SEMBIA Once a thriving merchant realm of independent city states united only by a lust for gold, Sembia is now part of the growing Empire of Netheril. This long tradition of trade and commerce remains the central unifying principle for this vassal state; Sembia is Netheril’s trade portal to the rest of Faerûn. The free cities of Urmlaspyr and Daerlun are only nominally under Sembian control. After winning its war against Sembia forty years ago, Cormyr insisted that they remain neutral. The Twelve Princes of Shade (Netheril government) claimed Sembia as a free protectorate following the disastrous civil war of the mid-1370s. In the years leading up to the Spellplague, that was the public face of things, at least. In reality, Sembia was utterly under the thumb of the Twelve Princes by the year 1380 DR, and by 1400 DR it was fully absorbed into Netheril. Outsiders are not welcome in the floating cities of Shade and Sakkors, but the Sembian port cities of Saerloon, Selgaunt, and Yhaunn are busy shipping centers even on the diminished Sea of Fallen Stars. Netheril, gone from Toril for centuries, relied on Sembia to remake its economy and to provide sea ports and capital for trade, as well as soldiers and workers to protect and serve its needs. Though the Shadovar maintain a tight grip on Sembia, they have also grown dependent on it as their only link to the outside world. The canniest of the Sembian merchant princes have been able to capitalize on that fact, filling their own coffers with unprecedented riches. DAERLUN Large City; Population 40,000 The most heavily fortified city in Sembia, Daerlun lies inside a great fortress built while it remained under Sembia’s control. The wall was constructed to protect Netheril’s trade cities from Cormyrian influence or invasion. Shadovar magic has raised 500-foot-high walls of magically hardened obsidian around the city, the tallest curtain wall on Toril. Despite thisimpressive defense, Sembian control of Daerlun faltered in the face of clever Cormyrian stratagems forty years ago. Rather than becoming what it saw as a pawn of the western kingdom, though, Daerlun declared itself a free city-state. To maintain Daerlun’s independence, armies of conscripts from across Sembia drill on massive parade grounds that compete for space with a bustling marketplace and wealthy trade quarter. Patrols from Daerlun on foot and astride veserabs and griffons are often encountered in the Vast Swamp in the south, along the Thunder Peaks, and even in Sembian-controlled Tasseldale, Featherdale, and Scardale. SAERLOON Metropolis; Population 50,000 The port city of Saerloon is the least stable of the Sembian cities, and more prone to trouble from resistance cells, thieves’ guilds, demon cults, and other threats both petty and severe. A new Lord Governor, Haelia Johannes, was installed only a year ago with a mandate from her Netherese masters to bring Saerloon under control. She has spent the first part of her term searching out and destroying any hint of the worship of any deity other than Shar, desecrating and destroying one hidden shrine or secret temple after another. SELGAUNT Capital City; Population 60,000 The capital city of Selgaunt is a bustling metropolis that welcomes travelers and merchants from across the world. It is the site of the largest Sharran temple in Sembia, and something of a showplace for the Netherese overlords, who view Selgaunt as a shining example of the benefits of their divine right to rule. The Lord High Governor: Selgaunt is the home of the chief administrator of Sembia, the Lord High Governor, Thamalon Uskevren II. Thamalon was the first of Sembia’s merchant princes to ally with theShadovar and has held this post for over a century. He is the public face of the very private Netherese administration. He long ago embraced the Netherese way of life, to the point of allowing himself to be transformed into a shade—the highest honor the Shadovar bestow upon their servants. URMLASPYR Large City; Population 18,000 With the exception of Ordulin (see below), the city of Urmlaspyr suffered the most during the early days of Netherese rule. It was once known as a city of temples, where people from all over Faerûn were welcomed as friends. When the worship of any deity but Shar was officially banned by the Shadovar, the merchant princes of Urmlaspyr resisted with disastrous results. Temples and manor houses alike were razed by magical fire, and the merchant princes, their retainers, and families were stolen away to Shadow or enslaved by petty merchants and thieves elevated in status by Netherese decree. Since the city cast off its Sembian shackles, temples and merchant manors have returned but have yet to achieve their former status. Reminders of Sembian control yet remain. Parts of the city are still haunted by shadow creatures, and a blanket of clouds conjured by a Netherese archwizard seventy years ago perpetually hides the sun despite the best efforts of modern magecraft to remove the blight. Trade goods flow again through Urmlaspyr’s ports since Cormyr enforced its edict that Urmlaspyr remain free. Indeed, a contingent of Purple Dragons, on loan from Cormyr, is posted in the city to guard it from peril. Of course, the true threat to Urmlaspyr’s independence is more likely to be hidden machinations than open assault. YHAUNN Large City; Population 25,000 Constructed on the remains of a once-rich mineral quarry, the port city of Yhaunn was ravaged by the Spellplague. The resilient Sembians, with magical help from their Shadovar overlords, made the most of the uncanny changes that the Spellplague brought about. They have adapted so well that the city has grown from its pre-Spellplague population, even though nearly ten thousand were killed when the towering cliffs of stone on which its wealthiest districts were built broke away and became earthmotes. Where once the city’s wealthiest citizens competed for status by building their mansions higher and higher on the quarry walls, now the ultimate status symbol is to live on the highest of the three dozen earthmotes that comprise Yhaunn’s Air District. THE RESISTANCE OF SEMBIA Organized resistance remained active in Sembia for only the first decade or so of Netherese rule. Now, through the careful application of gold, assassination, and magical coercion, the Shadovar have little to fear from their Sembian subjects, who have found a profitable and largely peaceful life serving their powerful allies. Still, small groups of resistance fighters are organized in local cells, rarely numbering more than a score or so adventurers and outlaws. They commit acts of petty terrorism, spread inflammatory broadsheets, and occasionally assassinate a government official.