History of Kuldahar

The History of Kuldahar was a book dedicated to the history and geography of the town of Kuldahar in the 13 and early 14 centuries DR.

Contents
The book opened with a description of the tiny valley where the town of Kuldahar was located on the Spine of the World and continued talking about Kuldahar's main notability in relation to the outside world. The fact that it stood on the second lesser-known route that connected Icewind Dale to the southern lands made the town notable in the region. The main passage was through the western edge of the Spine of the World via a dangerous snaking moutan trade route from Luskan to Bryn Shander. The second less traveled and longer route was through the Kuldahar Pass. The mountain road was a collection of winding footpaths and steep ledges barely big enough to fit a beast of burden and unlikely to accommodate a large merchant's wagon. The Kuldahar Pass's many dangers scared even the most daring merchants, and the ever-present threat of giants left the route in scant use.

Brave souls who survived the first part of the Kuldahar Pass found shelter in the small snowed valley at the very center of the pass where Kuldahar was built in the roots of its gargantuan ancient oak tree. The tall tree was a holy site dedicated to Silvanus, the Oakfather, who, according to a legend, planted the acorn thousands of years in the past. The oak was imbued with Silvanus' magic and stood as a thriving testament to the raw power of nature.

The book's next chapter talked about the founding. The tree was cared for by druids of Silvanus, and, in turn, the tree kept the town warm and safe from the deadly cold of the Spine of the World. The oak became a center of the pilgrimage and an oracle. The town itself, beyond the worshipers and clergy of Silvanus, began about thirty or forty years before the, after Kuldahar Pass was first discovered and, with it, the sheltered valley. The town grew thanks to bewildering and wondrous tales of a massive magical oak.

The settlement was met with resistance from the Archdruid, who sought to protect the oak and believed that to do so, Kuldahar had to stay in seclusion. The valley was blocked from intruders via summoned walls of brambles and other nature magics. Eventually, the druids could only stop the settlers from approaching the tree, but the valley was exposed to outsiders. That changed with the next Archdruid – Tolben. He gave access to the tree to those who settled in the Kuldahar Valley as he believed that settlement was the Oakfather's will and was inevitable. Under Tolben's leadership, the druids forged a union with settlers, and led to Kuldahar's harmonious existence.

The next notable event in Kuldahar's history was the terrible war of 1281 DR. During that period of time, storms cut Kuldahar off from the outside world, and the oak's magical warmth began to wean. Those who settled in the Kuldahar Valley were forced out of their homes in fear of freezing to death and sought shelter close to the oak. The strife eventually came to an end when a destroyed caravan brought a band of caravan guards to Kuldahar. The heroes stood up to the encroaching cold and saved the great doomed oak. The person who brought the adventurers – Hrothgar, perished with the rest of the caravan, but his body was buried in a glen within the Kuldahar Pass.

History
History of Kuldahar was penned sometime between the and the. Copies of the guide could be found among goods sold by enchantress Elytharra Dinnesmore of Targos as well as in possession of several townsfolk.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Icewind Dale II