Myth Drannor

Myth Drannor, formerly known as (the city of) Cormanthor, the City of Song, or the City of Love, as well as many other names, was an elven city of around 10,000 (as of 1479 DR) in Cormanthor, which had been rebuilt after the original had laid in ruins since it fell in 714 DR. It was one of four old communities and capital of Cormanthyr (the others being the Elven Court, Semberholme, and the Tangled Trees). At its height, it represented the peak of elven civilization and craftsmanship.

It fell to demons during the Weeping War and was in ruins, a dangerous place full of monsters and forgotten treasures, for many centuries, until reclaimed by Evermeet's Elven Crusade led by Seiveril Miritar. It was ruled by Coronal Ilsevele Miritar for the next century before falling once more into ruin.

Magic
While it was in ruins, the powerful magic of Myth Drannor still leaked out from the ruin, affecting Cormanthor in several ways, such as the weather being milder than it should have been, with cooler summers and warmer winters, and there being far more plant and animal species in Cormanthor than any other woodland of its kind.

There were pockets of Cormanthor that would cause magic (spells and effects) to behave in unpredictable ways. According to Elminster Aumar these pockets were created as a result of the breakup of the mythal.

History
Myth Drannor was founded as Cormanthor in -3983 DR by the Coronal Kahvoerm Irithyl. For over four thousand years, the city prospered with little incident.

Coronal Eltargrim Irithyl decided that if Cormanthyr was to survive, its people must make peace with the other races, so Eltargrim set about organizing the elf wizards to create a mythal. It was completed in 261 DR, and its construction marked the "Opening"; the Coronal opened the city of Cormanthor to all non-Tel'Quessir, and the city was crowned Myth Drannor.

The Opening marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Myth Drannor, when the city prospered and many races flourished amid its towers. Many demihuman groups came to the city during this time, including dwarves, gnomes, and halflings. Myth Drannor reached a peak of power and culture in 661 DR, with all its races living in unity.

Following the death of Eltargrim in 661 DR, the city was left without a leader. By Midsummer 667 DR the Council of Twelve was in control of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor. This council soon forgot the dreams of the Coronals and took to bettering their own agendas; the nobles made trade deals that favoured their own houses and influence, and worked to set up power holds in the sister cities. With Myth Drannor failing as a capital, Cormanthyr dissolved into city states within four decades amid divisive in-fighting among the council and the guilds.

Map prior to elven retreat:





Fall
In 711 DR, the Trio Nefarious entered the northern woods, attacking some eladrin outposts and moving closer to the capital, and starting the Weeping War. By 714 DR Myth Drannor was overrun by the Army of Darkness.

Interim years
For over six centuries, the elves kept the place hidden and sealed for the most part, refusing to let any into the ruins save dragons, whom the elves hoped would guard the city against interlopers as they would their own lairs The city became a legend, one of the most dangerous adventuring sites in all of Faerûn. The city became host to monstrous treasure seekers of many different races, including phaerimms and their dark naga slaves as well as a cabal of alhoons.

In 1344 DR, the vast majority of elves left for Evermeet, participating in the Retreat (travelling first by gates to Ardeep Forest before making arrangements with Mirt the Moneylender, who lent them his ships to sail west with ). A mere two years later, the alhoons had manipulated the Church of Bane into opening a portal to Avernus in the ruins, from which a few bound devils could be called from and controlled in order to battle the few remaining yugoloths and the alhoon's rival phaerimms before the portal was closed again. However, Malkizid intervened, forcing the portal to stay open and causing a legion of baatezu to pour forth.

The Seizing
The banites quickly erected magical wards that the fiends could not escape from and placed their hope in adventurers slaying the devils. Over the span of ten years, they put out word of the riches that could be obtained from the ruins. Numerous adventuring companies raided Myth Drannor but they were merely fodder for the increasingly numerous fiends inhabiting the area; their efforts however led to the destruction of many ancient elven relics.

In 1357 DR, an avatar of Moander marched on Myth Drannor from Yûlash but was prevented from reaching it's destination. Scant months later, in Marpenoth, Tyranthraxus briefly took over the city, arriving through a pool of radiance and erecting a magical barrier to prevent entry, ruling over most of the city's inhabitants from the temple of Labelas Enoreth. Elminster, operating under a disguise, aided a group of adventurers in entering through the barrier and they managed to drive out the possessing spirit. The group that would become known far and wide as Knights of Myth Drannor closed the portal in Uktar of the same year but around seventy of the devils remained.

Twelve years after that, in 1369 DR, the Cult of the Dragon also gained a foothold in the city, led by Kya Mordrayn. They had discovered a newly formed pool of radiance inside Castle Cormanthor and wished to bathe the dracolich Pelendralaar in it to make him more powerful but once more, adventurers defeated their evil designs.

Reclamation and Rebuilding
In 1372 DR, the return of the Netherese to Faerûn saw them quickly target the colony of phaerimm living in the ruins for destruction. They erected a shadowshell that prevented the thornback's escape before they were to descend and wipe out their ancient foes. An attack on Thultanthar by the Chosen of Mystra however, prevented them from both confirming that all of the phaerimms living there had been killed and looting what magic remained.

In 1374 DR, the forces of the Daemonfey conquered the city by force but the army of Seiveril Miritar, leading a return to Faerûn, recaptured Myth Drannor. Seiveril's daughter Ilsevele Miritar became the new coronal and efforts to restore the city began. Beginning it's new life as a war camp, migrants from Evermeet and native wood elves moved in, as did a huge influx of humans and half-elves from the Dalelands, Hillsfar and Sembia. The elven crusaders slowly but surely wiped out the remaining monsters in and around the ruins while quietly tolerating the illegal theft of elven artifacts to fund their efforts. Non-military personnel demolished ruined stonework to clear space for new buildings. After a while though, Myth Drannor became a flourishing city-state with influence over several Moonsea and Dalelands settlements. This nation waged a cold war against the Empire of Netheril for over a century, starting when Netherese agents stole the Quess Ar Teranthvar from Windsong Tower early in 1375 DR

In 1487 DR, after years of war against Netheril, the flying city of Thultanthar crashed into Myth Drannor, destroying both cities. Ilsevele and her surviving subjects fled to Semberholme.

Relics
There are some surviving objects and artifacts from the city. One example is a single bottle of wine kept at Thaola's Wineshop in Leuthilspar on the island of Evermeet.