AT A GLANCE: Vaasa is a cold, northern
empire similar in terrain and climate to
Thar, ruled by a self-proclaimed
"Witch-King."

ELMINSTER'S NOTES: Vaasa was for
years the name of the unclaimed waste
and wild-land beyond the northern
bounds of Damaran patrols, in much
the same way as the land of Thar begins
where the swords of the Moonsea cities
end. It was (and for the most part
remains) a cold, wintery, unpleasant
land of rolling moors and tundra,
which becomes an impenetrable bog
during the few weeks of High Summer.

Twenty years ago there arose on the
shore of the Sea of Tears a huge edifice
of dark stone bound in iron. From this
Castle Perilous its master, Zhengyi the
Witch-King, declared mastery over all
the lands of Vaasa.

Zhengyi soon made good his claim,
recruiting an impossibly large army of
men, bandits, inhuman tribes, and mystical
beasts, and swept through Vaasa
into its neighboring land of Damara.
Through strength of arms and treachery,
Zhengyi defeated the Damaran
armies at the Ford of Goliad, and slew
the majority of its rulers, including the
Last King of Damara, Virdin Blood
feathers. Zhengyi is said to have accomplished
this task with the help of a powerful
Grandfather of Assassins, who
operates from a secret base in the
Galena Mountains.

Having effectively destroyed the
nation of Damara, Zhengyi claimed
only its northern sections as his, granting
independence to (though taking
tribute from) the southern petty lords
that now controlled the wreckage that
was once Damara. Zhengyi?s reason for
this is not known, and it may be that the
southern domains do not interest him,
or that fully controlling them would ire
states like Impiltur and Thay, bringing
them into premature conflict with
Vaasa.

The people of Vaasa live in a few scattered
primitive communities, dwarfed
by the huge amount of armed mercenary
and other forces that now swell
the kingdom. Evil faiths flourish here,
and Zhengyi's own closest servants are
priests who wear goat-headed headpieces,
whose true faith is unrevealed.
Zhengyi himself is reclusive, almost
paranoid, in his Castle Perilous. He
takes no envoys from other nations or
major faiths, and a contingent of Red
Wizards who sought to force an audience
with him were said to be swallowed
whole by the earth on the steps of
Castle Perilous. What the Witch-king
plans is not known, even by the wise of
the Realms.

GAME INFORMATION: Further information
on Vaasa, Damara, and Zhengyi
may be found in the "Bloodstone Pass"
series of modules (H1-4).