Games, all sorts

Phlan remained relatively uninhabited for the next 500 years. The city's position at the mouth of the Stojanow did make it a useful meeting place for traders. Twice during this period, a pirate community grew on the ruins of Phlan. The first time, they were burned out by a navy sailing from Mulmaster. The second time, a group known as the Red Horde, led by a red dragon of incredible age, leveled the community. Following this attack, buccaneers never regained their power in the Moonsea (though small bands still persist).

With time, the civilizations of man moved further north, the greater beasts retreated, and many cities were founded on the shores of the Moonsea. Yet, the beasts did not retreat far. Dragons nested in the Dragonspine Mountains, ogres raided from the Great Grey Land of Thar, and horrible undead things lingered in the swamps and in the passes through to Vaasa.

Hillsfar retained its elven ties and flourished even as Phlan's power was deteriorating, growing from a small town into a large prosperous city. The foundations of Zhentil Keep and Mulmaster were laid while Phlan lay in ruins. Small towns such as Melvaunt, Thentia, and Elmwood were started during this period. The inland city of Yulash, situated atop its great plateau, rose to the zenith of its power during this time.

In the Year of the Moon's Tears (712 DR), Milsor the Valjevo, founder of the Valjevo Dynasty, journeyed to Phlan to re-establish the city as a trading outpost. He was aided in his task by the wizard Rimon and the priestess Alonius of Tyr. Milsor, Rimon, and Alonius gathered together interested adventurers and cleansed the city of the orcs and goblins that had made it their lair. They cleared the banks of the Stojanow and drove the arch-lich Zanakar from Sorcerer's Island in the center of Lake Kuto. In return for his efforts, Rimon was given Sorcerer's Island as his home. Alonius, in turn, was given a wide area in the recovered regions of Phlan to erect a great temple of Tyr, God of Justice, which was completed in 750 DR. In its day, it was said to be the largest temple of good in the entire North.

The city as well had recovered, and large numbers of immigrants arrived. Some were natives of other Moonsea cities seeking to make or expand their fortunes in the new lands. But others arrived as well, including men of the Dalelands and Sembia, as well as farmers and lumbermen, intent on making the region their home. The newcomers built on the ruins of the old city, often not checking what lay beneath their foundations. Some curious souls reported great, twisting passages leading far beneath the earth. Exploring such areas was first discouraged. It was later outlawed after a party of adventurers freed a particularly large beholder. The newcomers, led by Valjevo and his heirs, closed off the passages, choosing to ignore the past and seeking only the future for their city.

The dalesmen spread up the Stojanow River. They diverted the river's flow and turned the rocky terrain into a rich landscape of fields and orchards. The reach of the farmlands extended from Lake Kuto in the north to the city of Phlan at the mouth of the river. Some say the land was so rich because of the proximity to the enchanted Quivering Forest. Others ascribe the bounty to the wizardries of Rimon. Still others credit the series of dikes and levees that the farmers, aided by magical spells, used to harness the river. Whatever the cause, the healthy harvests of the Stojanow River Valley provided Phlan with a soild trading base. For the next 200 years, Phlan was the center of trade around the Moonsea. Its grains and fruits filled vaults from Mulmaster to Zhentil Keep. It appeared that civilization, after a false start, had finally made a major foothold in the lands north of the Moonsea. Such was not to be the case, for the forces of good and evil ebb and flow like the shores of the Moonsea itself.