Battle at the Well of Dragons

The Battle at the Well of Dragons (2nd of Marpenoth, 1492) was the final battle in the Great Dragon War. It was composed of two simultaneous conflicts: the Cult of the Dragon defending itself against the armies of the Council of Waterdeep and the Breadwinners' infiltration of the Well of Dragons to prevent Tiamat's summoning. In the end, both efforts were successful, thus ending the threat of the Cult of the Dragon.

The Conflict

Prelude

Following the Battle of Hardbuckler, both the armies of the Council of Waterdeep and Cult of the Dragon knew they had only a short reprieve before the final confrontation between the two. The cult's forces were horribly beaten in the previous engagement, forcing High Marshall Amara to change strategies. The Well itself was a dragon graveyard, lending itself towards terrain difficult to traverse, as it was broken up with the bones of long deceased dragons. Amara instructed the remaining cult forces to create a series on fallback lines, using the natural ridges of the area, to create an effective stalling plan, forcing the Council of Waterdeep to fight for every inch.
The Battle of Hardbuckler fully confirmed that the cult's forces were outmatched by the Council of Waterdeep. In an attempt to reinforce her ground forces, Amara instructed her chromatic dragons to assist ground units by tying one dragon to each unit. In theory, this arrangement would allow the dragons to swoop in an relieve besieged forces on the ground and allow the dragon to gain assistance in fighting any metallic dragons attacking them. However, the short tenday before the coming battle was not enough to override many of the chromatic dragons' inherent selfish natures, leading to poor unity between many of the dragons and their assigned units.
During these military preparations, Don Rel began hastening the components necessary for the ritual to summon Tiamat to the Material Plane. To properly perform the ritual, a massive amount of souls would need to be funneled through the Well of Dragons into the Chromatic Pentagram. On the 1st of Marpenoth, Don Rel ordered the massive sacrifice of prisoners to begin to start the soul channeling. While this process was occuring, all four wyrmspeakers had to remain within the Well of Dragons, especially those who possessed pieces of the Armor of Tiamat. Don Rel chose to fulfill the role of blue wyrmspeaker himself, as a successor to Varram the Blue had not been chosen.
The Council of Waterdeep, in contrast, was feeling confidant about their army's performance in the previous battle, however they knew the coming battle would threaten to be far worse. For their initial battle strategy, the four group system from the Battle of Hardbuckler was kept. The Council of Waterdeep attempted to copy Amara's plan to merge dragons and ground unit, but found difficulty in doing so. The Metallic Dragon Council was uncomfortable with taking commands from humanoids and the various members of the Lord's Alliance felt the same towards the dragons. A compromise was reached, where groups of metallic dragons would be given "sectors" of the battle to patrol. While engaging with chromatic dragons in the air, the metallic dragons would also be responsible for watching over geographic areas of the battle assigned to them, protecting the troops within. This compromise was seen as agreeable to all parties.
Zhentarim agents had also received word that the ritual to summon Tiamat was to begin on the 1st of Marpenoth, concluding on the 2nd. Raena Nightshade, the Zhent's representative to the Council of Waterdeep revealed that her organization had made a deal with the ancient red dragon Snaggletooth, who was guarding the Well of Dragons itself. Snaggletooth would allow a small strike team inside the Well, which then could hopefully disrupt the ritual. However, the upper floors of the Well of Dragons were protected by the Aethercore, meaning only members marked by the orb could pass through, or allow others to pass through, the magic shield. However, the Breadwinners contained three students of Gregory Tumbleton University who had been previously marked by the Aethercore, making them the obvious choice to infiltrate the Well. Their plans in place, the battle was planned for the 2nd of Marpenoth, the day the ritual would be completed if not stopped.

Deployment

The Cult of the Dragon utilized High Marshal Amara's dragon-unit pairing plan. Each Cult of the Dragon unit was assigned one chromatic dragon to protect and be protected by them. These units surrounded the Well of Dragons in a ring formation. The rings utilized the natural rocky landscape, and the occasional dragon skeleton, to create defenses barriers. Within the outer ring were successfully smaller rings with similar fortifications. The cult's goal was not to defeat the Council of Waterdeep, but to delay them enough for Tiamat to arrive and destroy them.
In addition, the Well of Dragons's lower floor was filled with non-combat ready cultists, aiding in the ritual. On the eve of the battle, Don Rel and Red Wyrmspeaker Azbara Jos were in the Chromatic Pentagram. Black Wyrmspeaker Naergoth Bladelord guarded the Draakhorn and White Wyrmspeaker Galvan the White protected the Aethercore. On the lowest level, High Marshall Amara watched over the various cultists entering the Well.
Prior to the main fighting, the ritual to summon Tiamat needed to be disrupted. The Breadwinners Mariana Goldfinch, Malachor Wolfsbane, Legolass Darkblade, Eilidh Stormheart, Ava of the Wilds, Akhros the Ronin, and Esme Heavensong were sent to sneak into the Well of Dragons. They were assisted by a second strike team, comprised of agents Tremor, Viné Seraph, and Bloodfang Wellington of Force Grey, Prince Alagarthas of the Kingdom of the Woods, Zhentarim agent Raena Nightshade, Arcane Brotherhood member Maccath the Crimson, Harpers agent Ser Vich, friend and Marquess Jessabelle Leonin, and loyal kobold Shiny Scale.
The Council of Waterdeep kept the same four groups that were created prior to the Battle of Hardbuckler. These groups consisted of one leader organization and were accompanied by a spellcasting force to aid them. The exception was group D, where it was believed the superior archers of the Kingdom of the Woods would work as a suitable replacement.
The groups were as follows:

• Group A: Baldur's Gate (leader) and the Arcane Brotherhood
• Group B: Waterdeep (leader), Amphail, and the Red Wizards of Thay
• Group C: The Silver Marches (leader), Daggerford, and the Emerald Enclave
• Group D: Neverwinter (leader), the Order of the Gauntlet, and the Kingdom of the Woods

The four groups planned to approach the Well of Dragons from all four sides: Group A from the Northwest, Group B from the Northeast, Group C from the Southwest, and Group D from the Southeast.

Battlefield

As part of the Sunset Mountains, the Well of Dragons was rocky terrain. The Well itself was built in and around a caldera, forcing any approaching army to advance uphill. In addition, the skeletons of long dead dragons often broke line of sight and allowed for an additional obstacle to navigate around or hide behind. These natural hindrances were exacerbated by the various defensive rings constructed around the Well.

The Engagement

The Breadwinners' Assualt

The first action of the battle was the Breadwinners's infiltration of the Well of Dragons. The adventurers managed to successfully enter the Well and avoid detection on the first floor, but were caught while taking the secret stairwell to the second, bypassing the Aethercore's shield. The Breadwinners's allies stayed behind to guard the stairwell, buying the Breadwinners enough time to stop the ritual.

The adventurers first managed to slaw Naergoth Bladelord, the black wyrmspeaker, and silence the Draakhorn he was protecting. The ending of its call served as the rallying cry for the Council of Waterdeep's forces to begin their attack, which they did from four simultaneous directions. The Breadwinners then fought to take back the Aethercore, where they found White Wyrmspeaker Galvan. Galvan, a Cult of the Dragon traditionalist, offered to let the Breadwinners do what they will as long as they allowed him to leave freely, to which the adventurers agreed.
Having now fought through a slew of enemies, the Breadwinners needed an hour to rest before entering the Chromatic Pentagram, where the ritual to summon Tiamat was taking place. During this rest, Bloodfang Wellington died while defending the stairway up and the pillar of souls that was supplying the ritual ceased, implying it was at its end.
Following their short rest, the Breadwinners rushed the Chromatic Pentagram, quickly slaying as many of the summoners as they could, most of whom were Red Wizard exiles. Azbara Jos was felled and Don Rel attempted a last desperate attempt to pull Tiamat from Avernus but was not successful.
Don Rel's death was not the end for the Breadwinners. The ritual interrupted, the Chromatic Pentagram began to sink back into Avernus. Meanwhile, Bastion, the magical sword that had been possessing Legolass Darkblade, forced his wielder to absorb the hundreds of souls left unused following the ritual's failure. The power of these souls freed Bastion, killing Legolass restoring him to his human form, and the Breadwinners battled him in the sinking structure, knowing that if he escaped he would use his new power for destruction and evil. Bastion put up a mighty struggle, slaying and absorbing the soul of Malachor Wolfsbane, but, despite his newfound power, was slain by Legolass, who had been resurrected by Corellon. Bastion released all the souls he had harbored and was transformed back into a dull rapier.

With no immediate threats to fight, Malachor was returned to life by Eilidh Stormheart and the Breadwinners fled the sinking Pentagram. They regrouped in the Well of Dragons with their allies, who were no longer fighting. Following the ritual's failure, the cult members and Amara had fled the Well to try and salvage the rest of the battle.

The Final Confrontation

Following the Breadwinners' silencing of the Draakhorn, the four Council of Waterdeep armies moved to strike. The fighting lasted for hours and was slow paced at parts. The Neveren lead group D advanced the quickest, as the elven archers could keep better pace with the advancing units than the mages in the other groups, most of whom were unused to heavy combat.
For a few hours, the Cult of the Dragon managed to hold back the Council of Waterdeep through their ring strategy, but it soon became evident to High Marshal Amara that the fight was doomed. The chromatic dragons were too disorganized protecting their assigned units to maintain air superiority and the githyanki ships weren't enough to contend with coordinated metallic dragon assaults. The loss of the Chromatic Pentagram both demoralized the cultists and made evident that Tiamat would not be coming, without whom the cult had no chance of winning.

Amara quickly began instituting a general retreat, prioritizing loyal cultists, and leaving mercenaries to hold back the allied armies. Though pragmatic, this ultimately hastened the collapse of the cult's forces, as the mercenaries were far less likely to fight to death than devout cultists. By the end of the day, all four groups had arrived at the base of the Well of Dragons.

Outcome

Immediately following the battle, the surviving members of the Cult of the Dragon scattered to the Sunset Mountains, disorganized and panicked. Through the actions of the Breadwinners, Tiamat had definitively prevented from leaving Avernus.
While a large portion of the Council of Waterdeep's armies patrolled the area surrounding the Well for the next tenday, to pick off stragglers, the battle itself was declared officially over on the night of the 2nd.

Aftermath

The Battle at the Well of Dragons effectively marked the end of the Great Dragon War, though scattered fighting with individual cells would continue until the end of the year. The victory was one to celebrate across the entire Sword Coast, bringing rival factions that had been in conflict for years closer together for a brief moment.
The Battle at the Well of Dragons was also the defining moment of the Breadwinners and the last action the adventurers would perform together as a group. The individual Breadwinners became household names following this battle as tales spread of their victory and heroic efforts, though most stories did not include the presence of Bastion.
For the Cult of the Dragon, the battle at the Well of Dragons would serve as the impetus for the Cult of the Dragon Civil War. The two surviving wyrmspeakers, Galvan the White and High Marshal Amara took opposing lessons from the cult's lose. Galvan believed the Cult of the Dragon should return to its traditional ways of creating dracoliches, while Amara believed that summoning Tiamat remained possible, but the cult should act more in the shadows and be less overt. These opposing view points would fracture the cult for years.
While the events at the Well of Dragons, freed Legolass Darkblade from her possession by Bastion, the young elf soon found herself indebted to a different sort of patron: Corellon himself. Unable to keep her commitments to him and reform her ways, Legolass soon lost the god's favor and protection. To protect herself, Legolass went into hiding, only occasionally and sporadically appearing to greet her friends.

Historical Significance

Legacy

Of all the conflicts of the Great Dragon War, the Battle at the Well of Dragons is the most remembered, memorialized, and discussed. In many ways, the battle itself, pitting an allied army from a variety of nations against cultists and chromatic dragons, has become synonymous with the war itself. This perception has rankled historians, who often contend with people who see the victory at the Well of Dragons and view the entirety of the Great Dragon War as an inevitable success. These viewpoints often ignore, or are ignorant of, the struggles in getting the Council of Waterdeep gathered and cooperating and the narrowly won victory over Don Rel, which prevented Tiamat's arrival.
Veterans of the Battle at the Well of Dragons are highly regarded, and the next few decades would see most important military commanders and leaders having served in some capacity in this battle. On the opposite end of the spectrum, nations or organizations that chose to sit out of this battle, and the Great Dragon War as a whole, found themselves shunned by the Lord's Alliance and other participants.

In 1493, these feelings would be made manifest in the Neveren-backed Decker Coup. Hargrave Decker, a native of Focosgost, fought in the Great Dragon War as a commander in Neverwinter's army. Decker that his role in the war gave him more merit than the city's current ruler, Joakim Ferox. When Ferox refused to surrender his position, Decker took the city by force, and Focosgost found no allies to help due to their neutrality in the Great Dragon War.
The Battle at the Well of Dragons also served as the defining moment of heroism for a captain of the Neverwinter Guard, Eliander, who was given the epithet "Fireborn" for protecting his men by charging into the flaming breath of a red dragon and emerging unscathed.

by Wizards of the Coast

Included under Conflict

Great Dragon War

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

2nd of Marpenoth, 1492

Ending Date

2nd of Marpenoth, 1492

Conflict Result

Tiamat confined to Avernus, Overwhelming victory for the Council of Waterdeep

Location

Well of Dragons

Belligerents

Anti-Dragon Cult Alliance

• Arcane Brotherhood
• Breadwinners
• Council of Waterdeep
• Emerald Enclave
• Harpers
• Kingdom of the Woods
• Lords' Alliance
• Metallic Dragon Council
• Order of the Gauntlet
• Red Wizards
• Silver Marches
• Zhentarim

Led by

• Dagult Neverember
• Laeral Silverhand
• Taern Hornblade
• Ulder Ravengard

Cult of the Dragon

• Cult of the Dragon

Led by

• Amara
• Azbara Jos
• Don Rel
• Galvan the White
• Naergoth Bladelord

Strength

Around 8,000 soldiers, comprised of:
2200 Flaming Fist
1300 soldiers of the Silver Marches
1600 members of the Waterdeep Guard
200 soldiers and lancers from Amphail
1400 members of the Neverwinter Guard
800 members of the Order of the Gauntlet
500 archers from the Kingdom of the Woods
65 members of the Arcane Brotherhood
50 Red Wizards of Thay
170 members of the Emerald Enclave
Around 50 metallic dragons

The 7 members of the Breadwinners

Around 5,000 soldiers of various skills and races, including:
2,200 cultists
6000 kobolds
150 guard drakes
1,500 mercenaries
Around 40 chromatic dragons
4 githyanki airships

Casualties

600 killed
1,500+ wounded
9 metallic dragons

Over 1,600 deaths
1,000 injured (difficult in reporting as many fled)
Over 1,000 captured

Objectives

Prevent Tiamat's summoning
End the threat of the Cult of the Dragon

Stall for enough time to ensure Tiamat is summoned.
Destroy the Council of Waterdeep to pave the way for a new world order.