The year 326 marked one of the most important dates in Netheril's history-the discovery of the
Nether Scrolls. This set of 100 scrolls provided the Netherese with an incredible jump in spellcraft unseen in the history of Toril. This was an age of tremendous learning in Netheril that lasted until the birth of its greatest archwizards. The person responsible for unearthing these vital pieces of magical lore was unknown; he's referred to as Finder. While searching the area west of the
Far Horns Forest, Finder ran across an ancient ruined building that appeared to have been inhabited by a race who utilized the walls as well as the floor. The chairs and utilitarian furnishings seemed to indicate the species possessed more than two legs—possibly four.
Finder searched every nook and cranny in this old, dilapidated building, hoping to find something of value to sell when he reached home. When he discovered the gold scrolls, he realized he had found something worth far beyond the scrolls' monetary value. He returned the scrolls to Netheril and studied them incessantly. Finder discovered that the 100 gold pages were actually two sets of 50 scrolls. One set looked much older and tarnished than the other. He called the gold foils the nether scrolls, named after the nation of his birth, and shared his newfound information with the arcanists of
Seventon and Zenith a few years later. Within a few short decades, everyone in Netheril was blessed with the knowledge contained in the scrolls.
Congenio's Pebbles
Few spellcasters existed that commanded the respect of their peers, and fewer still are those whose names survived millennia after their death. Congenio loun was one such arcanist; his name is still known 4,000 years after his death in the form of ioun stones. These magical stones floated above the head of their owner, bestowing a variety of special powers, and they were highly sought after by the arcanists of Netheril. Congenio was born in the year 364 and, in an unprecedented feat of skill, created his first magical item at the age of 33: Congenio's pebbles. During his lifetime, he created over 30 Congenio's pebbles that did everything from allow a creature to
see in the dark to provide a temporary level increase. In the year 451, he changed the name of the pebbles to loun's stones, and in 1319, he passed away to the realms of the gods, living an abundant 955 years. Congenio was considered the first major arcanist to come out of Netheril and was always looked upon as a genius before his time.
Delzoun
In the year 401—after 269 years of searching—the Netherese finally discovered the realm of the stout, short, humanoid creatures who dwelled within the hills and mountains. The creatures were none other than the dwarves of Delzoun. The long search to find the dwarves didn't make establishing ties any easier, however. It took a few years to discover what each culture wanted from the other. The Netherese found it nearly impossible to sell their new magical items and spell research techniques to the dwarves, since the dweomers failed to function some of the time (the Netherese believed this was due to the dwarves' closeness to Jannath, whom Netherese sages saw as being a very nonmagical being). The dwarves found a steady purchaser of finely crafted metal weapons in the Netherese, however, and that single commodity consumed most of the trading between Delzoun and Netheril.
The Netherese established trade routes across the Narrow Sea between the dwarven port city of
Ascore and the Netherese cities of Harborage and Zenith. They also created the Lowroad, which passed through a heavily guarded passage through the Underdark. Back before the days of the
Phaerimm, this was an area actively patrolled by the dwarves in order to keep it free of illithids, drow, and other denizens of the evil Underdark.
