulan prevailed and
scattered the orcs, forcing them north and away
from the Old Empires.
In the wake of this cataclysm, the young and
vibrant nations of Narfell and Raumathar arose far
to the north and the lands ravaged by the Orcgate
Wars were only sparsely settled due to the lurking
evils that remained there. The fey empire of Narfell
eventually clashed with Mulhorand when it turned
its ambitions south, and in doing so ushered in an
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influx of settlers into those lands after the Shining
Clashes, when the region came once again under
the direct rule Mulhorand and Unther.
Brotherhoods of Art
Beginning in around 860 DR the lands of modern
Thay were collectively the Mulhorandi precept of
Shamulrand, but in reality only a cluster of
independent cities and settlements named
“tharches” by their local warlord rulers, the
“tharchions”. These warlords used not just warriors
and slaves to control their domains, but also used
wizards and monsters controlled by those wizards
to maintain power. In response to these despots,
various wizards started to form cliques for mutual
protection and in order to make these groups seem
grander, more mysterious, and less of a direct
response (and threat) to the tharchions, the wizards
insisted they weren’t forming “cabals” but rather
“orders” in response to divine directives from the
deity of magic Thoth. They further insisted that the
gods would afflict non-wielders of the Art with
various dooms and curses if they tried to eradicate
or control any order, and the fearful tharchions
suffered these orders to garner a measure of
independence.
An early Thayan mage, Alaerdrus founded
one of the first of these orders which he called the
Order of the Ordraukh (in early Thayan speech,
“ordraukh” was the name of the beast known today
as the “fire lizard”). The wizards of this order were
viewed as wise but miserly, greedy, and
cantankerous old men. They were all of these
things, being exclusively mature and elderly
human males who wore dark robes, jealously
guarded their spell-knowledge, and sought high
prices for casting the mightiest spells, so as to (in
the words of Order member Nalriekus Rauntoun)
“cool the bloodlust of each rising tharchion.”
For some three decades various other
orders rose and fell, appearing and collapsing with
regularity, and all seeking to challenge the might
and influence of the Order of the Ordraukh. At last
in the summer of the Year of the Open Tome (892
DR) the Order of the Ordraukh was destroyed in an
orgy of spell-duels, murders of member by
member, and raids upon the weakened survivors
by rival non-Order mages seeking the magic items
and spell-tomes of the old Ordraukh wizards.
Tarloth Narmandur
The lich zulkir Szass Tam is a feared protagonist in the
intrigues of Faerûn, but few know that his origins pre-date
the establishment of the realm of Thay by centuries. A son
to farmers who tilled the land near present-day Zolum
decades before the Orcgate Wars, Tarloth displayed an
aptitude for magic from a very young age and was
fortunate to receive tutelage in the necromantic arts from
the wizard Harkhuf, a member of the Azure Lions
adventuring band, when he was recruited to their number.
Tarloth became a feared adventurer-mage and soon came
to the attention of the authorities in Mulhorand, for the
Azure Lions had a reputation for dark dealings and tomb-
robbing. The Azure Lions were eventually decimated and
scattered after a wild battle with priest-enforcers of Anhur
through the laneways of Ulzel and Tarloth escaped in the
tumult and fled north, where as an outlaw wizard he was
recruited by Thayd to his cause. At that time, Thayd and his
followers were serving the causes of various minor officials,
all vying for the favour of the sekhret (military ruler) of the
lands north of Mulhorand, known then as Netarand (“the
Wildlands”). Because of Thayd’s success in mediating
disputes between various competing interests saw other
individuals claim to be a part of his group, he dubbed his
most senior followers “zulkirs” and made it known that
they, and they alone, spoke with his voice and authority.
Tarloth was one of Thayd’s first seven anointed zulkirs
and survived the Great Rebellion, in turn playing a
significant role in the creation of the Orcgate. Following the
defeat of the orcs, Tarloth took on many guises and in one
of them as a disciple of Horus-Re, managed to steal and
imbibe some of the khaledshran, an elixir of immortality
derived from the precious divine blood of the dead deity Re
and given to each incarnation of Horus-Re upon that
individual’s ascension to the throne of Mulhorand. His
longevity secured, Tarloth then set about honing his
mastery of the Art. He is believed to have spent several
centuries in the hidden city of Pholzubbalt, mastering the
Dark Art and learning the secrets of lichdom from the
greater lich Charchee. When developments in what is now
Thay drew his interest, he stayed in the shadows slaying
and harrying powerful Red Wizards and unwittingly
contributing to the environment that would see the
establishment of the Zulkirate. It was then that he had to
renew his quest for true power by assuming the guise of
Szass Tam, but that is a tale for another time.
Most of the tumult among all of these orders was a
matter of simple lust for power, but it was
influenced by certain deities such as Mystra looking
to expand their influence, and by those in power in
Mulhorand, who wanted to manipulate the wizards
5
to temper the ambitions of the increasingly-unruly
tharchions. Others in Mulhorand, notably the
merchant cabal known as the Iron Sheaf and other
more secret societies, saw the orders as a means to
further their own ambitions to overthrow the
temple-dominated slave farms or gain control over
the use of magic throughout the realm.
Wizards and Blood
They were called “bloodcowls” even then, but never to
their face, for it was at one time an insult hurled at the
order’s founder by the wizard Morlakkar of Kensten. It is
said that Ulzunder gained his revenge years later, and
that Morlakkar was “unusually imbruing”.
Letramos, Loremaster High of Airspur
When Wizards Were Feared
Year of Seven Trinkets (1205 DR)
The Thael were a minor order of wizards named
after a fanciful beast in Mulhorandi folklore who
“changes those it doesn’t devour”, and so was used
as a symbol by many groups throughout the history
of the Old Empires as the Bringer of Violent
Change. Their ambition exceeded their strength
until the Year of the Moonbar Crest (872 DR) when
they were subsumed by a cabal of renegade
Halruaan archmages, exiled from their native land
for persistent slaying of rival mages, brazen theft of
magic and attempts to undermine and overthrow
the Council of Elders. Through the Thael, they
seized the opportunity to establish power over
another minor junior order known as the Order of
the Red Wizards, by mind-controlling its founder,
the wizard Ulzunder.
The Red Wizards wore blood-red robes
because Ulzunder liked to “bathe in the blood of
virgins” (that is, magically sacrificed young, strong,
and virginal males and females of human, elven,
and half-elven bloodlines) as part of his
experimentations toward achieving lifelong
youthful vigor, and wanted some means of readily
concealing bloodstains. He wore blood-red robes,
and so did they, many of them attempting the same
evil processes Ulzunder indulged in, which was his
main inducement to other mages to join him in his
order.
Ulzunder was brilliant but insane, even before the
spells and manipulations of the four Halruaan
wizards, Ythazz Buvarr, Jorgmacdon Odessier,
Velsharoon Tartragul and Zhengyi Arulath started
meddling with his mind, and his Red Wizards were
ruthless but subtle; for they preferred secrecy in
their dealings to all else, fearing retribution from
more powerful mages and Mulhorandi rulers and
priesthoods. The covert support of the Thael
allowed the Red Wizards to rise swiftly in real
power for they shielded Ulzunder from his rivals
and counter-acted a handful of attempts by rival
mages and orders to destroy the Red Wizards.
Ulzunder recruited carefully and rewarded
generously, slowly bringing the tharchions into his
sphere of control and fostering their individual,
naïve thoughts of creating a realm for each of them
to rule over. As more wizards flocked to join
Ulzunder’s Red Wizards and tharchion after
tharchion was swayed by his persuasive utterances,
so too did his activities come more and more into
the open. It was at that time that the Thael saw that
Ulzunder had outlived his usefulness, and
withdrew their protection culminating in his death
at the hands of four rival wizards in the Year of the
Chase (919 DR).
It was at this time that the Thael revealed
themselves to the rank-and-file of the Red Wizards
and assumed control over that order. Harking back
to the legends surrounding the great wizard Thayd
and his Great Rebellion, the four wizards named
themselves zulkirs and gathered their forces for a
reckoning that would see the birth of a new nation.
The symbol of Velsharoon
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The Founding of Thay
The Sepatab of Shamulrand hung suspended in mid-air
by their wizardry, pleading for his life as the small flame
beneath his feet grew steadily larger and brighter.
Without a sound the flame leapt up and surrounded him
in a corona of searing agony. As his screams punctuated
the air, his red-robed tormentors looked on grimly,
knowing that they had taken their first step on a long
and bloody road.
Gharan Tarklar, Fang of the Zulkirs
Tyrants I Have Known
Year of the Bright Standard (969 DR)
The tale of the founding of the realm of Thay is one
that is well known in the annals of the Inner Sea.
Countless bards have recounted songs and tales of
the summoning of the fearsome demonlord Eltab,
the horrors of the Battle of Thazalhar and the
destruction of the armies of Mulhorand. Fewer
today know what occurred in the aftermath of that
period of turmoil and how the Red Wizards of Thay
came to be ruled by the Zulkirate. That tale has its
genesis in the machinations of Tarloth Narmandur
and clashes with wizards and other enemies far
afield.
In the aftermath of Thay’s independence,
Ythazz Buvarr and his zulkir companions sought
answers to the wellspring of magic they had tapped
to both summon and bind the fiend Eltab to their
bidding. Their quest unveiled to them the majesty
and sheer might of magic that was the Athora in the
Year of Sudden Sorrows (941 DR). In their folly
they sought to wrest parts of the Athora free so as
to carry them on their person and call on its power
at will. Their efforts resulted in a magical backlash
that saw the cavern containing the Athora collapse,
burying it and slaying over a score of the most
powerful Red Wizards, including the zulkir
Jorgmacdon. Ythazz was saved only by his pre-
prepared spell contingencies that whisked him
away to a hidden lair but the power of the Athora
triggered his transformation to lichdom and
accelerated it so that within a matter of months he
had become an insane demi-lich, shunned by all.
Both Velsharoon and Zhengyi escaped the
explosion but were severely wounded such that
when Tarloth Narmandur struck at them from the
shadows, they were forced to flee Thay leaving it
without clear leaders. Rudderless, the Red Wizards
of Thay showed all the worst traits associated with
grasping wizards presented with an opportunity to
seize power. Attempts to govern their number by
means of a Grand Council failed utterly when the
factions of the powerful Red Wizards Tarragas and
Haramadonn “the Flame-Etched” annihilated
themselves and a score of neutrals at a gathering
held ostensibly to discuss a system of rule. All the
while Tarloth Narmandur took his opportunity to
winnow the Red Wizard ranks of any mage he
deemed a potential threat.
In this turbulent time, the Red Wizards were
also confronted by two formidable foes in the form
of the mages of the Covenant and the Harpers.
These two groups countered, slew and harassed
any Red Wizard that sought to upset the power
balance in the Heartlands and the North leading to
a series of escalating retaliations that saw wizard
after wizard perish. This state of affairs eventually
came to the attention of the deity Mystra herself,
who was dismayed at the wanton use of the Art
and the deaths of so many promising wizards. The
carelessness of the Red Wizards and their clawing,
greedy grasping after Art frankly disgusted both
Mystra and Azuth and they resolved to bring order
to the chaos that was Thay.
The Zulkirate
While it is true that the zulkirs rule Thay, even their
number is policed by the ustakir. You’ve not heard of
that office, milord? You keep common company then.
Drammagar, the Voice of Thay
in discussion with the High Blade of Mulmaster
Year of the Tankard (1370 DR)
In the Year of Warlords (1030 DR) one Red Wizard
rose above all others, to bring order to the chaos
that enveloped Thay and reluctant obedience to its
wizards. That mage was named Escalthar although
in truth he was a pawn of the deity Azuth. He
summoned his brethren to Laltharr, a bare crag in
southwestern Thay, very near to the location of the
Athora and convened the Council of the Black Star
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(after the black star mage-sigil used by Escalthar).
There he outlined his proposal to have the realm
ruled by eight zulkirs, each of them a master of a
different school of wizardry. In soliciting
candidates for the positions, Escalthar displayed a
set of eight thrones of Netherese origin that
provided immunity to spells or physical harm to
whoever sat in them, as well as regalia for each
office that granted enhanced spell might and
powers. To counter-balance this group of eight
wizards, Escalthar advised that the position of
“ustakir” (“master of thrones” in the Mulhorandi
tongue, from “usta”: throne and “kir”: master, but
crudely rendered as “the Chairmaster” by
outlanders) would be created also. That office
controlled the thrones of the zulkirs and ensured
the sanctity of the Conclave of Zulkirs, when such
was called.
The Regalia of the Zulkirs
At the Council of the Black Star each of the eight zulkirs
were provided with a piece of regalia to denote their office.
Those items were jewellery of different types, each having a
small piece of the Athora inlaid in it, for in the magical
backlash that saw the demise of Ythazz Buvarr and his
comrades, fragments of the artifact, were hurled free in the
blast. These shards ranged from the size of a human head to
the size of a fingernail and were still alive with magical
power, somehow recharging themselves constantly by
drawing on the Weave.
Collected by Escalthar following dream visions from
Azuth, the inlays powered the regalia by linking them to
the Athora and drawing on its power. Once attuned to the
regalia in question, each zulkir gained the ability to channel
the powers of their regalia out to, and through, Red
Wizards of their school of magic that they’d personally
touched. It is known that the power to attune to a piece of
zulkir regalia was not limited to the zulkirs themselves. The
infamous Morada, Tharchioness of Tyraturos and lover of
the Zulkir of Conjuration Nevron, is known to have secretly
attuned herself to the regalia in that zulkir’s possession. She
“burned out” a handful of Red Wizards when testing her
newfound powers and was destroyed in the Year of the
Harp (1355 DR) by her paramour.
For some unknown reason, the ability of the regalia to
channel power from the Athora was severed following the
Time of Troubles. The zulkirs have kept this a secret among
themselves while they search for a means to re-awaken the
items, which for now remain ceremonial and powerless.
Unsurprisingly, Azuth and Mystra remain silent on the
matter.
As expected, not every Red Wizard present at the close to revealing his secrets, but otherwise he
Council of the Black Star enthusiastically embraced bided his time. Without his secret aid, the Red
Escalthar’s proposal, and at least one suffered that Wizards who opposed the Zulkirate could not
wizard’s signature spell known as Escalthar’s prevail and despite their opposition lasting nearly
Everlasting Curse (which caused the target to half a century, their efforts were in the main feeble
shapechange every few breaths, uncontrollably for and erratic. When the fugitive Red Wizard Intratha
the rest of their likely short lives) when he dared and her five sisters were slain in a mighty spell duel
attack him. Grudgingly, the Red Wizards present at Joronim’s Vale north of Hurk, the last of the
acquiesced to Escalthar’s demands and after threats to the Zulkirate was ended, and their rule
several days, eight Red Wizards volunteered and was secured. That rule was to last exactly 301 years
were ultimately selected to the office of zulkir. before the lich Szass Tam finally succeeded in his
Escalthar named himself ustakir and immediately grasp for ultimate power and overthrew the
gained the trust of his zulkirs by opening his mind Zulkirate. Again however, that is a tale for another
to those of their number who wished to spell probe day.
him and his intentions (in this he was safeguarded
by the power of Azuth).
Unsurprisingly, the transition to the rule of the
Zulkirate was not a seamless one. Many Red
Wizards refused to accept the authority of Escalthar
or the zulkirs, while other powerful Red Wizards
departed from Thay to be free of, as the paranoid
wizard Naresha of Pyarados bluntly put it, “veiled
menace wrapped in a hollow promise of
solidarity”. Thay was soon plunged into civil war
as the Red Wizards who opposed the zulkirs
gathered their followers and went on the attack.
These Red Wizards greatly outnumbered those who
had thrown in their lot with the Zulkirate, but
despite their numbers, they were unable to make
any immediate decisive gains. Their endeavors
were initially supported from the shadows by the
activities of Tarloth Narmandur who had not
foreseen the formation of the Zulkirate and rightly
considered it an impediment to his plans to
ultimately control all of Thay. When Tarloth sought
to solve the problem in one fell swoop by slaying
Escalthar, he was brutally rebuffed by the ustakir,
who drew on the power of the Athora to sweep
away his attacker’s spell shields and wound him
severely, causing his mystery antagonist to teleport
away in agony-filled, haste. The demon Eltab, “Lord of the Hidden Layer”
Having tasted the ustakir’s power, Tarloth
resolved to learn more of the means by which that
individual and the zulkirs were able to wield such
powerful Art, seemingly at the click of a finger, and
withdrew back into the shadows to observe and
study. He was forced to slay the Zulkir of
Divination when that individual’s scrying came too

8
The “First Zulkirate” appointed at the Council of the Black Star in the Autumn of 1030 DR were:

Hahlomede Teeos (Abjuration): known as “Blackwyrm” for his everpresent tattered black robes and cloaks, that rendered
him immune to dragon attacks and made dragons actively avoid him, Teeos loved to act mysterious and to track down lost
treasures, old magics, and deceptions. This last sort of hunting quickly making him very unpopular with many Thayans; he
became the feared, tireless, and increasingly hated “investigator” of the First Zulkirate.

Tlantros Tulhoond (Conjuration): an aloof, private man who feared attack at all times, and was therefore always ready for
battle, with schemes and “hanging” spells galore ready as both defenses and deterrents, in addition to the monsters he could
magically whisk from elsewhere to his side; a sophisticated lover of music, wines, subtle behaviour, and “refinement” who
opposed Thay’s ever-greater reliance on slavery and the plundering of its resources at the expense of rejuvenating the land
(he hated mines and quarries, preferring that Thay take what it needed from other lands by conquest or magical seizure and
transportation).

Zurkyl Mananthor “the All-Seeing” (Divination): was a tall, burly man who hid his features behind a floating enchanted
mask that glowed with an aura from its inner (towards his face) surface when mentally activated to unleash its powers,
which were largely defensive and detection wardings. Mananthor kept aloof from politics, sharing whatever he’d seen and
learned impartially with all fellow zulkirs when they asked, but very seldom volunteering anything. His voice was deep, he
always wore long black robes, and he kept to himself, in seclusion, farscrying all manner of events so as to maintain and
improve an unmatched overview of what was unfolding in Thay and its vicinity. He disagreed with colleagues’ ambitious
intrigues from the outset, and soon paid the price when he fell afoul of the intrigues of Tarloth Narmandur—but to most of
his fellow zulkirs and almost all of wider Thay, he “simply vanished.”

Zarhandro Laeluth (Enchantment): a fat, jovial man who deceived his fellow zulkirs—and everyone else he had any contact
with, in life—as much as possible; made frequent use of doubles to make it appear that he was in one place while he was
busy in another; often bubbled with gleeful laughter as he tricked or slew or took cruel revenges; trusted by very few, and
feared by many, especially tharchions (whom he was known to have personally slain scores of, over the unfolding years,
many by torture); a hedonist who loved exotic foods and long, gluttonous feasts.

Dlueae Sharshyndree (Evocation): the first female zulkir, Dlueae [pronounced “Dul-LOO-ay”] was a curvaceous woman
with a melodious voice and alluring walk—who also had a coarse-featured and mannish face; she “had to shave like a man”
and had acquired several disfiguring facial scars in her youthful adventuring career, and as a result customarily hid her face
behind full head masks, which she sometimes augmented with a warrior’s battle-helm; a bold and calm battle-leader and a
good tactician, she served Thay well in warfare and built ever-increasing influence over her fellow zulkirs, both by taking
them as lovers and befriending them with aid and assistance for their personal projects, and by often stating and refining
successful policies for Thay that she got her fellow zulkirs to support (and that they therefore took pride in); a mediator and
peacemaker among her fellow zulkirs.

Yaerind Mahl (Illusion): an inscrutable man of few words and fewer direct answers, stances, or clear statements, who
customarily cloaked his true appearance with magical disguises, and preferred to spend much time roaming Thay appearing
as various creatures, to spy and learn (and sometimes strike down treachery—which he widely defined as “anything he
disliked”—where and when he found it); was the first zulkir to force many apprentices and dupes to pretend to be him, so
they perished in attacks meant to slay him, so he could strike down those who’d thought they’d killed the Zulkir of Illusion;
possessed a pair of golden lions (figurines of wondrous power) that hunted and slew at his command.

Tarabbas Mroound (Necromancy): a tall, sardonic, cadaver-thin man who “disappeared into bones” at will, and apparently
did so permanently, soon after being named zulkir, apparently of his own volition and not due to any attack launched by a
rival or would-be successor; many Thayan night-rumors insist he lives on, still, watching over Thay and covertly bringing
misfortune to those he dislikes, whilst aiding those he favors.

Kulvur Naraelond (Transmutation): a sly, witty, smart-mouthed trickster of a man, handsome and acrobatic, who was
trusted by few; most men loathed him, and most women found him irresistible; a hedonist who seemingly cared more for
enjoyment of food, drink, lovemaking, and diversions—even elaborate pranks—more than anything else in life; made many
foes very quickly, and did not last long in office (or life).

9
Timeline 922 Year of the Spouting Fish
The Red Wizards rebel against Mulhorandi rule
and sack Delhumide. The realm of Thay is
Presented here is a truncated and annotated
founded after they unleash the demonlord Eltab
timeline of the origins and rise of the land of Thay: and rout the armies of Mulhorand at the Battle
of Thazalhar.10
-1087 The wizard Thayd leads a rebellion of mages 923 Year of the Bloodied Soldier
against Mulhorand and Unther, seizing the The demonlord Eltab is bound by the Red
northern provinces of both empires as his own Wizards of Thay beneath the city of Eltabbar.11
territory.1 932 Year of Fireslaughter
-1081 Thayd and his co-conspirators are defeated by The Thayan city of Kensten is renamed
Mulhorand and Thayd is executed.2 Bezantur.12
-1076 The Orcgate Wars: The Orcgate opens in the 934 Year of Fell Wizardry
southern portion of the Plateau of Thay. The Red Wizards of Thay launch their first
Renegade Mulhorandi wizards employ Imaskari invasion of Rashemen through the Gorge of
portal magic to open planar gates to an orc Gauros but are repelled.13
world. Hundreds of thousands of orcs inundate 941 Year of Sudden Sorrows
the northern territories of both Mulhorand and The founding zulkirs of Thay are slain or
Unther.3 scattered after they fail to tap into the power of
-1069 The Orcgate is destroyed and the invading orcs the Athora.
and their deities are defeated.4 952 Year of the Rings Royal
-1045 The Pharaoh Horusret I, first incarnation of The Red Wizard Baerzius Anagathiir becomes
Horus-Re, becomes ruler of Mulhorand. the Magister of Mystra and slays over a score of
-1043 The Time of Broken Staves: the priesthood of his order before he is destroyed.14
Thoth establishes its control over all wizardry in 955 Year of the Telltale Candle
Mulhorand. The Orcgates Affair: The Red Wizards of Thay
5
c. -900 Rise of Narfell and Raumathar. magically transport an orc horde from the North
-150 Year of Recompense to the lands of the Old Empires by means of
End of the Great Conflagration with the great portals, wreaking much devastation
destruction of both Narfell and Raumathar.6 through the south.15
-148 Year of the Black Marble 976 Year of the Slaying Spells
The Shining Clashes: the God-Kings of Upon discovering that the Red Wizards of Thay
Mulhorand defeat a host of summoned horrors are responsible for the Orcgates Affair, the
that survived the Great Conflagration.7 Covenant begins to subtly work against these
-135 Year of Old Beginnings wizard foes.16
The Mulhorandi found Kensten (Modern: 989 Year of Dark Stalking
Bezantur) at the site of ruined Prianar and The Red Wizards of Thay come into direct
establish the precept (province) of Shamulrand.8 conflict with the mages of the Covenant.
-97 Year of Amulets 1020 Year of Smoldering Spells
Delhumide is founded on the banks of Lake Thay develops much of its unique fire magic.17
Ghagat (Modern: Lake Thaylambar). 1021 Year of the Howling Axe
-59 Year of Whims Thay strikes against the Harpers throughout the
Delhumide is named the capital of Shamulrand. Inner Sea and the Heartlands, forcing that
204 Year of the Avarice enemy to go underground.18
Priests of the God-Kings lead by Kesanhur, 1030 Year of Warlords
incarnation of Anhur, defeat the demonlord The Zulkirs are established as the rulers of Thay
Eltab and imprison him beneath the present-day by Escalthar at the Council of the Black Star,
Thaymount.9 who is named the first Ustakir.19
860 Year of the Tired Horsemen 1032 Year of the Nightmaidens
Rise of the tharchions, regional warlords who Iphonos Cor becomes Ustakir of Thay.
give lip service to the rule of the Sepatab of 1074 Year of the Tightening Fist
Shamulrand. The Zulkirs crush the last opposition to their
rule over Thay.20

10
References

1 Grand History of the Realms, p.38; Unapproachable East, p.163; Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (III), p.268.
2 Grand History of the Realms, p.38; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.61.
3 Grand History of the Realms, p.39; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.61. Note that this last source dates this event as -1075 DR.
4 Grand History of the Realms, p.39; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.62.
5 Grand History of the Realms, pgs.39 & 81; Races of Faerûn, p.99; Sea of Fallen Stars, p.5; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.62;
Unapproachable East, pgs.122 & 140; Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (III), p.268.
6 Grand History of the Realms, p.57; Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (III), p.268; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.62;
Unapproachable East, pgs.104 & 163; Races of Faerûn, pgs.89 & 99; Spellbound - Campaign Guide, p.127; FR6 Dreams of
the Red Wizards, p.4.
7 Grand History of the Realms, p.57; FR10 Old Empires, p.5.
8 Grand History of the Realms, p.57; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.62; FR10 Old Empires, pgs.4-5.
9 Grand History of the Realms, p.67; Champions of Ruin, p.132.
10 Grand History of the Realms, p.111; Unapproachable East, pgs.141 & 163; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.62; Forgotten
Realms Campaign Setting (III), pgs.207 & 270; Races of Faerûn, p.100; Sea of Fallen Stars, p.6; Spellbound - Campaign
Guide, p.127; FR6 Dreams of the Red Wizards, p.4.
11 Spellbound - Campaign Guide, p.127.
12 Sea of Fallen Stars, p.6.
13 Grand History of the Realms, p.112; Unapproachable East, pgs.141 & 163; Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (III),
p.270; Races of Faerûn, p.100; Spellbound - Campaign Guide, p.127; FR6 Dreams of the Red Wizards, p.4.
14 Secrets of the Magister, p.59.
15 Grand History of the Realms, p.113; Prayers From the Faithful, p.45.
16 Grand History of the Realms, p.113.
17 Grand History of the Realms, p.115; Spellbound - Campaign Guide, p.127.
18 Grand History of the Realms, p.115; Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (III), p.270; Spellbound - Campaign Guide,
p.127.
19 Grand History of the Realms, p.115; Unapproachable East, p.163; Lost Empires of Faerûn, p.62; Forgotten Realms
Campaign Setting (III), p.270; Sea of Fallen Stars, p.6; Spellbound - Campaign Guide, p.127; FR6 Dreams of the Red
Wizards, p.4; FR10 Old Empires, p.6.
20 Grand History of the Realms, p.118; Unapproachable East, p.163; Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (III), p.270; Sea of
Fallen Stars, p.6; Spellbound – Campaign Guide, p.127.

11