King Azoun IV (LG hm F?) has 71 generations before him as ruler of Cormyr.
King Azoun IV is the son of Rhigaerd II and Tanalusta Truesilver, both of whom are dead. He was born in 1307 DR, five years after his sister Sulesta, who is also now deceased.
Azoun blends a commoner´s appearance with a regal demeanor. A stocky man with graying brown hair and a full beard, Azoun has a quick wit and ready smile, with a chuckle never far from his lips. Despite this appearance, Azoun is careful and practical in his rulership, and his expensive tastes could only have been cultivated on a royal income.
Azoun is rarely alone, often being found in the company of one of his close advisers and almost always in the presence of his personal bodyguard, six ?-level fighters.
The king´s most prized possessions are his extensive collection of magical swords and the magical items that he carriers, including rings and bracers that provide immunity from attack. He is also reputed to have a spell to teleport himself when in grave danger.
Azoun´s queen is Filfaeril Selazair, who is four years younger than he. They have had three children: Foril, the son who died at the age of 2, and two daughters: Tanalasta, born in 1334, and Alusair Nacacia a year later.
Tanalasta is a close adviser to the king. Tanalasta is a vital aide to the king, performing many official duties in his name. She disdains marriage, rejecting all courtiers.
Determined to forge her own life, the rebellious Alusair ran away from the Royal Court of Cormyr. She had many adventures, returning to Cormyr wiser in the ways of Faerûn than many adventurers ever become. Alusair swung a sword in the Tuigan Wars, proving so hungry for battle and capable in the fray that many in Cormyr see her as a future leader of the Purple Dragons-or even of the entire realm. Among commoners and Purple Dragons, she is second only to Azoun in commanding respect.
A person who is not a blood relative but is practically a member of the family is Vangerdahast, the King´s Royal Magician and leader of the Council of Mages. The two are very close, and the king does not make a decision without consulting his mage. Vangerdahast is loyal to both Azoun and Cormyr. Vangerdahast raised Azoun and has tutored both of his daughters.
At the start of his reign, Azoun had abandoned the practice of journeying through his kingdom in disguise-something he had done throughout his youth as a member of an adventuring band known as the King´s Men. The campaign to defeat Gondegal made the king realize that he had become distanced from his subjects, and when the campaign ended, Azoun resumed his secret forays into towns and villages of Cormyr.
Because of these excursions, Azoun knows his subjects fat better than most rulers in Faerûn.
He is sensitive to their needs and concerns and will often mold state policy to correct ills he discovers on these jaunts. Azoun is determined to make Cormyr the safest and most peaceful kingdom possible.
There are rumors throughout the Royal Court about how the king is making these trips past the city walls and into the countryside.
As a ruler, the king has been very capable-especially since the Gondegal incident.
There was another, brief military episode where he organized the crusade against the Tuigan Horde in 1360 DR. The king again personally led his troops into the fray and challenged the leader of the enemy to a single combat, which the king won.
Of the original line of the noble ruling family of Cormyr, there remain only King Azoun IV, his two daughters, and his third cousins, Duke Bhereu and his brother Thomdor. The king shares his steely determination with these two men. They are burly, mustachioed fellows to whom sword, armor, and the saddle are familiar things.
Bhereu is lord high marshal of the kingdom, commander of the Purple Dragons, and a hardened soldier. His loyalty to the crown can't be shaken even by magic (wizards have tried).
When Cormyr is at peace, he travels frequently between High Horn, Castle Crag, and the Citadel in Suzail, keeping his troops alert and content. Nothing escapes his calm, level, gray eyes when he rides.
Thomdor sits at the Royal Court, overseeing the collection of taxes from the major cities in Cormyr. Thomdor seems to enjoy working with numbers and is a good manager who exercises his authority as it was intended.
A constant irritant to Thomdor is Sarp Redbeard, the local lord of Wheloon. Redbeard´s records on the number of people living within his domain are notoriously vague. Accordingly, the amount of taxes Redbeard pays to the crown fluctuates.
Following are a few of Cormyr´s important figures, people who plays a part in governing the nation.
The leader of the Council of Mages and King Azoun´s primary aide has a long and honorable history of serving Cormyr.
King Azoun´s father, Rhigaerd II, lured Vangerdahast to court with promises of unlimited resources, both financial and political, then appointed the wizard to become Azoun´s tutor in history, ethics, and the political and military uses of magic. To this day, it's unclear whether Rhigaerd duped Vangerdahast or the wizard took the position for the opportunity to mold the mind of the future monarch.
The prince often rebelled against Vangerdahast´s teachings, especially over matters of ethics. But the wizard quickly became Azoun´s most trusted adviser and confidant. When Azoun took the throne, early in DR 1336, Vangerdahast gained the official titles "Royal Magician of Cormyr" and "Master of the Council of Mages." He also took command of Cormyr´s feared War Wizards.
The War Wizards are a group of magicians that support the Purple Dragons with magical combat. In addition, they are responsible for policing Cormyr´s mages, and in this Vangerdahast has been especially prudent. Every mage of 5th level or higher must register with Vangerdahast.
Vangerdahast realizes that magic organized into a force like the Council of Mages can be very powerful. Therefore, he monitors the progress and associations of many of Cormyr´s resident mages, ever watchful of possible power blocs forming among the magicians.
The Sage Most Learned of the Royal Court, Alaphondar, is one of the court's most respected members, second only to Vangerdahast in prestige.
Alaphondar is not a mage and does not possess knowledge of mystic secrets, but he is Cormyr´s most knowledgeable person of things relating to law, genealogy, and Cormyte history. Without doubt, he's the greatest scholar in Cormyr´s history.
King Azoun uses Alaphondar´s expertise almost every day. In addition to law, history, and genealogy, Alaphondar is quite learned in the art of statesmanship and is expert at finding solutions to political problems. On five occasions Alaphondar has been sent as an ambassador to foreign lands, notably Sembia, to represent Cormyr´s interests and to solve problems.
Alaphondar is a tall man with short, bone-white hair. He always wears his sage robe, a simple design of purple cloth with black stripes covering him from his neck to his feet. He has an assistant, Lord Dier of Emmarask, who is his protégé.
There are many noble families in Cormyr. Following are brief descriptions of the most important ones.
The Bleth family is powerful and rich, for family members control one of the largest merchant companies in Cormyr: the Seven Suns trading company.
Despite its economic power, the family participates little in affairs of the Royal Court. Instead, family members concentrate on acquiring more merchant territory and controlling Cormyr´s financial markets, and in this they have been successful.
The leading member of the Bleth family is Lord Gruen Bleth (N hm W?), who lives at the Bleth Estate near the king's castle in Suzail but spends most of his time at the Seven Suns' offices supervising the family business.
Cormaeril is the largest of the noble families and the biggest land owner in Cormyr except for the crown. Most of the Cormaeril holdings are farmlands, largely in rich areas that provide plentiful income. The Cormaerils hoard this money and use their power sparingly but effectively. This has made the family awed and feared among the other noble families.
The Cormaerils are one of the most secretive noble families. They keep out of public eye as much as possible and interact with other noble families only during official functions they are required to attend. The sole exception to this is Lamiril (NG hm ??), the family's financial expert. He trades the family products (primarily crops) on the market and because of this is quite prominent. He never speaks of the rest of the family, however, and retires to the Cormaeril compound in Suzail at the close of business each day, where he stays until the next morning's business begins.
The Crownsilvers, one of the three royal families in Cormyr, confine their activities mainly to the Royal Court. Led by the authoritarian matriarch Kimba Crownsilver (N hf ??), the few remaining Crownsilvers rarely venture outside Crownsilver Castle in Suzail.
A Custodian, Maniol of Suzail (LN hm ??), rends the family's large estate near town, but the upkeep and staff consume almost all of the estate's income. The vast Crownsilver family fortune is more than enough to support Crownsilver Castle in regal style.
Like the other royal families, the Crownsilvers automatically ally with King Azoun in any dispute.
Distantly related to the Truesilvers, this family is very keen on expanding Cormyr´s shipping interests. Their goal as a family is to enlarge the official presence of Cormyr´s navy on the Lake of Dragons and beyond.
They are closely connected with Ayesunder Truesilver, warden of the port in Marsember. The Dauntinghorns and Truesilvers are allies in attempting to persuade the king that Cormyr should have a greater presence in the water. One of their ideas is to have the shipping of Cormyr officially protected so that any pirate attack against a Cormyte vessel would be an act of war and therefore allow the Imperial Navy to conduct regular pirate hunts.
Others in the Royal Court consider this idea too militaristic a solution to the pirate problem, and most favor using Imperial Navy ships to escort private merchant vessels instead. The Dauntinghorns believe that private interests, like those of the Bleth family, influence too greatly which merchant ships receive escorts and which are left to their own defences.
One of the most prominent members of the Dauntinghorn family is Hector the Sailor (LG hm F?), a commodore in charge of an Imperial Navy squadron based in Marsember.
This family has political power as the root of its prominence among nobles. It might be said that this family is composed of career politicians and governors of all types.
This family has a long tradition of serving the government of Cormyr in a variety of ways. Their crowning achievement is Alaphondar, the Sage Most Learned of the Royal Court, who is member of this family.
The Emmarasks foster all their young to follow in the footsteps of their forebears and take up careers in politics. In addition, those who already have positions are encouraged to grant positions to other family members.
Surprisingly, this practice has not met much disapproval among the other nobles. The primary reason for this is Alaphondar´s prominence. In a way, it's thought that if someone as great as Alaphondar can come from the Emmarask family, then perhaps there is someone else just as great waiting to fulfil the family destiny. In this case it is Alaphondar´s assistant, Lord Dier Emmarask (LG hm F?), who is waiting to step into his shoes in the family tradition.
In addition, no one in the Emmarask family has ever abused his or her office or power, and this reputation commands respect among the other noble families.
Obtaining nobility status more recently than the other noble families of Cormyr is the Hawklin clan. Generations of Hawklins have chosen to enter the Purple Dragons or adventured in service to the crown.
The current leader of the family, Barandos Hawklin (LN hm F?), is only third generation to be considered noble. At the head of crown-chartered adventuring groups, Barandos distinguished himself in both Hullack Forest and the Stonelands. Barandos´s quick wit and boyish charm have made him a favorite at the Royal Court.
Though lacking income-producing estates or businesses, the Hawklin family is rumored to have amassed a fortune in the vaults of Hawklin House from wealth gained from rewards or looting on successful adventures.
This is a diverse family with interests all over Cormyr. As such, Huntcrowns are often the nobles who are best informed of the nation's goings-on. Unfortunately, this is also the noble family that spreads the most gossip and rumor. Huntcrowns are at the center of the greatest number of scandals of any noble family.
Naturally, their greatest adversary is the Cormaeril family, whose members jealously guard their privacy.
To the woe of some families, the Huntcrowns seem well entrenched in the noble structure.
Their financial and political holdings are so diverse that no single calamity would bring about the fall of the family.
One of the three "old blood" regal families of Cormyr, the Huntsilvers have long been associated with managing the realm's forest resources. In ancient times, it was Huntsilvers who organized the systematic development of forests for farmland.
The current head of the family is Maestoon Huntsilver (LG hm ??).
The Illance family has been slowly losing influence at the Royal Court for generations. Weak family leaders have also done a poor job of managing and investing the Illance fortune. Illance House, while hardly in ruin, lacks the elegance of the other nobles' estates in Suzail.
The best hope to reverse this trend is Martin Frayault Illance (LN hm F?), one of the most handsome young men at the Royal Court. Martin is obviously trying to parlay his good looks into a boon for his family, but so far both of the King Azoun´s daughters have spurned his advances and most other families at court have warned their marriageable women to steer clear of him. However, it is only a matter of time before some young noblewoman lets her heart take priority over the best interest of her family and agrees to marry Martin.
The Marliir family has its base of power and wealth in and around Arabel. With most other families anchored in Suzail and Marsember, the Marliirs have always been outsiders at the Royal Court.
In the Arabel area, however, it is a different story. Family holdings, especially extensive farmlands and related businesses, give the Marliirs great power over the society and economy of Arabel and the surrounding areas.
The head of the family, Raynaar Marliir, spends most of his time in Arabel, not the Royal Court in Suzail, reflecting the family's emphasis on its own base of power, not on court intrigues.
Though long one of the noble families of Cormyr, the Rowanmantles have extensive holdings outside Cormyr as well. Most family possessions are in northeastern Cormyr, Tilverton, and environs, and outside the realms, notably in Shadowdale, where Shaerl Rowanmantle (LN hf ??) shares power with her husband Mourngrym Amcathra.
The Rowanmantles have close ties to the Cormyte crown as well, as the late Tanaeth Rowanmantle was the mother of Bhereu and Thomdor.
This family is quite old in Cormyte history but for a number of reasons has never ascended to the top.
Silverswords frequently hold important positions (despite the efforts of the Emmarask familt) but always seem to fall short of latching onto true Cormyr-shaping power.
In recent times, many family members have gone adventuring in Cormyr and in foreign lands, a practice that has lowered the Silverswords in the eyes of some other noble families.
Of all the members of this family who have gone away, only Narlan Silversword has disappeared without a trace, purportedly on a mission into Myth Drannor. He was last seen in Tilverton. What happened to him, or whether he even made it to the ruins, is a mystery.
The most active of the three royal families, the Truesilvers have had a long military tradition.
For generations, Truesilvers have distinguished themselves by their loyalty to the king and by their military exploits.
Several times in history, Truesilvers have commanded the Purple Dragons. The current head of the family, Ayesunder Truesilver, is warden of the port of Marsember, heading the largest part of the imperial Navy. Other family members hold command positions in several units of Purple Dragons stationed throughout Cormyr.
As strong as the military tradition is the practice of letting a retired family member represent the Truesilvers at the Royal Court. The practical effect of this (1) makes this family most dependably loyal to the king, and (2) ensures that its representative usually lacks the youthful vigor to give the Truesilvers much political clout.
This family owns most of the lands surrounding Wyvernwater and the Wyvernflow. These holdings bring the Wyvernspurs substantial wealth and political influence.
The king often calls upon this family to fund projects
in their area and near Hullack Forest. The Wyvernspurs are only
too happy to oblige the king in return for positions on the Royal
Court and a say in other matters.