Waterdeep

history

-8500 DR, the ancient elven settlement called Aelinthaldaar bacame the capital of the tel-quessir city-state of Illefarn. There is no record of a settlement, on the site, prior to that date.

−1100 DR, Aelinthaldaar was razed after the elves inhabiting the city retreated to Evermeet.

−1088 DR, the location was taken over by barbarian tribes who used it as a trade center, doing business with peoples further south. The deep natural harbor on the site made it a particularly good point to hold trademoots because large ships were able to load and unload goods. Eventually, tribes made the area their permanent home rather than revisiting for each trademoot. However, conflict was common due to the lucrative trade opportunities.

52 DR, by this year, a permanent farming community of Illuskans had been established.

168 DR, the wizard Halaster Blackcloak moved to the area and constructed Halaster's Hold a little ways northwest of the farming community. Between 171 DR and 308 DR he conducted Halaster's Hunts which brutally exterminated the drow and duergar from Undermountain, clearing the space for his own purposes.

302 DR, the waters of the Lizard Marsh rose, forcing the settlement of Tavaray to be abandoned. The human settlements on the future site of Waterdeep became much more isolated, and the lack of prosperity and outside contact caused the populace to split back into tribes.

307 DR, Halaster Blackcloak's apprentices, known as the Seven abandon Halaster's Hold for the Undermountain. The wizard's hold would subsequently fall into disrepair.

940 DR, the second conflict of the Trollwars erupted when the trolls made continual raids on human settlements. They continued for 12 years. Nimoar died and Gharl was chosen to be the next "War Lord" of Nimoar's Hold. The use of the name "Waterdeep", as an alternate for "Nimoar's Hold" came to common use.

952 DR, the 32-year-old mage Ahghairon used his arcane power to end the Trollwars in a decisive victory. However, the six Warlords of the city were killed in combat. A knight of Tyr named Samular Caradoon was recognized as a hero during this conflict and went on to form the Holy Order of Samular. A temple and monastery to Lathander was constructed outside the city, which would later be known as the Spires of the Morning.

974 DR, following the conflict, a walled keep was constructed on the slopes of the mountain, and the walls continued to expand as more and more people from the surrounding area came to the stronghold for protection. During this time, the keep and surrounding are were known as the "Free City of Waterdeep".

1010 DR, Nimoar's Hold came to be known as the Free City of Waterdeep. During this year the harbor was fortified and its walls expanded and rebuilt. Lauroun became the first Warlord of Waterdeep.

1032 DR, Raurlor used the city's wealth to create a vast "Empire of the North". Ahghairon voiced strong opposition to this and Raurlor ordered that he was to be arrested. When Ahghairon used his magic to prevent his own arrest, Raurlor struck out at him, but Ahghairon turned Raurlor's sword into a snake, which inflicted a poisonous bite, eventually killing him.
Ahghairon declared himself the first "Lord" of Waterdeep, creating the nearly-entirely-anonymous governing body that would last for centuries. All Lords of the city save for one, initially himself, had their identities hidden from the citizens of the city. Under Ahghairon, Waterdeep secured the areas to the north for the humans and built new roads to interconnect them, while continuing to grow to five times its size, becoming more and more prosperous. The city developed the nickname "the Crown of the North." Ahghairon restructured the army and navy that Raurlor had built up into the city watch and the city guard.

1035 DR, Waterdeep began to use its system of city wards. The four original wards were the Castle Ward, Trades Ward, Dock Ward and Temple Ward.

1037 DR, creatures from another plane appeared in Waterdeep after emerging from the Undermountain. Ahghairon and one of the masked Lords, Kherris, turned them back.

1064 DR, the population of Waterdeep reached 50,000 inhabitants.

1071 DR, the renowned adventurer Ranressa Shiard returned to the slopes of Mount Waterdeep riding on the copper wyrm Galadaeros. This event led to Ahghairon placing a powerful mythal over the city, that acted as a magical barrier against the flying beasts.

1076 DR, Waterdeep was attacked by Nelethra the Winged Spear and the Tethyrian Black Boar of the Dessarin Valley.

1101 DR, the city walls were further expanded to include the Spires of the Morning, the temple to Lathandar that had previously been outside the city.

1148 DR, the netherese necromancer Shradin Mulophor, who would come to be known as the "Lord of Bones", discovered the ruins of the Sargauth Enclave and used the destroyed chambers as his own personal domain. He would open up trade routes with various powers of the Underdark by linking the Sargauth river with subterranean waterways and a series of portals to other lands.

1150 DR, Waterdeep was hit by the plague that was travelling the Sword Coast. :Khelben the Elder first arrived in the city.

1173 DR, the Lord of Bones' lair was a permanent settlement by this year and came to be known as the "Port of Shadow", or Skullport.

1179 DR, Maulagrym attacked Blackstaff Tower but was defeated by Khelben, Elminster, Hamiklar Wands and other Waterdhavian mages.

1184 DR, the Lord of Bones took an expedition to the Underhalls and returned to Skullport as an unstable and unpredictable man.

1235 DR, the Sword Coast was overrun and Waterdeep besieged by the largest orc horde in recorded history. The siege of the city lasted for nine months, and was broken when Ahghairon used griffons to fly supplies of food and aid into of the city. These brave actions would lead to the formation of the griffon cavalry.

1246 DR, the Masked Lord Kerrigan began slaying other Lords of the city. He murdered three of the city's rulers in a bid for power, before Ahghairon confronted him in a battle of magic that ended in the Masked Lord's death within the Southern Ward. This was the only known act of betrayal among the Lords of Waterdeep.

1248 DR, as crime and deceit began to develop in Waterdeep, Ahghairon ordered the creation of city guilds, a trend from cities in the south, to prevent the further spread of problems.

1250 DR, owing to a lack of space, the individual graves within Waterdeep's graveyard were replaced with tombs, leading to the creation of the City of the Dead.

1252 DR, problems with undead from within the most-recently-constructed wae led to the raising of walls around the City of the Dead, to segregate it from the rest of the city.

1255 DR, the Shadow Thieves began operating within the city of Waterdeep.

1276 DR, the city expanded to contain six wards, with the addition of North Ward and Sea Ward.

1345 DR, during the Night of the Temple Fires, religious disorder between the churches of Lathander, Selûne, Shar and Tempus led to the Spires of the Morning and the House of Heroes to be burned to the ground. Both were rebuilt within a year.

1355 DR, Amril Zoar, member of the exiled Zoar family killed two masked lords of the city, Lady Tamaeril Bladesemmer and Lord Resengar the Whitebeard and gravely wounded Lord Piergeiron. After he was caught, he was spared execution by Storm Silverhand and the Harpers.

1372 DR, Khelben Blackstaff, Storm and Laeral Silverhand led armies against the phaerimm that escaped from the Sharn Wall.

1374 DR, by this year, the only remnants of the long-razed Aelinthaldaar were crypts beneath the Pantheon Temple of the Seldarine, and the magic that prevented the plateau from collapsing.

1375 DR, Halaster Blackcloak died. As a result, earthquakes ravaged the city and many Waterdhavians had visions related to the mage's death.