Returned Abeir Returned Abeir was the name the natives of Toril gave the large , horseshoe - shaped landmass , known to its inhabitants as Laerakond ( pronounced " L - AIR - ah - KON - d " ) , that appeared during the Spellplague . Located west of the Trackless Sea , replacing Maztica from its known spot . Geography . As of 1479 DR , Returned Abeir was divided into roughly eight regions or kingdoms . The continent was composed of mountain ranges on three sides , surrounding the great bay of the Dragon Sea . The entire continent was covered by arambar , that caused the sky to be silver - colored . This phenomenon was called the " Steelsky " . The Dusk Ports . The Dusk Ports were ostensibly a collection of free trade cities on the western shores of the Dragon Sea . In reality , they were vassal states to the green dragon Orlarrakh . Each port vied with each other for favored status with " The Green Duchess " but all followed her orders . The five Dusk Ports were : Eskorn . Eskorn was a densely forested land that was controlled by an upstart human kingdom that overthrew their draconic overlord , Eskornamundyr , some several hundred years before the Spellplague threw the continent into Toril . It was considered a backwater realm pretending to be a kingdom . The current royal dynasty barely enforced the laws of the region , moving from one royal keep to the next and the law of the land moved with them . The capital of Stormhelm was a small city on the Dragon Sea rife with political intrigue and backstabbing . Another point of interest was the Royal Keep of Nornglast : a mysterious , haunted castle . Nornglast was the “ capital ” of the undead empire , the Eminence of Araunt , a bizarre organization of specter s and ghost s that claimed every crypt and mausoleum in the world as a principality . A network of undead - only portals called " deathway s " extended out from Nornglast , connecting its crypt to dozens of others across Toril . Fimbrul . Fimbrul was a vast mountain range locked permanently in winter ' s grip . It was the sleeping place of the last of the Dawn Titan s who slumbered since they were overthrown by their former dragon mounts . What little population called this region home were mostly earth giant s and near - feral orc s . All of these residents despised dragon s for one reason or another and expelled them from Fimbrul whenever possible . A handful of dwarves made their home there , constantly warring against both the dragons and giants . Melabrauth . Melabrauth was the oldest dragon kingdom on Returned Abeir . It was ruled by Melauthaur the Undying One , a huge black dragon . The region was mostly unmapped , heavily monster - infested and completely unnavigable to non - dragons . During the Spellplague shift , the dragonborn slaves of Melauthuar rose up and escaped , leaving the kingdom dramatically weakened , but not destroyed . As of 1479 DR , dragonborn were prohibited from entering and humanoid slaves of all kinds were not allowed . Relmaur . Relmaur lay on the southern edge of Fimbrul and acted as a buffer between the dragon empires of Melabrauth and Skelkor . Relmaur was primarily a dragonborn kingdom consisting of escaped slaves and their descendants . It was a highly defensive kingdom , with all cities lying underground . As of 1479 DR , they came into conflict with orcs from Fimbrul , but the dragonborn had the upper hand at that time . Skelkor . Skelkor was " the " evil dragon empire of Returned Abeir . Larger than Melabrauth and more powerful , Skelkor was ruled by the Empress Dragon , Gauwervyndhal . Skelkor treated its slaves with special brutality , which led to a large rebellion when the Spellplague hit . In the wake of the planeshift , a large quantity of amber - like crystals appeared across Skelkor . The amber had the peculiar quality of weakening dragons almost to the point of death . This " dragonbane amber " fueled a rebellion that nearly wiped Skelkor off the map , but the substance quickly evaporated after use and within a few years , Gauwer returned and resumed control of the region . Some two hundred years before the Spellplague , a rebel group of dragonborn managed to seize a portion of western Skelkor and hold it until the plague ripped their kingdom of Tymanchebar from Abeir and literally dropped it on Unther in Toril . The survivors founded the kingdom of Tymanther . Tymanchebar occupied a portion of what is now the Dragon Sea . The Sword Lands . The Sword Lands were human - controlled lands south of Eskorn . They were largely lawless and without rulers save a series of warlords who constantly disrupted the relative peace of the countryside . For some reason , the Sword Lands were left alone by the dragons that dominate the rest of the continent . The reality of the situation was the dragonheirs , humans with the ability to control dragons by gaze or touch , probably still frightened the dragons , despite the fact that these near - mythical figures probably all died out . Tarmalune and the Windrise Ports . Tarmalune was often referred to as Tarmalune Great Port . It was a sizable metropolis rivaling Waterdeep in size and splendor . The surrounding area was free of draconic control due to the lingering presence of the sleeping Dawn Titan Achazar , who ruled the region centuries ago . His extended slumber prompted the people of Tarmalune to declare themselves free , although dragons still feared a centuries - planned ambush from the sleeping pillar of fire . The titan slumbered in the form of a 100 foot ( 30 m ) column of fire that burned at all hours , regardless of weather . While the city was free from the dragons , it had a reputation for collaborating with them and returning escaped slaves , lest the dragons would have overcome their fear and turned on the bustling metropolis . The Windrise Ports , of which Tarmalune was the largest and the most prosperous , were made up of five cities on the southeastern shores of the Dragon Sea . The other cities were : Gontal . Gontal was a western land isolated from the rest of Returned Abeir . It was separated from the rest of the continent by its mountainous frontier and it was a land of mystery even to the Abeirans . The inhabitants of Gontal knew it as a place of intrigues . Commerce with other lands of the continent did occur . Trade consisted primarily of lotions , oils , wines , and specialty herbs , and occasionally also magical elixires and golem work toys . Underdark . Like Faerûn , Returned Abeir also had its own Underdark region . However , this region was usually unknown even to the inhabitants of Returned Abeir . History . During the Dawn War , Glaur , a huge metallic fortress was erected in the northern region of the land later known as Gontal by the Dawn Titan Nehushta to serve as a central front in that ancient conflict . After the war , Ao sundered Abeir - Toril into the twin worlds , Abeir and Toril , and Laerakond was sent to Abeir . Not long after , the War of Fang and Talon took place and the few Dawn Titans who survived retreated into hiding to the northern mountains of Laerakond and fell silent . A few years later , a mighty dragon called Gorloun founded the first dragon empire , and soon rival draconic realms sprang up thereafter , and the long Rule of Dragons began . Unlike the eastern continente of Shyr , Laerakond was ruled almost exclusively by dragons . In the 13th century DR , dragonborn rebels won the Battle of the Crippled Mountain and managed to seize a province of the empire of Skelkor and free themselves from the rule of the Empress Dragon Gauwervyndhal . Renaming that province Tymanchebar , they fought bravely against flights of dragons to maintain their freedom . < ref name = " AotT / Hardcover - p291 " > < / ref > In 1385 DR , the Blue Breath of Change took place and affected the world of Abeir when the blue flames infected even portal s and planar gate s , traveling across time and space . The blue flames first appeared in Gontal , were it made contact with ancient Glaur . Unable to withstand the chaotic forces , the fortress detonated in an explosion as potent as the Tearfall , rocking the entire planet of Abeir and creating the Glaur Barrens where the old fortress once stood . Laerakond was torn apart in a powerful earthquake , and a portion of Tymanchebar , were the capital of the dragonborn nation of was located , disappeared amid the blue fire . Laerakond then was sent to the Trackless Sea in the world of Toril , were it subsumed Maztica , transporting those lands to Abeir in turn . Laerakond remained on Toril and in time became known as ' Returned Abeir ' to the native inhabitants of that world . Small quantities of dragonbane amber were uncovered after the Spellplague transported Returned Abeir to Toril . Although small , those quantities of dragonbane amber were enough to kill a lot of dragons . Dragonborn slaves across the lands were able to get enough dragonbane amber to start a rebellion during the Wailing Years , killing many dragons and even destroying a few dragon empires . Among the most fierce rebellions were those of Skelkor and Djerad Kusold in Melabrauth . Eventually , however , the reserves of dragonbane amber were depleted and dragons were able to retaliate and destroy the rebels . In 1479 DR , merchants from Tarmalune and Lylorn had began to trade with the Faerûrian cities of Neverwinter and Luskan , in hopes to establish permanent trade routes between the two continents .