Chapter 2: A Guide to the Realms

Shade

The former city of Thultanthar, capital of the Empire of Shade, was a magical flying marvel. After it crashed, survivors of the empire built a new settlement on the slopes of the Scimitar Spires, overlooking the Shoal of Thirst. Though this city, called Shade, can't yet fly, it is inspired by old Thultanthar, and it resembles a piece of the Shadowfell transplanted to Faerûn. Its lightless avenues and sunless courtyards are shrouded in impenetrable gloom despite the desert's glaring sun, providing a comfortable home for the city's Shadovar rulers. Most explorers and traders avoid the city, as the Shadovar attack intruders.

Black Road

The Black Road is the main trade route that crosses Anauroch. Zhentarim garrisons and patrols monitor the road and protect the life-giving oases that dot its length. They exert immense influence over this road. They provide protection, travel stations, and access to oases but expect their tolls to be paid promptly.

At'ar's Looking Glass

A hazardous, sweltering stretch of desert in southeastern Anauroch is At'ar's Looking Glass, named for the merciless Bedine sun god, whose face is reflected by the sand back up and into the heavens.

High Ice

The desolate glacier called the High Ice crowns the northern reaches of Anauroch. Few people live here. Arctic monsters abound on the High Ice's frosty plains, including different kinds of dragons. In spite of the danger, expeditions strike out into the glacier hoping to plunder ancient cities that have been buried in and preserved by ice.

Plain of Standing Stones

The central region of Anauroch is the Plain of Standing Stones, a plateau that overlooks the sandy desert to the south. This area is mostly waterless, covered in gravel and jagged rock and ravaged by constant, howling winds. This is where the Shadovar first discovered chardalyn—a dark, ice-like crystal that absorbs magic.

Saiyaddar

One place in southern Anauroch teems with lush greenery and abundant animal life: the Saiyaddar. This verdant valley within the Sword is lined with natural springs that keep it watered, and the Bedine people guard the area as a hunting ground and safe waypoint for travelers. None of the individual Bedine tribes lay claim to Saiyaddar, and they work together fiercely to ensure that no one else tries.

Scimitar Spires

The Scimitar Spires is a range of sharp mountain peaks that abut the Shoal of Thirst and the lush Saiyaddar valley. Nestled in the northern reach of the Spires is Elah'zad, an oasis sacred to the god Eldath. A temple at the oasis is made of translucent desert rock; it's said Eldath can speak through anyone who enters the temple.

Shoal of Thirst

Shadovar magic once created and preserved a body of water here called the Shadow Sea. With Thultanthar's destruction and the fall of the empire, the magical cloud cover that protected the sea blew away, and the desert swiftly reclaimed the land. Legends speak of valuable gems once buried beneath the sea that now lie exposed to treasure hunters, but the Shoal's proximity to Shade makes excavation of those gems a dangerous task.

The Sword

When most people think of Anauroch, they think of the southern region known as the Sword, named for the bandits and raiders who maraud the region. Vicious creatures such as wyverns and purple worms are abundant.

Araugul

The southern region of Anauroch was once home to a large, expansionist goblinoid realm known as Hlundadim. The fortress-city of Araugul, also known as Goblinmount, was its capital and the home of the mysterious wizard Hlundadim, founder and leader of the realm. As weather in Anauroch grew arid and the land turned to dust, the goblins fled and the wizard vanished as mysteriously as he appeared. That was over a thousand years ago. Goblinoids and their allies have since returned to the ruins, and some live there still, defending the city from intruders.

Ascore

The ruined northern city of Ascore was once a bustling port on the shore of a now-dried sea. Now its windswept streets are haunted by undead, and the ancient blue dragon Iymrith has claimed the ruins as part of her territory. Somewhere in its depths, Ascore holds a portal into the lost Netherese city of Hlaungadath. The portal is activated by reading the final line of a carving in a stone archway.

Azirrhat

A small cluster of peaks on the southeast edge of the Plain of Standing Stones is known as Azirrhat, a word meaning "slashed rocks." The crags are dotted with veins of gold, and prospectors sometimes brave encounters with the asabi, a territorial, nocturnal group of lizardfolk that dwell in the peaks.

Heroes' Helm

The rocky pinnacle of Heroes' Helm in central Anauroch rises four hundred feet and is shaped like the helmet of a mighty warrior, complete with two caves where the warrior's eyes would be. The caves lead to an expansive central cavern, home to an ancient blue dragon named Ghondalaath.

Hlaungadath

One of the ruined flying cities of Netheril in Anauroch, Hlaungadath landed near the High Ice and was abandoned. In the ages since, it has been claimed by a powerful family of lamias. The city is still largely intact, maintained by the lamias and their thralls. The lamias kill most intruders, but they occasionally pick a few to ensnare with their curses and enchantments, keeping them as pets and servants. Most peoples of Anauroch know the place's reputation and stay well away, but lost knowledge and potential wealth are powerful lures for adventurers.

Lashloc

The so-called Lake of Ice is the result of subterranean hot springs that melt a sliver of the High Ice into a long, twisting lake. For creatures that live on the High Ice, Lashloc is an oasis—a place to stay warm and find liquid water without needing a fire. High winds freeze some of the lake's surface water into ice floes. Predatory creatures lair within the lake, but three insidious aboleths dominate, using the lake's unusual nature to draw in victims.

Mines of Tethyamar

On the edge of Anauroch, southeast of Addas Babar, once lay the dwarven realm of Tethyamar. This vast city branched out underground as scattered and self-reliant neighborhoods that contributed to a large and thriving whole. Four centuries ago, Tethyamar was conquered by evil wizards commanding fiends and mercenaries. Repeated attempts to reclaim the city ended in failure. The survivors fled to Daggerdale in the x. The x had a long trade rivalry with Tethyamar when the city was lost, and Zhents have plundered the upper levels of the lost city for magical secrets and treasure.

The Shattered Tower

Long ago, phaerimm magic brought down the cloud castle of a storm giant, which crashed in eastern Anauroch. Adventurers have found the skeletal remains of storm giants and looted many of its halls. The castle is vast and inhabited by elementals and a blue dragon that either survived the crash or moved in after.

The Smokeholes

Travelers in the High Ice see huge gouts of smoke and steam rising from the Smokeholes from many miles away. These vents were created by a massive network of underground lava tubes and lakes known as the Caverns of Burning Ice, inhabited by salamanders and dragons that would otherwise find the High Ice inhospitable, including blue, brass, and red dragons. The heat from the lava creates vents in the ice above and carves out steamy grottoes that capture warm, wet air.

Untrivvin

Yetis dwell on the slopes of a mountain in the High Ice called Untrivvin, but the mountain's interior is a catacomb of meticulously crafted tunnels and halls that echo and amplify any sound made within them. This is the source of the mountain's name, which means "singing rock." The honeycomb of passages within the mountain suggest that they were carved, perhaps by an ancient civilization predating even those of the giants and dragons.

Banditry

Brigands, raiders, and other bandits are an unfortunate constant in Anauroch. Victims of these bandits face a choice: fight to defend their property, or allow raiders to take what they please in the hope that enough is left behind for life to continue.

Dry Death

Finding water is a struggle for anything that lives in this region. Most places are bone dry sand and dusty stone. The High Ice is a frozen glacier with no fuel for fire in sight.

Gods and Names

Deities worshiped in Anauroch are often gods of the Faerûnian pantheon who go by other faces and names. At'ar, for example, is a pitiless sun god, but scholars of other lands consider her a form of Amaunator. Eldath, a god of peaceful waters, tenaciously maintains a presence in this harsh land, much like the springs and oases that offer life among the dust.

Travels and Trade

For many in Anauroch, life is spent on the move, as staying still often means death. Bedine tribes bring their food and livelihood with them, escorting herds between oases. Others, like the x, move back and forth over the Black Road, a dangerous but profitable route across the desert.

Altumbel

The small human kingdom called Altumbel is often considered part of Aglarond, but its inhabitants assert its independence and distinct identity. People here make their living from the sea, and the capital, Spandeliyon, is called the City of Pirates.

Fang Light

The small peninsula that juts north of Velprintalar is known as South Fang. (Cape Dragonfang in x, on the north side of the Sea of Dlurg, is called North Fang in Aglarond.) It's an isolated and parochial backwater whose inhabitants are derisively known as "Fangers" by other residents of the x. At the tip of South Fang stands Fang Light, a magical lighthouse maintained by a mage that guides ships in and out of the Sea of Dlurg. Pirates frequently target the lighthouse.

Sunglade

Just inside the southern edge of the Yuirwood stands the Sunglade, a double circle of standing stones decorated with elven runes. This ancient site was constructed by and sacred to inhabitants of the Yuirwood who left or died out long ago. The outer ring of larger stones bears dedications to deities of the elven pantheon, the Seldarine, while the inner stones represent the deities of long-gone human inhabitants of the Yuirwood. Though apparently abandoned, the stones remain in excellent repair, and a mystic presence lingers in the sunny glade, waiting for someone to speak to it.

Umber Marshes

Named for the rusty water created by its iron deposits, the Umber Marshes is the border between Aglarond and x. Countless raids and invasions have criss-crossed this swamp, which is famous for intolerable bloodsucking insects and deadly monsters.

Velprintalar

The crown jewel of the Aglarond peninsula is Velprintalar, one of the most beautiful cities in Faerûn. The Simbarch Council, made up of sorcerers and other spellcasters, rules Aglarond from a magnificent palace of pale-green Mulhorandi stone. Sorcerers from across Faerûn come here for training.

Watchwall

Between the fortress city of Glarondar and the slopes of the mountain Umbergoth stretches the fifteen-mile-long stone Watchwall built long ago by galeb duhr for the Aglarondan crown. The Watchers—guards assigned to the wall—keep a constant lookout for Thayan aggression.

Wizards' Reach

The cities along Aglarond's south coast are nominally ruled by Aglarond, but in practice the farther east one goes, the more the Red Wizards hold sway. Cross-country travel through the coastal marshes is difficult. Monsters leave the eaves of the Yuirwood and roam the coast of the Wizards' Reach.

Yuirwood

Elves who settled this forest millennia ago were called Yuir. Over centuries, humans joined them and adopted elven traditions, living among ancient Yuir ruins. These woods are protected by powerful magic that blocks scrying and detection spells. Fey crossings are plentiful, and many dangerous animals call the forest home.

Ashenwood

By order of the hathrans, no one is permitted to live in this ancient forest, which is home to mighty spirits, intelligent animals, and fierce monsters. Rashemi enter Ashenwood to commune with or hunt these creatures, placating the spirits with gifts and offerings of food.

Citadel Rashemar

Once a mighty fortress, Citadel Rashemar was flattened over a century ago by invaders from the east who slaughtered the entire garrison of two thousand warriors. Now a coven of hags controls the ruins, served by a small army of goblins, giant animals, ogres, and other monsters.

High Country

The north end of the Sunrise Mountains is called the High Country. This perilous region is marked by wild magic, strange occurrences, and crumbling monoliths built by the ancient empire of Raumathar. These monoliths imprison demons summoned and once controlled by x; now hathrans check them every year to ensure the wards don't fail. An ancient white dragon, Kissethkashaan, commands these mountains, but the site of his lair is unknown.

Immilmar

Traders, diplomats, and tourists coming to Rashemen often first arrive in Immilmar, Rashemen's capital. The Iron Lord, the nominal leader of the nation, rules from a mighty castle raised centuries ago by hathran magic and warded with spells. Beyond the castle, citizens dwell in A-frame timber lodges. The city is insular, and visitors are encouraged to leave as quickly as possible.

Mines of Tethkel

The Rashemi folk who live and work in this iron mine are infamously fractious, violent, and unruly. Goblin bandits and worgs prowl the outskirts of the town looking for prey, while kobolds lair in the mines. The kobolds have spent decades building a lair fit for a dragon, and an egg in their hoard has recently hatched into a deep dragon wyrmling.

North Country

The North Country is the land between the Falls of Erech and the Towers of Smoke. While officially part of Rashemen, this land is sparsely populated and scattered with ruined settlements from the ancient realms of x and Raumathar. Rashemi warriors venture into the North Country and plunder these ruins to prove their valor.

Ring of Gray Flames

Five ancient towers built by the Raumathari civilization stand in a circle known as the Ring of Gray Flames. Most are ruined, but two are intact, and mechanical sounds and grinding noises come from within. From atop all five, gray flames spout. Divine magic doesn't work within or near the towers, and the region is prowled by strange guardians—arcane spells brought to life.

Shevel

Tradespeople established the town of Shevel near the Golden Road trade route to craft and peddle their wares. Over time, the town grew into a thriving, walled city of immigrants within the otherwise-isolated realm of Rashemen. Since the fall of Citadel Rashemar, raids from the lands to the east have been a regular occurrence, and there's always mercenary work to be found in Shevel.

Sunrise Mountains

Most people consider the nigh-impassible Sunrise Mountains the eastern edge of Faerûn. The range towers fifteen thousand feet high and is littered with ruined towers from the ancient realm of Raumathar and mysterious wells that date to some other forgotten culture. The few passes over the mountains are exceedingly dangerous, and many lethal creatures lair in deep caves and subterranean passages.

Urlingwood

The mystical heart of Rashemen, Urlingwood is a dense, wild forest populated by telthors and supernatural beasts. Rashemen law dictates only hathrans are permitted here under penalty of death.

The Citadel

A vast and ancient fortress that predates the Red Wizards of Thay, the Citadel was carved out of one of the highest mountains of Thaymount by a lizard-like people who left their images in statues and murals. The Citadel towers among lava, ash, and razor-sharp rocks and has extensive subterranean levels. For centuries, the Citadel has been Thay's greatest stronghold, and Szass Tam has claimed it for his own. In the Citadel, Szass Tam is unassailable. In the time since he moved into the Citadel, many magical atrocities have occurred there.

Delhumide

Thay began as a colony of the distant Mulhorandi empire, and Delhumide was Thay's capital. Now the old city is a dangerous ruin inhabited by fiends, evil fey, and desperate folk. These threats keep the region around the ruins sparsely populated, but adventurers brave the ruins in search of lost Thayan treasures.

Plateau of Thay and Thaymount

Central Thay stands on a vast, desolate plateau. Magic formalized by Red Wizards long ago brings rain here, which in turn allows towns, cities, and forests to survive. A second higher plateau rises from the first, culminating in the volcanic peaks of Thaymount. Only Red Wizards and their guests are allowed there.

Tax Stations

Small fortresses called tax stations dot Thay's border, roads, and internal boundaries. Soldiers at each station check identification papers and collect small but frequent tolls. A typical tax station has a garrison of thirty to fifty warriors, often including a pack of gnolls.

Tharchs

Thay is divided into districts called tharchs, many named after a prominent city in that region; every tharch is governed by a tharchion who answers to one of the eight zulkirs. The eleven tharchs are the Alaor (two islands that house Thay's fleet and shipyards), Delhumide, Eltabbar, Gauros (everything between the Gauros River and the Sunrise Mountains), High Thay (bounded by the Second Escarpment), Lapendrar (bordering x and x), Priador, Pyarados, Surthay, Thazalhar, and Tyraturos.

Bloodstone

Nowhere is the bloodstone trade stronger in the x than in west Damara. Here, amid the East Galena Mountains that separate the lands of Damara from neighboring Vaasa, the ruins of a settlement called Bloodstone mark the infamous Bloodstone Pass. In its 150-year history, Bloodstone served as the battleground for monsters, assassins, warlocks, and countless others who wished to command the gem trade. Its most recent attackers razed Bloodstone to the ground. Little remains of the site except for an ancient, petrified tree that, if legends are to be believed, once bore golden leaves.

Glacier of the White Worm

Nestled near the heart of the Earthspur Mountains is the Glacier of the White Worm: a mass of ice populated by herds of titanic white remorhazes and—if rumors are to be believed—a "king worm" that rules over the others. Devotees of Ilmater from the nearby Monastery of the Yellow Rose practice their sacred remorhaz-taming rites here; a monk who entreats and rides a white remorhaz is said to bear the "gift of the worm" and is afforded great prestige. Yellow Rose sages speculate that the glacier must be magical, for it is too far south for a nonmagical glacier to exist. The source of this magic, however, remains unknown.

Dunwood

Dunwood is a soupy morass of firs and oaks that thins to muskeg in the north. The peaty soil has preserved the ruins of elven and Nar cities. The Dunwood's countless secrets tempt treasure hunters bold enough to challenge the monsters rampant in the realm: zombies infused with demonic power, ancient living trees with inscrutable motives, and an extensive family of sadistic green dragons.

Dun-Tharos

This great ruin near the center of the Dunwood is the former capital of ancient x. Great plazas and wrecked temples devoted to demonic powers lie half-buried in the mist-shrouded bog. Various fell powers have claimed to rule over these wretched ruins, which are practically unexplored by adventurers. That might change soon—rumors circulating in roadside inns speak of powerful Nar treasures buried in crumbling shrines and flooded conjuring chambers hidden beneath the old ruins of Dun-Tharos.

Forest of Lethyr

Mysteries abound in the gloomy Forest of Lethyr. The druids of Lethyr brook few trespassers in their sacred groves, and they resort to violence against anyone who means to exploit the land's abundant resources. Outsiders who persist in exploring Lethyr might discover Yeshelmaar, the center of civilization in the Great Dale and a testament to elven engineering. In Yeshelmaar, visitors can see architectural marvels: vast, floating herb gardens; tiered stone courts; and ornately carved grottoes with pools of crystalline spring water, to name just a few.

Lyrabar

The capital city of Impiltur, Lyrabar, boasts numerous sailing academies. The academies are fierce rivals and host regattas and other contests of skill year-round. One of the academies, Waywater's Nautical University, specializes in teaching abjuration magic to seafaring mages. Lyrabar hosts the headquarters of the Warswords, chainmail-clad soldiers responsible for patrolling Impiltur's trade roads and keeping merchants safe from brigands and monsters. Warswords sometimes deputize adventurers as "swordpoints"—temporary agents of the law granted special privileges within Impiltur's borders.

Bildoobaris

In a vast, empty plain beneath the shadow of Mount Nar, tens of thousands of nomads gather for one tenday every summer for an annual trade meet, forming a vast tent city called Bildoobaris. Here, Nars barter in horses, furs, and jewelry; share news and oral histories; and celebrate the realm's all-too-brief time of plenty. In recent years, Nar demonologists have come to Bildoobaris bearing demonic relics and weapons from the buried cities of ancient Narfell in the hope of recruiting more followers.

Golden Way

Despite its history as the most famous trade route between Faerûn and lands to the east, the Golden Way is now a shadow of its former self. In Faerûn, the Golden Way begins at the western edge of Thesk, where well-maintained roads connect the cities of Telflamm, Phent, Phsant, and Tammar. Beyond Thesk's borders, the Golden Way becomes a path through the plains of Ashanath, connects to x via various ferries, and dissolves into little more than piles of stones—way markers—as it wraps around the Sunrise Mountains and continues eastward through the Hordelands and beyond. Interspersed here and there along the road are encampments and travel stations that provide shelter for those daring to make the months-long intercontinental journey.

Telflamm

The largest city in Thesk isn't controlled by that realm, but by the Shadowmasters, a religious thieves' guild that owns the city's inns and gambling halls and exercises considerable influence over Thesk's government. The Shadowmasters operate out of the House of the Master's Shadow, the largest temple to Mask in Faerûn.

Procampur

One of the oldest extant settlements along the Sea of Fallen Stars, Procampur was built atop an underground dwarven town called Proeskampalar. Procampur is known for its walled city districts, with slate-roofed buildings. More than its handsome architecture, though, Procampur is reputedly the single richest independent city along the northern Inner Sea. Hundreds of gem cutters and goldsmiths call the place home, and it would be a popular target for pirates if not for its incomparable fortifications and vigilant local government.

Adventurers' Hub

The Forgotten Lands are a popular destination for adventurers from all over Faerûn. These realms are rich with history and magic that can turn a peasant into a monarch. Not all who journey to this region yearn for fame, however; many come to remote realms like x to forget their old lives and forge new destinies. And the Forgotten Lands are filled with material wealth; those who seek fortune here can dredge it up from the seafloor, carve it out of a mountain, or retrieve it from a dungeon.

Bloodstone Economy

Realms in this corner of Faerûn benefit from abundant resources in nearby mountain ranges. The East Galenas, Earthspurs, and Earthfasts are rich in rare metals and gemstones, especially chalcedony, known locally as bloodstone. This gem is so plentiful—and so vital to the local economy—that these areas are sometimes referred to as the Bloodstone Lands.

Brutal Climes

Life is hard in most of the Forgotten Lands. Long, icy winters and fleeting, muddy summers make for difficult farming. Many find other ways to subsist—such as trapping, mining, or fishing—but these trades are only slightly less trying in the region's frigid climate. Fussy nobles and soft urbanites don't last long in these parts; the average denizen of the Forgotten Lands is one of the toughest, most down-to-earth people one will ever meet.

Living with the Elements

Regional natives must cope with the inhospitable climate. The nomads of x, for example, migrate south during the dark months, avoiding the brunt of winter's chill. Elsewhere, such as the Monastery of the Yellow Rose in Damara, people overcome the elements by mastering magic and enlisting the aid of local fauna. (See "Glacier of the White Worm" above.)

Trade Prevails

For all their talk of autonomy and self-determination, the people of the Forgotten Lands also understand the importance of sharing goods and information. Trade in these realms begins in the mountains of Damara and plains of Narfell, from where it flows toward the Sea of Fallen Stars as a rushing river that empties into the rich ports of x and x. Gold is everywhere in the Forgotten Lands, but unlike in other wealthy regions like x and the Sword Coast, folk here hold onto their wealth instead of flaunting it in the form of lavish palaces or gilded statues.

Farsea Marshes and Marshes of Tun

The ruins of two prehistoric civilizations, preceding even the elves' arrival in the x, lie in the pestilent marshes of Farsea and Tun in Cormyr's north. Explorers who have braved the marshes' monsters and magical sicknesses theorize that these societies released magical contagions on each other, resulting in their mutual destruction.

Huthduth

A monastery devoted to Chauntea, Huthduth lies in a wooded valley just south of the Farsea Marshes and is well protected with walls and militant priests. It is named after its founder, whose benevolent spirit still haunts the monastery and periodically manifests. Priests raise sheep and make wine from local berries, but the well-defended nature of the place has led many to believe Huthduth houses a secret inhabitant, a valuable treasure, or magic unknown to the rest of the world.

Shargrailar's Lair

The ancient red dragon Shargrailar was the first dracolich Sammaster, the lich leader of the x, created using the Tome of the Dragon. The dracolich was destroyed more than a century ago with spellfire, but his lair, dug out of the Thunder Peaks near the headwaters of the Immerflow, remains a place of pilgrimage for the Cult of the Dragon and a nursery for red dragon wyrmlings.

Sunset Mountains

The towering Sunset Mountains are home to the Darkhold, a powerful x stronghold. Dragons dying of natural causes often come to the Sunset Mountains to spend their last hours at an extinct volcanic caldera called the Well of Dragons. The Cult of the Dragon's base beneath the Well has been vanquished, but cult leaders have been spotted probing the ruins.

Suzail

Suzail is the capital of Cormyr. Its monarch, the skilled sword fighter Queen Raedra Obarskyr, rules from the Dragon Throne. Her royal authority is kept in check by the Suzail Writ, a fifty-year-old piece of legislation that holds Cormyr's monarch to the same laws as the rest of its citizens.

Thunder Peaks

The storm-battered Thunder Peaks were once home to Shargrailar, Faerûn's first dracolich. These days, a dracolich called Aurgloroasa, formerly a shadow dragon, lairs in an abandoned dwarven city within the mountain range. Also known as the Sibilant Shade, she commands the Cult of the Dragon's Sembian sect.

Tilverton

A rift to the Shadowfell wrought havoc on the Cormyrian town of Tilverton between the Desertsmouth Mountains and the Thunder Peaks. Now, all that remains is a vast crater of writhing darkness, from which monsters of shadow stuff periodically emerge.

Dales Compact

When human settlers first arrived in the area now known as the Dalelands, the forest of Cormanthor was already occupied by a thriving elven civilization. These wary elves proposed the Dales Compact: an agreement that allowed humans to settle on the edges of Cormanthor or in places that the great trees didn't grow, so long as they didn't cut deeper into the forest. Human mages erected a stone obelisk called the Standing Stone in Cormanthor as a symbol of unity between the two species. This date became the beginning of the Dalereckoning, or 1 DR, marking the first year of the modern Faerûnian calendar. Though Cormanthor's elven civilization fell long ago and few elves still live there, the people of the Dalelands still respect the Dales Compact.

Archenbridge

A history of Sembian invasions has led the trading hub of Archenbridge (the chief settlement of Archendale) to become the most fortified town in the Dalelands. Most goods from x and x flow through this walled, trap-filled town to the rest of the dales.

Cormanthor

Cormanthor is a forest of towering trees. Most of the elves who once lived here left long ago, but some refugees of Myth Drannor's second fall remain. A swath of fungi, oozes, and rot called Moander's Road was carved through Cormanthor's northern reaches by the rampaging god of corruption and rot, Moander.

Myth Drannor

The elven metropolis of Myth Drannor fell hundreds of years ago to demonic forces. Elves briefly reclaimed it in the last century, but then the flying Shadovar city of Thultanthar crashed into it, doing extensive damage. Now demons and other monsters again infest Myth Drannor's remains. Its many ruins invite adventurers to seek the lost city's treasures or find a way to restore its mythal.

Scardale Town

The infamously lawless harbor of Scardale Town is home to several criminal syndicates and an enclave of x. Its people still reel from the memory of the Shaking Plague, a magical contagion that decimated its population. The town is governed by Lord Kharu Aumersair, a tiefling sorcerer who claims descent from Elminster, through the infamous x agent Scyllua Darkhope and her father, Lashan Aumersair. Scardale has a history of being ruled by invaders, and Lord Aumersair has used this resentment of outsiders to unite the town's criminal syndicates into an alliance that supports his rule.

Shadowdale Town

Though small and unassuming at first glance, many consider sleepy Shadowdale Town the Dalelands' cultural heart. It was once home to Elminster and Storm Silverhand, though neither has been seen in town for years. These days, a growing community of orcs from the River Ashaba have settled in Shadowdale. Lady Khara Sulwood rules from the twisted Tower of Ashaba, with the help of the elf warrior Tharinel, her reliable bodyguard and adviser.

Hillsfar

The independent walled city of Hillsfar, on the southern shore of the Moonsea, is busy, prosperous, and secured by a mercenary company called the Red Plumes. Until recently, Hillsfar's Great Law of Humanity barred non-humans from entering the city. After a revolution deposed First Lord Torin Nomerthal, his successor, Vuhm Yestral, revoked the law. Hillsfar still suffers from strained relations between humans and other species, and progress is slower than Vuhm would like. In the wake of Zhentil Keep's decline, Hillsfar's only rival for dominance of the Moonsea is the city of Mulmaster.

Melvaunt

A cloud of smog hangs over the austere and unwelcoming Moonsea city of Melvaunt courtesy of its hundreds of forges. This polluted merchant town is a smith's haven and a den of crime.

The Moonsea

Rumors persist of isles that rise from the cold, purplish depths of the eponymous Moonsea on certain nights of the year. An underwater tower called the Bell of the Depths is said to be guarded by the ghosts of the first humans who settled the Moonsea region. Its spire is visible from the water's surface, and it tolls on foggy nights with the sound of a ghostly bell heard as far as Hillsfar.

Mulmaster

Sixteen wealthy nobles called the Council of Blades rule the unabashedly imperialist Moonsea city of Mulmaster. At their disposal are the Hawks, a clandestine group of spies and assassins; the Cloaks, Mulmaster's official mage guild; and the Soldiery, the city's armed forces. The Church of Bane is Mulmaster's dominant faith.

Point Iron

The dwarven iron mine known as Point Iron was taken over by duergar more than a century ago. In their mining, the duergar found gold, which they craft into fabulous jewelry that fetches exorbitant prices throughout the Moonsea and x. This trade has also given the psychic duergar access to powerful individuals they can bring under their mental control.

Quivering Forest

For a time, travelers who entered the Quivering Forest emerged in Barovia, a Domain of Dread within the Shadowfell (described in Curse of Strahd and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft). The mists of Barovia have since cleared, but terrifying werewolves, vampires, and other creatures from that realm still haunt these woods. Barovia's influence has even granted new powers to Jeny Greenteeth, a legendary hag of the forest.

Thar

Valiant orcs fight to defend their territory from ogres, manticores, and perytons in the rocky moorland known as the Thar. Eons ago, this land was a unified orc kingdom. Legend has it that Vorbyx's Hammer, a great weapon carried by the first king of Thar, lies hidden somewhere here. Thar's orcs believe that the next orc to wield it will restore the kingdom to its former glory.

Zhentil Keep

Once the seat of x power across Faerûn, Zhentil Keep was razed over a hundred years ago by Shadovar forces. Eventually the Zhents returned and rebuilt it. Zhentil Keep is again a flourishing trade city, but Zhentarim leaders have been slow to return there. Zhentarim soldiers are sent to Zhentil Keep for training, and the governing council is conspiring to regain influence in the Moonsea from rivals Hillsfar and Mulmaster.

Ordulin

Half a century ago, a dale called Moondale enjoyed a prosperous trade relationship with neighboring Sembian cities before being peacefully annexed into Sembia. It was renamed Ordulin and now serves as Sembia's capital. Every seven years, the merchant councils of Sembia's other cities convene and appoint an Overmaster from their ranks to govern Sembia from Ordulin. They have gone to great lengths to foster Sembian pride in the city and erase its cultural roots as a former dale.

Dragons

Dragons were the first occupants of the Heartlands, before even the elves of Cormanthor, and dozens of active dragon lairs litter the wilds, as do countless remnants of long-abandoned lairs. The x region sees much dragon activity; its sea was even once called the Sea of Dragons. x has seen a recent uptick in dragon attacks from the Storm Horns, and the x is steadily gaining influence in x.

Expansionism

While cities of the x and the North enjoy relative harmony among each other, the same can't be said for the realms of the x. x and x have expanded relentlessly over the centuries and taken turns encroaching on each other's territories. The x's leaders ruthlessly control their individual cities and plot to overthrow each other to grab more power. The Dalelands sits in the middle of it all, trying to avoid the attention of realms and factions that would eagerly invade the dales if it wasn't so difficult to march an army through the forest of Cormanthor.

Pools of Radiance

Pools of radiance are open wounds in the Weave—powerful, naturally occurring fonts of raw magic. The water of these pools shimmers and shines with an unearthly glow. Nearly all of Faerûn's pools of radiance are in the x region. Several evil entities throughout Faerûn's history have found ways to channel the immense power of the pools—especially the pool of radiance beneath the x town of Phlan—to enact devastating rituals. A pool of radiance can be destroyed only with an artifact called the Gauntlets of Moander , but its whereabouts are unknown.

Athkatla

Athkatla, the City of Coin, is the capital city of Amn and a place of vast riches. Things illegal, immoral, and despicable pass without comment in this busy port city so long as the price is right. The Council of Five rules from a fortress here called the Council House.

Cloud Peaks

The Cloud Peaks teem with iron, precious metal, and gems—but also with remorhazes and white dragons. Frost giants sometimes scale the mountains' crags for ceremonies or games.

Esmeltaran

Amnian nobles and wealthy tourists flock to the beautiful city of Esmeltaran during the winter months to bask in the warmth of Lake Esmel's hot springs. A young copper dragon has begun pulling pranks on the lake's visitors, who mistake the dragon for a legendary monster of the lake named Esmelda.

Myth Lharast

The city of Myth Lharast was sacred to Selûne for three centuries, home to benevolent lycanthropes as well as elves and other folk. Protected by a powerful mythal, it nevertheless fell to internal dissent many centuries ago. As evil wizards and their undead and elemental minions conquered the city, Selûne removed Myth Lharast from the world, placing it in a demiplane. Now the city can be accessed only when the moon is full.

Orgoth's Tower

Hubris claimed Orgoth the Tainted, a prodigious wizard who summoned three unruly fiends and died at their hands. Rumor has it that his spellbook, the Alcaith, still lies in Orgoth's Tower. Elves of the Shilmista Forest warn against searching for it, since the three fiends are rumored to still haunt the tower's halls.

Small Teeth

To the south, temples of Cyric called the Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse sit high on each side of the Small Teeth mountains' central pass. The ancient blue dragon Iryklathagra, also called "Sharpfangs," sleeps deep within the Small Teeth, awakening once a century. Killing the dragon is a fool's errand; instead, adventurers try to loot the many hoards scattered throughout her sprawling lair.

Snakewood

Priests of Eldath inhabit Duskwood Dell in the serpent-infested Snakewood. Two years ago, a conniving beholder named Sersentrych slew the green dragon Ringreemeralxoth and moved into his lair. Sersentrych has since indoctrinated the dragon's hatchlings into loyal servitude.

Troll Mountains

Trolls aren't the only dangers in the Troll Mountains. Balagos "the Flying Flame," an ancient red dragon feared throughout the x, lairs in the extinct Smokespire volcano. The Gulf of Storms, a lightning-wracked canyon and pilgrimage site for worshipers of Talos, lies nearby. Wind whistles through the hollow eyes, ears, and mouth of the Wailing Dwarf, a mile-high mountainside carved to depict an enormous dwarf. An abandoned, ooze-infested dwarven city lies beneath this monument and is the setting for Lancameth's Last Expedition , a famous ballad detailing the death of Bryam Lancameth and his four companions, armed with potent magic items that have never been recovered.

Alimir Mountains

Calimshan fought back against beholders from the Alimir Mountains thousands of years ago in a series of conflicts called the Eye Tyrant Wars. Nearly fifty beholders live together in a massive hive in those mountains today, biding their time while rebuilding their numbers.

Calim Desert

Eons ago, when the immortal genies Calim and Memnon were imprisoned in the Calimemnon Crystal, the magical backlash transformed the surrounding environs into the inhospitable Calim Desert. Wild magic and sandstorms wreak havoc here.

Calimport

Calimshan's capital city Calimport is among the oldest cities in Faerûn. This famous trade hub teems with wonders magical and mechanical. Genies must swear a magically binding pact with Sultana Songal, called the Sultana's Oath, to enter the city. Cults, criminals, and illicit markets lurk in the Muzad, Calimport's undercity.

Forest of Mir

The Forest of Mir hides Myth Dyraalis, a thriving city with deep ties to both the Feywild and the plane of Arborea. A powerful mythal allows only those with fey ancestry to see this so-called Phantom City. Nearby lies Dallnothax: a mostly subterranean settlement devoted to Vhaeraun, a drow god of thievery.

Genie Strongholds

The four genie factions of Calimshan lair in fantastic strongholds scattered around the realm. The dao fortress of Olympus Dag stands in the Marching Mountains; the marid city of Maran Saya lies deep beneath the waves of the Shining Sea; the flying djinni city of Burin Bir and its trailing palaces drift above the Forest of Mir; and the efreeti fortress of Gozva Ka stands in the Calim Desert, hidden with shimmering illusions. These palaces are ruled by noble genies and are also home to a variety of aides and servitors who are adapted to the genies' preferred environments.

Marching Mountains

The Marching Mountains house the remains of the First Necropolis of Nykkar: an ancient site where early Calishites prepared their revered dead for burial.

Nykkar, Isle of Memory

In more modern times, Calishites have established many mausoleums and cemeteries in a necropolis on the so-called Isle of Memory, named Nykkar after the ancient necropolis in the mountains. Nykkar is maintained by priests of Kelemvor and serviced by ships known as the Death Fleet. A crew of engineers maintain a lighthouse on the island's northern tip.

Spider Swamp

Zanassu the Spider Demon was vanquished from Calimshan's Spider Swamp on the southern coast long ago, but quasits and other demons still infest this fetid area. The swamp is also home to reclusive spider-people known as araneas; so far, araneas have remained hidden, using magic to conceal their identity when they enter towns to trade. (Araneas are detailed in Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn.)

Castle Tethyr

Castle Tethyr was the historical home of Tethyr's royalty before it burned down some 150 years ago. Now, an elder beholder named Xithallowthlan schemes within the dungeons below the castle. Hundreds of eyes cover Xithallowthlan's body—a blessing from the Great Mother, a patron deity of beholders.

Darromar

Queen Ysabel Linden rules the realm of Tethyr from Faerntarn Palace in the capital city of Darromar. An aasimar named Saerwyn the Bright has recently arrived in Darromar to challenge Ysabel's right to the throne, claiming to be a child of the demigod Siamorphe. Whether Saerwyn is truthful or a pretender remains to be seen.

Forest of Tethyr

Many call the Forest of Tethyr "Wealdath," an Elvish phrase meaning "unspoiled woods." This vast forest is home to monsters, fey, the peaceful gold dragon Garlokantha, and two wood elf tribes: the Suldusk and Elmanesse. The Suldusk have their own treetop city, Suldanessellar. The Elmanesse seek to restore the mythal around the will-o-wisp-infested elven tomb city of Myth Rhynn.

Omlarandin Mountains

Omlar gems can be found only in the Omlarandin Mountains. These rare turquoise gems hold magic like a sponge, making them exceptional components for crafting magic items. The demand for omlars among x's genie lords has run most of the mountain's existing mines dry, prompting miners and adventurers to delve ever deeper into the mountain range.

Purple Hills

No one in the x makes finer wine than the halflings of the Purple Hills, on Tethyr's southwest coast. These halflings also recently reopened Canaith, a legendary bard academy. Bards travel from far and wide to study their craft there.

Starspire Mountains

Balagos, a red dragon of the Troll Mountains, keeps some of his hoard at a secondary lair called Mount Thargill in the Starspire Mountains. Five years ago, Balagos captured a young bronze dragon named Ixolothingeir, tore off his wings, and commanded him to guard this lair or die.

Velen

Velen is haunted, but its citizens don't mind. Many of the city's dead remain there as ghosts for unknown reasons, coexisting with the living. The autonomous Duchy of Velen gained its independence from Tethyr in 1424 DR. It maintains a friendly relationship with its western neighbor, using its impressive naval fleet to defend itself and Tethyr from Nelanther pirates.

Nelanther Pirates

Hordes of lizardfolk, ogre, and minotaur pirates surge forth from the Nelanther Isles (detailed further in the "x" section of this chapter) to raid shipping from the Lands of Intrigue. Merchants from all three realms commission adventurers to sail forth into those islands and recover stolen goods.

Night Bandits of Erlkazar

The x's eastern reaches suffer raids from the neighboring realm of Erlkazar. Armies of vampiric bandits slip into merchant camps and leap over city walls in the dead of night. Those who journey to Erlkazar find no trace of these bandits or the pilfered goods. The vampiric nature of the Night Bandits remains a secret outside Erlkazar, for the locals are too frightened of their vampire masters to betray them to outsiders.

Rise and Fall of Muranndin

In the late fourteenth century, an oni couple conquered the city of Murann in southwest x and founded Muranndin, a short-lived empire of marauding orcs and ogres who sought living sacrifices for their gods Gruumsh and Vaprak. Amn and x's forces slew the founders and reclaimed nearly all of the land by the late fifteenth century DR. However, the couple's son—a brooding oni named Avasskyth—still rules over the villainous city of Murann. The city is surrounded by a formidable wall made of thick, sharpened tree trunks.

Shadow Thieves of Amn

The ruthless Shadow Thieves began as an ordinary thieves' guild in x. When the Lords of Waterdeep assassinated many of the Shadow Thieves' founding members and drove the rest out, the organization reestablished itself in x. It thrived in Athkatla, where they became a household name and forged covert connections with Amn's ruling Council of Five. Now, the Shadow Thieves pulls strings everywhere in the x and plot vengeance on the Lords of Waterdeep. See chapter 6 for more information on the Shadow Thieves.

Shanatar

Before the x existed, there was Shanatar. This ancient shield dwarf kingdom sprawled across the region's Underdark and contained eight subkingdoms, each dedicated to one of Moradin's divine children. Duergar and other Underdark invaders brought ruin to Shanatar long ago. The only kingdom still standing is Iltkazar, situated beneath the Omlarandin Mountains. The god Clangeddin Silverbeard watches over Iltkazar, and a wise ancient silver dragon called King Mith Barak rules over the kingdom. Mith Barak seeks the return of the Wyrmskull Throne, a powerful Shanatar artifact that went missing eons ago.

Bryn Shander

Foremost among the Ten-Towns—Icewind Dale's cluster of small settlements—Bryn Shander is the local center of trade and government. It serves as a walled refuge for those fleeing nearby towns in times of crisis.

High Road

A vital lifeline linking settlements along the Sword Coast and one of the North's foremost trade routes, the High Road begins in x, runs south through Neverwinter, and then continues along the coast to Waterdeep (where it continues as the Trade Way). After decades of neglect and disrepair, the road is again safe to travel thanks to the efforts of Dagult Neverember and the High Road Charter Company.

Mirabar

The richest city in the North sits on the Mirar River, enclosed by sloped outer walls. Above ground, a largely human population is ruled by their hereditary marchion, but Mirabar is deeply dwarven. Tunnels, forges, and foundries in the massive undercity lead to the great mines of the Sword Coast. Dwarven elders on the Council of Sparkling Stones rule underground, and the Axe of Mirabar, a well-armed company of dwarf soldiers, defends the city against threats, above or below.

Neverwinter

The City of Skilled Hands was once known for its master crafters, fine goods, and lavish gardens heated year-round by the Neverwinter River, flowing from Mount Hotenow. When the volcano erupted and a great chasm to the Underdark opened, Neverwinter was nearly destroyed. Now, with the volcano's wrath spent and the chasm sealed, the city is rebuilding itself under the rule of Lord Dagult Neverember.

Silverymoon

Rightly called the Gem of the North, this quiet, cosmopolitan city is a powerful member of the Lords' Alliance and a haven of learning, music, and culture. The Knights in Silver and magical defenses protect the city's ivy-covered walls and towers, where gardens and trees cast dappled light on peaceful streets. For a time, Silverymoon was the capital of a tight-knit alliance across the Silver Marches—the region between the Glimmerwood and the High Forest. The War of the Silver Marches brought an end to that alliance and tarnished Silverymoon's reputation, but it is still respected and beloved across the region.

Citadel Adbar

Citadel Adbar is a fortress in the Ice Mountains built by the dwarves of ancient Delzoun that has defied invaders for eighteen centuries. The War of the Silver Marches reduced the city's once-great Knights of the Mithral Shield to a handful of members, but its defending army—the Iron Guard—remains strong.

Gauntlgrym

Once a bastion of Delzoun, Gauntlgrym lay abandoned under the mountains for centuries until King Bruenor Battlehammer reclaimed it from Lolth's followers with an army of shield dwarves. The heart of Gauntlgrym is its legendary forge, within which is trapped a fire elemental known as Maegera the Dawn Titan.

Mithral Hall

The ancestral home of the Battlehammer clan is a nigh-impregnable vault beneath the Frost Hills. Despite its almost mythic reputation, Mithral Hall is more of a stronghold than a city, with tunnels to other dwarfholds deep below its mines. Queen Dagnabbet Waybeard rules Mithral Hall, firmly in support of the Lords' Alliance.

Sundabar

Like its sibling-city, Mirabar, Sundabar was both an underground dwarfhold and a thriving surface city until it was razed by Many-Arrows orcs in the War of the Silver Marches. Refugees from the surface city fled west to Silverymoon and other nearby settlements, while the dwarves of the lower holds withdrew from the Lords' Alliance and banned outsiders from the city. While the walls and buildings of the city above crumble into ruins stalked by roving monsters, black smoke rises from tunnels and hidden chambers, where underground forges still operate.

Evermoors

An unsettled region of fog-shrouded hills, cold bogs, rocky ridges, small peaks, and crumbling ruins, this vast waste is inhabited by hill giants, ettins, ogres, countless trolls, and warring bands of orcs. A mile above the Evermoors floats the cloud giant castle of Lyn Armaal, only fleetingly glimpsed through overcast skies.

Glimmerwood

This wide forest combines the dense, lycanthrope-prowled Moonwood, the Druarwood (claimed by Uthgardt tribes), and the Cold Wood, which is covered by ice and snow even during the height of summer, except where blackened by traveling fire giants.

High Forest

The greatest existing forest in Faerûn is vast and mysterious, a remnant from ages past, when elven realms like Illefarn and Eaerlann ruled a continent covered in green. The High Forest is as large as a realm, covering mountains and countless secrets. Here dwell treants of enormous size, stags with antlers wide as a wagon, gigantic bears, owlbears, wolves, centaurs, unicorns, and other creatures stranger still, some of which have no name remembered by mortals. The forest's outermost fringes are inhabited by woodcutters and outlaws, but deeper in, wood elves and Uthgardt warriors of the Ghost Tree tribe guard the forest's secrets.

Icespire Peak

Icespire Peak is the tallest of the Sword Mountains, visible from far away as Phandalin. The mountain conceals mithral mines dug by dwarves long ago, and in winter its waterfalls freeze, forming amazing curtains of ice. But Icespire Peak is now home to goblins, frost giants, trolls, the white dragon Cryovain, and agents of the x, ensuring all but brave adventurers avoid its perilous slopes.

Mere of Dead Men

Thousands of dwarf, elf, human, and orc corpses lie beneath this saltwater swamp, which was created many centuries ago through fell magic. The swamp is home to two ancient black dragons: Voaraghamanthar the Black Death and his twin brother Waervaerendor the Rapacious Raider. The two dragons share a psychic link and are indistinguishable, so they're often mistaken for a single dragon. Efforts to drain the swamp or redirect the High Road away from its borders have been fruitless; the swamp merely expands to fill any abandoned space.

Phandalin

The frontier settlement of Phandalin has a long history of association with mages and artificers working in the nearby complex of Wave Echo Cave, home to the legendary Forge of Spells. Fragments of Netherese civilization also dot this region, including pieces of psychic crystal. Mind flayers lairing in the Underdark beneath Phandalin collect these crystals and use them to mutate innocent victims in an elaborate scheme to create a new empire in Faerûn.

Giants and Dragons

In other parts of Faerûn, people tell stories about the conflicts between giants and dragons. In the North, these are lived realities. Many giants and dragons dwell here at the edge of the world, and their ancient enmity threatens those who dwell peacefully in the shadow of the mountains.

Nomads

The Reghed nomads of x and the Uthgardt of the x survive through hardiness and mobility, proving that it's possible to flourish even in the deadliest of lands. Some, however, depend on raiding and violence to survive.

Spine of the World

This impossibly high mountain range spans the entire north, shaping and threatening the entire region. Towering black rock peaks are gripped by snow and ice, scoured by raging winds, and filled with yetis, white dragons, and frost giants, while tunnels, caves, and abandoned dwarfholds below are home to goblinoids, remorhazes, duergar, and drow. In the jaws of these mountains lie the crumbling ruins and secrets of too many half-forgotten realms and lost souls to count.

Underdark Menace

Threats from deep below the earth's surface are never far from the minds of folk in the North. Drow worshipers of Lolth dwell in great numbers in the Underdark, aberrations lurk in caverns deeper still, and buried secrets have a way of turning up in frightening ways. Worse still, in x, mysterious forces have begun to thaw the frozen deep, freeing horrors deep beneath subterranean ice that should never be released.

Winter's Reign

However dragons and giants might rage, there is no power greater than the winter in the far North. Life here is geared toward withstanding hardship. Traders throughout the region supply winter gear and spirits strong enough to warm bones and numb wounds. Builders create thick-walled shelters that stand against the strongest winds. Priests placate gods of cold, such as Auril, and pray to deities willing to grant one more breath, one more glimpse of the sun, to the faithful.

Airspur

The city of Airspur drifts above the shores of Wizards' Reach on an island of floating stone. Its populace includes a higher-than-average percentage of orcs and genasi (described in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse). Its theocratic rulers—the Church of Bhaelros—demand monthly sacrifices to appease their bloody god. The flying city uses its aerial advantage to harry its longstanding political rival, Cimbar, to the east. If not for Cimbar's divine ruler, Tchazzar, Airspur likely would've already destroyed its age-old foe.

Cimbar

The former capital of united Chessenta, Cimbar remains one of the fragmented empire's largest metropolises. The city is Tchazzar's seat of power. Naturally, given Tchazzar's draconic nature, the x has a strong foothold here. Though it is a blood-soaked and perilous port of call, Cimbar boasts one of the largest navies in the whole Inner Sea region. It also hosts famous non-military institutions such as the University, the greatest center of higher learning in the Old Empires.

Luthcheq

Military zeal combines with religious fervor in Luthcheq, whose ruling Karanok family persecutes practitioners of arcane magic in the name of Entropy, a strange god of alien intellect that resides somewhere in the vast underground chasms beneath Luthcheq's undercity. Dozens, if not hundreds, of magically gifted refugees flee Luthcheq each year to escape this destructive cult.

Threskel

South of the dormant volcano known as Mount Thulbane and north of the Riders to the Sky lies the sparsely populated land of Threskel. Chessenta and Unther both claim Threskel, but this remote land is famously lorded over by evil dragons. The few people who live in Threskel eke out pitiful existences on barren farms nestled between rocky shores and windswept cliffs. The desperation of this land has given rise to many heroic adventurers whom the dragons eagerly squash.

The Great Vale

The breadbasket of Mulhorand produces enough barley, lentils, and onions to feed millions of the empire's citizens; it is also the realm's primary source of papyrus. Large bronze pumps—just one of Mulhorand's advanced technologies—move water from the River of Spears to irrigate the valley's vast farms. To the east, the Dragonsword Mountains cast their shadows over the Great Vale; the empire's pharaohs and greatest high priests are buried among the foothills of these mountains. Marking these crypts are dozens of monuments and elaborate tombs—ancient step pyramids and towering obelisks—collectively known as the Land of the Dead.

River of Swords

This long river is the current border between Mulhorand and x. A perennial battleground, the River of Swords sustains few settlements along its bloodstained banks. Most of the river's water is too salty to drink or water crops. In the small city of Sekras there is a machine that pumps water from the river and filters out the salt; only a handful of priests of Thoth know how to operate the pump. Occupation of Sekras has traded hands so many times that even its few permanent residents scarcely know which empire—if any—they currently serve.

Skuld

Anyone wishing to experience Mulhorandi culture in its most realized form visits the metropolis of Skuld. The so-called City of Shadows has the noteworthy distinction of being the oldest continually inhabited city in Faerûn. Its central district is called the City of the Gods; here, incarnations of Mulhorand's god-kings live in grand temples that overlook lush gardens that produce delicious fruit and courtyards of gilded statues.

Black Ash Plain

This wasteland of infertile soil takes its name from the embers and ash that perpetually rain down from the volcanoes of the nearby Smoking Mountains. From the blighted earth jut brutalist ruins—vestiges of Ancient Mulhorand and even earlier empires. The ruins magically shift across the desert of their own accord. Those who brave the ruins' subterranean depths find themselves in an ever-transforming maze of basalt corridors and granite columns engraved with eerie glyphs that resemble no known language.

Djerad Thymar

The fortress-city called Djerad Thymar was the capital of Tymanchebar, an empire of dragonborn that was transported from its home world of Abeir to Toril during the Spellplague and fused with Unther to form the new realm of Tymanther. With Unther's return in the Second Sundering, the armies of Unther have shattered the power of Tymanther, but Djerad Thymar still stands. With its awe-inspiring stone architecture (the city is carved into the face of a mountain) and its vast arts districts, Djerad Thymar is a bastion for draconic culture and a mark of great pride for dragonborn.

Messemprar

The large city of Messemprar is by far the finest and most hospitable settlement in Unther. Not coincidentally, it is also the only city not presently under the thumb of Gilgeam. Instead, a coalition of anti-Gilgeam mages called the North Wizards controls the settlement. The North Wizards foster a brand of democracy otherwise unknown in the Old Empires. A prime port, Messemprar is beset on all sides by would-be conquerors: war ships from x, the armies of x, and freebooting Inner Sea pirates from lands abroad. Sturdy adventurers are in constant demand to protect the city's independence.

Unthalass

Supposedly, Unthalass was once the greatest city in the Realms: a paradise of flowering gardens, alabaster statues, and palatial limestone manors. Anyone who visits the city as it is now would scarcely believe such legends. Everything here has been sacrificed in the name of the god-king Gilgeam's hunger for conquest. The mud-brick streets overflow with filth and even blood, for Gilgeam brooks no dissent within his capital. The tyrant himself rules all of x from an imposing granite fortress in Unthalass called the Citadel of Black Ash.

Ancient History

x, x, and x are unfathomably old—and they are built atop the ruins of realms even older still. Most notably, Mulhorand and Unther are inheritors of the Imaskar Empire. To this day, countless ruins of Imaskar are strewn across the region, awaiting discovery by brave adventurers.

Insular Realms

The people of the Old Empires care little for the concerns of greater Faerûn. Rulers and commoners alike consider themselves and their kingdoms far above the juvenile concerns of younger realms. The denizens of x and x justify this point of view by citing the gods and godly descendants that have shaped their empires to an extent virtually unknown in other parts of the Realms. (Chessentans, for their part, simply view other cultures as weak and cowardly.) Further, rulers in the Old Empires are too concerned with their own internal power struggles to consider much beyond the horizon.

Living Gods

Unlike most Faerûnian deities, the deities of the Old Empires regularly assume tangible, readily perceivable forms. This allows the god-kings of these realms to take an active role in their followers' affairs. These deities deliver divine mandates personally and issue decrees that offer little room for doubt about the gods' motives or intentions. Because of this, priests in the Old Empires tend to function more like bureaucrats or law enforcers than spiritual guides.

Technology and Magic

The people of the Old Empires are masters of unusual technology and forms of magic seen nowhere else in Faerûn. Some of these secrets they inherited from Imaskari mages called artificers. Others are simply a result of unique Mulhorandi or Untherite genius. Examples include bronze water pumps and mass water purification spells that enable the transfer and filtration of precious water, and sail-powered sand sleds and easy-to-learn flotation spells allowing travelers to glide on desert winds over vast distances.

Criminal Underworld

Baldur's Gate has a shady underworld organization known as the Guild. It operates throughout the city under the discreet leadership of a crime boss named Nine-Fingers Keene. She has agents throughout Baldur's Gate, including in the city's banking network.

The Dead Three

The gods Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul share a common history linked to the city of Baldur's Gate, where they are known as the Dead Three. All three gods began as mortals, claimed a share of the power of the death god Jergal, and died during the Time of Troubles. All three have returned, and their worshipers have made a resurgence in Baldur's Gate and the surrounding area, hiding away in the shadows of society. Cultists of the Dead Three plot endlessly to secure the ascendancy of their deities at the expense of innocent folk. (The three gods are described in more detail in chapter 5.)

The Fall of Elturel and Its Aftermath

A radiant sphere called the Companion appeared over Elturel in 1444 DR, blazing like a second sun. Elturel's people praised the god Torm for this fortuitous blessing, and Elturel expanded to become the holy nation of Elturgard. In truth, the Companion was summoned up by the archdevil Zariel to enact a decades-long grudge against the city. In 1492, it became a crackling orb of darkness, dragging Elturel and its inhabitants into Avernus, first layer of the Nine Hells.

While all reasonable folk know and fear the Nine Hells, this fear is largely abstract. Very few have ever had to see such a place with their own eyes or feel its heat on their skin. But that's precisely what the citizens of Elturel had to do, as their friends and family were slain by marauding devils. After brave heroes eliminated the Companion and returned Elturel to the Material Plane, Elturgard's theocratic government doubled down on the mandatory worship of Torm, Tyr, and Ilmater—three benevolent gods collectively called the Triad.

Elturel

Elturel's people have become more pious after returning from the Nine Hells, desperate to ensure their afterlives send them to the Upper Planes. But this has created new problems, as the paranoid populace now distrusts and harasses tieflings, blaming them for the city's fall. Fearing for their safety, Elturel's tieflings have fled in droves for x.

Ss'thar'tiss'ssun

Ancient and evil, the spirit naga Jarant rules the realm of Najara from its capital city Ss'thar'tiss'ssun with the aid of a silver circlet called the Marlspire of Najara. This artifact grants Jarant powerful abjuration magic and control over reptilian creatures—including the first ruler of the kingdom, Terpenzi, now a powerful bone naga called the Guardian of Najara.

City Wards

Waterdeep is divided into several wards. Wards aren't separated by walls or gates, and crossing between wards is easy. City wards include the Sea Ward, marked by the palatial fortress-estates of the city's rich and powerful; the peacefully elegant North Ward; and the busy marketplaces of the Trade Ward. The Southern Ward is home to many immigrants, while the city's poorest live and work in the Dock Ward. Waterdeep's dead are entombed in the City of the Dead, a massive park and open air mausoleum within the city. Outside Waterdeep, a large collection of shelters that were once temporary housing for refugees has become a neighborhood of its own: the Field Ward. The Field Ward isn't patrolled by the city guards and has no sanitation or other city services; it is home to Waterdeep's most desperate citizens.

Defenses

While Waterdeep has a militia and city guard, its most famous defenders are magical walking statues and the griffon cavalry. The walking statues are eight enormous statues that sit dormant among the city's buildings. The Blackstaff can activate them to defend the city in times of dire need, animating each statue into an unstoppable stone colossus. The griffon cavalry is made up of well-trained riders and their griffon mounts. Each rider wears a Ring of Feather Falling, allowing them to safely leap from their mounts in daring assaults on any enemy.

Undermountain

The twenty-three-floor megadungeon of Undermountain stretches deep beneath the city of Waterdeep. Adventurers descend into it from a well in the Yawning Portal tavern to search for treasure. At the dungeon's bottommost level lairs Halaster Blackcloak. Halaster's motives are unknown and perhaps unknowable. He built this behemoth of a dungeon complex long before Waterdeep was founded, and he's been stocking it with perils ever since. Many creatures have also found their way into Undermountain of their own accord, creating civilizations in its halls, including the bustling, crime-ridden city of Skullport.

Xanathar Guild

The Xanathar Guild is a criminal organization operating out of Skullport, a subterranean city beneath Waterdeep. Its gang activity frequently spills up into Waterdeep proper. Very few people know who or what Xanathar actually is: a paranoid, megalomaniacal beholder who fawns over his pet goldfish, Sylgar. Xanathar has eyes all over the bustling city of Waterdeep and despises his rival, the x. For more on the Xanathar Guild, see chapter 6.

Ardeep Forest

Once the heart of an elf kingdom, Ardeep Forest has shrunk over the years, its trees cut and sent to x to build ships and homes. About a decade ago, elves from x returned to the forest to defend it against further intrusion and exploitation. They aggressively drive out all who enter the forest. But Ardeep Forest remains a draw for adventurers of all stripes, as it houses many interesting ruins and magical sites.

Candlekeep

Candlekeep holds the largest repository of written lore in Faerûn. It is a towering, walled library standing proudly atop a seaside cliff. In order to enter Candlekeep, an individual must submit a work of writing not yet found within its halls. Its librarian-priests, the Avowed, retrieve tomes from the library for visitors. Candlekeep's defenses include a mythal and a ghostly dragon called Miirym, the Sentinel Wyrm.

Dragonspear Castle

An infernal portal hides in the catacombs beneath the dwarven ruins known as Dragonspear Castle, on the edge of High Moor. It connects to Avernus, first layer of the Nine Hells, but is currently sealed shut. These days, a thick cloud of mist shrouds Dragonspear Castle from harsh sunlight. A mysterious group of vampires known as the Szarlnaxi coven lurks within.

Evereska

The elven city of Evereska is often called "a pocket of x," and it shares that fabled land's elusive mystique. Evereska is rumored to exist in a great valley in the mountains near x, protected by a mythal and defended by elf warriors who ride giant eagles.

Fields of the Dead

Myriad wars and skirmishes have taken place on the Fields of the Dead over the centuries. It is a vast, rolling plain of windswept grasses. On rare occasions, it belches forth hostile undead, the buried remnants of wars long forgotten.

Graypeak Mountains

Stone giants and stone goliaths call the Graypeak Mountains home. The range is riddled with abandoned mines of both dwarven and Netherese origin.

High Moor

Trolls and cruel goblinoids prowl the rocky wilderness of the High Moor, as do nomadic orcs and human berserkers. An evil dracolich called the Old One lairs in Orogoth, a ruined villa on the moor, still guarding the ancient wealth of a long-lost Netherese noble family.

Orlumbor

There's no better place to purchase or repair a ship in the x than Orlumbor. This rocky, cavernous island hides a great harbor full of skilled shipwrights and dockworkers who make some of sturdiest vessels around at a record pace. At the moment, Orlumbor has an exclusive business relationship with x.

Trielta Hills

Halflings live out idyllic, pastoral lives in the quaint Trielta Hills. Its humble people have little in the way of valuables to covet, which has allowed Trieltans to exist undisturbed by Najara to the north. Short-lived gold rushes bring outsiders to Trielta every now and then.

The Trollclaws

The rough Trollclaw Hills teem with ravenous trolls. Caravans journeying south to Baldur's Gate or north out of the Fields of Dead cross the river at the Trollclaw Ford and hire adventurers to battle off the regenerating monsters.

Warlock's Crypt

A Netherese enclave crashed to the ground in the Troll Hills over a thousand years ago, becoming a set of ruins now called Warlock's Crypt. Hundreds of undead dwell among the site's shattered rubble and twisted towers. Liches, including the great lich Larloch, perform bizarre experiments on the creatures of the surrounding region and release them back into the wild as terrifying horrors.

Wood of Sharp Teeth

Hundreds of years ago, these woods were the site of a werewolf city called Vehlarr. Rumor has it that wicked lycanthropes are congregating in these woods once again to recreate that society.

Lantanese Inventions

The last hundred years have seen the secluded island realm of Lantan grow even more secretive. Its recent innovations include packets of explosive smokepowder, parachutes, firearms, and even submarines. Lantan's people worry that the rest of Faerûn might learn how to replicate these inventions, potentially diminishing the island realm's trading power. Lantan exports inventions in small shipments to mainland port cities like x and x in exchange for precious metals and critical resources that are hard to find on Lantan's islands.

Northern Lantan

The large northern island of Lantan is home to the capital city of Sambar, which houses the realm's ruling council. The city of Illul lies not far away, housing the High Holy Crafthouse of Inspiration. Led by a high artificer, this wondrous temple is the center of Gond worship in Faerûn.

Orlil

The seemingly barren isle of Orlil boasts a self-contained network of Underdark tunnels that house thriving communes of Lantanese deep gnomes, or svirfneblin. Unlike the svirfneblin of Faerûn's mainland, Orlil's deep gnomes have never known drow subjugation.

Southern Lantan

Outsiders who wish to trade and parley with Lantan must do so on Lantan's southern island, at a port city called Anchoril. Southern Lantan's people are just as industrious and inventive as those to the north, but the citizens of Anchoril feign a lesser degree of technological advancement to keep Lantan's secrets safe.

Hoondarrh

Up until recently, Mintarn enjoyed unprecedented prosperity by offering its mercenary services to the wealthy cities of Neverwinter and x. As Mintarn's wealth grew, the ancient red dragon Hoondarrh demanded increasingly exorbitant tributes from the island's inhabitants. Today, Hoondarrh's influence keeps Neverwinter and Waterdeep from doing any business with Mintarn. This has left the island's ruler—Her Tyrancy Bloeth Embuirhan—with few ways to pay an increasingly greedy red dragon. Mintarn is poised to undergo a violent change of rulership as its people clamor for a new approach in dealing with Hoondarrh.

Rusting and the Rusted

A century ago, x invaded the Moonshae isle of Snowdown. Led by the vampire Erliza Darissa, Amn's soldiers stripped the island's mines bare, chopped down its forests, and polluted its ponds. Moonshavians banded together to slay Erliza and drive out the Amnians, but the vampire laid a curse on the Moonshaes with her dying words. This curse became the Rusting. Animals and plants affected by the Rusting warp into twisted iron before eventually crumbling to dust. Moonwells become pits of slick, black oil. People who dwell in an area gripped by the Rusting for too long become Rusted constructs who abhor the living. Some Rusted Norlanders even terrorize the Moonshae's coasts in giant warships plated with rusted iron.

Alaron

The Moonshavian island of Alaron is home to a large Ffolk population. Caer Calidyrr—a fortress that overlooks the city of Calidyrr—houses Derid Kendrick, high king of the Moonshaes. Norlanders live in the northern half of the island, herding sheep and working mines in the Farheight range.

Gwynneth

Gwynneth is the most magical of the Moonshae Isles and the center of the Earthmother's power. As of yet, it is the only Moonshae Isle totally untouched by the Rusting. Its landmarks include the rebuilt castle of Caer Corwell and Myrloch Vale, a forested valley teeming with fey. In the north of the island, the fey kingdom of Sarifal endures, ruled by High Lady Ordalf.

Moray

The Moonshavian isle of Moray is home to monsters and the Red Shadow: packs of werewolves who worship a violent beast-god called Kazgaroth. The Red Shadow regularly abducts innocents for sacrifice in violent rituals.

Norland

When Norlanders first sailed to the Moonshaes, they landed on the cold island now known as Norland. It remains the seat of Norlander culture in the Moonshaes. Jarl Olfsvenn is loyal to High King Kendrick, but he's torn by the fact his sister has fallen victim to the Rusting curse and taken on a new identity as Queen Forfallen. Overfishing in the Sea of Moonshae has brought the Rusting to Rogarsheim, and dockworkers show the signs of exposure to the curse: rust-colored marks around the eyes and a hacking cough.

Oman's Isle

Giants and their goliath kin live in well-established steadings and ancient Ostorian ruins all over Oman's Isle. Visitors can safely land at Trondheim, which is overseen by goliaths working for the giants.

Snowdown

The island of Snowdown is a blight on the Moonshaes. The Rusting first manifested at its only moonwell, located near the center of the island. Attempts to rein in environmental destruction caused by Amn have proved futile, and the island's population shrinks each year.

Gundarlun

Gundarlun, west of Neverwinter, experiences wintry weather most of the year, and its Northlander population is regularly terrorized by Arveiaturace, a white dragon from the North. Off the island's southwest coast lies the wreck of the Golden Crown , a Calishite merchant vessel that was carrying a vast cargo of gold, silver, electrum, and gemstones when it sank in a storm. A wizard named Hoch Miraz also went down with the ship. Its treasure has never been recovered.

Maelstrom

The storm giant stronghold of Maelstrom sits on the seafloor somewhere between Ruathym, the Whalebones, and the Moonshaes. Serissa, the titular queen of all giantkind, resides here. A natural whirlpool occasionally manifests far above the palace, wrecking ships and dragging them down to the seafloor.

Mother-of-Mists

Adventurers from x and x alike have journeyed to Mother-of-Mists in search of treasure, finding nothing but danger. Poisonous vapors and smoke mix with cold sea winds to create the ever-present mists for which this volcanic island is known.

The Nelanther

Riddled with communities of monstrous pirates, the Nelanther islands have few resources and are plagued with infighting. Ancient towers guarded by monsters and magic wards jut from several of the isles and even from the sea itself. The Nelanther's pirates avoid these towers out of a mix of fear and superstition.

Northlander Isles

Norlander culture originated long ago on the bleak, mountainous island of Ruathym in the Northlander Isles, north of the x Isles. Most Norlanders left these isles long ago in favor of more hospitable climates, but a few scattered steadings remain. Queen Forfallen, a Rusted pirate queen and Norlander, uses Ruathym as a safe port.

Purple Rocks

Few have visited the distant Purple Rocks archipelago, far to the west of Neverwinter and so named because it appears dark purple under stormy skies. Those who return report its friendly inhabitants sport odd piscine features and also note an odd lack of children and elders.

Sea of Swords

The Sea of Swords is a cold and storm-wracked gulf. Most of the x's trade routes hug close to the shore.

Tuern

Red dragons and fire giants war constantly on the volcanic island of Tuern, far to the north and west. For decades, they demanded tribute from Tuern's Humanoid population. When the people finally refused, the dragons and giants began conscripting them as disposable infantry in their brutal wars. People in x who have heard of Tuern see it as a cautionary tale.

Whalebones

Whales come to die for reasons unknown at a set of islands called the Whalebones. The shores are littered with their bleached-white bones. Rocs perch on the mountaintops while petty self-proclaimed "kings" of the tiny islets squabble among each other for power.

Denizens of the Deep

Entire realms lie hidden beneath Faerûn's waves. Storm giants live in great palaces on the seafloor. Merfolk live in sunlit shallows, while monstrous merrow and sahuagin lair in dark grottoes but surface to feast on innocents. Sea elves are much rarer in the Trackless Sea than they are in the inland Sea of Fallen Stars, as they're hunted relentlessly in these waters by sahuagin and their malenti spies—a breed of sahuagin with the appearance of sea elves.

Piracy

Pirates abound in the Trackless Sea. Norlander culture has a long history of piracy and raiding, sometimes harrying the mainland's merchant vessels along the Sea of Swords. Mercenaries from x sell their services to privateering crews. But the most fearsome pirates hail from the monstrous Nelanther Isles. These ogre, lizardfolk, and minotaur buccaneers aren't bound by codes of honor; they torture their victims and leave them to hideous deaths. They prey on the shipping routes of x, x, the x, and the Moonshaes, and they war on each other as often as they war on outsiders.

Ships

The lightly built galleys favored in more sheltered waters don't fare well in the winds and storms of the x. Savvy seafarers opt for bigger, more durable sailing ships instead. The Norlanders of Ruathym and the Moonshaes build swift yet sturdy longships, equipped with smaller, specialized boats called whaleboats for whaling. They are among the most recognizable ships on the seas, but a trained eye can recognize any vessel's land of origin by its size, shape, and build, even if the ship isn't flying any flags.

Umberlee Worship

Inhabitants of the x are ever-wary of Umberlee, the Wavemother. Cultists strike fear into the hearts of sailors, warning of Umberlee's ire and demanding passage on ships. Each coastal city maintains shrines to the cruel sea god, and sailors leave flowers or small candies in hopes Umberlee will show mercy on a ship's next voyage. Savvy pirate crews have been known to recruit priests of Umberlee to trap unsuspecting merchant ships in whirlpools or devastate towns with tsunamis before a pillage.

Arrabar

Arrabar, capital of Chondath, is a city determined to hold on to the last vestiges of its realm's old splendor. Lady Udriana Wianar rules Arrabar and the realm from a grand palace called the Generon. Her family, along with Arrabar's many nobles, lead decadent lifestyles funded by the rest of Chondath.

Chondalwood

Rumor has it that a city-state of reclusive wood elves called Rucien-Xan lies hidden somewhere in the Chondalwood forest. Those who've searched the woods have found only monsters, raucous satyrs, territorial druids, and Ghostwise halflings—a distrustful and uncharacteristically ferocious clan of halflings with telepathic gifts.

Mimph

A prosperous Sespech trade city, Mimph relies almost entirely on its port—famously, no roads lead to Mimph. A strong navy is based here. Rivalry with nearby Arrabar is so intense that merchants prefer to do business with only one city or the other, so as to avoid inciting violence. Helm is Mimph's patron deity; Helm's large temple is protected by a chapter of the Order of the Gauntlet (described in chapter 6).

Nagawater

A bobbing line of buoys lit by Continual Flame spells divides the freshwater lake of Nagawater. The northern half belongs to the realm of Sespech, and fishers from Ormpetarr fish there often. The southern half is inhabited by a peaceful guardian naga. Those who assume the naga is guarding some treasure and attempt to retrieve it generally end up drowned in the lake's still waters.

Ormpetarr

Ormpetarr, capital city of Sespech, rests along the Nagawater. Baron Yoric Maplefoot rules Sespech from a modest manor here. He is a curt halfling man of few words, well-respected by his people for his daily public court sessions in which he rules on issues brought to him by citizens.

Winterwood

Dim light filters through the dense canopy of the Winterwood's tall oaks and pines. A cool mist coats the ground like snow, giving the forest its name. Several orc communities call the Winterwood home; they defend their villages against hordes of berserk plant monsters.

Alaghôn

A great fire blazed through Turmish's capital city Alaghôn a millennium ago, and Alaghôn's buildings have been constructed of stone ever since. Turmish children play hide-and-seek in this stone city's hundreds of cubbyholes and hiding places, sometimes discovering secret passages to long-forgotten dungeon complexes.

The citizens of Alaghôn hold free elections to appoint the Assembly of Stars, Turmish's ruling council. These elected officials then select one of their rank to be Lord of Turmish.

Aphrun Mountains

A handful of cloistered stone and fire goliath families live in the otherwise unsettled Aphrun Mountains, retreating to hidden caverns whenever Mount Kolimnis spouts ash or red dragons circle overhead.

The Five Lions

An infamous and remote inn, the Five Lions was the site of a massacre—nobles fleeing revolution in far-off x took refuge here, but rebels caught up with them and all were killed. Now the inn is a haven for mages hiding from legal persecution. They have perpetuated a rumor that the inn is haunted by the restless spirits of Tethyrian dead, and this provides cover for their activities, including magical instruction and experimentation.

Gildenglade

Gildenglade was once a thriving Turmish city populated by elves and dwarves. Then Mount Kolimnis erupted in 1423 DR, burying Gildenglade in volcanic mud and ash. Years later, after the lava had cooled, caves opened into the buried city. Dungeon delvers who explore these ruins find them eerily preserved—and teeming with monsters from the Underdark.

Gulthmere

Nobanion, a benevolent god worshiped as a divine protector of the region, is said to live in the Gulthmere forest. Folk say they've seen the regal lion-god prowl through the foliage or even leap to their defense. Some faithful worshipers of Nobanion pilgrimage from the x to Gulthmere in hope of catching a glimpse of Nobanion.

Mount Andrus

A semi-active volcano, Mount Andrus famously destroyed the home of the Candlekairn orc clan a thousand years ago. The volcano is sacred to Talos, whose worshipers maintain a temple and shrines in the mountain's heart, where they ally with evil elementals and other monsters capable of surviving the blistering heat. But Mount Andrus also hides a Time Gate , a portal that sends all who use it backward in time. The gate is protected by Mystra, who forbids anyone except her handpicked champions from using it.

Orsraun Mountains

Kobolds and red dragons lurk in the uncharted Orsraun Mountains, and the dwarven city-kingdom of Ironfang Deep lies beneath the ranges' northwest mountains. Some dwarves have migrated from Ironfang to Turmish, but many Ironfang dwarves loathe that upper realm. Centuries ago, a warlord led Turmish into battle against Ironfang, and Ironfang's dwarves are slow to forget the lives lost.

Starfall Stream Pool

A popular vacation destination, this picturesque town in the foothills of the Orsraun Mountains is particularly famous as a place to celebrate the Festival of the Moon. But the cult of Malar preys on tourists during this time, and the town desperately hires mercenaries and adventurers to keep visitors safe.

Xorhun

Xorhun's population consists mostly of elves and gnomes. This Turmish city is built in the fashion of the great elven cities of old, with elegant towers and abundant trees. Twin and triplet births are unusually common here; the elves and gnomes consider this a blessing from their gods.

Deepwing Mountains

The Deepwing Mountains are named for the many winged monsters that call its heights home: manticores, griffons, hippogriffs, dragons, wyverns, and more.

Nathlekh

Cats abound in the independent city-state of Nathlekh, resting on rooftops and sipping milk from public troughs. Nearly everyone in this so-called City of Cats worships Nobanion, the lion-god rumored to roam in the nearby Gulthmere forest.

Wetwoods

Lizardfolk, bullywugs, and other bog-dwelling creatures call the misty Wetwoods home. Apart from some tiny halfling hamlets, the most notable settlement here is Urml, a village of reclusive bullywugs.

Hlondeth

x carefully maintains a friendly relationship with this City of Serpents, which controls the only trade road out of Turmish. House Extaminos, a line of guileful yuan-ti, has ruled Hlondeth for centuries. Snakelike architecture and green marble buildings decorate its streets.

Ilighôn

The x's leaders, an Elder Circle of druids, reside in the faction's headquarters on the verdant island of Ilighôn. Arcane magic doesn't function on the island; magic from primal or divine sources is unaffected. As such, Ilighôn's port city Sapra has become a haven for those seeking refuge from mages. The island is protected by the Seven Sentinels of Silvanus, colossal elementals that deter visitors and answer to the Emerald Enclave.

Locals of the x call the islands of Wavecrest and Ilighôn the Eyes of Silvanus. Unlike its peaceful sister island, Wavecrest is an uninhabited and dangerous jungle teeming with ferocious beasts and monsters.

Ixinos

Very little is known about Ixinos, a small forested island at the entrance to the Vilhon Reach, as the people there repel all visitors and refuse to engage in diplomacy even with their neighbors on the Emerald Enclave isle of Ilighôn. The only known settlement is the port town Tazixor, where the mysterious queen of Ixinos keeps court. The isle is defended by a mercenary company called the She-Wolves, and most of what is known about Ixinos comes from these mercenaries, who travel the Reach in small groups selling their services.

Reth the Half-Ruin

Half of the independent city of Reth crumbled into the sea during the catastrophic events of the Spellplague. Some adventurers take the plunge, battling kuo-toa in those underwater ruins to find the lost treasures therein.

Emerald Enclave's Influence

The x (described in chapter 6) was founded on the island of Ilighôn in the 4th century DR by a coalition of priests from Turmish and Chondath who were devoted to nature deities. Its influence remains greater in the Vilhon Reach than anywhere else in Faerûn. Thanks to this faction, folk across the Reach share an immense respect for nature. The few callous folk throughout history who have polluted the waters of the Reach or tried logging in protected forests have been met with the Emerald Enclave's unbridled wrath.

The Rotting War and Distrust of Magic

The Vilhon Reach's subtropical climate has, unfortunately, made it a perfect incubator for plagues throughout the region's history. None haunt its people's collective consciousness more than the magical contagion that ended the Rotting War. This Chondathan civil war began in 900 DR and gained its name when archmages from Arrabar and Hlath unleashed a necromantic plague. The rotting contagion decimated all sides of the conflict and spread beyond anyone's expectations. This plague has long since subsided, but x, x, and the independent city-states near them remain distrustful of magic as a result.

Spellmarks

A few villages and hamlets in the southern Vilhon Reach ask spellcasters to identify themselves by drawing a distinctive rune on their forehead with ink or chalk. This "spellmark" tradition derives from an old practice in the Vilhon wherein people would paint several circles on their forehead to indicate they could read or write—a tradition that became defunct as literacy rates rose.

Volcanic Activity

The volcanoes around Turmish are both a blessing and a curse: their ash creates the fertile soil for which Turmish is well known, but it has also laid waste to more than one Turmishan settlement. Mount Ugruth is long dormant, while Mount Kolimnis and Mount Andrus are still active. Turmishan spellcasters do their best to predict eruptions and keep their cities safe. Troublesome red dragons flock to the volcanoes' smoky heights to make their lairs.

Mezro

The city of Mezro is widely thought to have been destroyed in the Spellplague. In fact, its inhabitants saved it through powerful magic, whisking it away into a demiplane and leaving only ruins behind. Some hints suggest the city will return when it is no longer in danger. The Flaming Fist, a mercenary company out of x, has searched the ruins of Mezro extensively and still sends patrols there.

Port Nyanzaru

Port Nyanzaru hugs the coastline at the south end of the Bay of Chult. It's a colorful, musical, aroma-filled, vibrant city—the only city in Chult that isn't in ruins or overrun by monstrous creatures. The city is run by seven influential merchant princes. Other than trade, the biggest attractions are the weekly dinosaur races through the streets. Locals and visitors alike wager princely sums on the races' outcomes. The city also boasts grand bazaars, glorious mansions and temples, circuses, and gladiatorial contests.

Ankhapur

The city of Ankhapur boasts a thriving industry centered on pearls retrieved from the stinking yellow water of the Lake of Steam. The magnificent pearls prized from oysters that grow to enormous size fetch high prices in the markets of x and x.

Lhesper

This ruined city is home to a powerful clan of yuan-ti. Human travelers along the shores of Lake Lhespen often fall prey to bandits under yuan-ti domination and are carried back to a terrible fate in Lhesper—usually sacrifice to the yuan-ti's evil god, but sometimes transformation into monstrous servitors to the serpent race. The Shaaryan give it a wide berth.

Shaarmid

A free trading city populated mostly by human folk who claim no kinship with the Shaaryan nomads, Shaarmid is accepted by the tribes as a longtime ally because the city's people have a history of brokering excellent deals for the nomads with the traders from the rest of Faerûn. Merchants flock to Shaarmid for safety from Shaaryan bandits and other raiders.