Location: Fantasy Worlds » Forgotten Realms Lore
Estagund
history follows a different path than those of Durpar and Var. The Gunders
were conquered in 551 DR by Reinhar I, warchief of the Arkaiuns of Dambrath.
Estagund regained its independence when Reinhar was slain by the Halruaan
archmage Mycontil, though the country soon degenerated into a group of
small independent city-states.
Skirmishes
with Var, and between the city-states, continued for several centuries
until a king once again united the country. King Bornial was a skilled
ruler, and under him Estagund began to prosper. His descendants did not
share his wisdom, and in 1053 DR, King Selkarin more than illustrated
this. He had failed to conquer Durpar, and Veldorn resisted his challenges.
An avowed misogynist, Selkarin turned his attentions to the matriarchy
of Dambrath. He led a large fleet to attack Dambrath, taking extreme losses,
including his own life. Selkarin died childless, so his brother Seltarir
was crowned King. The new ruler faced a country with most of its fighting
men gone, and an unforeseen problem: famine. The famine was caused by
a blight that wiped out nearly all the year's crops in Estagund. This
made him eager for a deal posed by the Durparian merchant Jeradeem, and
in a legendary trade the entire country of Estagund was sold. Contrary
to popular rumor, Seltarir did not trade away the country for 24 pearls.
In actuality he received diamonds worth almost a million gold pieces.
The sudden wealth gave him an instant seat on the Council of Merchants,
so he retained a measure of rule in addition to his fortune. Chaka Seltarir
is still the richest chaka in Estagund to this day. In the years that
followed, the Gunders began rebuilding their lives under their new circumstance,
and now they compete on equal footing with the merchants of Durpar and
Var.
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