Raumathar

Raumathar was a great eastern empire that spanned the northeast and eastern regions of Faerun over the span of ~800 years. It included the lands that eventually became the nations of Rashemen and Thay.

The Raumviran people were known to be powerful battle-wizards, capable of wielding both sword and magic against the demonic forces of Narfell they so-often fought. As of the 14 century DR, their art of fighting was still known by a select few people.

Notable locations

 * Beacon Cairn: The magical fire used to guide travelers in this settlement was created by the ancient Raumviran.

Settlements

 * Almorel: This major trading city would remain a noted settlement in the Hordelands for over a thousand years after the fall of the empire.
 * Winterkeep: The capital city of the empire that served as home to the royal family.

History
Raumathar was established by the Raumviran people in -900 DR, setting their capital as Winterkeep.

In -623 DR, Raumathar surprised its neighbour Narfell by attacking them while they were being beaten in a war with Mulhorand, beginning the first of many wars with the Nar people. Right at the onset of these wars, the Nar aligned themselves with a legion of demons, and openly fought with the fiends.

In one skirmish, Narfelli riders had evaded the Raurvarin patrols and made it to the Clearflow bridge. Only a small patrol, led by Theodo Greataxe, his seven dwarven companions and five Raurvarin scouts were able to stop the thousand-strong Nar from invading. While the scouts rode out to seek aid, Theodo and his dwarven kin defended the bridge to their death, taking hundreds of invaders with them.

Great Conflagration
In -160 DR, the last of these wars, which came to be known as the Great Conflagration, began with the summoning of the avatar of Kostchtchie and his frost giant armies from the Icerim Mountains. Although Raumathar pushed back the Nar assasults with elemental magic, they eventually lost Winterkeep in the siege.

In response,the Raumviran tapped into long-lost Imaskari lore and elicited the aid of white wyrms, devastating the armies from Narfell and driving them from their lands. Commander Thulkarr pressed the attack and led the Raumviran armies, along with their magical stone constructs, through a series of portals to outflank the Nar in Dun-Tharos. In response, the Nentyarch ordered the opening their own otherworldly passageways to the Abyss to drive out the golems and, feeling vulnerable from the assault eventually used a dark ritual to summon the deity Eltab himself.

A series of battles over the next two years would end with an isolated Raumvarin force left to desperate action; in -150 DR they summoned an avatar of the deity Kossuth, who left nothing but ash and smoke in his wake. The people of both Raumathar and Narfell were left devastated and scattered, their empires in ruins. The few surviving Raumvirans were then pushed westward by the Suren people.

Legacy
An isolated and esoteric group of Raumviran witches, those that would come to be known as the Witches of Rashemen, first appeared around the year -108 DR. They swore to preserve the lore and knowledge of the Raumathar empire for years to come.