Snakewood

The Snakewood was a relatively small forest located in eastern Amn.

Etymology
It was given the name "Snakewood" because of the great number of black and green snakes that lived there.

Geography
The forest was located west of the Troll Mountains, south of the Green Fields, north of the Amstel and Splendarrllur rivers and east of the Cloud Peaks.

Flora & Fauna
Other than snakes, the forest was known to be the home of small pockets of giant spiders

History
The Snakewood was once part of the great forest of Shantel Othreier. The forest was split off from Shantel Othreier by dragon fires as early as &minus;11,700 DR.

By &minus;1100 DR, elves had slain the last great dragon from the forest, then known as the Wyrmwood, and they founded a kingdom there, which they called Arundath, the Quiet Wood.

The elves were nearly eradicated by humans during the last one hundred years of the Shoon Imperium, (the late 350s DR). This was because the elves tried to protect a small herd of seven unicorns in the woods from the evil emperor Shoon VII, who wanted their horns for his magic, in particular for the powerful artifact known as the Tome of the Unicorn. In retaliation, Shoon VII hunted them down. About a third of the elves were driven from the forest, another third made into slaves, and the final third subjected to torturous magical experiments.

Notable Locations

 * Duskwood Dell : This former elven settlement was the most sacred location to the goddess Eldath in Faerûn.
 * The Stone of Clans' Parting : This monolith was located on the eastern edge of the woods and contains ancient elven writing. It was also the center of a dead-magic zone.
 * Magar's Hill : Located in the foothills of the Troll Mountains, this was the site of the Stone of Clans' Parting and the place where Esmel Torlath slew a dragon in the days before the founding of Amn.
 * River Rimril : This river flowed from the southern end of the Snakewood.
 * The Vudlur : This stream originated from a spring within the forest.

Inhabitants
The forest contained a small number of beholders and lycanthropes. Wild elves lived among the trees of the woods, but rarely more than for a few summers at a time.

The ambitious green dragon Ringreemeralxoth laired in the northern hills southwest of Brigand's Gorge and west of the Gulf of Storms. Druids of Eldath live in the central woods, in Duskwood Dell.

Rumors & Legends
Those living near the forest suspected that the Eldathyn druids might be the cause of the high population of snakes living there, but this had not been confirmed.