Feywild

The Feywild, also known as the Plane of Faerie or simply Faerie, as well as Isan Meidan by the uldra, was an "echo" of the Prime Material Plane suffused with potent magic, and unrestrained emotions. It was the place from which fey originated, and from where the first elves arrived in Faerûn.

Description
The Feywild was a place of unrestrained and awe-inspiring natural beauty. The plane is always bathed in twilight of the setting (or perhaps rising) sun, with lanterns and fireflies providing additional, haunting lights. Visitors to the plane found that all sensations, both sensory and emotional, were heightened. Smells were stronger, colors were more vivid, and sounds were clearer, but at the same time shadows were darker and impulses were harder to control. Strong emotions even altered the landscape of the Feywild itself, wilting flowers trailed the despondent or furious and carefree animals traveled alongside chipper and cheerful individuals.

As an "echo" of the Prime Material plane, its geography was similar although not entirely identical to that of Toril, but the natural landscape was markedly more dramatic and beautiful in the Feywild, with mountains standing straighter and sharper, rivers flowing clearer and faster, flowers bloom brighter and more fragrantly, and weather manifesting in supernatural ways. While most Prime locations and landmarks had analogues in the Feywild, sites of civilization in the Prime could be so unimportant in the Feywild as to be easily missed, while natural landmarks might be significantly more majestic or extreme. Navigating the Feywild was further complicated by the fact that distances did not always make sense. While two landmarks might be the same distance apart as in the Prime when travelling in one direction, they might be inexplicably further or closer on the return trip.

Further complicating any visit to the plane was that time did not flow the same in the Feywild as on the Prime. While any visitor would experience time flowing as normal, it was often the case that more time was passing in the Prime, sometimes on the order of weeks, months, or years longer than expected, although it was also possible for little or no time to have passed instead. More concerning, leaving the Feywild could have dire consequences. Lost time could suddenly "catch up" to a mortal, sending them into fits of exhaustion or hunger, or even killing them instantly if many years had passed. At the same time, those with no fey ancestry might find their memories of time spent in the Feywild going hazy, if not vanishing altogether.

Arcane magic ran more freely and powerfully in the Feywild than it did in the Prime, and it was for this reason that so many of its inhabitants and landmarks were suffused with magic. As an additional consequence of this all-encompassing magic, arcane spells tended to be amplified in power or duration when cast in the Feywild, and other times would manifest in entirely unexpected ways.

Phenomena
Motes of energy that originated in the Feywild manifested as feywild sparks. These were highly sought after by adventurers that dared to brave the planes perilous wilderness.

It was believed barrier between the Feywild and Toril was especially weak on Ches 19 of the Calendar of Harptos. This occasion was celebrated as the holiday Fey Day in the Faerûnian city of Waterdeep.

The most common means of traversing in or out of the Feywild was through a fey crossroad, which often required special knowledge of how to pass between the planes.

Flora & Fauna
The Feywild was home to unique varieties of plant life, including various fungi that held supernatural properties. Notable among these were eldercaps, Executioner's Hoods, and hummingbrellas.

Cosmography
The Feywild has had a unique relationship with the Prime Material plane, and consequently was in an unusual cosmological position.

Great Wheel Model
Using the first iteration of the Great Wheel cosmological model, the Faerie existed as one of the Outer Planes, one that was coexistent with that of the Prime. This unique quality allowed creatures and fey beings could sometimes pass back-and-forth between the two planes at matching geographical locations without needing to traverse the Astral Plane. Indeed the Plane of Faerie held no connections to most transitive planes, including the Astral Plane, Ethereal Plane, or the Plane of Shadow.

During this era, each location on the Prime held a duplicate in Faerie, albeit one altered in form and appearance by the plane's unique traits. Additionally, Faerie maintained some traits that were not observable during other times of history, such as lighter force of gravity than that felt on the Prime.

Faerie's other planar traits, like the aforementioned extended perception of the passage of time, were experienced by planar travelers following the reintroduction of the Great Wheel model that coincided with the Second Sundering of Toril and Abeir. New phenomena became apparent as well, such as incidents of memory loss expressed by these individuals. This second iteration of the Great Wheel model of the plane came to be known as the Feywild, following its World Axis predecessor, and retained the distinction of existing as a parallel plane.

World Tree Model
The plane of Faerie was notably absent from the World Tree cosmological model that came into wide use for about just over a decade during the late 14 century DR. This omission may have been linked to the continual weakening of the bond between Faerie and Toril, and the then-recent mass migration of elves back to Evermeet, referred to as the Retreat.

World Axis
The late 14 century world even known as the Spellplague, led to a re-adjustment of the planes and the adoption of the World Axis cosmological model. The Feywild as it was then called, was recreated as one of the parallel planes, an "echo" of the Prime that remained as such even following the Second Sundering.

Travel between the Feywild and the Prime became relatively easy for many inhabitants of each plane, as the boundary between them was quite thin, and in some cases there were regions which existed in an overlapping space between the two, a phenomenon sometimes called worldfall. Unlike its pre-Spellplague iteration, the Feywild was linked by passageways to the Astral Sea. Well-protected and often dangerous connections linked the Feywild with the astral dominions of Arvandor, the Deep Wilds, and the Gates of the Moon.

Notable Locations
Though much of the Feywild was the same as the Prime geographically, there were differences, and more importantly, the lands answered to different powers than those on Toril. Much of the elven or eladrin civilizations had their earliest roots here and abandoned remnants of their culture littered the landscape. Unlike the elves, however, who had all but abandoned the Feywild, some eladrin remained behind in the Feywild, most notably the "noble" eladrin, who maintained strong kingdoms and citadels. Some notable elven cities and settlements were located at points where the barrier between the planes was extremely thin, and as a result they existed in both the Prime and the Feywild simultaneously. Such locations included Evermeet, Evereska, and New Sharandar.

Some regions in the Feywild were known to attune to the most powerful creature nearby, fey or otherwise. These regions would warp to reflect the emotion or attitude of the creature to which they were attuned, with everything from the weather to the landscape changing to be more dismal, peaceful, or dangerous as best befitted the creature's mood. However, a creature could not exert direct or conscious control over their demesne.

Realms

 * Brokenstone Vale : The Feywild kingdom of lycanthropes attracted outcasts and refugees from across the realms of mortals. It had a long and bloodied history, have been founded by a werewolf lord that fought for his people's freedom from the neighboring eladrin. Despite its past, Brokenstone's residents garnered benefits from choosing to remain in the Feywild that were unavailable to their kin that dwelled on the Prime.
 * Iliyanbruen : The elven survivor-state of the ancient Faerûnian realm of Illefarn was reformed in the Feywild following its near-complete destruction on Toril. The Iliyanbruen elves were perceived as invaders by the native fey, and were forced to fight for their new home for many centuries.
 * Nachtur : One of the most powerful goblin kingdoms in all the Feywild. It was labyrinth of underground warrens ruled over by the Great Gark, Lord of All the Goblins. Gark commanded a host of mercenaries that served many malevolent beings such as hags and Winter Fey lords.
 * Realm of Malabog : The domain of Malabog, the fomorian king that extended his area of conquest beyond the Feydark into the wilderness up above.

Additionally, the demiplane of Sildëyuir, the home of the star elves, was at times said to be part of the Feywild, where it was said to occupy the location there that corresponded to the Yuirwood of the Material plane.

Settlements

 * Astrazalian, the eladrin City of Starlight governed by Lady Shandria, niece of Titania.
 * Cendriane, an ancient city that was taken over by the eladrin vampire named Lord Kannoth.
 * Evermeet, the center of Elven culture on Faerûn was transported to the Feywild for over a Torillian century, following the Spellplague.
 * Mithrendain, the Autumn City of the Feywild was built atop a perilous passageway leading down to the Feydark below.
 * Shinaelestra, the Fading City of rangers that wavered between the Feywild and the Howling Forest on the world of Nerath.

Feydark
The Feydark was the echo of Toril's Underdark in the Feywild. Like most parts of the Feywild, it was more majestic and fantastic than its natural counterpart, with cavernous maze-like tunnels filled with exotic fungi.
 * Mag Tureah : The most powerful of the Feydark's fomorian realms stood within a country-sized cavern lit by precious gems and stones. This kingdom was ruled by the fomorian king Bres.
 * Vor Thomil : This filthy subterranean realm was ruled by the malevolent fomorian Queen Connomae. Outsiders captured by the resident giants were mocked and humiliated for the queen's amusement, forced to masquerade as courtiers her a twisted mockery of royal assembly.

Domains of Delight
Within the Feywild were numerous demiplanes created by the Archfey, independent realms that were each formed to reflect the whims and and emotions of its creator. They grew or shrunk in size depending on the power of their Archfey, occasionally leading to discontent among their leaders when borders of neighboring domains overlapped with one another.

One of the more prominent domains of delight was Prismeer, the realm of Zybilna. The domain was shattered by the Hourglass Coven of hags and reformed as three splinter-realms of Hither, Thither, and Yon.

Also found within Prismeer was the lesser domain of Fablerise. This gloomy forest was created by Yarnspinner, an enormous fey spider that attracted myriad awakened animals with his near endless supplies of stories and tales.

Formation and Connection to Toril
"But tales are told of a time long past, when elves fled by the thousands from war-torn Faerie, that magical land that exists in the unseen shadows of a thousand worlds."

- Excerpt from a letter from Kriios Halambar, Master Luthier of New Olamn.

The Feywild was created by the Primordials, beings of power comparable with the gods. Finding some things of the Prime too "bright" or too "dark," the primordials tore these parts from the Prime, creating the Feywild and the Plane of Shadow (later known as the Shadowfell), respectively. It was believed that the original deities worshiped by the elves, the Faerie gods of the Seelie Court, originated in the Feywild. The first creatures to join them in this world were the fey, and came in many forms. Circa -34000 DR, the plane came to be ruled by a mysterious fey creator race, who gave rise to the first korreds, sprites, and pixies.

The first record of the fey immigrating to Abeir-Toril from Faerie—as the plane was previously called—came about circa -27000 DR. This great migration included lythari, avariel, and green elves, ancestors of the wild elves and dark elves, and eladrin, ancestors of the other elven races. The Fey ushered the elves to Toril, hoping the then-primitive creatures would help bring down the reign of dragons. It was at this time that the ancient elves began their split into the Tel'Quessir of Toril and the eladrin of the Feywild.

Some centuries later, circa -25400 DR, a small group of gold elves and silver elves also arrived on Toril following a magical experiment gone terribly awry that destroyed the island of Tintageer in Faerie.

During their millennium on Toril, the eladrin established numerous realms that were more-closely linked to Faerie that other locations across the world.

Separation
In the, local drow introduced the Susurrus to the Living Wood in the Eastern Heartlands, severing the bond between the resident fey and the plane of Faerie.

Around the, most of the fey of the Moonshae Isles, including the LeShay and fomorian giants, left their home on Toril for Faerie. The isle of Karador sank beneath the waters of the waters of the Sea of Swords.

After the fall of Iliyanbruen in the 2 century DR, some elves retreated for the isle of Evermeet, yet others opted for another solution. A group of these elves actually transported Iliyanbruen's capital Sharandar back to the Plane of Faerie.

Over the millennia, the Plane of Faerie had slipped further and further away from the Prime, although they still remained inextricably linked. By the late 14 century DR, the weakening of the bond between Faerie and Toril was observed by scholars from the continent of Faerûn.

Reconnection
This relationship between the two planes was reversed entirely when the Spellplague struck in the, although the exact reasons for this remain unclear. It could have been related to increased traffic between the Feywild and the Moonshae Isles during the preceding decade,  or the significant number of realms that had been built by the eladrin over the course of centuries.

Regardless of the cause, the Feywild was yanked back into proximity with the Prime, and new crossroads and faerie pools were opened up across the Realms. Evermeet slipped into the Feywild, as did the demiplane of Sildëyuir. At the same time, the eladrin of the Feywild found themselves newly reconnected to the elven peoples of Toril.

Since the barrier between these two planes became much thinner, the eladrin discovered that they could slip easily between the Feywild and the Prime at sites of great elven magic and importance, such as Evermeet, Evereska, and Sarifal. Ironically, the recently-raised elven city of Myth Drannor was almost completely closed off from the Feywild.

Some time during or after the, the fomorian king Malabog forged an alliance with the Torillian lich Valindra Shadowmantle and prepared to invade the Realms by means of the transitive city of New Sharandar. The giant-king's war ended before it began, due to the intervention of adventurers from Neverwinter.

With the end of the Second Sundering, the Feywild remained closely tied to the Prime and Evermeet returned to Toril, although it dwelt in a state of coexistence between the Prime, the Feywild, and Arvandor.

Inhabitants
The inhabitants of the Feywild varied in temperament from kind to malicious, but almost all had a mischievous side to them and few stopped to consider the needs or worries of visitors to their home. While many of those living in Faerie were untamed, large numbers also congregated according to race or by political allegiance. Just as the geography was reminiscent of Toril's, some of its inhabitants existed as fey "echoes" of Prime creatures.

All manner of fey species were found within the Feywild.

The leShay were an enigmatic species that were among the Feywild's most powerful inhabitants; though the various archfey were undoubtedly even more powerful.

Fey eladrin were the beings that had the closest thing to a civilization in the Feywild. They were the descendants of the elves that never left the Feywild, and over the millennia had become suffused with the plane's primal magic.

Other creatures that dwelled within the Feywild included moonstone, mirage, and faerie dragons; fomorians and their servitor cyclopes ruled much of the Feydark; and harengon, who were blessed with good fortune. Goblinoids, ogres, giants, and blights could all be found in the more sinister regions of the plane.

Seelie and Unseelie Fey
Most but not all fey served one of two godlike archfey queens, Titania the Summer Queen or the Queen of Air and Darkness, who shared an ancient and bitter rivalry. Those who belonged to Titiana's Seelie Court were known as seelie fey, and were generally good-aligned and represented or celebrated the beauty of nature. They were known to be honorable toward visitors to the Feywild, if a bit mischievous, but they did not welcome non-fey to join their Court. Those who belonged to the Queen of Air and Darkness's Unseelie Court were known as unseelie fey, and were generally evil-aligned and represented or celebrated the darker and more macabre aspects of the natural world. They were generally more dangerous and untrustworthy in their dealings with visitors, however they were known to be more welcoming of non-fey into their Court. The Unseelie Court worked tirelessly to undermine the Seelie Court, sometimes violently but more often through games and cruel mischief.

The remaining inhabitants of the Feywild either held no allegiances except at their own whims, or served another of the archfey, such as Oberon, Hyrsam, or the Prince of Frost. Uglier inhabitants of the Feywild, such as fomorians and hags, were generally not welcome among either the Seelie or Unseelie Courts.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Dara Algwynenn Kalinoth, a moon elf princess that became the prophet of the Cult of the Howling Hatred.
 * Sharlario Moonflower, one of the first elves to emigrate from Faerie to Toril.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
 * Princes of the Apocalypse • Locathah Rising • Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus • Candlekeep Mysteries
 * Novels
 * City of Torment • The Masked Witches • Chosen of Nendawen trilogy (Hand of the Hunter, The Fall of Highwatch, Cry of the Ghost Wolf) •
 * Evermeet: Island of Elves • Silver Shadows • Plague of Spells • Dawnbringer • The Last Threshold • The Fanged Crown • The Darker Road • The Adversary
 * Fiction
 * Untold Adventures: Watchers at the Living Gate
 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter: (Fury of the Feywild, Sharander)
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Storm King's Thunder: (Giant Diplomacy
 * Tyranny of Dragons: (Dark Pyramid of Sorcerer's Isle)
 * Card Games
 * Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
 * Tyranny of Dragons: (Dark Pyramid of Sorcerer's Isle)
 * Card Games
 * Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
 * Adventures in the Forgotten Realms