Re: The Leafbower Legacy

Excellent, I am sending my group to Armistice right now and am developing
background. I will reciprocate with my own stuff as soon as this has been
integrated. Your timing is OUTSTANDING!!
Loki, Dm
Warriors of the Balance: The Rise of Dukagsh Campaign
New Orleans, La

----- Original Message -----
From: "Night_Druid" <Night_Druid@??????????.net>
To: <SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 7:43 PM
Subject: [SPELLJAMMER] The Leafbower Legacy


> Now for something totally devoid of stats, and probably largely useless
(but
> I had fun writing it, and it was something I had a desire to do, for no
> particularly good reason).  Here's my writeup of the Leafbower clan, part
1
> :)
>
> Adam
>
>
> The Leafbower Legacy
>
>
>
>             General Arlond Forgeson paced uneasily across the fine
Zakharan
> carpet.  With one hand on his battle axe, the battle-worn dwarf never took
> his eyes off of Bloodgnarl the Thanechief, his mortal enemy.  For the past
> decade, their two peoples, dwarf and gnoll, have fought for the moon
> Gimduum, a war that has brought death and suffering to all.
>
>             The massive gnoll, almost eight feet tall and covered with
> countless battle scars, returned General Forgeson's hard glare.  He
growled,
> desiring to sink his spear into the dwarf king's flesh.  His subchiefs
were
> likewise on edge, ready to do battle with the dozen or so subordinates
that
> Forgeson brought with him.
>
>             A blast of trumpets broke the tension.  The double doors swung
> open, heralding the meeting's newest arrival.  A single elf, tall and
proud,
> strode forth.  He wore a simple, yet elegant military uniform, that of an
> admiral of the Elven Fleet.
>
>             A gnoll tensed, dropping his spear as if to charge the new
> arrival, only to have it grabbed by Bloodgnarl.  "No," he harshly rebuked
> his warrior, "he is a Leafbower.  He we can trust."
>
>
>
>             Few names command immediate respect in wildspace.  Leafbower
is
> one of them.  The Leafbowers is an extended clan of high elves with
branches
> in Greyspace, Bralspace, Realmspace, and Darnannon.  Many past and current
> members have served in the Elven Fleet, but just as many are private
> citizens, owning and running their own ships.
>
>             Members of the Leafbower clan are high elves.  In spheres
> without native high elf populations, they are considered the local related
> elven subtype.  Leafbowers from Realmspace are considered sun elves, for
> example.  Regardless, almost every member of the clan has ashen white
hair,
> sharp facial features, and is pale in complexion.  They make better
> listeners than talkers.
>
>             The Leafbowers have a loose structure, with a household head
in
> each sphere they reside.  He looks out after clan interests in the sphere,
> from maintaining the Leafbower estate to running the trade routes to
> training new generations of Leafbowers.  A Leafbower residence will be a
> large structure, usually a small keep, with luxurious accommodations.
Clan
> members are welcomed in any of these estates and can stay as long as need
> be.
>
>             The Leafbowers are renowned for their skills in navigation,
> diplomacy, spellcraft, and leadership.  Indeed, each estate has an
extensive
> library with whole shelves dedicated to said topics, but more importantly
> are the resident teachers and clan members, who are more than willing to
> pass their knowledge and experiences on to the next generation.  A
Leafbower
> estate can serve as a training hall with expert instructors.
>
>
>
> History
>
>
>
> Foundation
>
>             The roots of the Leafbowers are ancient and deep.  The almost
> mythical founder of the Leafbowers was Ilernil, a famed explorer of his
day.
> His skill in navigation was legendary, and is credited with the first
> complete charts of Greyspace.  Ilernil was granted a noble title after he
> returned to Darnannon with charts to the legendary Vedia Sphere, an exotic
> sphere of wealth and prestige.  It was on this trip that he was given the
> name Leafbower, for he became an honored guest in the halls of the Treant
> Kingdom.  The trees themselves bowed to Ilernil after he managed to end a
> century-long war between local kingdoms.
>
>             Ilernil's Vedia expeditions, of which there were twelve,
brought
> great wealth to the captain.  He finally retired in Greyspace, leaving his
> trade company to his seven sons.  Having accompanied their father on many
of
> his expeditions, they had mastered the art of trade, navigation, and
sailing
> the stars.
>
>             For the next five hundred years, the sons and grandsons of
> Ilernil Leafbower made countless trips to Vedia and other spheres,
> accumulating vast wealth and prestige.  Each son of Ilernil founded his
own
> branch of the clan, building estates in different spheres.  Despite the
> great distances, they maintained close and friendly relations with one
> another.
>
>
>
> An Age of Conflict
>
>             A group of Leafbowers set up an estate in Realmspace, in the
> Kingdom of Cormanthyr, during the reign of Coronal Miirphys Irithyl.  They
> helped cement an alliance to oppose Netheril's ambitions in wildspace.
For
> their part in the alliance, the Coronal rewarded them with some land
between
> the Elven Court and the River Lis.  For centuries they operated a
> spelljamming port, quietly handling much of Cormanthyr's trade with other
> worlds.
>
>             The Leafbowers proved themselves again during the Weeping
Wars.
> They turned all of their small spelljammers to the task of evacuating Myth
> Drannor when it became obvious the city was lost, as well as slaying any
> goblin-kin they could from their ships.  Fully half of their fleet fell in
> battle, but their efforts saved more than three thousand lives.
>
>             The clan would be called once more, this time in a much wider
> and far more destructive conflict.  During the height of what would one
day
> be known as the Unhuman Wars, no less than nine Leafbowers served in the
> Elven Fleet.  Three rose has high as captain, whilst Aldyn was an admiral
> long before the start of the wars.  Many more helped the war effort
> indirectly, operating supply ships or raising money via their trade
> activities.  Every member of the clan served with honor and distinction,
in
> their own way.
>
>             As the conflict came to a close, goblins and orcs united under
> the command of the half-orc warlord Gralnakh Longtooth.  This Unified
Goblin
> Fleet caused far more damage than their small numbers should have been
> capable of, due in part to their command of a Witchlight Marauder.
Despite
> their victories, Gralnakh was pragmatic enough to realize that such
> victories were hollow.  Much of the Elven Fleet was at the edges of the
> Known Spheres, pursuing the shattered remnants of the goblin hordes.  They
> would soon return, and his followers would be slaughtered to a man.  When
> admiral Aldyn sent a message offering a peace deal, the warlord accepted.
> The two met in secret, hammering out a deal that would allow the orcs
leave
> the war peacefully, granting them a world of their own to rule as they saw
> fit.  In exchange, they would surrender their spelljammers to the Elven
> Fleet.  Confident that he had averted a bloody battle, admiral Aldyn
> returned to Lionheart to announce the deal to his fellow admirals.  As
> expected, they were shocked that he would negotiate with such "beasts",
some
> demanding his resignation.  The admiral was not dissuaded, and pushed the
> deal through.
>
>             The elves honored the deal with the orc warlord, to the
letter.
> Unfortunately, it was never specified what type of world the elves would
> give to the orcs, and they chose the most inhospitable world possible.
The
> orc tribes where outraged when they discovered that the world that was now
> their home was an ice-ridden, volcanic world with few resources and a
brutal
> climate that would kill most races in days.  Yet the tribes had no choice,
> as the elves had confiscated their ships and left them stranded.  The ice
> world, named Armistice after the peace treaty, was the only home they had
> left.
>
>             Admiral Leafbower was infuriated when he learned that his
trust
> had been betrayed.  He resigned his commission and departed the Elven
Fleet.
> For centuries afterwards he served as a negotiator, settling conflicts and
> trade disputes.  He never forgave the elven admirals that betrayed him.
>
>
>
> Recent Activities
>
>             The Leafbowers remain an active player in politics in the
Known
> Spheres.  Some are members of the Elven Fleet, such as Admiral Vallus
> Leafbower.  Others run private ships that make expeditions to exotic
spheres
> such as Vedia and the Vodoni Empire.  The recent resumption of war between
> elves and the goblin-kin have prompted many Leafbowers to join the Elven
> Fleet.  As in the first Unhuman Wars before, those Leafbowers not part of
> the Elven Fleet help by providing money and supply ships for the besieged
> elven ships and worlds.
>
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