Ilythiir

Ilythiir was a realm of the dark elves during the Dawn Ages and First Flowering (founded roughly -27000 DR) before being destroyed after the Descent of the Drow following the Fourth Crown War.

Geography
Ilythiir was an expansionist country, that started in the southern jungles and spread throughout southern Faerûn during the Dawn Age. It experienced another period of expansion during the First Flowering, during which it spread across the areas later known as the Shaar and Forest of Amtar.

Dawn age
The elves came to Toril via gates of the Fey, around -27000 DR. The dark elves were the members of the second immigrant wave and differed from the elves of the first immigration wave, aquatic elves, avariels and lytharis, in not wanting to lead tribal lives in forests. During that time, dragons were the hegemons of Toril. Non-dragon races’ treatment ran the entire gamut of cattle to glorified slaves. It wasn’t clear how they managed it but the Ilythiiri negotiated with dragons and founded the first elven state on Faerûn, Ilythiir, with the capitol of Atorrnash.

Like all other elves during that time, the Ilythiiri didn’t have an idea that something like an elven pantheon existed. They picked up the faith of Vhaeraun as the major one and started had a successful expansionist policy with the church of Vhaeraun as the driving force behind it. Ilythiir enjoyed a high degree of society from dragons. Ghaunadaur’s faith was a minor player but was considered the more attractive choice for those wizards who looked to life force as a power source. Eilistraee made it her duty to oppose the church of her brother, but had only a small following. In Ilythiir, religious affiliation wasn’t a factor that prevented one from climbing the social ladder as proven by Ka'Narlist, a follower of Ghaunadaur, who managed to advance to a position like one of the leaders of Attornash.Where he was respected and openly talked about his faith as well as about his disdain of the major faith to foreign diplomats whom he met for the first time.

After accidentally destroying their own country and downsizing their population to less than hundred around -25400 DR, elves from Tintageer fled to Toril. These elves sent emissaries to Ilythiir around -25100 DR. These emissaries knew about Ghaunadaur from Ilythiir. That entity’s power was the basis for these elves to first bargain with, then killing, and then taking the red dragon Mahatnartorian’s territory for themselves.

Around -25000 DR, the Dracorage mythal was created as a concerted effort of elves. This act, gradually weakened the hold of the dragons and eventually lead to the end of the Time of Dragons and with it to the start of the First Flowering.

Around -24500 DR, Lolth’s attention was directed to Toril through the intrusion of Kethryllia into her Demonweb Pits. Ka'Narlist became her first worshipper and consort.

First Flowering
During the first millennium of the First Flowering, Ilythiir spread further to the south and to the east of the continent. Around the time of -23200 DR, Ilythiir's territory included the Shaar and the Forest of Amtar.

During this time Ilythiir was on generally good terms with the newly founded elven nations, despite skirmishes with Orishaar that started around -20000 DR, which flared up and abated for about 7000 years.

Around -18000DR, some Ilythiiri nobles discovered Ghaunadaur as a suitable patron for them. Other evil deities, Lolth among them, also made inroads into the nobility of that country.

In a matter of centuries, Lolth's machinations successfully poisoned the previously good relationships between Ilythiir and the other nations. It went to the point, that the different elven subraces sought a means to get rid of dark elves. The idea didn't revolve around killing but the creation of a dark-elf free piece of land. Among those who were excluded from the project and from the result were dark elves on their side like worshippers of Eilistraee The exclusion heightened general resentments between dark elves and others.

Around -17600 DR, the First Sundering to create the aforementioned dark elf-free land was cast, the continent was destroyed as collateral damage. Among this collateral damage was Atorrnash, Ilythiir's capitol. The casualties in lives were immense and it did also affect the religious landscape of Ilythiir. A large part of the church of Vhaeraun died. Conflict with the church of Eilistraee opened the path for Ghaunadaur and Lolth to become more popular.

Around -17500 DR, three elven realms, Thearnytaar, Eiellûr and Syòrpiir made steps to unify themselves into a single nation. Ilythiir sabotaged these efforts by assassinating the three nations' leaders while simultaneously convincing each of the three nations of the culpability of another of the three. By -17100 DR, the three nations' relationships to each other deteriorated so far that they started the War of Three Leaves among themselves. The war ended around -16800 DR. By this point, the three came behind Ilythiir's involvement and started skirmishes against that nation alongside continuing to skirmish each other.

Crown Wars
The Crown Wars were a series of wars that led to the end to the elves' golden age.

Second Crown War
In -11800 DR, Miyeritar lost the First Crown War against Aryvandaar. This was Ilythiir's pretense to start the Second Crown War in -11700 DR, not because they had strong relationship with Miyeritar, their relationship was thin, but because that nation was the only other one with a meaningful proportion of dark elves. In their quest to destroy Aryvandaar's allies, Ilythiir destroyed Orishaar. That nation was an ally and major trade partner of Aryvandaar, which also lay physically the closest to Ilythiir. These successes took its own momentum and new wars like the Second Crown War were practically a foregone conclusion.

After Orishaar fell, Ilythiir isolated and burned down Syòrpiir around -11600 DR. This usage of fire was considered so offensive by Thearnytaar and Eiellûr, that they decided to fight Ilythiir. They successfully stopped Ilythiir's onslaught on northern lands around -11500 DR.

At around the same time, Aryvandaar started something, what Ilythiir's leadership believed to be a genocidal campaign against Ilythiir's citizens. In their plight, Geirildin Sethomiir, llythiir’s coronal, made a decision. He summoned Wendonai, a balor under Lolth’s employment, and bought power from the demon and with it from Lolth. It catapulted Lolth's church to importance in Ilythiir. The nation’s nobility followed their royalty’s example and bought power from other fiendish patrons. Until the Fourth Crown War, apart from Lolth, Ghaunadaur, Kiaransalee and Vhaeraun provided the dark elves similar help. These kind of actions led to the Ilythiiri to gain the nickname dhaerow.

The arrangement with fiends proved itself successful. Ilythiir found itself attacked during the Sable Wars, (circa -11450 DR). They faced an invading force from Eiellûr and Thearnytaar, in addition to a small amount of aid provided by Keltormir and Shantel Othreier, aiming to reform or conquer the dark elves before they destroyed any more realms. Over half the invading forces were wiped out by the dark elves' corrupt magic.

By -11400 DR, Eiellûr was isolated and burned down like Syòrpiir. Ilythiir had help of who hoped to restore peace by appeasing the Ilythiiri. A similar fate befell Thearnytaar in -11200 DR and with it the Second Crown War ended. That forest country was occupied by dominated monsters and undeads. Keltomir got frightened of Ilythiir and prepared for an attack against it. The two nations skirmished along its southern and eastern borders in the following years.

Fourth Crow War
Around -11600 DR, resistance against Aryvandaar re-flared in Miyeritar, the nation was destroyed by the Dark Disaster, the suspected culprits were Aryvandaar (based on no evidence), or Miyeritar's high mages, as an accident to harness power for their resistance. Either way, Ilythiir blamed Aryvandaar and the Fourth Crown War was launched, circa -10450 DR. This new wave of hostilities saw the Ilythiiri openly using the corrupt powers granted them by their dark and evil gods.

Ilythiir attacked Shantel Othreier, by that point Aryvandaar's territory. Over half a decade by -10110 DR, Ilythiir destroyed large parts of Shantel Othreier's forests with fire, and by -11000 DR the entire nation.

Notable locations
After the dark elves were banished from the sunlit realms after the Crown Wars, most of the remnants of the empire were razed by elves hoping to eradicate any presence of their evil cousins. The ruins of Ilythiir were the most sparse of all the ancient elf empires to survive into later ages. Circa 1373 DR two were known to exist, Athamault and the Citadel of Slime.