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The Barbarian Schism

During an unprecedented exodus, the Angod tribe living near Frostypaw befriended a Netherese arcanist. In 2477, the latter began to teach the barbarians to use magic. He hoped that this method would help the Angods resist the orc raiding forces. The barbarians also enthusiastically devoted themselves to learning in order to defend themselves from the bullying of those brutal orc tribes. Unfortunately, the neighboring Longoas tribe was very afraid of magic. They drove the Angods who moved here out of their homes. After that, the Longoas and the Angods who left here fought for seven years until these tribes who converted to the power of magic completely withdrew from the land.

Age of Discovery

In 2654, miners discovered the Childarin Gem. They had no idea of ​​its value - it would change the lives of the Netherese forever. At first, an arcanist named Eloline examined the gems, which were given to her by the miners as useless stones. However, she was surprised to find that the stones seemed to contain some kind of magic. Soon, she realized the function of the gem - it could store a spell, and then just smash it to release the spell. It was this discovery that propelled the Netherese Empire into a frenzy of exploration that lasted for more than 500 years.

The discovery of the Childarin gemstones has led many Netheril floating cities to intensify their exploration and development of surrounding mines. Whoever discovers the gem vein first will gain immeasurable wealth. The great masters have no doubts about this, and they have invested huge sums of money, hoping that they can become the lucky one.

Realmspace

After the Childarin gems, there is one more thing that must be mentioned: magic ships, or "ships." The Netherese piloted them into the realm of space. They believed that the Skyward Realms, or space as the crew of Yoeman's Loft called it, would become the empire's next resource-rich frontier. The wealth that the Netherese coveted included minerals, magic, and all kinds of magical treasures. However, the behavior of many explorers who set sail from Yoeman's Loft was reprehensible. They often conducted "experiments" that were actually simple dissections of any unfortunate creatures they encountered. Because of this, the Netherese - the only human race to have set foot in space when they began space exploration in 2795 - had a very bad reputation there. The panic they brought was no less than what the local residents felt when they saw the soul-sucking monster's magic ship.

This fear served no purpose other than to further alienate the Netherese from the existing society of magic ships, almost completely closing the door to trade. In fact, it came to the point where Netherese ships were attacked whenever they appeared. Obern, an arcanist born in this era, spent his life trying to restore his country's reputation in space, but to no avail. One hundred years after the first Netherese ships entered space, the Empire recalled the last magic ship from there. For a hundred years, the cost of arming and protecting the Netherese ships was staggering, far exceeding all the benefits they had gained from space. In addition, they later failed to invent their own ship steering wheel, and magic ships must rely on a complex component based on this. So the Empire decided to abandon its territory in space.

Seeing his beloved space world parted, Oberon was worried and frantic. He moved to Yuman's Dock, still trying to keep a foothold in space. Even 10 years later, his death did not affect the construction of this Netheril reservation, which was all thanks to those who were grateful for or benefited from his contributions during his lifetime.

The Shadowed Age

The arrival of the Year of Gloom seemed to foreshadow the doom that was about to befall the Netherese. Because at that time, the shadow of destruction had already lurked around the empire, quietly reaching out its claws to this beautiful land. Starting from the birth of Karsus (a familiar name, which will be introduced separately later) in 3163, a series of major events occurred in this era: the arrival of the phaerimm, the advent of Olostin, and the birth of even more powerful magic. The moment Karsus's avatar, an unprecedented magic, was cast, it finally announced the end of the entire era.

Netheril gave birth to countless great arcanists, many of whom lived for hundreds or thousands of years, even longer than the civilization that nurtured them. Becoming a lich was a common way to do this. The throne of the strongest in Netheril, although not absolute, was mostly occupied by great arcanists. However, none of these people who survived the destruction of Netheril could compare to Karsus.

Karsus

At the age of two, young Karsus performed his first spell. Although it was just a cantra, it was enough to show his amazing talent. Young Karsus found that he mastered magic effortlessly, almost immediately, as if he had known it all the time. This immediately attracted the interest of the local priests of Mystril, who began to train the young man. Later, they even tried to recruit him into the church of the goddess of magic. However, Karsus himself was unmoved. He refused to devote his faith to any god in the polytheistic system. There was no benefit, he thought. Because Karsus also believed that he would become a god one day. Naturally, this temperament determined that he was really a good candidate for the Grand Master - all Grand Masters are like this, believing only in themselves.

At the age of 22, Karsus became a Grand Master. He was the youngest ever. It was at the time when Ioulaum completed his greatest spell, the longevity. With this position of honor, Karsus could own a "Mysera Core" and a suitable enclave. A floating city was to be built, and the Grand Master would have full control over his new territory. After a few months, the city was completed. Karsus found that no one wanted to come here, and the place was deserted and desolate. This was mainly because he was too young and inexperienced to win the trust of the people. But the crisis became a stage for the Grand Master to show his talents. Since powerful magic alone was not enough to attract people, he thought, maybe a magnificent and ingenious city could. So Karsus hired many skilled craftsmen to create buildings in his city. They seemed to completely defy the laws of physics and even the limitations of gravity. They were like scenes from a dream, so incredible and shocking. The news eventually spread to many top arcane schools and magic universities. People were attracted by the charming charm of the unique and wonderful works, and with infinite yearning for them, they flocked to the floating city of Karsus. Soon, it became prosperous.

With visions of greatness in mind, Karsus persuaded the Seventon Council to temporarily transfer the remaining Netherese scrolls to his castle. He intended to study the treasure carefully, even to the extent of discovering whether there was a hidden connection between the pages that might lead to the recovery of the missing pieces. However, fate was too unfair to Netheril, and the remaining scrolls were also snatched away (despite being guarded by over a hundred warriors and arcanists) on their way to Karsus's domain. A major search was immediately launched in 3195, but it ended seven years later with nothing found, and instead 125 more names added to the record of the dead. At this point, not a single scroll was left in Netheril. As for their whereabouts, it was a complete mystery, even to the greatest arcanists and soothsayers of the empire.

Shadow

Shdow was a student at Karsus's School of Magic. He had published a study of the planes and was criticized. But that was not all. Shdow's work had also caused the dislike of the authorities, who exiled him and declared a ban on all research on demiplanes and qusiplanes in many cities. However, Karsus secretly kept Shdow and allowed him to continue his research; he felt that Shdow was doing something very important. Shdow invited other "underground" researchers to participate, and all the funds were paid by Karsus. Eleven years later, at the instruction of the Grand Master, Shdow once again published his research results: the Demiplane of Shadow. It was also named "Shdows: The Palpable Cohesion of Formless Corporeality".

Arcanists across the country suddenly realized how important this discovery was. They believed that the Shadow Demiplane was a field of great value for development - it could provide endless shadow servants and was also the source of Shadow's shadow-magic. The authorities immediately announced the lifting of previous bans and openly encouraged people to explore similar demiplanes. Unfortunately, they also discovered the "Demiplane of Imprisonment", and several arcanists eventually disappeared in the chaotic imprisonment barrier. Of course, this news was strictly sealed.

Olostin

In the history of Netheril, it is not only the great masters and those important researchers who have the greatest influence. Many others have also left a deep mark in the annals with their deeds. Alostin is such a person.

Alostin, a man with bad luck. He felt that his opportunities were always taken away for no reason, so he began to criticize the society angrily. He hated his countrymen, but he had some real sympathy for those bullied non-human creatures - the goblin-like races that had always been in conflict with humans and elves. His hatred grew deeper and deeper, and finally one day, the Netherese expelled him. Alostin had no choice but to wander aimlessly in the desolate wilderness of Netherese alone.

During his wanderings, Orosdin came across an evil monster. It was like a large cone of flesh and blood, with four arms attached - no legs. This was the Phalanx. Orosdin was sure his life was in danger, but he was ready to fight a futile battle. But he found that the monster simply wanted to communicate with him. The Phalanx told him that some power from the surface was causing their young to die and the adults to weaken prematurely; it wanted to know who was abusing magic on the surface.

Arosdin calmed down and told the monster everything he knew about Netherese civilization, including their extravagance and decadence. The phaerimm listened patiently to his story and gave the disobedient a powerful magical artifact. It also pointed out the location of a fortress that he could use to fight against the "evil" Netherese. After doing this, the phaerimm returned to its home. Arosdin never saw his strange friend again, but he always felt that it was close at hand, and was always helping him accomplish his great cause.

Alosdin's achievements made him famous. He and his followers became the most ruthless killers in Netheril's history. In 3348, he successfully captured the city of Unity and began a 33-year reign of terror. It was here that he first earned the nickname "the Baron of Dread". He killed 28000 people - humans, elves, orcs, goblins, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes; he treated them all equally. In addition, Alosdin amassed a huge fortune. In the end, he was killed by an unknown arcanist of more than 34th level, who used a single Noanar's fireball to reduce the Baron's group to ash. His fortress was in ruins and everything was destroyed. However, the magic treasure given by Orosdin's cone-shaped partner could not be found.

The Phaerimm

After studying the intelligence obtained from Arostin and various ways to weaken human nations, in 3398, the phaerimms - the race to which Arostin's cone-shaped friend belonged - began to rampage across the surface world with their "magic drain spell". This permanent drain spell can also absorb life essence, and any living creature that enters its spherical area will be slowly drained into a dry corpse. The phaerimms unleashed this powerful spell throughout the Netheril Empire. (End of this chapter)