Helmlands

The Helmlands (initially known as the Pits of Mystra ) were a region of the southern Stonelands in Cormyr affected by persistent dead magic and wild magic fields originating from the death of Mystra at the hand of Helm.

Description
Prior to the Time of Troubles, the Helmlands were a section of the Storm Horns foothills forested with redwoods. With Mystra's death the region was torn apart and razed, filled with with thousands of tar and oil pits and erratic dead and wild magic fields. Over the next decade the land was mostly restored, but some tar pits remained and the Weave never fully recovered. The dead and wild magic shifted randomly and affected spellcasters and magic items, making magically-equipped ventures into the region extremely risky.

The tenuously-intact fabric of reality also resulted in the Helmlands becoming weakly divinely morphic as it passed into alignment with random gods. This resulted in bizarre and potentially dangerous shifts in the weather and magical properties of the area, such as a tropical paradise forming in midwinter, instantaneously turning to a lethal winter storm, followed by dead animals spontaneously reanimating and fighting each other.

Geography
The Helmlands were part of the Stonelands along the eastern foothills of the Storm Horns centered around Castle Kilgrave, close to Gnoll Pass, Castle Crag and Redspring. After the Spellplague, the wild magic and dead magic zones extended as far west as the hills north of Eveningstar.

Geographical Features
The Redwoods were a forest of redwoods in the area that was destroyed when Mystra's death "blasted the land like a million Shou cannons." It slowly recovered, and by the late 15 century DR had regenerated a sizable forest north of Redsprings.

Government
Although within reach of Cormyr's authority, the Helmlands were dangerous wilderness and avoided by decent folk whenever possible. Bandits, raiders, and monsters made their homes there, protected from the War Wizards and other magic-users by the shifting magical fields. They made raids on the caravans on the Moonsea Ride and on nearby farms, villages and even Arabel. Mercenary companies such as the Red Ravens made repeated forays into the region, but each time a group or beast was eliminated, a new threat filled the void shortly after.

History
Originally part of the uninhabited backlands of Cormyr, the Helmlands came to prominence during the Time of Troubles in 1358 DR when Bane imprisoned Mystra at Castle Kilgrave. After she was rescued, her avatar challenged Helm at the Celestial Staircase there, only to be violently destroyed by his counterattack. Castle Kilgrave and the area around it was blasted to pieces by her death, destroying the forest of redwoods and shattering the landscape. At first known as the Pits of Mystra because of the many tar pits, the region was later restored to an extent by the church of the new Mystra in the following years, and it became popularly known as the Helmlands instead.

After his battle with Mystra, Helm shed a single tear from the anguish of his duty. This tear fell to earth and hovered above a large tar pit, becoming known as the Guardian's Tear. The artifact was imbued with the chaos and calamity of Mystra's death, and began generating additional pockets of dead magic and wild magic that spread out across the land, causing the Helmlands to grow larger in time. King Azoun IV sent the Knights of the Shadows to investigate the phenomenon, and they found that a tribe of gnolls had found the Tear and had begun worshiping it as the rock of blue fire. The Shadow Knights seized the Tear but were in turn assaulted by cultists of Malyk, who disappeared with it into the Underdark to destroy the magocracy of Sshamath.

While King Azoun IV fought against the Grand Army of the Tuigan in 1360 DR, Zhentarim operatives led by Nith broke into the Crown's secure vaults and stole the Wyvern Crown of Cormyr and other artifacts. As they went north to meet Ashemmi in the Stonelands, they passed through the Helmlands, which reacted poorly with the powerful magical items they carried. The Wyvern Crown and other items were teleported randomly throughout the Heartlands of Faerûn, leaving the Zhents bereft of prizes.

Following the Spellplague, the Helmlands expanded west along the Storm Horns, taking up much of the plateau and foothills north of Eveningstar. The old redwoods also returned in time, growing into a sizable forest again by the late 15 century DR.

Rumors & Legends
Persistent rumors held that Royal Magician Vangerdahast was working on a project to deal with the Helmlands. One variation claimed that he was going to eliminate the wild magic entirely, and another that he would simply transfer the field elsewhere so it would be someone else's problem.