The Far Horns Forest was a massive forest that covered much of north Faerûn during the time of Netheril. It once made up much of the western and southern frontier of Netheril, but over time was much reduced in extent until it was broken up into smaller remnant forests.[2][3]
Description[]
The Far Horns were named for the region's ability to carry sounds long distances. It was possible for a man standing on the Greypeak Mountains to blow a horn and have it heard as far away as the Flats, while other noises from the forest floor could be carried many miles away as the local twisted air currents aided in their transmission.[1]
Geography[]
The Far Horns once stretched between the High Forest and the expansive plains of Netheril, reaching from the foothills of the Barren Mountains in the north almost to the Bodensee River and the Hollow in the south. In the north, it bordered on the Rengath ancestral lands, while towards the south it met the Greypeak Mountains, the Purple Mountains, the Flats, and the Moss, as well as the Angardt ancestral lands.[2]
The forest surrounded much of the upper Winding Water as it flowed out of the Moss, and also served as the origin for the Sunderiver and Moray River, two tributaries of the Zweihaus River.[2]
Inhabitants[]
The Thundercall orcs lived in the northern parts of the forest and were infamous for their fearsome warhorns, but were kept from being a threat by aggressive patrols from Unity. Another tribe, the Greenhaven orcs, lived in the central reaches of the forest near the Moss. They raided the nearby Netherese settlements and used flaming arrows to hunt the trolls in the Moss, until they were destroyed by the vengeful trolls. Those trolls in turn used the Far Horns as their hunting ground.[1][4]
Many gnomes who had escaped from the slavery of Netheril ended up settling in the Far Horns, with forest gnomes consolidating in the later Far Forest.[5] Wood giants, satyrs, and nymphs also lived within the forest.[1]
History[]
Goblins lurked in the shadows.
The city of Unity was founded within the edge of the forest in 614 NY (−3245 DR), becoming a military base for fighting against local goblins and other threats.[6][7]
1014 NY (−2845 DR) saw the founding of Westwendt Village near the Mines of Dekanter, serving as a central market with the elves of Illefarn and Eaerlann, and the dwarves of Delzoun.[6][7]
During the Silver Age of Netheril (−2758 DR to −2208 DR), the Greenhaven orcs were wiped out by the furious trolls they had hunted.[1][4]
During the Golden Age of Netheril (−2207 DR to −1206 DR), orcs, goblins, and kobolds began aggressively attacking Westwendt, leading to an extended period of war for the town and the surrounding area.[6]
The city of Wreathe was founded in 1714 NY (−2145 DR) at the foot of the Purple Mountains, and became a frontier mining town famed for the hunting opportunities in the nearby wilderness.[8]
A beholder spelljammer crash-landed near Westwendt in 3023 NY (−836 DR), causing a large fire that destroyed much of the local forest.[6]
Brightstrike's children removed Wreathe from the map.
Wreathe was attacked in 3315 NY (−544 DR) by three ancient blue dragons, the children of Brightstrike. Seeking revenge for their mother's slaying hundreds of years earlier, the wyrms slowly destroyed the city over a period of days.[8]
The bandit lord Olostin sited himself in Dread Keep and began raiding western Netheril in 3348 NY (−511 DR), starting with a gruesome attack on Unity. He was finally slain in 3382 NY (−477 DR), and was discovered to have been working with the phaerimm.[9][10]
The archwizard Karsus established his enclave in 3185 NY (−674 DR), and proceeded to hover over the Far Horns during the winter months, much to the displeasure of the locals.[11]
With the spread of the Anauroch desert caused by the phaerimms after 3398 NY (−461 DR), the folk of Low Netheril migrated away in search of more liveable lands, with many moving into the Far Forest. Within a few centuries the combination of deforestation and desertification had severely reduced the forest and fragmented it into the Forgotten Forest, Northdark Woods, Forest of Wyrms, Weathercote Wood, and Far Forest, with the empty ground between them becoming the Fallen Lands, the Lonely Moor, and Pelleor's Prairie. These Netherese settlers pressed on the traditional lands of Najara and even colonized the eastern Serpent Hills, forcing the native ophidians and lizardfolk into retreat.[7][2][12][13][3]
A horde of fiends attacked Unity in 3499 NY (−360 DR), leading to a three-year war that had Karsus himself leading a counter-attack that banished or slew the extra-planar invaders. In the same year, fiends attacked Westwendt and razed it to the ground. The use of heavy magic during the conflict by Karsus's forces led to magically-mutated monsters and other oddities emerging from the forest in 3514 NY (−345 DR).[14][6]
The fall of Netheril in 3520 NY (−339 DR) saw the exodus of the entire surviving Netherese population, many of them migrating into the Backlands region and forcing the remaining ophidians to abandon the Serpent Hills entirely and take refuge in nearby Ss'thar'tiss'ssun while they regained their strength.[3] The city of Unity survived the Fall, but was slowly depopulated and abandoned as the Anauroch encroached on it over time.[6]
Notable Locations[]
- Aumvor's castle, the home of Aumvor the Undying.[15]
- Dread Keep, the fortress of the bandit lord Olostin.[9]
- Eileanar, the flying enclave of Karsus, spent its winter months hovering over the forest near the Winding Water, and annoyed the locals enough to name the river the "Karsus Overwash."[2][11]
- The Hill of Lost Souls, a dormant volcano.[15]
- Saharelgard, the home of the archmage Saharel.[15]
- Unity, a Netherese city on the edge of the northern forest dedicated to fighting goblins and orcs.[2][6]
- Westwendt Village, a Netherese settlement that served as a market town for elves and dwarves.[2][6]
- Wreathe, a Netherese city at the base of the Purple Mountains.[2][8]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), pp. 72, 73. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Map: Netheril at its Height included in slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). Netheril: Empire of Magic. Edited by Jim Butler. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 111. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 16. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 137. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), pp. 90, 91. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Map: Netheril at the Fall included in slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). Netheril: Empire of Magic. Edited by Jim Butler. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 92. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), pp. 114, 115. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 10. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 78. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ ProFantasy Software Ltd. (1999). Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas. TSR, Inc. File: B1cNEIc.FCW
- ↑ ProFantasy Software Ltd. (1999). Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas. TSR, Inc. File: B1aSEIC.FCW
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 11. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 ProFantasy Software Ltd. (1999). Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas. TSR, Inc. File: High Moor.FCW