Vastar

Vastar was an orc kingdom founded circa −700 DR. It occupied the lands between Cormanthyr and Narfell where the Vast now resides.

History
Orc hordes overwhelmed the elven community of Yrlaphon in the north of the land in the summer of −722 DR. It became a ruin held as an orcish stronghold and ruled by an orc chieftain.

The orc kingdom of Vastar rose circa −700 DR. It was in place across the land in −626 DR.

The history of Vastar was a turbulent one, with frequent coups, bloody civil wars, constant strife and regular attacks and counter-attacks against their neighbors and other creatures who lived in their land. They were populous enough, however, that they could quickly outgrow any setback. Overcrowding was rarely a problem; every dozen years, a horde would form in the summer, steal or build ships, and sail south over the Inner Sea to raid. Their survivors rarely returned, instead spreading south.

For their crude ship-building efforts, the orcs cut down the great forests of their land. When they ran out of timber, they went over the Dragon Reach to take what they wanted from Cormanthor, but upon landing the elves there were often quick to slaughter them with arrow and spell. Changing tactics, the orcs went overland instead, sending armies marching over the River Lis. Again elven arrows found them slowly marching through the marshes, and the slaughters gave the Lis the orcish name of "Blood River". They made several such invasions by sea and land.

In 331 DR, Vastar launched a surprise attack on Cormanthyr, via rickety boats across the Dragon Reach and by land north of the Reach. They destroyed Yrlaphon, slaughtered over 1000 Myth Drannan soldiers in their sleep and occupyied a portion of the eastern forest. Though the elves attempted to recover their lands many times, but it wasn't until the intervention of the human Velar 8 years after the original invasion that the orcs were eventually routed.

In 512 DR Vastar invaded again, this time attacking Impiltur instead. Swarming over the passes of the Earthspur Mountains, the orcs slew the king, his three heirs and their army, only to be defeated later that year by another army mustered by Duke Harandil Durlaven. The orcs fled back home but towards the end of that century Vastar came under repeated attack by the elves and from dwarves who were expanding their mines west into the country. The king Ologh was killed by the black dragon Iyrauroth in -572 DR. For 39 years (610-649 DR) Vastar was the Dwarven realm of Roldilar but the orcs regrouped and won a succession of victories against the dwarves above and below ground. Unfortunately for the orcs, opportunistic humans from the Vilhon Reach took advantage of the power vacuum left by the demise of Roldilar to settle the temporarily empty lands and pushed the orcs out of the settled lands, establishing Raven's Bluff over the former dwarven capital. The orcs of Vastar still live in the region and are continually a thorn in the side of the current residents, but any victories the orcs achieve only ever seem to be minor.

Geography
Vastar was originally quite heavily forested but the trees the orcs carelessly cut down to fuel their war with Myth Drannor left only the few copses of trees surrounded by wide, empty grasslands that could be found in the Vast in modern times.