The Encyclopedia Frobozzica
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The Eastlands comprise those provinces which lie on the eastern
shore of the Great Sea, such as Flatheadia, and the Fublio Valley.
Egreth Castle served as the seat of royal power from the reign of
Duncanthrax
(who moved the capital from Largoneth in 660 GUE)
through the reign of Dimwit (who moved the capital to Flatheadia
in 771 GUE). Egreth was, and still is, reputed to be the most
dangerous locale in the kingdom. Protected from hostile invaders
from the sea by Fort Griffspotter, Egreth also happened to be the
major sight in the Westlands of the vast tunneling project
implemented by Duncanthrax to move the Empire underground. In the
caverns near Egreth can be found the famous Glass Maze, Bozbarland, and the Great Underground Highway #2.
It is of slight historical interest to note that Egreth was
best remembered in the magical community for the famed CoalWalkers of Egreth, a troupe who used magical aid to protect
themselves while carrying out their stunts.
Eldritch Vapors dwell in cemeteries, moors, and other locales
where fog will hide their evershifting forms. Two areas known to
be frequented by eldritch vapors are the Festeron Cemetery and
the marsh to the south of Grubbo-by-the-Sea. Gleeful and mischievous, the vapors enjoy snatching away the possessions of
those foolish enough to wander into their realm. Visitors without
possessions are themselves snatched away.
Elves are a mysterious race of magical humanoids. It is reasonable to assume that elves are natives of
the Eastlands, but none
have ever been encountered there. The only definitely known
elvish relic is a magical sword found in the Eastlands that glows
when evil is nearby. However, rumors about elves abound. One
Accardi
weapons shop also claims to sell swords of elvish make.
The authenticity of these claims have not been verified.
The Enchanters' Guild can trace its roots to the reign of
Entharion,
over 900 years ago. It was in that era that scholars
penned the first writings on the mystic subject of magic.
Throughout the centuries the advancement of Thaumaturgy suffered
many setbacks. (See Appendix D on Magic) One of these setbacks,
King Duncanthrax's
Unnatural Acts, indirectly led to the foundation of the Enchanters' Guild.
When the ban on magic decreed by Duncanthrax was loosened
towards the end of the seventh century, the great thaumaturge
Vilboz was able to form a legitimate organization to aid the
scientific approach to the study of magic. This organization was
the first chapter of the Guild of Enchanters, founded in the tiny
hamlet of
Accardi-By-The-Sea. Since that day, additional chapters
have usually been located in similar small villages, since the
bustle of city life interferes with an Enchanter's work ("Excuse
me, I locked my keys in my house. Could you please rezrov my
door?").
From the earliest days of the Guild, Enchanters have been
bound by a series of governing tenets. The first tenet states
that Enchanters may never use their talents to aid evil. The second points out that an Enchanter's duty is to the Guild and to
the Kingdom, not to the individual. Lesser tenets include rules
for conducting votes at meetings, guidelines for passing dishes
at Guild banquets, and penalties for revealing the Guild's secret
handshake.
Thanks to the spread of the Guild, use of magic by lay people
became more prevalent. One such lay person made a mistake that
caused the devastating
Endless Fire of 773 GUE.
To ensure that
such mistakes would never happen again, Lord Dimwit Flathead
issued a series of edicts that entrusted all use of magic to the
various Guilds of Enchanters, thus preventing magic use by the
common person. These Guilds, whose elders comprised the so-called
Circle of Enchanters, was empowered to form schools for the
training of new Enchanters.
This official sanctioning of the Guilds led to the formation
of numerous other chapters, with membership in various Guilds in
excess of 2000 by the year 800. Only one example is
Dimithio, who
single-handedly founded an Enchanters' Guild in the huge metropolis of
Borphee.
By this time the old chapters in Thriff and
Accardi
had become highly influential, and helped to bring stability to the land following the turbulence created by the collapse of the Great Underground Empire in 883.
However, when the tenth century rolled around the Guild began
to face some problems. Although it was underwriting many philanthropic foundations and running many accredited thaumaturgical
universities, not everybody was pleased with the way things were
going. For instance, the 115th Convention of Enchanters and Sorcerors in 957 GUE was plagued with pranks and magical oneupmanship between various chapters.
Barbel of Gurth, a Guildmaster and elder member of the Circle of Enchanters, commented that
he was "disgusted" with the state of affairs in the Enchanters'
Guild.
Many complained of a lack of communication between the chapters, while some junior enchanters grumbled about "leadership
stagnation." These complaints were directed at Barbel, who had
been a Guildmaster since 933, and
Belboz, who had led the Circle
of Enchanters since 952, and had been a Guildmaster for 47 years.
These people felt that the lifetime appointment of Guildmasters
was far too long.
However, the year 957 saw events that many interpreted as a
rebirth for the Guild. One junior guildmaster, who had defeated
Krill only a few years before, rescued Belboz from the clutches
of the
demon
Jeearr, and became the new Head of the Circle.
Unfortunately, this period of rebirth was short-lived. In 966 the
new Head of the Circle set in motion a chain of events that
brought about the end of the Guild, and the end of the Age of
Magic. As these events were unfolding, a Final Conclave of the
Guild of Enchanters in Borphee acted to preserve the sum of all
knowledge of the Guilds forever in the famed
Coconut of Quendor.
Thus, although the Enchanters' Guild has come to an end in this
Age, another age after the fall of Science will be able to make
use of their powers.
The Enchanters' Retreat is an old stone structure perched high in
the Flathead Mountains. For generations, retired (or even
burnt-out) enchanters have gone there to breathe the clean mountain air, watch the stars, and rest from their exertions. The
appointments are simple, the fare in unsophisticated, and those
there are always content. After the defeat of Jeearr in 957, the
famous mage
Belboz himself sought refuge in the Retreat.
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the definitive collection of the knowledge of the Age of Magic.
The Endless Fire destroyed the city of Mareilon in 773 GUE, after
raging for 4 weeks. It was later found out that the fire had been
started by a civil servant on 18 Estuary, who thought he was
casting the ZEMDOR spell ("turn original into triplicate") but
who, instead, cast the ZIMBOR spell ("turn one really big city
into lots of tiny, little ashes"). The Fire led Lord Dimwit
Flathead (the Excessive) to issue a series of 5,521 edicts over
the following few weeks, which had the effect of severely limiting access to magic, and, incidentally, lawyers. Henceforth, all
magic was entrusted to the various
Guilds of Enchanters.
Entharion the Wise united many warring tribes, including the
rival city-states of Galepath and Mareilon, thus forming the
kingdom of Quendor. As the first king of Quendor, Entharion built
the castle Largoneth, near the ancient cities of Galepath and
Mareilon, and ruled over a kingdom which was little more than
what is currently the province of Frobozz. According to earlier,
erroneous entries in the
Encyclopedia Frobozzica,
Entharion and
his legendary blade Grueslayer eradicated grues from the face of
the world. Unfortunately for many adventurers, this is not true.
Our current calendar dates from the first year of Entharion's
reign, which ended in 41 GUE. He was succeeded by Mysterion the
Brave.
The Ethereal Plane of Atrii is an alternate plane of existence
that has specific locations that coincide with the same locations
in the real world. However, the geometry and very nature of space
in the Ethereal Plane is different in an indescribable way. Those
who have mastered transcendental physics can easily jump back and
forth from the Ethereal Plane to the real world via magic curtains called Dimension Doors, or through the use of a Scroll of
Gating. These transcendental voyagers report that solid objects
from the Ethereal Plane appear only as vague outlines in our
world, and vice versa. The Plane of Atrii, home of the Implementors, is also the way of Orkan of Thriff was so easily able to
transport his entire village anywhere he desired in our world. It
has been discovered that a transcendental traveler, upon magically entering the Plane of Atrii, can easily return to the real
world via magic curtains specially designed to provide a one-way
trip.
The Evil One is the sorceress responsible for the magical transformation of the
Antharian village of Festeron into the dismal
nightmare known as Witchville. It is known that The Evil One and
others like her sought Wishbringer, the Stone of Dreams, known to
be in possession of the proprietor of the local Magick Shoppe,
who also happened to be The Evil One's sister. In order to gain
control of the Stone, The Evil One kidnapped her sister's cat,
Chaos,
and held her ransom. Thanks to the bravery and cunning of
a local postal service employee, The Evil One's plan was foiled.
The cat Chaos was returned to its rightful owner, Witchville was
transformed back into Festeron, and Wishbringer was kept out of
the hands of The Evil One forever.
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