Council of Waterdeep
The Council of Waterdeep was the head of the forces opposing the Cult of the Dragon during the Great Dragon War.
Structure
The Council of Waterdeep was a joint alliance between members of the Lord's Alliance, the Harpers, the Order of the Gauntlet, the Emerald Enclave, the Kingdom of the Woods, and others. Each significant body chose their own representative to the council.
The members of the council:
Representing the Harpers:
- Remallia Haventree, leading delegate
- Ser Vich
- Righteous Hand Hagnak Stonekeep, leading delegate
- Vindicator Onthar Frume
- Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, leading delegate
- Marquess Jessabelle Leonin
- Lord Protector Dagult Neverember
- High Mage Taern Hornblade, representing Silverymoon
- Ambassador Connerad Brawnanvil, representing Mithral Hall
- Lord Dauner Ilzimmer
- King Melandrach, leading delegate
- Prince Alagarthas
- Sir Isteval
Public Agenda
The Council of Waterdeep was formed with the express purpose of stopping the Cult of the Dragon from summoning Tiamat to the Material Plane, though this was not public knowledge at first.
Much of the Council's time and effort was spent preventing cult uprisings across the Sword Coast, in an attempt to prevent another incident like the Baldur's Gate Uprising, searching for piece of the Armor of Tiamat, and locating the Well of Dragons.
Assets
Though the various factions that made up the Council of Waterdeep all pledged themselves to stopping the Cult of the Dragon, the extent that each group would allow their soldiers and resources to be used by the others was constantly in doubt. Early efforts to deal with the cult were hampered by a distrust among the various factions.
Shortly before the march from Daggerford towards the Well of Dragons, each and every member of the Council pledged their full cooperation towards the cause, due the impending threat of threat of Tiamat's summoning and the effectiveness of the Breadwinners in completing their goals.
History
The origins of the Council of Waterdeep belong to the Harper agent, Ser Vich, and Order of the Gauntlet Vindicator Onthar Frume in late 1490 and early 1491. Though the two factions often quarreled, Frume and Ser Vich recognized the threat posed by the newly reformed Cult of the Dragon and sought to unite the Sword Coast against them. They were aided by the founding members of the Breadwinners, who rescued Ser Vich from his imprisonment at the hands of the cult. Ser Vich and Onthar Frume informed the future Breadwinners of their plan to call upon the members of the Lord's Alliance, and the groups went their separate ways to recruit each member.
While Frume and Ser Vich approached Waterdeep, Neverwinter, Daggerford, and others, the Breadwinners attempted to persuade Baldur's Gate to join the burgeoning anti-cult alliance. While there, the adventurers managed to suppress the Baldur's Gate Uprising, saving both the city's leadership from death and exposing the violent and threatening nature of the Cult of the Dragon to the world. The Breadwinners also recruited Amphail after managing to resolve the Siege of Salt Lake without bloodshed.
Lady Laeral Silverhand was one of the first leaders of the Lord's Alliance persuaded to fight back against the cult, and she offered her city of Waterdeep as the meeting grounds for future discussion. Various government and faction leaders gathered in Waterdeep in early 1492, and by Mirtul of that year the Council of Waterdeep was formally established.
The inaugural council meeting was a hectic affair, with most of its members more intent on criticizing each other or the exploits of the Breadwinners rather than propose a sensible solution to the problem. However, despite their criticisms, the council agreed to bestow upon the Breadwinners special rights to act on behalf of the alliance and to utilize its resources and information to stop the Cult of the Dragon.
While the Breadwinners on various missions for the Council of Waterdeep, such as the slaying of Arauthator, the retrieval of Varram the Blue, and the slaying of Neronvain, the council was gridlocked on many important decisions. One such decision was whether or not to trust Sir Isteval, as he was not only an agent of Daggerford but also a member of Cormyr's Purple Dragon Knights. In this issue and others, the Breadwinners continued to argue for more trust and a stronger working relationship between council members.
The Breadwinners were selected as the Council of Waterdeep's representatives to the Metallic Dragon Council to gain in the dragons' aid. In exchange for their cooperation the metallic dragons demanded public apologies from King Melandrach, for the elves' creation of the dracorage mythal centuries ago, and from Ambassador Dawnanvil for the Dragonmoots. Finally the metallic dragons wanted all of the pieces of the Armor of Tiamat. The Council of Waterdeep reluctantly agreed to these demands, securing the metallic dragons as allies. However, only the Gauntlet of the Black Dragon would ever be given to the dragons.
The Council of Waterdeep also furiously argued over the merits of bringing the Zhentarim and the Red Wizards of Thay, who wanted to avvenge themselves upon Azbara Jos and his Red Wizard traitors, into the alliance, as both were known for their less than scrupulous morals. Despite the reservations, the council ultimately invited both to join, recognizing that they needed all the help they could get.
In early Elient of 1492, each member of the Council of Waterdeep reaffirmed their dedication to stopping the Cult of the Dragon, pledging the full extent of their resources. The combined armies gathered together outside of Daggerford, where they began marching towards the Well of Dragons. Some of the more militaristic members of the council, such as Ulder Ravengard and Hagnak Stonekeep, marched with the army while others stayed behind. The allied forces won a decisive victory at the Battle of Hardbuckler, allowing them to approach the cult's base for a final showdown. While the Breadwinners and their close allies prevented Tiamat's summoning, the allied army handily routed the Cult of the Dragon in the Battle at the Well of Dragons.
Disbandment
Though the Cult of the Dragon was decisively defeated at the Battle at the Well of Dragons on the 2nd of Marpenoth, the Council of Waterdeep did not disband immediately. Amidst all the celebrations and award ceremonies, the various allied forces continued to seek out and disrupt the various cells of the Cult of the Dragon scattered throughout the Sword Coast.
By the end of 1492, the Council of Waterdeep began to see its membership slowly diffuse back to their home cities and organizations. Seeing that the council was growing increasingly irrelevant, and that the cult's forces were scattered enough to not necessitate the continued cooperation of the entire alliance, the Council of Waterdeep was formally disbanded on the 1st day of Hammer, 1493.
DISBANDED/DISSOLVED
Mirtul 1492 - 1 Hammer 1493
Type
Alliance, Generic
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Comments