The Pact of Phandelver

The Pact of Phandelver (also known as Phandelver’s Pact or the golden alliance) refers to an ancient and mysterious treaty or alliance dating back approximately one thousand years. It established a historic era of cooperation where elves, humans, and dwarves collaborated to push against the darkness of the world. This golden age of the alliance, also referred to as a “tripartite accord,” eventually came to an end when an unknown cataclysm fell upon the region, bringing an end to the Age of Arcanum in this part of the world and leaving the once-shining locations of the alliance dark and ruined for centuries.

Its historical existence was recently rediscovered by a band of adventurers known as The Magnificent Five (or The Fantastic Five)—comprising the fairy Nalini, the curious Er’evyn Sehahine, the noble Gilmore, the fierce Hope, and the storytelling wizard Farwald (who was recently revealed to be the legendary long-lost hero Hrothgar Hillsfar, operating under a modified memory spell cast by Elminster Aumar).

History and Foundations

The Pact of Phandelver represents the peak of magic and cooperation in the North of the Sword Coast, exemplifying the wonder of the Age of Arcanum. According to legendary accounts, this era began eons ago when formless gods arrived at a world churning in chaos. Taming this primordial chaos, they created life—first the elves, then the dwarves, and then humans, with other mortal races swiftly following. To help their children survive, the young gods gifted them small slivers of their own essence, giving birth to magic. Over centuries, these mortal races achieved unimaginable feats of arcane innovation, though this progress eventually bred unchecked arrogance, leading some to chase divinity and ignite global war.

In the North, the regional peace of the Pact was born of mortal vision. It was brokered by King Phandelver II, an ambitious and fire-hearted human leader who led the first wave of human settlers into the enchanted depths of Neverwinter Wood. He forged the alliance first with Queen Kima of Axeholm—a dwarven sovereign of stubborn pride and renown for her finely crafted warhammers—and subsequently with the reclusive Archmage Larellion the High Mage (also spelled Lorelion), steward of the elven tower known as the Hand of Sehahine (or Hand of Sehanine).

This union was far more than a simple military treaty; it represented a magnificent fusion of art, knowledge, and labor. From the great forge-fires of Axeholm to the starlit libraries of the Hand, and onto the human-ruled city of Highthorn, the Pact brought about a golden age of wonder. The Gnomes of the Vale, though not central signatories, contributed their clever ingenuity to the alliance’s crowning achievement: the creation of the legendary Forge of Spells, buried deep within the earth where the world’s leylines braided themselves together like the hair of a god. Firsthand memories of this era were preserved by figures like Gotrek, an ancient dwarf who lived under the Pact before being petrified for a thousand years.

Historical Locations and Connections

The Pact of Phandelver established a historic connection between several regional landmarks:

The Sundering, Betrayal, and Decline

The end of the Pact was a slow, bitter sundering born of long peace and growing grievances. The elves whispered of dwarven greed, pointing to stolen relics and broken oaths, while the dwarves scoffed at elven aloofness. Caught in the middle, the humans found themselves isolated as southern threats, including orc hordes and goblin banners, began to rise.

At the center of the Pact’s regional collapse was a tragic family rivalry. Archmage Larellion’s daughters, Vyldara and Agatha, inherited different aspects of their father. Agatha was gentle, serene, and dubbed the “Moonlit Prodigy.” Feeling deeply overshadowed and ignored by her father, Vyldara’s ambition curdled into spite. Acting as an emissary from the Hand of Sehahine to Axeholm, Vyldara fomented civil unrest and poisoned Queen Kima with a slow, agonizing venom. Captured by the dwarven guard, Vyldara attempted a desperate escape before her father’s emissaries could arrive. She slew six dwarves in the struggle, but was ultimately cut down. Dying without redemption, she rose as a vengeful banshee, turning the remaining residents of Axeholm into shadows and forcing the complete abandonment of the stronghold.

As the catastrophic war known as The Calamity finally reached the north, the alliance fractured entirely. The Calamity—a conflict between the world-shaper Prime Deities and the destructive Betrayer Gods—shattered the grand cities of the Age of Arcanum, leaving the natural world scorched. To protect the mortal world, the Prime Deities created the Divine Gate, sealing themselves away and leaving behind a changed night sky.

During this decline, Axeholm was abruptly abandoned, and the Hand of Sehahine fell silent. Distressed by his daughters’ losses and under the false impression that Vyldara had been kidnapped, Larellion cast the Mythil of Moonshadow (or Mythal of Moonbow) to shift the Hand into the Ethereal Plane. Angered by the elves’ abandonment of their allies, Sehanine Moonbow and Corellion (the Archheart) turned this mythal into a divine curse, freezing its inhabitants in repeating time-loops and transforming Larellion into a Baelnorn—a mad, immortal lich bound to the tower as his phylactery. Agatha, lost to tragedy, became a sorrowful banshee near the ruins of Conyberry, singing a mournful dirge of the Hand’s fall.

Meanwhile, the Forge of Spells was sealed by its creator, Gond—who was not a god, but rather a legendary dwarven blacksmith and master craftsman during the Age of Arcanum. Before his assumed death during the onslaught of the Betrayer Gods’ armies, Gond left a projected message expressing regret for the unchecked ambition of the era, praying that the Archheart might forgive them. Gond placed the Forge’s protection in the hands of The Blacksmith (the Guardian of the Forge), a massive iron sentinel with shimmering red and green gemstone eyes.

Rediscovery, Nezznar’s Plots, and the Zhentarim Schism

The existence of the Pact was rediscovered by the Magnificent Five during the rescue of Sildar Hallwinter from Cragmaw Hideout, where they found an ancient stone carving linking “The Hand of Sehehine”, “Axeholm”, and “Phandelver.” Further evidence was recovered in the cellar of Tristan Manor within The Rise and Fall of the Pact of Phandelver by the Sage of Waterdeep, Elminster Aumar.

In modern times, a Drider named Nezznar (The Spider)—a fallen drow who had split from the traditional Zhentarim spy network to follow Lolth—occupied Wave Echo Cave. Seeking the forgotten power of the Pact, Nezznar defiled the ancient altar of Moradin, the All-Hammer, dedicating it to Lolth. He tortured the captive gnome academic Dusty to uncover the secrets of Gond’s Smelter. Nezznar worked with the Cult of the Dragon (represented by a “Jade Wyrmspeaker” emissary), who sought to raise the green dragon Virethas, the Jade Queen (also known as the Jade Serpent) as a Dracolich.

This rogue alliance created a deep schism within the Zhentarim. Traditional local Zhentarim leaders, including Lucian Nightshade of Neverwinter and Halia Thorton of Phandalin, opposed Nezznar’s partnership with chromatic dragons. Halia Thorton attempted to play both sides to spy on Nezznar but was murdered by him, her lifeless body hung at the entrance of Wave Echo Cave. Before her death, she left a magical message on her dragon-shaped amulet for her fellow Zhentarim agent, Er’evyn Sehahine, urging him to choose a side in the looming Zhentarim civil war. Through this message, the chapter leaders of the Zhentarim were revealed:

Restoration and Resolution

Nezznar’s plans were thwarted when the Magnificent Five ambushed him in the Temple of Lolth. Following a fierce battle, Nezznar was slain by Er’evyn’s arrow, and his remaining forces fled.

The adventurers subsequently activated Gond’s Smelter. Drawing upon ancient records and Dusty’s research, they learned that unlocking the Smelter required three core components: the Mettle of the Dwarves (channeled through the ancient dwarf Gotrek), the Ingenuity of the Humans (channeled through Gilmore’s royal bloodline), and the Grace of the Elves (channeled via the Moonbeam spell to invoke the grace of Selûne), alongside blue-burning dark wood and local ore. Upon activation, the door to the Spell Forge opened. The adventurers defeated the Guardian of the Forge (“The Blacksmith”) by disrupting its power pylons. At that moment, the night sky of 1,000 years ago—before the creation of the Divine Gate—briefly alighted across the ceiling of the forge, projecting constellations of a hand, a castle, and a jeweled hammer to mark the restoration of the ancient tripartite legacy.

From the ruins of the Forge, the party recovered several powerful relics of the Age of Arcanum, including the Plate of the Pact (silver-scrolled gold-and-brass plate armor adorned with rubies), Cabal’s Ruin (a magic-absorbing cloak), the Circlet of Larellion, Nolzur’s Magnificent Pigments, and a Deck of Many Things.

Following the restoration of the Forge, the Magnificent Five, guided by the freed dwarf Gotrek and accompanied by a fey sorceress-turned-goat named Aja, traveled to the ruins of Axeholm to resolve the lingering curse of the Pact’s fall. After defeating the malevolent shadow creatures haunting the halls, they confronted Vyldara’s raging spirit. Erëvyn discovered a profound blood connection to Vyldara, who addressed him as “blood of my blood” and urged him to carry the legacy of the Pact forward. Expressing deep remorse, Vyldara begged for her father’s forgiveness and apologized to her sister Agatha. Gilmore successfully severed her connection to the material plane, allowing her cursed soul to finally pass on to the Raven Queen’s embrace under the guidance of the Matron of Ravens herself, bringing peace to the long-suffering spirits of Axeholm.

Finally, the party traveled to the outskirts of Leilon to lift the curse of the Hand of Sehahine. Using Vyldara’s Hearthstone to phase the tower into the Material Plane under a full moon, they cleared the Sentinel Floor, where Gilmore successfully convinced the spectral captain of the guard to yield. They performed acts of silent compassion—such as watering Valestis’s gardens with Moonwell water and completing the “Unwritten Chapters” for the librarian Gelarith (re-ordering six heavy tomes, finishing the tale of Sisters of the Moon: Agatha & Vyldara, and recovering the lost tale Dawn Over the Hand).

Confronting Larellion in his Observatory, they presented proof of his daughters’ peace, enabling the Baelnorn to repent and break the cycle of misery. During this final battle, Farwald was slain by Larellion’s green ray, but Nalini and Gilmore performed a desperate resurrection ritual. Gilmore used his sister Elire’s soulstone to aid in the recovery, binding his fate to a promise to visit Dragon Barrow. Following Larellion’s repentance, the tower’s spirits faded into true rest, and the Astrolabe of Sehanine permanently attuned to the party, ending a thousand years of darkness.

The Ancient Dragon Wars and Farwald’s True Identity

Following the restoration of the Hand of Sehahine, Farwald’s true memories were fully unlocked by Sandra, a cleric at Helm’s Hold, who cast Lesser Restoration to break the spell on his mind. Farwald’s human guise dissolved to reveal his true identity: Hrothgar Hillsfar, a legendary Firbolg hero over 300 years old from Kuldahar.

Hrothgar had fought in the legendary alliance that arose 300 years ago when a cabal of Chromatic Dragons attacked the rising cities of Luskan, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and Silverymoon. While Luskan paid tribute to the dragons, the remaining cities formed the Lord’s Alliance. The combined forces ultimately pushed back the great dragons, slaying the green dragon Virethas, the Jade Queen outside Neverwinter and driving the remaining four wyrms—Cryovain, the Everfrost; Skaldreth, the Red Rage; Barakis, the Sandstorm; and Nocturne, the Dread Prince—to the far corners of the world.

This victory was achieved by a legendary band of heroes including Elminster Aumar, Lady Tanager Alagondar (who slew Virethas but died in the struggle and was buried in Dragon Barrow), Esfaloth Nightbreeze, Gorion of Candlekeep, Kiara Shadowbreaker, Uther Vendrock, and Hrothgar Hillsfar himself. Hrothgar had his memory altered by Elminster and was hidden away under the guise of “Farwald” to safeguard the secret locations of the Dragon Masks—powerful relics capable of controlling the dragons, which the Cult of the Dragon now desperately seeks.