High Forest

The High Forest is a reminent 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 Mounts, 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.

The Lost Peaks
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.

Unicorn Run
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.

Dire Wood
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.

History
Long ago, when the elves truly ruled Faerun, 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 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, the High Forest is show as being about 160 miles across.