Farlnen

Q: What is life like for the common folks of Farlnen? Not those in a position to pursue immortality but those tending gardens, fishing the seas, and doing other vital but humble tasks?

There's a number of aspects to this. At a glance, people might look at Farlnen and say "It's a feudal situation, with Grim Lords ruling over mortal vassals." But that's not at all accurate. Farlnen society is traced back to Aerenal, and like the lines of Aerenal it's a meritocracy. The Grim Lords are lords (and undead) because they EARNED that status, and as Grim Lords they are expected to use their power and magic to protect and aid the people of the island. Grim Lords—even Illmarrow—are expected to perform a certain amount of community service. This can take many forms, depending on the talents of the lord; Illmarrow likely contributes by creating undead, both menial workers and helping with the elevation of the worthy dead.

This is called out in the canon Bloodsail article: "Only the most accomplished individuals can rise to join the Grim. One must display talent and charisma, learning all that life has to offer before passing to the other side."

Add another point to this: on Farlnen, the most menial tasks are performed by mindless undead. There's a skeletal labor force, and poltergeist spirits are used for other tasks. So many of the most humble tasks aren't performed by living hands. The main thing is that mindless undead need direction—so one of the lower tasks is managing skeletal work crews.

So the point is that Farlnen doesn't have a huge class divide in the main populace. The Grim Lords have to earn their positions and work to maintain them, and it's not hereditary because the Lords are undead. All citizens have an opportunity for basic education and are tested for magical aptitude. Like Aerenal, Farlnen is generally more arcanically advanced than the Five Nations, and most jobs are MAGEWRIGHT jobs -- lamplighters keep the streets lit (albeit using necromantic techniques), cleaning and cooking are done with forms of prestidigitation, and so on. People with less mystical talent typically take to the seas -- though there's arcane roles on a boat as well, especially for the officers.

A secondary aspect of this is that Farlnen doesn't have a large population. It's a harsh land, and even with Varoenen's wonders it's got limited resources. We've talked about how undeath has to be earned, but LIFE has to be earned too; there are definitely limitations on family size.

So to answer the question, the humblest work on Farlnen is carried out by undead. The humblest people of Farlnen are apprentice magewrights and sailors. But there's always room for advancement for those who can prove their potential.

Source: June 2024 Q&A thread

Farlnen is a dark reflection of Aerenal. The cities are made of basalt and darkwood, and the sun never pierces the Mabaran haze that hangs over the island. Most of the elves who reside there have pale complexions, as one might expect in such a sunless land. However, children conceived when Mabar is close are sometimes born with jet-black skin; such elves can be mistaken for drow. Tattoos are used both aesthetically and as a sign of status. At a glance, Bloodsail facial tattoos are similar to the death mask designs employed by the Aereni, though the Bloodsails favor crimson inks. But to those who know the culture, these tattoos can reveal family line, mystical talent, and the bearer’s ship.

Although Bloodsail merchants and privateers are found across the Lhazaar Principalities and the Bitter Sea, strangers receive a cold welcome in Farlnen. Port Cairn is the gateway to the island and the seat of Prince Tasil, but any visitor quickly realizes that the place has few families. It is home to travelers and those who cater to them, but the family estates lie in the interior and the Fingerbone Mountains. Foreigners who want to travel into the interior of Farlnen are treated with suspicion or hostility; it is all but impossible to find a guide unless the traveler is an elf or a follower of the Blood of Vol.

Farlnen is primarily inhabited by elves, along with a handful of eladrin and half-elves. The eladrin arrived eighteen hundred years ago, fleeing a disaster in Thelanis; they have fully embraced the Bloodsail culture and married into elf families. Members of other races might be accepted as guests, but there is no place for humans on the Black Isle.

Much as Aerenal has its living Sibling Kings and the Undying Court, Farlnen has a balance between the living and the dead. The Prince of Farlnen is the living ruler of the isle, and she represents her people in dealings with the other Lhazaar princes. But the true power in Farlnen is an alliance of undead lords and ladies known collectively as the Grim. This shadow court watches the living from estates spread across the Fingerbone Mountains. Only the most accomplished individuals can rise to join the Grim. One must display talent and charisma, learning all that life has to offer before passing to the other side. Although these traditions are similar to those of the Undying Court, the members of the Grim are not as tightly unified as the Deathless and do not share any sort of mystical power.

The lords and ladies of the Grim live in mansions maintained by tithes from the living. Some use their ancient wisdom and mystical power to help their people; others wish to be left to their arcane studies and private pursuits. However, the Grim aren’t the only undead in Farlnen. The members decide who is worthy to join their ranks, but any Bloodsail can earn lesser undead immortality by amassing sufficient wealth. This is the reason the Bloodsails take to the seas as pirates, privateers, or merchants. The price of immortality is paid over time, credited to the accounts of sailors even as it fills the vaults of the Grim.

When a sailor dies, the funds in his or her account determine that sailor’s final fate. Gifted wizards or clerics can become liches. Wealthy captains sometimes bind their spirits to skeletal sea monsters. Most Bloodsails aspire to become vampires, however, so that they can continue to walk the world after death. The mortal population can sustain only a limited number of vampires, so the cost of this transformation rises with the creation of every new vampire. Because the price to become a vampire is far beyond what any common sailor could hope to acquire, the majority of these elf sailors end up as haunts. Since the necromancers of the Grim can bind ghosts to inanimate objects, they take this task upon themselves and base the outcome of their efforts on how much was in that sailor’s account at his or her death. The more expensive forms of the ritual allow the fallen elf to fully manifest as a ghost, as long as it stays close to its anchoring item. The lesser form keeps the spirit conscious, but allows only limited poltergeist activity.

The most common manifestation of this form of spirit binding is in the Bloodsail ships. The cheapest form of immortality for a sailor is being bound to a ship—typically to the sail. The oldest sails are infused with the spirits of generations of sailors. These hosts of the fallen can propel the ship with a speed to rival any elemental galleon. They can deflect missiles or tear at enemy vessels, and the enchantments woven into the sails make them virtually immune to conventional harm. The powers of the ghosts depend on their numbers, but these spectral allies make the small Bloodsail fleet exceptionally dangerous. Bloodsail vessels that lack haunt allies often have skeleton crews—small complements of mindless undead that can be assigned to oars or other menial tasks.

Although existence as a lesser haunt might seem like a bleak fate, the Bloodsails consider it a blessing. Even a lesser haunt escapes the slow dissolution of Dolurrh. He can stay with his ship and crewmates, and continue to explore the ocean. Although the haunt cannot enjoy some of the same pleasures he did when he lived, he is one with the ship and the ship’s other spirits in a way that mortals cannot understand. It’s a limited immortality, but it’s still an escape from death.

These details give only a taste of the degree to which magic and necromancy affect the lives of the people of Farlnen. The streets are lit with ghost lights. Any family heirloom might hold the spirit of an ancestor, from a chest that opens only for a descendant to a magic blade that whispers to its wielder. Almost all Bloodsail captains are arcane or divine spellcasters, specializing in necromantic rituals. When a Bloodsail captain faces a difficult decision, it’s common for her to retreat to her quarters and consult with the spirits of her predecessors

Source: Dragon 410

Snowflake oozes inhabit the mountains and vales of the Mror Holds, northern Karrnath, and the northern mainland of the Lhazaar Principalities. Rumor has it that the lich queen’s blisteringly cold island called Farlnen (located in the Lhazaar Sea), plays host to several dozen of these creatures. Larger specimens prey on visitors to the Tashana Tundra (on Sarlona) and the Frostfell.