History of the Forgotten Realms

The first mention of the Veloghon of Vigilance (an artifact of Torm in the form of a shield) in the writings of Thontoros the Learned, Sage of the Just Gods (who studied the clergy and deeds of other followers of Helm, Ilmater, Torm, and Tyr). Writing of the defense of the vanished citadel of Lothtia on the Shining Plains by the Paladins of the Hand (the Twelve Champions of Torm). Thontoros tells that the paladin Harondath bore the shield, and "bathed it in the blood of the orcs of Thoktor Ironfangs". »

The Helm of Helm (an artifact of Helm) rises out of a battlefield bog, presenting itself to the Helmite cleric Garshond in the defense of Iriaebor against a hobgoblin-led army of mixed orcs and goblins. Some clergy then and now believe that Helm took it from the bones of an older, forgotten champion of his faith, one whose bones lay under the waters of that bog.

Garshond takes the Helm back to The Watchtower of the Vigilant, his fledgling temple-keep in Harkstag (a long-vanished village that stood northeast of Serpent's Cowl, in what is now scrub woodland. Then, as now, the area is infested with lurking yuan-ti). There he calls a council to which he invites the most law-abiding, old money families of Waterdeep, Iriaebor, and Scornubel. Most send their nearest merchant agents, but a few send younger sons, and to them all Garshond preached the common benefits of well-guarded roads and an elite, disciplined band of guardian knights.

The Council of Helm is a great success, and establishes Garshond as the most important Helmite priest of his day. Some of the nobles stayed to join the envisaged Vigilant Riders, and others send senior agents with money to sponsor the band and so formalize its obligations to the merchants using the area. The Riders undertake to patrol the roads linking Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Elturel, Scornubel, Iriaebor, and the smaller towns and villages between. This does not please the brigands and goblinkin in the area, whose depredations had made the lightly populated lands between Amn, the Sea of Fallen Stars, and Waterdeep the most dangerous for travelers in all Faerun. »

Battle of Scattershields
The united orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins wages another battle against the Vigilant Riders of Helm in the Battle of Scattershields. »

The Helm of Helm is offered for sale in Westgate. A Helmite priest tried to buy it and is refused by the Chessentan merchant whose shop held it. The priest returns with twice the asking price - only to be slaughtered by the Lawless, a sect of Shar, who had obviously set the shop up as a lure for clergy they opposed. (They killed a priest of Torm a day later, and sorely wounded several clergy of Ilmater).

Clergy of several faiths hurried meet and hire an adventuring band, the South Shore Serpents, to hunt down the Lawless. It soon becomes clear, as the city erupts into battle, that someone high in authority was shielding or backing the Lawless, and the Helm had become just one more piece in the ongoing struggle for rule of Westgate. The Serpents fell one by one, taking the Lawless with them, but thieving bands and street mercenaries entered the fray, and the strife continued.

A young Helmite priest, Carath of Selgaunt, hires the Wild Blade Adventurers of Teziir to slay the Chessentan and bring back all the contents of his shop they could salvage. The Blades are led by two sisters whose magecraft was growing speedily, and they use spells to summon monster after monster. They then loot the ruins only to find themselves under attack by agents of Thay, who had been waiting for a good chance to seize the Helm.

In the struggle that follows, the senior Thayan mage is forced to flee, and the Blades reduced to one warrior and one of the sisters, Tayana, who is trapped in a curse laid by her Red Wizard opposite that forces her to shape change into a giant hissing serpent several times each day. Fearing she would be slain by fearful citizens, she flees into the wilderlands with the Helm and with her surviving companion, who soon dies of her wounds. Embittered, Tayana hides in the Giant's Run Mountains. »

Carath, priest of Helm and possessor of the Helm of Helm reputation has grown due to the hundreds of priests of Helm who had begun their careers under his wise tutelage at the Guardtower of the God. Priests of Talos and Shar attack the temple to destroy it and him.

They fell the walls and crush Carath in his courtyard. A grief-crazed Tayana flies up out of the ruins and defeats the invading priests with mighty spells. When she is done, Tayana embraces her beloved Carath and willingly burns to death. It is from this event that the Helm of Helm emits a burnt smell whenever magical fire is active within a half-mile of it.

Some years later, a Helmite priest by the name of Rolor, who saw himself as the new Sword of Helm, visits the ruins of the Guardtower of the God, and the Helm rises out of the fire-scarred rubble to hover in front of him. Rolor takes it and marches off into the Tunland to found a new realm dedicated to Helm. He is known to have routed a Zhentarim patrol out of Darkhold, then walked into the Tunland. He and the Helm have not been seen since. »

Helmsport is declared the capital of New Amn. The clergy of Helm in the South declare that the year marks the beginning of blessed works for the faithful. »

New Waterdeep is warned by Cordell not to trade weapons with the Kultakans, because the Council of Six wants to slow the trade between these newcomers and their military allies. Cordell sends a regiment of his Golden Legion north to monitor New Waterdeep and subtly threaten military action should New Waterdeep disobey his or the Council's wishes.

The priesthood of Helm sends twelve missionary priests inland along with New Waterdeep's explorers; they return in three months with new Maztican converts and inland survey maps. »

Marpenoth A plague known as featherlung strikes Procampur. Hundreds die in the poor district and other districts are blamed for its spread due to their slow reaction. It was spread further when the afflicted travelled to the temples of Helm and Torm to be cured, so a cleric of Lliira, Baniya Dolester, and a cleric of Tymora, Orn Thavil, ventured into the poor district to set up a shrine. Those two are reprimanded by the Thultryl for their actions, despite the fact that they obviously prevented the plague from spreading further.

A mob forms, accusing a sailor from Prespur (a pirate) of being a priestess of Talona because of her tattoos. The pirate is lynched. »

Alturiak 21 Despite sea storms throughout this month, over a dozen ships set sail for Maztica, loaded with mercenaries and priests of Helm to reinforce those at Helmsport, New Amn. »

Gedrin Thalavar (sometimes called Shadowbane), a young rogue living in Westgate, has a vision in which Helm is slain by Tyr and Helm's godhood merged with Tyr, restoring his sight. When Gedrin awoke from his vision, he held Helm's sword, Vindicator. Later, Gedrin has a second vision in which Tyr is slain by the demon lord Orcus and Tyr's godhood merges with Torm. After these visions, Gedrin becomes a religious zealot and formulates the Heresy of the Threefold God and forms the Eye of Justice, and begins recruiting crusaders from among the Night Masks. The church is instrumental in driving out the Night Masks from Westgate.

Later, the church becomes corrupted and Gedrin leaves Westgate in disgust. He travels to the Sword Coast where sometime in the 1460's DR, he meets a child rogue named Kalen Dren begging on the streets of Luskan. He gives Vindicator to Kelan and recruits him into the church. Kalen would become the church's primary crusader. »