Elders of Netheril Information:
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Descendants of Netheril. Bloodline of heroes and power. Striving to be the best
and brightest. Skills unparalelled, and knowledge unrivaled in modern Faerun.

This elite group of adventurers continues to excel in small strategic strikes 
against any target they deem neccessary. Even the mightiest of the mighty, the 
dread Tiamat, has fallen before their prowess. No challenge remains for them, 
except to improve upon what they know and do. To become even better, and 
perhaps teach the next generation. To pass on what they know.

A group of friends, that while not always getting along, respecting one 
another, and trusted at each others' backs. Never giving up, and always moving 
forward.

Twilight Raven Information:
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WATERDEEP -- A small crowd gathered today around the entrance to the Twilight
Raven Inn for a conference in which the management of this inn addressed the
growing concern over the way the inn and its commercial ventures had been
managed of late.  At the conference, it was unveiled that Lorgan Blackmane has
been appointed general manager of the Expeditionary Arm of the Twilight Raven
Inn, Inc.

Regarding the situation, Blackmane said, 'I have no love for long speeches or
meaningless words.  I am honored and humbled to join the business enterprises of

the Twilight Raven Inn, and I look forward to guiding the exploratory arm of the

business as it moves forward in the coming years.  I am pleased to announce also

that The Twilight Raven Inn will be forming a light expeditionary adventurers
group.  The purpose of the group will be to safeguard our overland trade routes
and explore new possibilites for import and export.  The future of this group
depends on the courage and hard work of its members, so I invite those of you
brave enough for the task to follow me inside.'

As the crowd dispersed, he was asked about the origin of the name Twilight
Raven.  Blackmane was reluctant to share any details, muttering something which
sounded not unlike 'You wouldn't understand even if I told you.'  He then walked

inside the inn, and placed a placard in the front window which read 'In search
of brave souls for expeditions to dangerous and far-off places. Inquire Within.'

Shades of Twilight Information:
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As midnight approaches a group of darkly cloaked figures come together in to
join forces.  Their only desire is to bring peace and tranquility to the land. 
One by one men and women of each race , dwarf, elves, humans, gnomes, etc, they gather together each
swearing to stand by their comrades to the death.
As the last of the group assembles four figures separate themselves from the
rest and walk over to a raised platform.  Silence slowly washed over the group,
as the four raised their weapons in union shouting from this day we will be
known as Shades of Twilight.

Skandalon Information:
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At a time when faith in the Faerun immortals was dwindling and chaos was
consuming the world, a group of men and women formed together to bring
back hope to those who had lost it.  This band of brothers and sisters hoped
to make changes in the way people ran their daily lives.  Together, they hoped
to bring back a spirit of friendship and alliance that was slowly disappearing
among the mortals of the lands.  Power, strength and honor were the only tools
they possessed.  But coupled with their powerful will to act together, they
formed an alliance.  This group proved there was still a Glimmer of Faith in the
heros of Sojourn.

Shadows of Imphras Information:
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Rising from the ashes of ages long past under the banner of tolerance and freedom
rises a band of fearsome warriors of both strength and magic to honor a long dead
King, but to prove he has not been forgotten. Imphras, a war captain of the city-state
Lyrabar, united several other neighboring city-states under the kingdome of Impiltur.
Imphras went on to bring prominence to the land, and even managed to fend off
the hobgoblin hordes from the Giantspire Mountains that had constantly
ravaged the countryside. Imphras' blood line is still in power today, and
The Lords of Imphras II, twelve in number, are the protectors of the realm
of Impiltur. However, the lands need more guidance and protection as well as
knowledge of the acts of King Imphras, and in that regard, his Shadows will
strive to make it so.

Drunken Bandits Information:
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Whenever you start something new, they say you should do 
what you know.  Well, we knew a few things, like a fire is 
warm and if you drop a hammer on your foot, it will hurt.  
We also knew that beer was good and stealing was easy.   

The Drunken Bandits set forth. From many a smoky back 
room, from tavern and bar, inn and brothel, they set forth. 
Anywhere that friends gather and the spirits flow you may 
find them, talking of riches yet to be had, or hoisting a 
flagon to recent victories just won.  Who are the Bandits, 
this tightly knit corps? They are from many lands and 
backgrounds, come together for the sheer excitement and 
fun of exploration and the promise of treasures and glory. 
Their quests are limitless and spontaneous, often begun as 
drunken boasts of dungeons conquerable or enemies to be 
slain. Having no fear, they have ravaged deep caverns, 
raided sorcerers' towers and citadels, infiltrated strongholds 
and crypts, and stolen from lord, pirates, and dragons.  
They're not the best of their kind, nor the hardest working. 
One and all they are dedicated to each other, the witty 
retort, and the fun of adventure. So, if ever you find 
yourself in an alehouse, pub, or wine cellar, save the table 
near the bar for the Drunken Bandits, or grab a mug and 
join them! 

The only thing we fear is an empty keg!

Gruff Old Dragonslayers Information:
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The mortal races around Faerun have been in fear and awe of them
for eons. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Even the
peaceful ones can strike terror into the hearts of the most 
hardened of warriors. These monstrosities are Dragons.

But there are select individuals in the world who go out of their 
way to eradicate this filth from the face of the world. Among the
evil races of Faerun, a small band emerged who believed dragons to 
be a menace to THEIR rightful world. These adventurers reason that 
immortality can be forever confirmed for them in each and every 
death of the gargantuan beasts.

However, people who make it their business to seek out and
exterminate some of the largest and most powerful creatures in all
of Aber-Toril rarely have patience for lesser beings. For this 
reason, these Dragonslayers have gotten a reputation as being 
rather short with others, even those of their own kind. But with 
people who have proven their mettle, respect is shared and a 
closeknit party of adventurers has been formed with one chief 
goal, eliminate each and every dragon from the face of Toril.

Northern Star Information:
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Members of Northern Star, have come together under a common symbol to help
teach the younger members of Faerun, and to unite the surface races in perparation
for the coming battle against the dark races.

Those who follow a common star are never alone.

Blood Raiders Information:
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Hidden within the bowels of the Underdark, a small settlement of
svirfneblin lived in relative obscurity. They mined a fairly rich vein of
coal that supplied them with a stable source of trade with some villages on
the surface which lay near the opening of a secret tunnel. They knew that
their days were numbered as the mighty civilizations of the drow and duergar
had recently attempted to extend their reach throughout the nearby caverns.
Then, not one army but rather two, appeared on the same day and overwhelmed
the settlement's tiny militia, attacking from two seperate fronts.;One of these groups was led by a
charismatic duergar priest named;Tordalkenus. His band moved with swift efficency slaughtering the
gnomes as;they carved a path towards the fortified armory. He planned on crushing all;resistance and
claiming the settle
ment's coffers for his clan. The other
group was a raiding party formed of savages led by a fierce monster known as
Turxx. Not only did this army consist of trolls, ogres and orcs but also a
few yuan-tis were among the ranks. Turxx had recently allied himself with a
naga named Narsliss who promised him all sorts of trinkets in exchange for
fresh slaves. Turxx had suprised himself with how well the arrangement
worked out. His warriors had not been this well fed in months and his
private stash of treasures had grown immensely! They ransacked the southern
secion of caves, reveling in the gnome's terror.;The gnomes were quickly killed or scattered as the
two armies ended up;face to face near the center of the hamlet. Suprised by the arrival of the;other
army, they paused for only a moment before advancing. They engaged in;a epic battle of mithril and
flesh, many trolls 
were engulfed in unholy;flames and duergar blood ran thick among those charred corpses. The
battle;waged for three hours straight and eventually after many good warriors were;lost on both
sides they reached a tenative truce. The leaders were unable;to reach any agreement with the red
anger of the troll and his comrade
s;making any sort of comprimise difficult. Things were about to take a turn;for the worse when
Turxx's voice of reason, Turra, took him aside. She
reminded him of how strong they had become since joining forces with the
naga and urged him to consider their power they could gain with another
alliance.
So the raiders made a pact, signed in blood of their fallen comrades.
They could fight together and the spoils of war would be split between the
savages of the surface and denizens of the underworld as they had seperate
needs. The organization of the Underdark races and the raw power of the
surface dwellers made them a formidable group.

Crimson Coalition Information:
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What began through a mutual agreement, hated of the good race, has now grown into a much larger
association.  With the over growing population of the good aligned, the once temporary 'cease fire'
amongst the evil races, has now turned into a limited form of trust earned over time, reliance, and
some
friendships.  This was the formation of what is now called the Crimson Coalition.
Originally a single champion of each race, acting as a figure of representation, met as a council to
devise
a strategy to combat their mutual problem. As difficult as it was they have now designed ways to
tolerate
each other's quarks and company. After some success with their mission, the original Six acts as an
inspiration to others, who compete for acceptance into the Coalition.
Using aspects of each race and the understanding of each individual's goals, the Coalition can
achieve the
well-known fact of strength in numbers. These ultimate goals include and are surely not limited too,
domination of the weak, killing of those who oppose, spelunking for the treasure, and enjoying the
riches
gathered.

Orbdrin D'oloth Information:
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Orbdrin D'oloth is an ancient order founded on beliefs that surface races
should hold no power.  We exist to hinder the progress of those who dwell
under the light of the sun, and to ultimately subjugate them as minions to
the powers of darkness.  Orbdrin D'oloth's goals to gather allies, knowledge,
and strength is directly related to this pursuit.  Our network spans the
depths of the Underdark, employing the allegiance of countless beings whose
actions are directed by an elite group of the most intelligent minds in
the undersurface realms.  We will pursue our purpose with unmatched
persistance.

Udos phuul d'lil olath, sarn udossa!

Realms Mist Information:
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look
As the darkness crept over the land, silver moon climbed further into the sky. At its rising, a grey
collection of forms drifted from the hills, valleys, forests, and mountains. In darkness, they
gathered, forming a solid mass in the center of a large valley. As the moon hit its apex, a soft
voice spoke from their mid
st, and their attention became centered on the forms around them for the first time. Humans, elves,
dwarves, halflings, gnomes, barbarians, and all manner of creatures who would struggle against
darkness were present in the crowd, and each felt a strirring, and a sense of belonging in their
hearts. As their hearts fil
led, many were overcome with emotion, and shouted, wept, or muttered prayers to the gods. Others
stood in stoic silence, wary of prying eyes and impure hearts. When the voice finished, those who
had gathered clasped hands, in the time honored symbol of peace. Others embraced, and vowed their
lives to the cause, and ea
ch other, until the gods called them home. There were some who walked away, to ponder the words
spoken, and what they meant. These would return, as the mists rise every evening in that valley,
under the moonlight. They would return, and like the mist, they would spread and travel to every
corner of the Realm. Those gr
ey forms, gathered from the night, would become the Realms Mist.

Reign of Fire Information:
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From the dark and shattered corners of the world they came, from the places long since hidden
from the light.  In fog enshrouded swamps, the rotting sores of the overworld, seething with 
life, wraught with death, they fought for existence.  In the deepest, darkest depths of the 
underworld, locked in the treacherous bowels of the earth, they warred and wrestled for a 
perilous existence.  Always fighting, with nothing to trust in but the certainty of death, they
fought within the shadows, clawing their way through the millenia.

Theirs has always been a way of pain, and of suffering.  The weak had never survived.  And when
at last the tattered edges of their civilization began to make headway into the brighter realms,
they met again, as always, with bitter struggle.  For the sunlit realms were already home to 
many other races, races who lived in fear of them, races who had never braved the dark struggle
of their ancestral homes.

Pushed mercilessly back, there was for a time a feeling of victory amongst the dwellers in the
light. The faces of tooth and claw, of slitted eyes never meant for the sun's embrace, had
seemingly been vanquished.  Beaten back into their dark layers, pressed again to the edge of 
extinction, it seemed as though victory was at hand, and there was much celebration beneath the
open gaze of the heavens.

But the celebrations were in waste.  For the creatures of the dark had never known merriment, 
and to live on the brink of extinction was to them, life itself.  Born again from the ashes of
their defeat, cleansed and strengthened through the fires of death, they came again into the 
open places.  Pouring forth this time in hordes, they found themselves fighting side by side 
with age old enemies.  Alliances of necessity arose between them, born of a single purpose
to
spread and conquer, to survive.

The races of the light would also unite, to fight the Reign of Fire now burning throughout their
lands. But in their defiance was their own demise, for the dark lords could only gain strength
through resistance, and power through death.  Evolution had long since forsaken the light, and 
in their pitiful vows to destroy that which they did not understand, they only served to 
strengthen the evil menace.  And only in the ashes of the final wars, upon the dust and the the
blackened bones of the weaker races, will this Reign of Fire falter and fall in upon itself
a
final battle in the dying cinders of the world's end.  For the races of evil lust always for
blood...

Excidium Umbra Information:
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A deep musty purple marked the finale of the sun's lazy descent into Skull Crag, the highest peak of
the Sunset Mountains, which always seemed to be frowning upon the land it so loftily perched upon. 
It wasn't always like this, thought the wizened old man. Or was it?  He took a thoughtful pull from
his ornate scrimsh
aw pipe, a vanity which did not match his rugged brown smock and wildly splayed hair, and one which
was never far from him.  No, he said reaffirmingly, chasing away thoughts that he knew were not his
own, but an unwelcome projection of another will.  He remembered when this was the most brilliant
part of the day, how 
Skull Crag veined with reflective black obsidian, would make the sun seem to explode at sunset,
sending platinum lances of light in every direction, like a giant prism.

Then The Shadow came.

Not in full force, as a brazen and honest foe would, but by the cover of darkness did it slink, bit
by bit, into the lives of the honest.  Honest and hopeless now, the old man corrected himself.  He
knew he couldn't be the only one to notice how the twilight was so different, how it was a black
hole that not only dest
royed the light, but also dignity, resilience, and hope. Nor was he the only one to witness the more
sinister, corporeal elements of these dark tides.  The followers of The Shadow had begun to move
among the free people of the Realms.  At first, they had seduced these simple folk with promises of
protection, of a new 
age of wonders to put earlier eras of greatness to shame.  The people of the Shadow intertwined
themselves in the daily lives of the townsfolk, becoming the magic users who wielded knowledge and
power, the clerics and priests to whom the people came for healing
both physical and spiritual, the warriors which the people depended on for protection from foes
outside and within...

Now the Way of The Shadow was everywhere.  Those few who both noticed and were alarmed by the
Shadow's stealthy rise to power were quickly and quietly silenced before even the slightest breath
of their trepidation leaked out.  This scared the old man the most, for not only did the Shadow
always seem to know who wasn't
 aligned with it, but it acted rather quickly against them, stealing them away in the quiet hours of
the evening to an unknown location.  When they returned in the morning, they returned as a resolute
follower of this new order, with an unrelenting lust to make sure that all served with the same
ardor.

The network had spread quickly indeed, he thought with a deepening sense of dread, for even those
wandering merchants from across the world, those from lands near and far, came to the town already
enthralled with the insidious power of this ephemeral foe.  No, he sighed, he could not count on an
outside force to help,
 it seemed.  What was the use?  The last pallid rays of the sun faltered beneath the brackish shade
of the skies, the shade that encompassed all as of late.  The waters had only begun to churn, the
old man knew with certainty.  Much more was to come, and it couldn't be good.  He had seen a lot in
his years... The orci
sh horde that swept across the coast, destroying all in its path and leaving the town a broken
child's plaything, tossed to the side because it could no longer serve a purpose. Yet they rebuilt
and all was well after a few years of toil.  The cruel Mage-King of the north had held the town in
his powerful grip, forcing
 the young to labor next to the infirm in order to feed his monstrous armies, leaving the townsfolk
with next to nothing to survive upon.  This tyrant also faded to an unpleasant memory when his own
generals had him assassinated.  Never before though, had the old man wanted to just sit down and let
the earth claim him
.  The Shadow was just too gargantuan and abstract. It was too...

Suddenly a loud rush of wind ripped into the silence.  Awaken from his reverie, the man almost
stumbled to his knees when a great flash of light seemed to pour through his mind's eye.

IT IS NOT YET TOO LATE.

The old man whipped around, surprisingly fast for his rag doll structure.  Nothing.  Yet the air
seemed somehow fresher, and less oppressive than it had a moment ago...  As if he had wandered into
a tiny place unaffected by the omnipresent murk.

Flash.

This time he felt as though a sledge had hit him square in the chest
so clear and thunderous was the voice.  The pipe dropped from his gaping mouth.

THERE IS STILL TIME.  THERE IS STILL HOPE.

THEY COME.

He could not for the life of him speak, so paralyzed with fear was he.  Had the Shadow come to claim
him as well?  No, this force was different, he decided immediately.  Dare he hope his silent prayers
for salvation had been heard?

Flash.

Letters wreathed in light with intense clarity appeared in his head

EXCIDIUM UMBRA

THEY ARE YOUR HOPE.  THE SHADOW WILL NOT LAST.

EXCIDIUM UMBRA

The words, like living fire, etched themselves into his subconsciouness, and the peace that he had
sought since this onslaught of darkness began seemed but an armslength away. His heart swelled with
joy at what seemed an unalterable future.

EXCIDIUM UMBRA

The Shadow, it seemed, would have it's own trials and tribulations as well.

A glimmer of dusky white reminded the old man to grab his still smoking pipe as he made his way back
down the rocky path of the hill to his shack.  He had much work to do.

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