Elven Court The Elven Court ( sometimes called " Old Elven Court " after its destruction by the drow ) is one of four old elven communities in the forest of Cormanthor ( the others being Myth Drannor , Semberholme and the Tangled Trees ) , part of the newly refounded realm of Cormanthyr . It is a holy site for the elves , a Seldarine - blessed place of pilgrimage , where the elves first convened to serve justice and decide the outcome of the Crown Wars and the fate of elves . History . The area known as Elven Court was first visited after the banishment of the drow from the surface world around - 10000 DR , marking the end of the four long and brutal Crown Wars . Important elves of Faerûn , including High Mages , nobles , and priests , were summoned by Corellon Larethian in reverie to convene and prepare for Court . Immediately , these elves began disappearing , and though originally thought that they were being summoned to Corellon ' s side consistent with their beliefs , they were instead summoned to a deep part of the Arcorar woods to the east . Corellon declared that it was here that they would decide their own fate . For centuries , the elves summoned to Elven Court ( numbering around 500 ) built a settlement in the place of reverence that needed no laws or government ; it was truly a place ruled by the elven pantheon and the unflinching determination to seek justice . The elves established themselves well in the forest , increasing their population , and meeting to discuss the fate of the elves and where along their path they had strayed and allowed the Crown Wars to happen . By - 9200 DR , they had arrived to the first proclamation of Elven Court ; to oust the ruling clan Vyshaan from power in Aryvandaar . The proclamation was resisted by the clan , and so began the fifth and final Crown War , which lasted two centuries and resulted in the removal of the aggressors from power . Many elves emigrated from the old realms at this time , populating the Arcorar woods to form the realms of Semberholme , Uvaeren , Rystall Wood , and Jhyrennstar , most of which would later become Cormanthyr . After the woods became settled , the village of Elven Court became a place of pilgrimage , and its sacred power became respected by the surrounding realms , who treated all proclamations as law . Some twenty - five of the famous moonblade s were created in Elven Court . It was a place of equality where elves could walk amongst each other as equals , and weapons were forbidden to be carried within its borders . For millenia , it was a place of peace and safety , until a fateful night in - 4400 DR . Celebrating a two - thousand year old peace between Arcorar and the dwarves of Sarphil , the elves held a feast in the Hall of Ages on Midwinter Night , - 4400 DR . Then began the " Dark Court Slaughter " as a combined horde of drow and duergar swarmed from the Underdark and attacked the city . Aided by magics that cloaked the area in darkness throughout the day , as well as the fact that none carried weapons on Elven Court ' s hallowed grounds , the drow and duergar easily routed the elves , sacked the city and desecrated its temples . Two Coronal s ( those of Jhyrennstar and Rystall Wood ) perished in the battle , along with many nobles and commoners alike . In the end , the city was a monster infested ruin , and the drow abandoned it . For millennia afterwards , the Old Elven Court remained forsaken by the elves . When Cormanthyr was founded in - 4000 DR , the institution of Elven Court was moved to the city of Cormanthor , the capital , and that city served the purpose of togetherness and judgment in the wake of the loss of the old city . Too many monsters wandering the woods ( now called the Darkwoods by the sylvan elves who lived nearby ) proved an unsurmountable obstacle for the armies of Cormanthyr , already stretched thin in maintaining its existing borders against further threats from the dark - skinned cousins . All that was left was to mourn the loss of the most holy place . Today , Old Elven Court lies still in ruins , but many old buildings of all sizes remain , though most are looted bare . It is covered in shadowtop trees , many of which still hold elven arboreal dwellings high in their branches . Much of the area around Old Elven Court was inhabited by the Cormanthor Drow after the Retreat in 1344 DR , of which House Jaelre was the most prominent , using the place as a home base and taking care not to disturb old elven barrows . Most of these drow were displaced after the Cormanthor War and the defeat of Sarya Dlardrageth and the Army of Darkhope by Ilsevele Miritar and the Army of Myth Drannor .