High Forest

The High Forest is a remnant of the days of old, when all of Faerûn was covered in green and elves, giants and dragons ruled the world.

The forest is a vast region of old forest growth bounded by the Nether Mountains in the north and the High Moor to the south. To the west is found the Evermoors and to the east the vast desert of Anauroch. Along the eastern border of the High Forest follows the course of the Delimbiyr River, which flows southward from the Nether Mountains then bends to the southwest to pass beween the High Forest to north and the the High Moor the south.

What lies within this deep forest is somewhat of a mystery, and few travel there to explore its depths. The more notable locations in the forest include the majestic Star Mounts&mdash;providing the headwaters of the Unicorn Run and the Heartblood River; the Lost Peaks in the northwest that form the headwaters of the Dessarin River; the fabled Grandfather Tree; the Dire Woods in the east; as well as many dungeons, ruins, abandoned settlements, and mysterious locales.

Among the known inhabitants of the woods are the aarakocra among the Star Mountains, centaurs, dragons, drow, a few elves and humans, gnomes, korreds, gnolls, orcs, pegasi, pixies, satyrs, treants, and unicorns. The few humans who dwell here are generally rangers, druids, or adventurers used to surviving in wild environments. Trade with the outside world is infrequent, as the forest is self-sufficient and its resources provide for the inhabitants.

In the past the forest formed part of the elven kingdom of Eaerlann. However, most of the elves have since departed to join the retreat to Evermeet. The forest is no longer ruled by any one group, but instead contains many forces and groups in competition. The most powerful of these are the treants led by Turlang. However, wood elves are growing in numbers and seek to reestablish the kingdom of Eaerlann. Standing in their way, however, are innumerable tribes of orcs, gnolls, and an alliance of demon-spawned elves from Hellgate Keep.

The southern slopes of the legendary Star Mounts contain the Endless Caverns, which are said to be home to dragons and to connect to the Underdark. To the south of the caverns is the "Stronghold of the Nine", an abandoned dwarven site now apparently claimed by elves. To the east of the mounts and south of the Heartblood River, is the ruined Netherese city of Karse. The region of forest within the wide bend of the Heartblood River is called the Dire Wood, where a great massacre once took place. Strange supernatural phenomena originate from this place, and it is home to two liches by the name of Wulgreth.

At the northern end of the High Forest is an area called Turlan's Wood, a place where the forest is continuing to expand thanks to the tending of a band of treants. At the northeast tip of the forest, their efforts have sealed off Hellgate Keep, the site of a deadly battle with a powerful demon named Kanyrr Vhok.

Mountains
These impressive and forbidding peaks are located in the centre of the High Forest, though on clear days their snow covered summits, which are higher than even those of the Spine of the World can be seen from beyond the Forest's borders, as far away as the Stone Bridge, or the mountains around the Shining Falls, north of Loudwater. This puts the Star Mounts among the highest, if not the highest, of Faerun's mountain ranges, only being rivalled by the Yehimal range, which themselves may not strictly be considered a part of the continent of Faerun.
 * The Star Mounts

The earliest recorded names for these mountains have been attributed to the elves of Earlann, who named them for the stars in the northern heavens. Bard's Hill, Mount Vision and Hunterhorn today only possess the rough translation of their elven names, but Far Peak, Mount Journey and Shadowpeak are still sometimes known by their original names, respectively Y'tellarian (The Far Star), Y'landrothiel (Traveller's Star) and N'landroshien (Darkness in Light). It is said by some that these names hint at some mystery which lies within the range.

The mountains themselves are very difficult to traverse. Overland, the terrain is incredibly steep and no known passes exist to the interior. Snow and inhospitable weather all year round make climbing hazerdous, in this already remote location. By air, it is considered impossible for anything less powerful than a dragon to approach the Star Peaks with any degree of safety due to incredibly high winds which are a constant feature of the place.

The geography of the land surrounding the Star Mounts is worthy of note as well. To the north, the land is unusually flat for the most part, while to the south the land is gnarled and twisted extensively. The curious nature of the surrounding terrain and the sudden abruptness of the mountain range, seemingly out of place, has caused some to speculate that the Star Mounts are not of natural origin. However, if this is the case, their roots go back to a time before elven recorded history.

These two small mountains at the northwest corner of the forest are home to centaurs, satyrs. and other fey. The Fountains of Memory located on the high plateaus reflect views of the past instead of their normal surroundings. As far as anyone can tell, beings who enter the pools in an attempt to return to those past time instead teleport to random destinations.
 * The Lost Peaks

Rivers
Flowing down from the Star Mounts in the High Forest to the valley of the River Delimbiyr, the Unicorn Run a known for its hundreds of waterfalls, its whitewater rapids, the fey communities that migrate along its banks and occasional sightings of the creatures that gave the river its name.
 * Unicorn Run

This tributary of the Delimbiyr finds its source on the north face of the Star Mounts and winds its way east and south through the Dire Wood, where it gains its name from the red tinge its waters take as it passes the ruined city of Karse. By the time it joins the Delimbiyr, its waters have returned once more to a normal hue. It is said that drinking from the waters when they still flow red can grant an increase to magical powers, or help stave off adverse magical effects. The red colour has been attributed simply to soil deposits picked up as the river passes through the Dire Wood. However, other sources mention contamination from the blood of the still beating heart of the dead god Karsus.
 * Heartblood River

A ring of completely albino oak trees surrounds these mysterious hills in the eastern High Forest. Inside the outer ring of pale oaks stands a thicker ring of blackened and petrified trees. Within the rings, normal trees and heavy undergrowth are mixed with petrified trees, all sprouting from reddish soil.
 * River Dessarin
 * Special Areas
 * Turlan's Wood
 * Dire Wood

History
Long ago, when the elves truly ruled Faerûn, the kingdom of Eaerlann held sway in the High Forest. Eaerlann fell in 882 DR when Ascalhorn became Hellsgate Keep. Soon after the elves began to slip away from the High Forest, embarking on their Retreat.

Publishing Iregularities
In the The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier, the High Forest is recorded as being up to 500 miles across, and is considered the greatest forest in Faerûn, covering nearly 20% of the lands of what is called the "Savage Frontier".

However in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, the High Forest is shown as being about 160 miles across.