Badly in need of resources, the Netherese began sending scouts
throughout the region to look for mining opportunities. Their primary source of raw materials was discovered when Dekanter, a
Netherese miner, unearthed a huge lode of gold, iron, mercury, silver, and platinum in 1101 NY. For over 1,000 years, this mine provided Netheril with more mineral wealth than any other location.
During this 550-year push to find natural resources, the
Netherese also began setting up small colonies and outposts
throughout what was to become the Savage Frontier. These outposts served as safe harbors for the long trek into the Frontier, a
place where food, water, fresh horses, and other supplies were
made available to the caravans and explorers delving into the area.
During Netheril’s territorial expansion, Netherese at home were in tune to another expansion of their own. The constantly
available magic from mythallars allowed relatively low-level
arcanists to create quasimagical items for themselves, and these
arcanists were all looking for the magical invention that would
allow them to retire. Most of these new magical items were
designed with the common person (the middle class) in mind. Create simple items which made the average citizens life easier, and collect the items of real power within the enclaves became the order of the day.
The citizens of Low Netheril were the ones in greatest numbers and carried the greatest promise for get-rich-quick schemes.
Small-time arcanists had the right mentality: make an
item cheap, simple to use, and make it appear to be invaluable—
basically turn a nicety into a necessity.
The first items to enter the market were simple roomlights, a
globe that continually shed light in a room. This ended with it
being perfected into a globe that would light with an activating
command or sound (depending upon the desires of the purchaser). Soon, every house floating on an enclave had one in every
room.
Next came running water, contrived by opening a permanent
fissure into the Elemental Plane of Water, controlling the flow
with a simple spigot. Once this was accomplished and sold to
every house, indoor plumbing and water closets were the next
logical step.
Outposts
Netheril’s archwizards began to feel a bit cramped. As more and
more cities rose into the air, they feared their numbers would grow
until their presence blotted out the sun. They felt expansion was in
order. They expanded their sphere of divination to the east and to
the west, but found the land to the west more to their liking. The
east was home to nations that were rising in power, although not
really following the magical paths set down by Netheril.
A few archwizards, however, debated whether to subjugate the
eastern nations under their rule. All plans to infiltrate the eastern
cultures were laid to rest when the western lands, controlled
loosely by barbaric tribesmen who were “sired by the consummation of the Earthmother (an aspect of Jannath) and a wolf,”
were deemed an easier target. The Terraseer, a mysterious oracle,
was probably the main reason Netheril didn’t expand to the east.
He and a company of powerful arcanists headed an expedition
into the Frontier to investigate the land for strip mining and general exploitation.
After 22 months of travel, he returned with reports that amazed
the Netherese. “To allow this land to be dominated by mindless
savages unable to understand the simple concept of collective
imagecraft (powerful surrealisms or illusions manipulated by the
subconscious minds of three or more mentalists that could
become reality with a simple thought) would be a crime against
progress and enrichment,” cried the Terraseer. The Terraseer urged
Netheril to immediately establish outposts in this new frontier.
In 1491, the Terraseer found an ideal location for an outpost
that could provide water for caravans and scouts heading into the
mineral-rich mountains, but they had to remove creatures that
called the land home: owlbears. In what was soon to be known as
the Caravan War, Netherese scouts and outriders destroyed the
3,000 owl bears, creatures given existence by the Creator Races
thousands of years ago. Once safety was provided by the warriors, the arcanists came into the town and set up one of the most
elaborate piping systems available. Drilling over five miles into
the crust of Toril, the arcanists provided the Old Owl Well outpost
with an everlasting water supply.
Old Owl Well was manned with a company of warriors and a
handful of seers who used spells and crystal balls to scry on the activities of the Illefarn elves, who at the time viewed the
Netherese as a possible adversary. Despite the tension with the
elves, Old Owl Well became a major stopping point for thirsty caravans within five years.
Two other watering stations and spy outposts were created in
this new frontier. The first was stationed in the forested area
northwest of the future site of Southkrypt. Since these Netherese
frequently had to leave their outposts—where the mythallars
wouldn’t function—they began a long, arduous campaign to create real magical items with the power of the quasimagical items—
not an easy process. After several generations, they succeeded. The second outpost was along the northern edge of
the Westwood, tucked away into the foothills of the Sword Coast
Spires.
