Neverwinter

Neverwinter, also known as the City of Skilled Hands or the Jewel of the North, was a metropolis sitting on the northwestern Sword Coast of Faerûn. Neverwinter was regarded by many, including the erudite travel writer Volo, as the most cosmopolitan and the most civilized city in all of Faerûn, quite a reputation, considering the breadth and variety of the continent. The city was a member in good standing of the Lords' Alliance. Neverwinter was founded by Lord Halueth Never. It sits on the northwestern coast of the subcontinent of Faerûn.

The city of Neverwinter was so named because, even though the town is situated in the cold north of Faerûn, the Neverwinter River that flowed through it was heated by fire elementals living under the nearby Mount Hotenow in the Neverwinter Wood. The heat given off from the river created a permanent warm climate in the immediate area.

The city was originally named "Eiggerstor", which was an Illuskan word. The name "Neverwinter" was the Chondathan translation.

Desctription
Neverwinter has a population of about 23,200 at last count and is also known as the City of Skilled Hands and Jewel of the North. It also serves as the origin of the phrase "by the clocks of Neverwinter", used when one is solemnly swearing, a reference to the precision of its timepieces. The erudite travel writer Volo (among others) credits Neverwinter as the most cosmopolitan and the most civilized city in all of Faerûn. He regards this as quite a reputation, 131 considering the breadth and variety of the continent.

The name of the city has its origin in that even though the town is situated in the cold north of Faerûn, the Neverwinter river that flows through it is heated by fire elementals living under the nearby Mount Hotenow in the Neverwinter Wood. The heat given off from the river creates a permanent warm climate in the immediate area; without the elementals, the river, and subsequently the city's water supply, would freeze over. An alternate loric explanation for the name is given in Neverwinter Nights 2: When the city's founder (Halueth Never) was hunted to the coast by orcs, he chose the city's site to make his last stand. Expecting to die in the imminent battle, he named the site "Never's Winter". When the orcs were defeated with help from some human allies, Never founded the city, keeping the name. Over the years the name was shortened to "Neverwinter".

The city was ruled by Lord Nasher Alagondar, an aging, veteran adventurer and devout worshipper of Tyr. Neverwinter is prosperous, its master-craftsmen making lamps of multi-coloured glass, precision water clocks and exquisite jewelry. Its Tyrran faith promotes justice and fairness, and greed is frowned upon.

In addition to its unnaturally warm climate, Neverwinter is a rather picturesque city. It founds such sights as its three spectacular, intricately carved bridges: the Dolphin, the Winged Wyvern and the Sleeping Dragon. Under these, the waters of the Neverwinter River cascade over small, gentle waterfalls as they course into the city's bustling harbour. Neverwinter's magnificent gardens (the phrase "the City of Skilled Hands" refers to Neverwinter's accomplished gardeners) ensure the warm winters are colourful and the summers are rich with fresh fruit. The city is replete with beautiful and ingeniously designed buildings, many of which are famous in their own right, such as The House of Knowledge, and Neverwinter's tall and many-windowed temple of Oghma. In addition, the reputations of such unique taverns as The Moonstone Mask and The Fallen Tower reach far beyond the Neverwinter's walls. These elements generally make Neverwinter a distinctive city.

The city is a member in good standing of the Lord's Alliance and Lord Nasher has ensured that the city is well defended, both physically and magically, against attacks or infiltration from Luskan, Neverwinter's warlike rival. Maps of the city, which has a maze of meandering streets, are not distributed, as part of an effort to thwart Luskan spies. Some merchants in the city do however sell such maps, often over a black market.

New Neverwinter
Although Lord Nasher died during the Spellplague, he gave rise to a royal line that ruled until Mount Hotenow erupted, destroying the majority of the city. Thayans and their Ashmadai allies attacked the city in the wake of the eruption, hoping to cause enough deaths to fuel a Dread Ring but their plans were foiled with the help of adventurers and agents of Netheril. Due to the help given by the Netherese, the shadovar attempted a power grab in the city but were driven out when Herzgo Alegni was defeated in combat by Artemis Entreri and Dahlia Sin'felle, which inspired a revolt against Herzgo's netherese 'Shadow Guard'.

In 1462 DR, Lord Neverember, claiming himself to be a descendant of Neverwinter's former rulers and thus the rightful "Lord Protector" of Neverwinter, started the New Neverwinter movement. Lord Neverember invested a great deal of his own personal fortune to rebuild the city infrastructure, buy the interest of merchants to sent their caravans again to Neverwinter, and even ensuring Neverwintan refugees had enough food and gold in hand. By the late years of the 80's decade, Neverember's efforts to rebuild the city proved successful, and Neverwinter had slowly being restored as a center of civilization in the Sword Coast North.

Post-Spellplague


Neverwinter and other cities north of Waterdeep fared poorly in the years following the Spellplague, and by the 1479 DR both it and Luskan were in utter ruins. Minor earthquakes had troubled Neverwinter for months, eventually resulting in an eruption from Mount Hotenow with mounds of lava and superheated ash falling down on the city. Half of the city's population died in a heartbeat, with many great buildings razed. A great rift known as the Chasm ripped apart the Earth of the city and strange zombies of ash haunted the ruins. Yet after the destruction, many who had fled upon the minor earthquakes returned, bringing looters and thieves with them. The people began to rebuild and eventually, arriving with a host of mercenaries from Mintarn, Dagult Neverember arrived and styled himself the Lord Protector of Neverwinter.