Miyeritar

Miyeritar was an ancient elven empire in the northwestern parts of Faerûn.

History
The realm of Miyeritar was founded by green and dark elves around −18,000 DR in the area later known as the High Moor and Misty Forest. The goddess Eilistraee had a strong follower base among the people of Miyeritar, to the point that near entirety of her faith was concentrated there.

The gold elven realm Aryvandaar became their greatest threat. In −14,700 DR, the rulers of Aryvandaar started trying to annex Miyeritar, initially through peaceful and diplomatic means. Despite these troubles with their powerful neighbors, in −13,900 DR, the realm of Miyeritar developed into a hub of arts and elven magic and High Magic. But Aryvandaar did not let up and in -13200 DR the two realms engaged in skirmishes and interference in each other's trade. It was only a question of time until a real war broke out between them. That happened in −12,000 DR when the rulers of Aryvandaar lost their patience and attacked. This was the beginning of the First Crown War.

In −11,800 DR, the Aryvandaarans seemed to have won: their forces occupied and formally annexed Miyeritar. However, a number of Miyeritari clans and strongholds held out and resisted them. They received help from the elves of Illefarn, who, although officially neutral, secretly provided sanctuaries to Miyeritari refugees.

Nevertheless, Miyeritar was considered fully conquered at the end of the First Crown War in −11,300 DR.

Aryvandaar went on to conquer other realms. After the conquest of Shantel Othreier in −10,600 DR, a guerilla uprising and mage rebellion occurred in parts of Miyeritar and the newly conquered lands. This led to the Aryvandaarans using High Magic to cause a tremendous killing storm. The event became known as the Dark Disaster. It reduced the entire forest and realm of Miyeritar to barren wastelands within three months. The larger part of the followers of Eilistraee died in the cataclysm, a blow that drove the goddess and her church into a near-powerless state, from which they wouldnt recover for millennia.

Ruins of Miyeritar could still be discovered in later times (circa 1372 DR). One of them was the mysterious Kraanfhaor's Door, which was the entrance to a school of High Magic. The drow mage Q'arlynd Melarn found a way to open it and found an ancient Selu'Kiira of his Miyeritari ancestors. With the help of that he learned to use High Magic and helped in making nearly everyone on Toril Kiaransalee. Later, he helped to transform a few hundred among the few thousands followers of Eilistraee (those drow who were descendants of ancient Miyeritari clans) into dark elves, whose souls were then admitted into Arvandor by Corellon (even though they could already go there, in EIlistraee's own realm ).