Jhaamdath Jhaamdath was the first and only psiocracy in the history of the human nations of Toril . Made up of the Twelve Cities of the Sword - Naarkolyth ( the capital and First City ) , Porrenath , Jhouram , Gharrent , Golmuth , Lirremar , Tuoxent , Hollinth , Jhirrent , Inixrien , Corrant , and Mirrindith - this ancestor of present - day Chondath was founded circa – 5800 DR and destroyed in – 255 DR by elven high mages of Nikerymath . History . Around - 5800 DR , a tribe of human warriors established a small realm in the fertile lands between the forest of Nikerymath ( now the Chondalwood ) and the shores of the Inner Sea . Led by the warrior - king Jhaam , this tiny kingdom soon conquered the surrounding villages , not as an act of imperialistic expansion , but as a means to secure the realm from attack . Jhaam fell before this establishment was complete , but his heirs were successful in founding the country of Jhaamdath - so named for their famed progenitor - with the great city of Naarkolyth as its capital . In less than thirty years , the citizens of Naarkolyth began manifesting a new kind of innate mind magic ( psionics ) , which equally expressed itself amongst peasants and nobles . These psions , as the practitioners of the Invisible Art came to be known , were said to be favored of their god , Auppenser . Jhaamdath thus became rigidly organized into a caste society of psiarchs , soldiers , scribes , and commoners , with worship of Auppenser established as the state religion . In the beginning of Jhaamdath ' s second century , the country underwent a cultural transformation . The governing oligarchy was supplanted by a psiocracy — a ruling body of powerful psions and psychic warriors known as bladelords . Throughout the next 5 and a half centuries , Jhaamdath expands into a confederation of twelve city - states . The people of Jhaamdath become well - known between the southern reaches of the Sea of Fallen Stars and the Shining Sea for their swordsmanship ; this fame forms the basis for calling the confederation by the nom de guerre , the Twelve Cities of the Sword . In – 276 DR , a coup d ' état violently dissolves the psiocracy of the Bladelords and a powerful metamind names himself emperor . The now imperial Jhaamdath then aggressively expanded its reach , rapidly moving west and south . The throne also increased its attention on the Sea of Fallen Stars , building up a great naval fleet in hopes of conquering the lands around the sea . Their great expansion and militaristic goals called for more and more wood and the great deforestation of the nearby woodlands . The elves of Nikerymath bravely and desperately fought to defend their forest home , but the military might of Jhaamdath mercilessly slaughtered them in their desire for more wood . Desperate and forced with utter annihilation , the elves turned to Elven High Magic and called forth an enormous tidal wave from the Sea of Fallen Stars instantly destroying all of the Twelve Cities of the Sword . This tidal wave expanded what was Jhaamdath Bay and reshaped it into the Vilhon Reach ( since reshaped even further by the Spellplague into the Vilhon Wilds ) . Only a handful of towers and keeps situated on higher ground escaped the destruction , though even these eventually sank due to the changed seascape . The only remnants of Jhaamdath that survived untouched were those graveyards and outposts built far from the Twelve Cities . The basin floor beneath the Vilhon Reach is littered with the ruins of Jhaamdath . Psionic power slowly leaked from the countless number of psionically enchanted magical items and has , over time , slowly corrupted the local flora and fauna creating phrenic monsters . The sunken cities are now inhabited by koalinths , sea hags , and scrags who , along with the depths of the Reach , have thus far prevented most exploration . Since , however , much of the Vilhon Reach has dried up and resurfaced due to the ravages of the Spellplague , much of the previously lost wonders of the Twelve Cities of the Sword are again accessible . . . if one is willing to brave the monsters that have since taken over , as well as the dangers caused by the nearby Plaguewrought Land . Sites . Naarkolyth . The ruins of Naarkolyth , the imperial capital of Jhaamdath , have never been found by any underwater exploration , but legends of the capital city yet persist . Every few years , on a moonless night , a phantom city of stone slowly appears in the air floating above the waters of the Vilhon Reach . At sunrise , the city simply fades away . Sages for centuries have been at a loss to explain the city ’ s strange appearances , the last of which occurred in the Year of the Unstrung Harp ( 1371 DR ) . The phantom city is inhabited only by a single , huge , cloudlike undead creature , thought to be formed from the psychic residue left by th city ’ s sudden destruction . This tormented entity is believed to be a Caller in Darkness of immense size and power . Its form shows not merely dozens , but thousands of human faces , all screaming out silently in horror and anguish . This ghost city has yet to be explored , perhaps because no one even knows whether its streets and structures are substantial enough to permit exploration . Dordrien . After the fall of Jhaamdath , the nobleman Dordrien led a group of survivors north across the Sea of Fallen Stars where they founded a town on the site that would later become Daggerdale . On the western slopes of the Dagger Hills , Dordrien built a keep to guard his people , enduring for more than a century before orc raids left it in ruin . Few traces remain today of this desperate Jhaamdathan settlement . The crumbling foundations of the keep are , however , still visible on a barren hilltop , and only 2 miles north , the crypt of the Dordrien family can be found . The Dordrien crypt is built from limestone caverns beneath the Dagger Hills . Natural tunnels in the caves lead to the drow outpost of Szith Morcane . Drow refugees from Maerimydra used the crypts as a staging ground for surface raids until adventurers hired by Randal Morn , ruler of Daggerdale , put an end to that . Now , the crypts are home to a number of undead Jhaamdathan royalty , and a nest of bebilith s left behind by the drow of Szith Morcane . Jhouram . The port city was built on a hilly region 10 miles south of the Eyes of Silvanus . It was well known around the Sea of Fallen Stars for its robust trade with those coastal kingdoms . When Jhaamdath fell , Jhouram ’ s hills served to protect much of the city from most of the force of the tidal wave . However , the changed seascape of the area caused those sections of the city that were saved to eventually sink , though they remained mostly intact . What was left of Jhouram is now overgrown with barnacles and ropy sea plants . A sea hag witch - queen , along with two green hags , now rule over the sunken city , served by a tribe of kapoacinths . The hags ' minions have since recovered a vast wealth of gold , gems , and psionically - charged magical items from city ’ s vaults and armory . Magic & Magical Items . Powerleech : A magical effect to which melee weapons could be enchanted . A weapon with this ability drains psionic power from the foe struck and transferred it to the wielder . Powerleech weapons were highly popular amongst the bladelords . < br > Nimblestep : The name for a small number of short swords with psionic enchantments . It is thought that these blades originate from the ruins of Corrant . A psionicist wielding a " nimblestep " can focus their mind quicker than normal , while also gaining the ability to run up walls , and jump much farther than he or she would be able to otherwise . Time Line . " Note : All dates are on the Dalereckoning scale . " < br > < br > – 5800 Jhaamdath is founded north of the Chondalwood , as human settlements unite under the psionic warrior Jhaam , scion of the Dath Dynasty . < br > – 5750 The First City of the Sword , Naarkolyth , is founded . < br > – 5730 Auppenser , through the psion mystic Laszik Silvermind , delivers to Jhaamdath his plan for the country ' s prosperity . The first divine precept of this plan , the outlawing of slavery , is quickly enacted . < br > – 5725 Laszik crafts the first udoxias , a powerful psionic artifact in the city of Naarkolyth ( not one of the Twelve Cities of the Sword ) . Those with psionic abilities who mentally touch the udoxias are granted access to greater power . The effect of the udoxias is felt for miles beyond Naarkolyth , and many of the country ' s citizens begin making pilgrimages to the capital city . < br > – 5710 Laszik founds the Udoclian , a university for the study the Invisible Art , in Naarkolyth . < br > – 5700 Jhaamdath replaces its oligarchic government in favor of psiocracy . < br > – 5690 Laszik Silvermind , now elderly , mysteriously vanishes from the Material Plane . It is believed that he ascended , bodily , to serve at Auppenser ’ s side . < br > – 5600 The Second City of the Sword , Porrenath , is founded . < br > – 5500 The Port City of Jhouram joins Jhaamdath as the Third City of the Sword . < br > – 5425 The Fourth and Fifth Cities of the Sword - Gharrent and Golmuth , respectively - are founded . < br > – 5330 Lirremar ( the ruins on which Hlondeth is built ) becomes the Sixth City of the Sword . < br > – 5250 The twin cities of Tuoxent and Hollinth are inducted as the Seventh and Eighth Cities of the Sword . < br > – 5032 The armies of Mir and Jhaamdath battle , starting the Mir – Jhaamdath War . Mir suffers a devastating loss . < br > – 5007 Coramshan and Mir becomes allies in opposition to the threat of Jhaamdath . < br > – 5005 Coramshan and Jhaamdath declare a truce while also abandoning their claims to the Lake of Steam . Mir and Coramshan merge to form a new country , Calimshan . < br > – 4850 The Ninth City of the Sword is founded , Jhirrent . < br > – 4620 Inixrien becomes the Tenth City of the Sword . < br > – 4470 Jhaamdath ’ s Eleventh City of the Sword , Corrant , is founded . < br > – 4230 Mirrindith the Last becomes the Twelfth City of the Sword . < br > – 2381 Beholders plague the outer colonies of Jhaamdath and Calimshan around the Alimir Mountains . < br > – 1603 The noble families of Jhaamdath construct the magical refuge of Dhinnilith , a secure pocket plane accessible only through the palace at Naarkolyth . < br > – 276 " Year of Overflowing Casks " : A violent military coup sees Jhaamdath ' s psiocracy of bladelords replaced with a militant emperor . A great navy on the Inner Sea is built , and the increasing need for wood sets the Jhaamdathan military to the slaughter of the local elves of the Chondalwood over the next twenty years . < br > – 255 " Year of Furious Waves " : Elven high magic calls forth an enormous tidal wave , utterly destroying Jhaamdath . < br > 144 " Year of the Fear and Flame " : Chondath is founded on the ruins of Jhaamdath .