Ilythiir

Ilythiir was a realm of the dark elves during the Dawn Ages and First Flowering (founded roughly -27000 DR) before being destroyed after the Descent of the Drow following the Fourth Crown War.

Geography
Ilythiir was an expansionist country, that started in the southern jungles and spread throughout southern Faerûn during the Dawn Age. It experienced another period of expansion during the First Flowering, during which it spread across the areas later known as the Shaar and Forest of Amtar.

Dawn age
The elves came to Toril via gates of the Fey, around -27000 DR. The dark elves were the members of the second immigrant wave and differed from the elves of the first immigration wave, aquatic elves, avariels and lytharis, in not wanting to lead tribal lives in forests. During that time, dragons were the hegemons of Toril. Non-dragon races’ treatment ran the entire gamut of cattle to glorified slaves. It wasn’t clear how they managed it but the Ilythiiri negotiated with dragons and founded the first elven state on Faerûn, Ilythiir, with the capitol of Atorrnash.

Like all other elves during that time, the Ilythiiri didn’t have an idea that something like an elven pantheon existed. They picked up the faith of Vhaeraun as the major one and started had a successful expansionist policy with the church of Vhaeraun as the driving force behind it. Ilythiir enjoyed a high degree of society from dragons. Ghaunadaur’s faith was a minor player but was considered the more attractive choice for those wizards who looked to life force as a power source. Eilistraee made it her duty to oppose the church of her brother, but had only a small following. In Ilythiir, religious affiliation wasn’t a factor that prevented one from climbing the social ladder as proven by Ka'Narlist, a follower of Ghaunadaur, who managed to advance to a position like one of the leaders of Attornash.Where he was respected and openly talked about his faith as well as about his disdain of the major faith to foreign diplomats whom he met for the first time.

After accidentally destroying their own country and downsizing their population to less than hundred around -25400 DR, elves from Tintageer fled to Toril. These elves sent emissaries to Ilythiir around -25100 DR. These emissaries knew about Ghaunadaur from Ilythiir. That entity’s power was the basis for these elves to first bargain with, then killing, and then taking the red dragon Mahatnartorian’s territory for themselves.

Around -24500 DR, Lolth’s attention was directed to Toril through the intrusion of Kethryllia into her Demonweb Pits.

First Flowering
In -18000 DR some Ilythiiri houses began to venerate Ghaunadaur and in the following years other houses began worshipping Lloth in order to gain power. In the following centuries Ilythiir skirmished with Orishaar and incited the War of Three Leaves with its other neighbors.

In -11700 DR Ilythiir began the Second Crown War supposedly in retaliation for Aryvandaar's attack on Miyeritar. They attacked the bordering elvish nations, striking quickly at Orishaar conquering it swiftly. The Ilythiiri continued their aggressiveness and attacked Syòrpiir, burning it to the ground in -11600 DR. In -11500 DR Ilythiir faced an allied Thearnytaar and Eiellûr who joined together in response to Ilythiir's use of fire. About this time the balor lord Wendonai was sent by Lloth to seduce a high Ilythiiri clan into her service, and the church of Lolth began to rise in importance.

Ilythiir found itself attacked during the The Sable Wars, (circa -11450 DR). They faced an invading force from Eiellûr and Thearnytaar, in addition to a small amount of aid provided by Keltormir and Shantel Othreier, aiming to reform or conquer the dark elves before they destroyed any more realms. Over half the invading forces were wiped out by the dark elves' corrupt magic.

In -11400 DR the Ilythiiri isolated Eiellûr from assistance and destroyed it with fire. They were aided by treacherous green elves, who hoped to restore peace by appeasing the Ilythiiri.

The dark elves of Ilythiir then turned even more savage and used enslaved monsters and undead to occupy the woods of Thearnytaar in -11200 DR. Thearnytaar fell to their forces ending the Second Crown War. However, Ilythiir openly skirmished with Keltormir along its southern and eastern borders in the following years.

Ilythiir launched the Fourth Crown War in -10450 DR, attacking other elvish nations supposedly in retaliation for the Dark Disaster inflicted on the nation of Miyeritar. This new wave of hostilities saw the Ilythiiri openly using the corrupt powers granted them by their dark and evil gods.

In -10100 DR the Ilythiir destroyed Shantel Othreier.

Notable locations
After the dark elves were banished from the sunlit realms after the Crown Wars, most of the remnants of the empire were razed by elves hoping to eradicate any presence of their evil cousins. The ruins of Ilythiir were the most sparse of all the ancient elf empires to survive into later ages. Circa 1373 DR two were known to exist, Athamault and the Citadel of Slime.