Games, all sorts

Phlan was the first great city of the Moonsea, reaching its peak some thousand years ago. In those days, the Moonsea was better known as the Dragon Sea, named for the large numbers of great wyrms that inhabited that area and the regions to the north. The Barren River was then called the Stojanow, a dwarven word meaning “trade route,” for it was down this passage that ore-laden barges floated, bound for the south. Early Phlan was a trading outpost on the north shore of the Moonsea, set up to facilitate trade between the elves of Myth Drannor (the most powerful elven capital of the time) and the tribes of Thar, Vaasa, and the Ride, as well as the Dragonspine dwarves. Trade between the powerful elves, the wild humans, and the merchant dwarves was a great success for all sides. Soon Phlan was the most powerful city on the Moonsea, outshining its only rival, the elven docks of Hillsfar, on the south coast.

At this time, the elves planted the Quivering Forest north of the city. This copse was mildly enchanted, hastening the growing season to produce a great woods in the span of a human generation. Though the woods have been felled on a number of occasions, it has always returned to its original form, becoming a light woods within two years, and a deep shadow-filled forest by the end of a man's life.

The elves, the legends say, first discovered the Pool of Radiance. Its description has varied through the passage of the years. Many wise sages have declared it a myth and a con-man's gambit. The location of the Pool changes from tale to tale. Sometimes it is deep in the heart of an eternal wood, sometimes on an island circled by mighty wyrms, and sometimes in the center of a huge solitary peak that rises above all the others in the Dragonspine Mountains. It is said that the Pool glows with its own energy. Those that approach it feel new power within their bones, while an unreal melody holds them in a rapture. Legends say that the Pool's power created the Quivering Forest and caused the Sorcerer's Island to appear.

The Pool is said to bring great power to the worthy, and death most horrible to the unworthy. Some tales say that the individual should drink it, bathe in it, or throw coins into it and make a wish. There are numerous folk tales of the wise fool stumbling upon the Pool, and gaining wondrous power or meeting a gory end. The abilities of the Pool change according to the needs of the tale-spinner. In any event, a trader or adventurer who encounters a sudden windfall or great riches is said to have “visited the Pool.”

Whether the Pool is real or some literary invention, the First City of Phlan (also called Archaic Phlan) survived in peace for many generations of men. Eventually, outside influences brought about its downfall. Settlers began to intrude from the lands of Cormyr and Sembia into the south of the Elven Court. At the same time, the beast-men of Thar, which are today called ogres, began gathering into large hordes, ravaging the countryside. Phlan built mighty walls and withstood a decade of constant invasion. In the end, its fate was sealed by the elves withdrawing within the Court combined with the dwarves pulling back into the western reaches of the Dragonspine Mountains.

With its trading lifeline cut, Phlan fell into disrepair. When the Black Horde of ogres and orcs finally demolished the city walls in the Year of the Tusk (112 DR), they found little but an empty husk. The greatness that was Ancient Phlan had passed.