Stonelands

The Stonelands was a rocky and hilly region of terrain north of the Storm Horns mountain range, to the north of Cormyr.

Geography
It was a rocky land of many valleys and hills, but it had a harsh beauty. It was marked by knife-edged ridges, deep ravines, caverns and overhangs.

Geographical Features

 * Startop Crag, a peak in the Stonelands just south of the High Meadows.

Government
Although Cormyr claimed this land as part of its territory, it could not control it beyond where its soldiers marched. It was an inhospitable place for civilized humanoids and was home to orcs, goblinoids, and other creatures. Cormyr's monarchs long offered generous rewards for those who could establish and maintain settlements in the region.

History
Many legends told that the Stonelands were created circa when Asram and Anauria attacked a magical realm that existed above the clouds of the region in order to escape the encroachment of the ever-expanding Anauroch desert on their kingdoms. The castles built above the clouds crashed down to the earth from the sky, creating the Stonelands.

The bandit lord Jhassilm Onespear held a citadel in the Stonelands, before it was stormed by the mercenary Brandon some time before 1356 DR.

In the, Princess Alusair was operating in the Stonelands again, commanding a troop of twenty-four young noble knights pursuing a bold orc band that had raided a caravan east of Eveningstar. In six days of pursuit, they'd killed a hydra, a fire lizard, and three chimeras. North of Startop Peak, the knights impetuously pursued the orcs into an ambush, and a few were killed. Alusair rallied her forces to defeat the orcs, before deducing they served a dark naga and the Zhentarim, who had been charming and transporting monsters into the area. They defeated the naga and destroyed the gate before it could disgorge another monster. Alusair and the knights resolved to seek out and destroy the other gates.

Notable Locations

 * Landmarks:
 * Big Bone Deep, the fortress of the fearsome Spleen Eaters tribe of orcs.


 * Roads:
 * Stonebolt Trail, a winding trail that the Gnoll Pass with the Shadow Gap.

Inhabitants
Folk of northern Cormyr feared the Stonelands as a place that all kinds of monsters poured out of to harry them, from wolves to orcs to trolls, and even evil wizards and dragons. Other dangerous creatures that were known to inhabit the Stonelands included chimeras, fire lizards, goblins, hill giants, hobgoblins, hydras, ogres, and wemics.

A few varieties of dinosaur lived deep within the Stonelands, though all were small ostrich-sized species. These included deinonychus, fleshrakers, swindlesplitters, and velociraptors. All of these species hibernated in deep rifts near earth nodes and volcanic flows. They were never known to race along the heights of the Stonelands or ventured far from the region, as they feared being eaten by dragons, dark horrors, or Zhent foulwings.

Appearances

 * Novels:
 * Azure Bonds &bull; Cormyr: A Novel &bull; The Ring of Winter