Cormanthor

The forest of Cormanthor (), also known as The Elven Woods and The Northern Forest, was long the place of the elven empire of Cormanthyr. It was a large, dense forest comprising various species of plants, including some trees that could grow over 100 feet deep in the woods. It was primarily abandoned today because of the Retreat when over 90% of the elven inhabitants left for Evereska, Evermeet, or other places further west.
==Geography==
Although Cormanthor could be considered one forest, it incorporated four different forests: the Elven Court, Semberholme, the Tangled Trees, and the Vale of Lost Voices. The first three of these four roughly corresponded to the old elven communities of the same names. The forest was also divided roughly according to tree type.
The Rimwood was mainly made up of pine trees and was the least dense part of the forest. It was an area that ran around the edge of the forest, a ten or twenty-mile border between the interior forest and the rest of the world. The soil here was not rich in minerals and was quite sandy, so it lacked the variety of vegetation found further in the forest. Most of the trees were blueridge and needleleaf pine trees, but they had spread quite far apart, rarely touching one another, and didn't often grow over 20 feet (6 meters). Because these pines dropped slow-to-decompose needles on the forest floor, other foliage, except softwood ferns, struggled to grow. The hillsides could be home to willow, spruce, and clumps of wiregrass. Although vegetation caused a lack of animal species in the Rimwood, insects such as beetles, lice, mosquitoes, red ants, and red leafhoppers thrived here. Major roads running through the Rimwood included Halfaxe Trail, Moander's Road, Moonsea Ride, and Rauthauvyr's Road.
The Midwood consisted chiefly of white ash and beech trees. The trees here were dense enough to provide a predominantly unbroken canopy. It separated the Rimwood from the Starwood and accounted for roughly half of the total area of the forest. There was a wide variety of other vegetation, in part thanks to the rich soil, including chestnuts and red maples in the hills north of Mistledale, honeysuckle and snapdragons in meadows and cherry trees and blue cedars in groves near Essemore, and ivory moss, moonfern, alders, hickories, and bitternuts. Some of the weirder vegetation included beetle palm, foxberry, and roseneedle pine. The Moonsea Ride skirted this area.
The Starwood was made up mostly of giant oaks and maple and was the densest part of the forest. The maples averaged a height of 200 feet (61 meters), and some of the oaks could reach 400 feet (122 meters). The soil here was rich enough to be almost black and constantly moist, which produced a wide variety of undergrowth, and traveling through this could be difficult because of its density. Because of the high humidity, various lichens and mosses grew here. The Starwood was rich in animal species such as deer, dire wolves, elk, emerald constrictors, finches, manticores, owls, porcupines, skunks, weasels, and wood rats. Adventurers could also find some unusual vegetation here. These included medquat, chime oak, hinnies, and zebra grass. This forest area was split roughly into four, each with its distinct tree types, but all areas of the Starwood contained tall oaks, maples, and hickories. The central Starwood was west of the River Ashaba and home to spruce and hemlock trees. The north Starwood was rich in cedars and the home of Myth Drannor, the ruined elven city. The east Starwood contained the Elven Court and Tangled Trees regions, both former elven communities, and was home to firs and elms. Finally, the west Starwood had poplar and gum trees and contained Semberholme.
The edgelands were patches between the forest areas where magic could go haywire and small animals' diets would change significantly. They were roughly circular areas no more than 60 miles (97 kilometers) in diameter, and there were usually only two or three in the forest at any time. They only occurred between spring and autumn and were caused by energy drifts from Myth Drannor. They faintly radiated magic, caused spells to fail or go wrong, interfered with the powers of magic items, and caused unusual weather effects, such as snow during summer.
Cormanthor was home to two main rivers that provided water to its inhabitants: the Duathamper, also known as the Elvenflow, and the Ashaba. The Duathamper ran along the southeastern border of the forest. The river was generally deep, more than 30 feet (9 meters) in most places, and wide, although it did become narrow and shallow enough in places to wade across. It had a large population of bass, catfish, and trout. The Ashaba cut the forest roughly from Shadowdale in the Dalelands to Semberholme. The river was several hundred yards across and deep, more than 30 feet in places. Its banks sloped steeply in most places, and it was home to carp, walleye, and bullhead. The carp, in particular, could grow enormous, large enough to threaten a human-sized creature.
Cormanthor contains several portals, such as the Cormanthor Portal to Cormyr, Glister, and the River Chionthar, and the Elven Unification Portal created by Jhaurmael and leading to Evermeet.
===Climate===
Light rain served the forest year-round, and the ground was usually moist, keeping humidity high. Winds could not penetrate the thick, dense canopy, so the forest was calm at ground level. At the height of the summer, the sun provided direct light for 16 hours a day. The extended daylight allowed crops to mature quickly, and summer storms could come and go in just an hour. There were often patches of dense fog in the forest, especially near the northern Elvenflow. This fog was thick and grey in the Starwood, allowing only a few hundred feet of visibility. According to Elminster, the magic of Myth Drannor could account for Cormanthor's favorable weather.
====Extremes====
It was not unknown for climate extremes to strike the forest and, with them, their effects.
In 1350 DR, a summer drought caused the rye grass to fail and the red deer to starve.
In the autumn of 1367 DR, the frost arrived early in the forest, causing the wildflowers and berries to die north of Highmoon, which left the leucrottas hungry, and they turned on the halflings in the nearby village of Casckel, eating them all.
===Flora & Fauna===
The fyreflies in the forest could cause wild blazes, especially on clear summer nights, when they assembled in huge swarms. In the past, efforts had been made to control their population, including introducing giant wasps to eat their food supply cornflowers, but they moved on to pigweed and quack grass instead. The elven mage Horquine attempted to breed a variety of azmyth that would eat the fyreflies, but they could not digest their abdomens, the source of the flames, and they had to spit them out, yielding a flame.
Although dragons were incredibly rare in the forest in recent history, hundreds of years ago, green dragons were common. Because the dragons overhunted the centaurs, their numbers began to dwindle. They began to blame one another for the lack of food, which triggered a civil war that damaged much of the Starwood, and only a small number of green dragons remained.
During the Retreat, the elves left behind thousands of green warders. By 1371 DR, Dalelanders began complaining about warders on the fringes of the forest who were acting far more aggressively than usual.
==History==
Cormanthor was once called Arcorar, the Great King Forest, and was an immense woodland realm stretching to the Dragon Coast to the west and south and over the Dragon Reach to the east. Many old elven kingdoms were found there, including Jhyrennstar, Rystall Wood, and Uvaeren, along with some of the existing settlements of Elven Court and Semberholme. After the Crown Wars during the Founding Time, when elves sought new domains, they colonized Arcorar to start their lives fresh after the bloody time in their past.
Cormanthor was home to the elven empire of Cormanthyr for nearly five thousand years until the death of Coronal Eltargrim Irithyl in 661 DR initiated the Dusk, which led to the decline of the realm until its collapse at the hands of the Trio Nefarious and the Army of Darkness in 714 DR. Since that time, Cormanthor has been a dangerous place to visit. For centuries to follow, the elves tried to contain the demonic evil in Myth Drannor, where the remaining fiends took hold of their power. The realm became scattered and divided, and ultimately, in 1344 DR, the elves began the Retreat when more than 90% of their population abandoned Cormanthor's woods for other settlements in the west.
The woods of Cormanthor became infested with drow after the Retreat, and they moved into the abandoned habitats of their kin. These drow attempted to seize the mythals and use the power for their purposes. However, their plans never came to fruition since Sarya Dlardrageth and her Daemonfey, who tried to take control of the region in 1374 DR, invaded Myth Drannor. In a complicated conflict involving the Zhentarim, Sembia, and Hillsfar, as well as an Elven Crusade from Evereska, the Cormanthor War was fought in the woods and surrounding Dales. Eventually, House Dlardrageth fell to the Crusade, which became the Army of Myth Drannor led by Ilsevele Miritar. The Army of Myth Drannor eventually defeated the Zhentarim and seized control of Cormanthyr for the first time in seven centuries. In 1377 DR, the Srinshee returned and granted the Rulers' Blade to Ilsevele, who drew it successfully and became the first Coronal of the Present Age.
==Settlements==
Comanthor was once host to four major elven communities, the four communities that survived after the fall of Cormanthyr.
The Elven Court was once where elves sought advice and decided justice. It was the seat of power for its realm until it joined Cormanthyr during its founding but remained a place of council for the elves. After the fall of Myth Drannor, it became the seat of power for the elves again.
The former capital, Myth Drannor, was once considered the most beautiful and largest of any of the cities in Faerûn. Unfortunately, the city was reduced to ruins for centuries following the Weeping War and its subsequent infestation by fiends and monsters. The city was once protected by a magical mythal that shielded Myth Drannor from harm, though the mythal languished in disrepair. In the , it was finally reclaimed by the elves under Ilsevele Miritar.
Semberholme occupied the forests around Lake Sember atop a hilly region in southwestern Cormanthyr. During the height of Cormanthyr, it was a place of refuge for women, children, and the sick of the elven lands, as well as a haven with hidden limestone caverns where elves could hide in the event of war or disaster. It remained largely hidden and secret throughout most of its history.
The Tangled Trees was a hidden realm in Cormanthyr where the worship of Rillifane Rallathil was dominant. The place was largely xenophobic, and many non-elves had been attacked or killed in efforts to enter the place.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===Gallery===
:Main: :Category:Maps of Cormanthor
Cormanthor2eRmap1.jpg|Cormanthor, circa 1367 DR
CORMANTHOR 1374DR Rob Lazzaretti DM354.jpg|Cormanthor, circa 1374 DR
===Further Reading===
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===References===
===Connections===
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Category:Forests
Category:Elven locations
Category:Exports furs
Category:Exports magic items
Category:Locations in the Eastern Heartlands
Category:Locations in North Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril
Category:Locations