Curuvar informed the party of known facts about the Zhentilar, after finding several links in the personal journal of Draigdurroch, the dwarf warlock.
The Zhentilar are a militarised merchant consortium that rose to power around 600 years ago, in the city of Zhentil Keep, on the northwestern Moonsea coast. Hurriedly recruiting a strong military force to suppress an internal Liche problem, the Zhentil Council decided to continue to maintain the force and looked at neighbouring cities on the Moonsea coast.
Over the next 350 years, the Zhentilar military and city merchants, used their respective influences to pull the lands & cities round Moonsea under their control; only interupted during the Rage of Dragons, when Zhentil Keep was badly ruined in a draconic assault. About 200 years ago, Lords Chess & Manshoon took control of the Zhentil Council and promoted Fzoul Chembryl up the ranks of the priesthood of Bane. They also founded the Zhentarim aka. The Black Network, a more covert group composed of spies, assassins, kidnappers and Banite priests.
Only ten years after they seized power, Moonsea was terrorised by an Orc horde & dragons; several cities were decimated by dragons, whilst others were put under siege by the Orc horde. The Zhentilar sent reinforcements, which swung the balance in the defender's favour, decisively routed the horde. Though some had doubts, the Zhentilar gained much favour in the area and cemented their control even further.
With the fall of Bane during the Time of Troubles [see page], the priesthood of Cyric took pre-eminence in Zhentil Keep, ousting the Banites. Cyric also fell though, only ten years later and during the subsequent Zhentil struggle for control, white Dragons & frost Giants assaulted the Keep and the nearby Citadel of the Raven (the two main Zhentil bases), causing vast destruction and killing many Lords of the Zentil Council.
Lord Manshoon took control of rebuilding the Citadel, whilst Lord Orgauth retained rulership of the Keep; along with Fzoul Chembryl, they were the surviving power in the Zhentil hierachy. Fzoul though had greater plans and in four short years he and his followers disposed of the other two Lords and he named himself Tyrant. His reign was short lived though, as in only three more years an alliance with phaerimm sorcerors incurred the wrath of the Shadovar alliance (fighting the phaerimm incursion), who razed both bases utterly.
The re-surgent Banite group were forced relocate and moved further west, increasing their hold over the Sword Coast. It is thought they have a new base somewhere in the Sunset Mountains, but that has yet to be been confirmed.
