Ylraphon Ylraphon , also known as Yrlaphon , was a town in the Vast , lying on the eastern shore of the northern end of the Dragon Reach , at the eastern end of the Hunt Trail . Etymology . The name " Ylraphon " was variously pronounced as either " Ee - ul - RAFF - on " , " Ee - IL - ra - FON " or " Ee - yil - ra - fon " . It could be spelled as either " Ylraphon " or " Yrlaphon " . History . Elven habitation . Elves from Cormanthor went beyond the River Lis to found Yrlaphon among the eastern woodlands in −1535 DR . The elven community there built it into a city . In the city ' s first century ( prior to −1435 DR ) , the silver dragon Pharyssolnyth dwelled in Yrlaphon . There she wrote the Tablets of Pharyssolnyth , which detailed how dragon s learned and handled magic . The famous Srinshee also once made her home at Yrlaphon . As this was one of the few confirmed facts about her history , it proved her to be one of the longest - lived elves in the world . Drow raided Yrlaphon in the winter of −722 DR and weakened its defenses . The city fell to overwhelming orc hordes in the summer . For her efforts , the Srinshee became known as the " savior of Yrlaphon ' s Survivors " . She took the Tablets of Pharyssolnyth with her to Srinshinnar . Vastar and Roldilar . Afterwards , an orc chieftain ruled from the ruins of the city . With the rise of the orc nation of Vastar " circa " −700 DR , the site became an orcish stronghold . At the beginning of the 7th century DR , Aleratha Ilnatar , an elven sorceress of Ylraphon , assisted the dwarves invading Vastar in enchanting over a thousand orcslayer weapons with which to destroy the orcish realm . Vastar fell to invading dwarves in the Year of the Spellfire , 610 DR , who in turn raised the kingdom of Roldilar . As Ylraphon was the northernmost port in the Vast , it was a valuable location and the dwarves developed a town there . Roldilar fell in the Year of the Bloody Crown , 649 DR . The dwarves fled as orcs invaded and pillaged the town . Once more , they inhabited a ruined city but developed another orcish stronghold . Human habitation . But humans began widespread settlement of the Vast , and Ylraphon ' s docks were again valued . They attacked , and following a bloody conflict amongst the ruins , the orcs were wiped out and the humans had conquered the place . A loose council of merchants rose to govern Ylraphon . Around the middle of the 11th century DR , a band of treasure seekers from Ylraphon followed rumors of gold to the eastern rimwood of Cormanthor . They brought with them twelve aurumvorax to dig up the landscape and search out the gold , only to be attacked and devoured by them when they ' d found rich veins in the hills . The aurumvorax fed and multiplied , and thus were introduced to Cormanthor . For a few generations prior to 1367 DR , Ylraphon took a great deal of the regular trade to and from the Moonsea , largely taking it from Harrowdale . Ylraphon ' s prosperity declined through the mid - 14th century DR as it suffered a series of attacks and setbacks . Lord Lashan Aumersair of Scardale directed raids against Ylraphon as part of his campaign to rule the Dalelands , until his fall in the Year of the Worm , 1356 DR . During the Time of Troubles of the Year of Shadows , 1358 DR , orcs ventured out of the mountains to raid Ylraphon . The downfall in trade across Faerûn also hit Ylraphon hard . The neighboring city of Calaunt also competed aggressively with Ylraphon . Its agents employed intimidation tactics and a few careful murders to make certain that Ylraphon could not grow to compete with Calaunt or take its trade . The townsfolk were struggling and their town in decline by 1370 DR . Finally , amidst the Dracorage of the Year of Rogue Dragons , 1373 , on Hammer 23rd a flight of dragons destroyed Ylraphon . Demographics . In 1372 DR , Ylraphon was a small town with a population of 1 , 666 . Government . When under human rule , Ylraphon was governed by a loose council of independent human merchants . Some of them were possibly smugglers or pirates . In former days , Yrlaphon was ruled by orc chieftains . Relations . The city of Calaunt to the south worked against Ylraphon . Its rulers employed intimidation tactics and a few careful murders to make certain that Ylraphon could not grow to compete with Calaunt or take its trade . Economy . Ruled by a council of merchants , trade was important to Ylraphon . In the 1300s DR , it grew off trade captured from Harrowdale , but it suffered a series of attacks and setbacks through the mid - 14th century DR , facing cutthroat competition from Scardale and then Calaunt . It was struggling by 1370 DR , but remained a favorite port - of - call for independent merchants and others looking for a discreet or covert entry or exit to the Vast . A great deal of gold was exported through Ylraphon , but as pirates lurked in the Dragon Reach hunting for ships out of Ylraphon , the gold - ships only went as far as Harrowdale and Hillsfar to shift their cargo onto other vessels . Culture & Society . The human inhabitants of Ylraphon resembled those of the Dalelands , and had similar dispositions . They were likely to be descended from the same ancestral stock as those who settled the Dalelands , but did not cross the River Lis into Cormanthor . It was sometimes thought of as part of the Vast but others categorized it amongst the Moonsea settlements . Several wealthy merchants and powerful mages were born in Ylraphon , but none stayed there . Instead , they quickly went to other lands to make their fortunes or seek adventurers , and rarely came home . On the other hand , adventurer s from outside regularly came to Ylraphon to explore the old tombs and temples found in the ruined parts of Ylraphon and the neighboring Flooded Forest . In addition , a variety of pirate s , bandit s , and wanders came to Ylraphon for sanctuary . With strange monsters increasingly prevalent around the Flooded Forest by 1370 DR , local hunters around Ylraphon grew well - armed and gathered into large bands . They did not dare camp in local woodlands overnight , instead returning to their homes warily in the evenings . Description . Ylraphon was a small town similar to those of the Dalelands . It also had a small port , once of the six primary ports of the Vast . A ferry operated on the River Lis , crossing between Ylraphon and Elmwood thrice - daily . The town was home to the Moonwater , a small temple of Selûne . There were also shrines to Chauntea , Tymora , and Umberlee . The town was originally a much larger city , built by elves , but its eastern outskirts were all in ruins by the 1360s DR . The Flooded Forest encroached on its eastern side , and was in the process of reclaiming its north - east . These overgrown ruins included several large , aboveground tombs and crypts , large enough to house a number of people and even horses , and provided shelter and hiding places for wanderers , bandits and pirates . Recurring local stories told also of ruined temples of Bane , Gruumsh , and Moander within these parts of the Flooded Forest , north of Ylraphon . One was the House of Moander . They tended to be built on raised and drier areas of the swamp . Local legends and rumors . The ruins and tombs circling the town were a common target of adventurers seeking treasure or magic , but they ' d been entirely robbed by orcs by 1370 DR , leaving little bar a few undead . However , with adventurers finding treasure in the House of Moander shortly before that time , more wealth was thought to lie hidden in the temples . But remaining treasure was more likely to be found in the town itself ; local tales reckoned that the dwarves and orcs had left theirs behind , or that , more recently , a few humans had hidden their gold in the town when they could not leave without attracting bandits or pirates . These treasures were thought to be hidden inside walls , chimneys , and roofs , particularly near the docks . However , the harbor and coastal shallows areas had already been regularly explored , and were also used as drop - off points by smugglers and pirates . What elven treasure did remain found its way to the temple of Selûne . The Moonwater housed a number of magic item s related to the moon , mostly gifted by elves leaving the area in the 14th century DR or dating back to when Ylraphon was an elven city . These were usually in the form of jewelry — typically necklaces , rings linked with fine chains , or ornamental bracers — with minor powers , or they were magic weapons disguised by either being encased in stone or magically transformed into other stone shapes . Folk in Ylraphon told of ghostly presences and screaming in the ruined temples of Bane , Gruumsh and Moander , and a few feared that they were being reused by living cultists . Many , however , suspected that smugglers , bandits , or orcs simply stored their loot in these places , and that they made the screams to scare people off , or that they ' d had a falling out . Still , some rumored that such bands served the mysterious Mage Who Never Dies , master of the Flooded Forest . With the resurrection of Bane in 1372 DR , it was thought quite likely that his temple would be secretly renovated and reopened , perhaps to direct the church ' s influence into the Vast .