Illefarn

Illefarn was an elven city-state that was founded during the First Flowering in , survived the Crown Wars, grew into an expansive nation and later fragmented into smaller realms.

Geography
Illefarn as a nation at its height stretched along the Sword Coast from just south of the settlement of Illusk, itself not far south of the Spine of the World, to the River Delimbiyr. Its capital was Aelinthaldaar which was built in the shadow of Mount Waterdeep.

Sciences
Illefarn was renowned as the nation first to have formulated the theory of gravity.

Crown Wars
Illefarn attempted to remain neutral during the turbulent period of the Crown Wars. In, secret safe havens were provided to former Miyeritari citizens by elves of Illefarn. Its High Mages and priests of Corellon, Illefarn's nobility, began decades of prayer in, hoping the Seldarine would intervene and end the Ilythiir dark elves' use of fire. Their prayers were answered in, although the consequences fell on all dark elves, not just the Ilythiiri, who became drow.

In, under control of House Vyshaan and the leadership of Coronal Giilvas Vyshaan, Aryvandaar attacked Illefarn and its Llewyrrwood colony. They aimed to prevent Illefarn's priests and High Mages from opposing the Aryvandaar court as they had done to the Ilythiir. Aryvandaar slew Illefarn's nobility and annexed its lands. Survivors fled south to join Shantel Othreier, while others settled in the Moonshae Isles where they became known as the Llewyrr.

In, the surviving priests and High Mages came out of hiding to oppose Aryvandaar in the Fifth Crown War. Illefarn managed to survive through the fighting, becoming a powerful realm in the aftermath.

The Founding Time
Despite resistance to several orc hordes from out of the Spine of the World mountains, it was the encroachment of humans into Illefarn's territory that spurred Syglaeth Audark, Illefarn's coronal, to call for a retreat to Evermeet, magically razing Aelinthaldaar in to remove any proof of its existence.

Over the next seven and a half centuries, many elves abandoned their homes of the last seven millennia and Illefarn's elven population dwindled into three smaller kingdoms: Ardeep, Iliyanbruen, and Rilithar. After the fall of nearby Athalantar in the, the elves of Ardeep forged a strong alliance with the dwarves of Dardath and the two realms kept the name of Illefarn, striving to work with local populations of humans instead of hiding from them. This came to pass less than two centuries later in the, when the "Illefarn" elves and dwarves helped to form the realm of Phalorm after the Council of Axe and Arrow.

Apart from scholars, the memory of Illefarn was kept alive by the dwarves of Clan Ironeater, who stubbornly clung to their Illefarn identity centuries after the fall of Phalorm.

Rise of the Empire
As Netheril rose, it knew only Illefarn and Eaerlann among its elven neighbors. Elves of the two nations tried to provide guidance to the Netherese wizards, but the relationship deteriorated. In, the elves stole a set of Nether Scrolls, establishing a delicate balance of power among the nations that lasted millennia.

The King of Shadows
Some time prior to the, Illefarn was threatened by Netheril. A human wizard whose name is lost to time volunteered to sacrifice himself to a magical ritual to create an effective deterrent. The Guardian that resulted was a being of pure Weave magic.

When Karsus's avatar was cast, the Weave was interrupted momentarily, which would have destroyed the Guardian. It chose to change its power source to the Shadow Weave and became the King of Shadows. The Illefarn sent warriors to destroy it, but failed. They then bribed the great dragon Nolaloth. The King of Shadows struck him down, but was sorely wounded and retreated to the Plane of Shadows.

Fate of the Subrealms
In the, a massive orc horde streamed out of the Spine of the World and laid waste to the Kingdom of Illusk and the hidden city of Gauntlgrym, and ravaged the dwarven empire of Delzoun. Iliyanbruen, Rillithar and the neighboring elven kingdom of Eaerlann united to finally destroy the horde. They paid a bloody price for their success.

Within a century, the human dominated realm of Illusk had rebuilt and began to encroach south into Illiyanbruen. War finally erupted in the, and culminated in an Illuskan defeat at the hands of Lord Halueth Never the following year. Peace eventually returned in the, with the River Mirar set as the boundary between the two kingdoms.

By the, the orcs were once again a serious threat. Elven outposts in the Spine of the World were overwhelmed and Illusk was again overrun. Human refugees began to swamp Iliyanbruen. To halt the tide, the host of Iliyanbruen marched to war against the orcs. In a campaign which lasted over 20 years, the face and nature of Iliyanbruen was changed completely. Within three years after the, Iliyanbruen was gone. Many elves had fallen against the orcs or departed for Evermeet.

With victory achieved, the few remaining elves under Lord Never settled in Eigersstor, an Illusk refugee settlement, which was renamed Neverwinter in the Elf Lord's honor.

In the, the fall of human-ruled Athalantar to an orc horde precipitated a hasty alliance between the Stout Folk of Dardath and the Fair Folk of Ardeep that was made permanent after the last Council of Illefarn was called. The Alliance of Illefarn then began debating allying with the humans of the region against the burgeoning threat of orc hordes rising across the North. However, before that decades-long discussion could reach any form of consensus, King Harnorth II Snowsword and most of the lands of Elembar fell to the Tarnished Tusk horde, which was in turn destroyed while invading the House of Stone in the Year of the. Only the capitol city of Delimbiyran and the lands immediately bordering it survived the orc horde’s assault.

A dozen years later, in the, the elves of Ardeep and the dwarves of Dardath invited the humans of the Delimbiyr river valley, the gnomes of Dolblunde, and displaced halflings from Mieritin (now absorbed into Amn) to the Council of Axe and Arrow at the Laughing Hollow, where Phalorm, Realm of Three Crowns was founded. Javilarhh “the Dark” Snowsword, son of Harnorth II and heir to the throne of Elembar, was crowned King of Delimbiyran, one of Phalorm’s ruling triumvirate.

In the, a small group of drow arachnomancers took over one of the ancient Illefarn ruins, interestingly enough, located in the deep jungles of Samarach of the Chultan Peninsula. Even though their goal remained a mystery, the drow brought a pack of phase spiders with them. The creatures were kept in the top levels of the ruins.

Notable Locations

 * Capital: Aelinthaldaar
 * Ardeep: Ardeep Forest
 * Iliyanbruen: Neverwinter Wood
 * Rilithar: Kryptgarden Forest
 * Mount Illefarn
 * The Laughing Hollow
 * Arvahn

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir • Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Baldur's Gate