Talfir

The Talfir were an extinct race of humans who once dwelt in the lands that later became known as the Western Heartlands. They were known as practitioners of shadow magic.

Description
The Talfir were described by the elves who wrote about them as having fair skin and dark hair.

They originated in the great forest of Shantel Othreier and may have shared lineage with the modern Tethyrian race. The original Ffolk of the Moonshae Isles were of Talfirian blood.

Language
The Talfir spoke their own language of Talfiric, which derived from the Draconic language.

Religion
Religious scholars suspected that the Talfir were responsible for introducing many of the gods of the Faerûnian pantheon to Toril, most notably the deity Tempus.

History
The earliest historical mention of the Talfir was found in ancient elven writings dating from the Crown Wars. Like the early predecessors of the Tethyrians, these tribes were first observed in Shantel Othreier and later became the first humans to settle along the Chionthar.

The Talfir invented a style of bardic magic known as shadow magic, or "Talfirian magic" (not to be confused with Shadow Weave magic). This occurred during the reign of Verraketh Talember, the Shadowking of Ebenfar, which began in 34 DR.

Circa 140 DR, refugees from the persecution of the Shadowking crossed the Sea of Swords and settled in the Moonshae Isles on the island of Gwynneth, beginning the race of the Ffolk.

The Talfir of mainland Faerûn had completely disappeared by circa 300 DR, their culture being overwhelmed by the Calishite, Chondathan, and Netherese peoples. Those of the Moonshaes were supplanted by a large immigration of Tethyrians in 467 DR.

Legacy
Few structures or artifacts from the time of the Talfir remained by 1372 DR. Two notable exceptions were the crypt of the Shadowking, which was located beneath Iriaebor, and Talis, a city in the middle of the Reaching Woods along the river. Prominent in the 1 century DR, it was in ruins by the 14 century.

The legacy of Talfirian magic continued in the bardic tradition of the Tethyrians. As of 1372, a small number of such bards still knew Talfirian songs and used the power of the songs to enhance their illusion spells.

Notable Talfir

 * Verraketh Talember, the Shadowking of Ebenfar
 * Markus Randol, the Archduke of Ebenfar
 * Gwynneth Randol, the "First Mother" of the Moonshae Isles

Appearances

 * Crypt of the Shadowking