Timeline
- 299 DR: Year of the Vaasan Knot: Flamsterd is exiled from the High Kingdom of the Moonshae Isles by High King Gorham I.
- 1266 DR: Year of the Leaping Frog: Flamsterd buys the largely deserted Isle of Dywyll from King Cerestann Kendrick of Corwell and renames it the Isle of Flamsterd. King Cerestann renounces all claim to the Isle of Dywyll (now Flamsterd) and the title King of Shaina, but absorbs the Tredorl lands into the Kingdom of Corwell.
- 1291 DR: Year of the Hooded Falcon: Flamsterd Tower explodes in a great cacophony, dropping it and half the island (of the same name) into the sea.
Geography
The Barrens: The Isle of Flamsterd is said to have once been a veritable paradise by its inhabitants, however, in living memory it has been little more than a barren wasteland (comparatively speaking to the rest of the Moonshae Isles), with scrub grass and bare rock being the most notable features of the surrounding terrain (and the occasional malformed tree).
The situation had improved somewhat by the time Flamsterd purchased the isle from King Cerestann Kendrick of Corwell, he worked with the Druid to help the land flourish for a time, but barely two decades later a huge explosion rocked the island (causing the south western half to crash into the sea) and devastated the ecology, while all manner of magical creatures escaped into the wilderness from Flamsterd’s Tower.
Caer Dywyll: The few ffolk inhabitants of this island tend to cluster around the south eastern strip of land that is barely farm-able, and have managed to construct a gorwyr (watchtower) for defence. This gorwyr has been rather optimistically named Caer Dywyll, in homage to the original name of the island.
Fewer than 200 people cluster around this small stretch of land, most are farmers or fishermen, there are no shops or inns, and most other goods are brought in from mainland Corwell. Despite the obvious poverty, this is the capital of Flamsterd, and its inhabitants are proud to live here.
The Shimmers: This 25 square mile stretch of sea lies just off the coast of the Isle of Flamsterd and is the sunken remains of the south-western portion of the island that crashed beneath the waves in a huge explosion.
The Shimmers is so named for the swirling rainbow effects that dance across the surface of the water from some undefinable point beneath the surface. It is a region of the ocean filled with all manner of fish and creatures that are unheard of in other parts of the Trackless Sea; fish with tentacles, swimming snakes with elastic hoods, diving rodents with long hair to trap air bubbles.
On the edge of the Shimmers is the shadow of Flamsterd Tower that has survived remarkably intact despite the huge explosion that rocked the island and caused the land and tower to sink. All attempts to dive down and locate Flamsterd Tower meet with failure, divers report that its location shifts with the shimmering lights and when they reach the supposed location they find it has vanished and they are surrounded by rainbow lights once again.
Flamsterd Tower: The home of the wizard Flamsterd still looks as it did when a huge explosion tore apart the ground floor of the tower and spread out for several miles, causing the land around it to become unstable and collapse.
The upper floors of the tower are now supported by a few rocks woven together by magic in a gravity defying feat of wizardry. The tower is surrounded by a bubble of air that appears to hold back the water that completely surrounds it, but allows any creature to pass between water and air (to the noticeable confusion of a few fish that flop around on the sea bed before being levitated back across the watery boundary).
The Sunken Grove: This Greater Moonwell is completely submerged, lying at the bottom of the Shimmers, and is the cause of the dancing rainbow lights, and many of the unusual phenomena that frequent this region of the Trackless Sea.
The Sunken Grove is the largest Moonwell in the Moonshae Isles, measuring at nearly a quarter of a mile in diameter. Flamsterd has been studying this Moonwell since he discovered its location over a century ago, buying the island to gain unlimited access to it, and sinking it beneath the waves to protect it from fell creatures.
Flamsterd is fascinated by the unusual and almost unlimited magical forces emanating from the Moonwell, he has been debating whether to remove the enchantments that channel this magic into a field that blankets the entire Moonshae Isles. He has noticed that the magical forces are beginning to diminish from this well and from others across the islands, a turn of events that disturbs him greatly.
Important NPCs
Flamsterd (Good, Human, Magic User 13): Flamsterd is an ancient wizard of unknown origin who has dwelled among and aided the ffolk since their arrival on the Moonshae Isles, attempting to steer their activities towards the long-term preservation of the islands and the ffolk.
Flamsterd has been exiled from Corwell in the distant past, and spent many hundreds of years wandering Faerun and studying natural phenomenon and their relation to magic, which is his primary area of interest. He later returned to the Moonshae Isles and purchased an entire island (the one bearing his name) where he built a tower and appeared to be studying the strange flora and fauna of this island, assisted by budding apprentices.
Several decades ago the Isle of Flamsterd was rocked by a huge explosion and earthquake that caused half the island to sink beneath the sea, including the tower in which Flamsterd and his apprentices dwelt. Flamsterd appeared to survive; although many of his apprentices were not so lucky, Flamsterd has since sought out many of the rulers of the Moonshae Isles to warn of coming dangers.
Flamsterd did not cause the collapse of his island, that event was inevitable. He also did not cause the magical explosion that coincided with the collapse of the island, however, he also did nothing to prevent his warring apprentices from using a dangerous artefact which indirectly caused the explosion and hastened the collapse of the island. Flamsterd’s apprentices have survived in some form or another and wander the island and the Shimmers in the form of strange and magical beasts (some benign, some more malevolent).
Important Organisations
The Initiates of Flamsterd Isle: Flamsterd had many apprentices at various stages of training, his most accomplished often spent their hours working at Flamsterd Tower, while the junior members were sent out to work for the locals and learn their place in the world.
When Flamsterd’s Tower exploded and part of the island collapsed, the vast majority of Flamsterd’s apprentices were in his tower or the immediate grounds conducting their research, the initiates however; 9 in total, were working in Caer Dywyll for the locals.
In the fifty years since the explosion, the nine initiates have continued their training themselves (under the secret guidance of Flamsterd) and have vowed to work towards the betterment of the Moonshae Isles (rather than the quest for personal power that destroyed the other apprentices).
The Initiates of Flamsterd are now in their 60s and 70s, are accomplished wizards, and have taken apprentices of their own. They have formed an organisation known as the Initiates of Flamsterd (although local ffolk shorten it to the Initiates of the Flame), and the original nine form the leadership of the organisation known as the Inner Chamber. The Initiates of Flamsterd still send their apprentices to work in Caer Dywyll, and all the wizards are pledged to use their powers to help the people of the Isle of Flamsterd in whatever way possible, from scaring away wandering monsters, to fixing a leaking roof.
Fauna
Abominations: The Isle of Flamsterd was never among the greenest or most fecund of the Moonshae Isles, however, it was also largely free of the monsters that plague other lands (although pirates are an omnipresent problem in the Moonshaes).
Fifty years ago, the magical disaster that destroyed Flamsterd’s Tower and sunk half the island also created a score of hideous abominations, twisted reptiles, misshapen monkeys, deformed felines, and all other manner of creatures of enormous size and hideousness. These abominations spread across the island and hide out in caves and coves along the coast of the island.
Occasionally the abominations wander into a farmstead or near a population centre (like Caer Dywyll), where they are chased away by the ffolk or by one of the Initiates of Flamsterd. Thus far there has not been a single confirmed fatality caused by one of these abominable monstrosities, but any disappearance (or pirate raid) is often blamed on the creatures.
In truth the abominations are the former apprentices of Flamsterd that were in the tower and fighting to possess his treasures and secrets, they were transformed by the magical explosion and Flamsterd has chosen to leave them in their twisted forms for a while to ensure they learn from their mistakes, he has also completely forgotten about them of late, so they are unlikely to be changed back anytime soon.
The Alternate Forgotten Realms 