The growth and prosperity of the various dragonmarked noble houses of the broader [[Netherese Empire]] track directly to the rise in political dominance of [[Karsus]]. Over the centuries after its creation, between the pure marks, the mixed marks, and the frequently appearing aberrant marks, the more powerful houses saw a threat to their growing wealth and economic power. The houses began to argue, and soon strong and angry words led to full-scale battle. War had come to the dragonmarked houses. The War of the Mark, a terrible and bloody conflict, changed the face of Netheril, firmly establishing the dragonmarked families that hold power during the time of the [[Karsus Campaign]]. The pure families and their allies outnumbered those possessing aberrant and mixed dragonmarks, but the aberrant marks held considerable destructive power. At first it was a simple purge, as the aberrants were hunted down one by one. But in the third year of this inquisition, Lord Halas Tarkanan gathered his aberrant kindred. Tarkanan, a brilliant tactician, used his military skills and the power of the aberrant dragonmarks to turn the tide of battle. Tarkanan and his queen seized control of Karsus, turning it into a bastion for the aberrant marks. In the end, Tarkanan simply didn’t have the numbers to overcome his enemies. The battle continued for another four years, but Tarkanan and his forces were slowly beaten back. As House Cannith, House Deneith, and their forces closed in, Tarkanan and the Lady of the Plague called upon the full power of their aberrant dragonmarks and released horrific magical forces. Terrible quakes caused parts of the city to collapse, and rivers of lava flowed up from the fiery lakes deep below. Those who escaped the flames were devoured by swarms of vermin or stricken down by deadly plagues. The War of the Mark was over—but Karsus had suffered greatly. [[House Cannith]] played a critical role in the reconstruction, and to this day House Cannith remains one of the most influential forces in Karsus. Dwarf engineers were brought in from their distant holds, and a few of the Netherese nobles invested a great deal of gold in the city. Chief among these was the ir’Tain family. The ir’Tains are known as the slumlords of Karsus, and over the centuries the family has made a fortune from its many tenement properties. During the Karsus Campaign, the ir’Tains are one of the most powerful noble families in [[Faerûn]]; Lord Hass ir’Tain is an infl uential member of the Netherese Parliament, and his mother Celyria is the unquestioned leader of high society in Karsus. Other powerful families and merchants flocked to the new city, and Karsus prospered and grew, standing above the ancient goblin foundations and human ruins. It was believed that the curse of the Lady of the Plague still lingered in the darkness, and the remnants of the old cities were quickly sealed away. In time they were forgotten, lost in the shadows of the new towers that stretched toward the sky. Occasionally treasure-hunters venture down into the haunted levels that lie between the Lower-City and [[The Cogs]], but the vast majority of the citizens know little or nothing of the ruins that lie in [[The Depths]]. #Event #Canon but heavily #Homebrew to integrate it with Karsus as part of Netheril #Karsus