Hlundadim

Hlundadim was a realm of goblins and other humanoids that dominated southern Netheril for centuries, founded and ruled by the mysterious Great Hlundadim.

Military
The armies of Hlundadim were well-organized and deployed sophisticated tactics, allowing the realm to dominate huge areas and conquer many foes. They were supported by units of orc shamans called ularim, who wielded their magical power effectively and had similar effectiveness to the wizards of the Netherese successor states and early Cormyr. The Great Hlundadim won great loyalty and devotion from creatures normally considered self-serving or cowardly, and these armies repeatedly found victory in his name, with only large professional armies backed by powerful wizards expected to defeat them.

Geography
Hlundadim grew from the fortress of Araugul, built in the Windy Plains of southern Netheril. It became synonymous with the Goblin Marches, and its influence reached as far as the Stonelands, Storm Horns, Border Forest, and the Desertsmouth Mountains.

History
The southern regions of Netheril were originally home to tribes of goblinoids and other humanoids, many of which were driven farther south into the Forest Country and along the Inner Sea. The fortress of Blister was built in -1286 DR to guard this frontier and support expeditions further south, though poor strategy and tactics on the part of Netherese commanders and a focus on the western frontier allowed the enemy tribes to once again take control of much of the region over the following centuries. By -626 DR this area including the Windy Plains was once again dominated by goblin tribes.

The Great Hlundadim arrived in the, late in the Shadowed Age of Netheril when the realm was in decline from the phaerimms, and Anauroch had already started consuming the grasslands. This powerful magic-user gathered goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, gnolls, orcs, and kobolds, as well as some humans, forming the nation called Hlundadim and founding the capital fortress-city of Araugul.

When Netheril fell in -339 DR and the fortress of Blister was overrun by kobolds in -312 DR, the thousand-year displacement of the goblins, orcs and other tribes ended and a great migration back to the lands north of the Storm Horns took place, settling around Hlundadim in the Windy Plains and the other regions associated with the Goblin Marches — the Stonelands, Farsea Swamp, and High Moors.

Hlundadim waged war on its neighboring realms, especially the Lost Kingdoms of Anauria and Asram. An invasion in -87 DR led to the destruction of Tarkhaldale, allied at the time with Asram and Hlondath. These wars led to the creation of the Burn, a former forest between Hlundadim and Anauria inhabited by goblins, and magically razed by order of Olzogath of Anauria. Anauria was protected by Tower Hlithal against the forces of the Goblin Marches, but it was finally overrun in 111 DR by an army of Hlundadim orcs led by Andegril the Wise, an orc shaman. Although Anauria was destroyed, they inflicted such losses that the orc host was also annihilated, reducing their population for centuries to come.

Following the destruction of the Lost Kingdoms, Hlundadim invaded Cormyr in the, burning Arabel and ranging south to the King's Forest. They were defeated near Suzail in 200 DR by King Moriann Obarskyr, though he lost both of his sons in battle with them.

Hlundadim was finally destroyed not by war, but by the expansion of Anauroch. The brought devastating dust storms and desertification to the Windy Plains, sending the goblins into a panic and driving them south. Araugul was abandoned and the Great Hlundadim disappeared as mysteriously as he had appeared, with his former nation disintegrating into smaller bands that fought among each other. The surviving subjects inhabited the southern Goblin Marches, Stonelands, and High Moors in independent tribes, fighting each other and raiding Cormyr, the Dalelands, and Tethyamar, but unable to properly unify or rebuild what was lost.

The slowly rebuilding society of the Goblin Marches and the resettlement of Araugul was dealt a fatal blow by the warming period begun in, turning the Windy Plains and much of the remaining Goblin Marches to desert and further drying out the lands to the south. Driven by food and water scarcity, the tribes of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs and kobolds united under the warlord Izac Uthor in 1090 DR and embarked on a great migratory invasion of the North. This grand enterprise was cut short by the devastating Battle of Bones at Torgor's Triangle, with the survivors hunted down and killed at Skull Gorge. These disasters ensured that the goal of a unified goblin nation remained well out of reach by the 14 century DR.

The cultural memory of Hlundadim remained among the tribes that descended from it, giving them an outsized aggressive demeanour and sense of grand destiny, with the name of the Great Hlundadim evoked as a legendary figure of victory. Old technical expertise, fortifications, and magical knowledge continued to be used by them, giving otherwise primitive tribes an advantage they otherwise would not have. Potentially hundreds of tribes and bands could claim origin from the armies of Hlundadim, including the Neidlig, Fenlis, Melial, Teerac, Merrowdrinkers, Colchar, and Bone Miners, ranging from Tilver's Gap to Skull Gorge and beyond. The goblin nation was mostly a historical footnote for other realms, though it survived mention in Cormyr in the Rock of Hlundadim periapt, a decoration granted to distinguished Purple Dragons.

Rumors & Legends

 * Around 1367 DR it was rumoured that the goblins of the Marches were far closer to unifying than previously suspected, with the Neidlig believed responsible.
 * The nature of the Great Hlundadim was unknown, with speculations that he was an arcanist of Netheril or a planes-walking traveler.