The Lost Kingdoms, also known as the Three Realms or the Buried Lands to the Bedine people,[1] are the three survivor-states that emerged from the enclaves that were spared from destruction during the fall of ancient Netheril. They were formed in the region of north Faerûn that would later reform as the Anauroch desert.[2][3][4]
Description[]
The Lost Kingdoms each grew out from one of the three floating cities that safely touched down upon Toril after Netheril's fall.[3]
The realm of Anauria comprised the united gathering of men, elves, and half-elves, and was considered to be the wealthiest and most prosperous of the three. Anauria comprised the region just west and southwest of the Desertsmouth Mountains, from the southern point of At'ar's Looking Glass down to the Sword.[2][3][5][6]
Asram was the kingdom that most-closely held on to Netheril's arcane traditions. It was home to many spell-wielding guides and explorers that led trips to retrieve arcane relics from the the Netherese enclaves that crashed into the then-newly-formed Great Sand Sea.[7] The kingdom was located at least in part within the region of the Sword south of the Wall of Fallen Djinn mountains.[8][6]
Possessing significantly less wealth than the other two realms, the people of Hlondath made their way in life as animal herders and craftspeople. It was located in what would be the northeastern region of the Sword, just west of the Border Forest. The people of Hlondath endured great hardship as they came into conflict with the elves of Cormanthyr.[9]
History[]
In the −461 DR, the phaerimm of the Buried Realms in the Underdark began casting their magic to create the great desert of Anauroch. This would ultimately lead to the abandonment of Low Netheril,[10] and the last remaining survivor-state of the magocracy nearly some 700 years later.[11]
Karsus's Folly struck Netheril in −339 DR, an event in which the newly-formed goddess Mystra demonstrated her grace and mercy. She spared the enclaves of Anauria, Asram, and Hlondath from crashing to Toril,[3][12] a feat that was possible due to the great altitudes at which they soared above the ground.[13]
While they survived the fall of Netheril, the three kingdoms each succumbed to ruin by a different cause, over the course of less than three hundred years. The realm Asram fell in the Year of the Harpist's Delight, −33 DR, when it was beset by a plague brought down by the goddess Talona.[14] Anauria came to an end in the Year of Fallen Guards, 111 DR,[15] when it was overrun by the goblinoid army of Hlundadim.[note 1][10] Hlondath was the last of the three kingdoms to collapse, having been abandoned in the Year of the Closed Scroll, 329 DR after the encroachment of the Anauroch desert left the nation inhospitable.[11][5][16]
Rumors & Legends[]
According to Bedine legend circa the 14th century DR, the desert of Anauroch was created by Three Ancient Tribes when they used their magic summoned the djinn of N'asr in order wage war against one another.[17][18] In actuality the desert was formed by the phaerimm over a hundred years before the appearance of the "Three Tribes".[10][note 2]
The creation myth continued to say that the gods intervened to stop the war and sent the three tribes to the far corners of Toril in an event referred to as the Scattering by the Bedine.[17][18]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The exact timeline of Anauria's destruction varied from different sources. Pages 52 and 126 of FRCS: A Grand Tour of the Realms states Anauria fell in 200 DR, whereas page 116 of Netheril Empire of Magic: The Winds of Netheril states the fall of Anauria occurred in 450 DR. The date from Winds of Netheril is in direct conflict with the statement on page 12 that says Anauria fell in 3970 Netheril Year, or 111 DR, the year given by most other sources.
- ↑ While it was not explicitly stated that the myth of the Three Tribes corresponded with the actual history of the Lost Kingdoms, they were each entities that comprosed three smaller groups that were said to exist in the region that later became the Anauroch desert.
Appearances[]
- Novels
- Referenced only
- The Parched Sea
References[]
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 35. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 68. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout (February 2005). Lost Empires of Faerûn. Edited by Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 104. ISBN 0-7869-3654-1.
- ↑ Greg A. Vaughan, Skip Williams, Thomas M. Reid (November 2007). Anauroch: The Empire of Shade. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 133–134. ISBN 0-7869-4362-9.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 116. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Map included in Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
- ↑ Greg A. Vaughan, Skip Williams, Thomas M. Reid (November 2007). Anauroch: The Empire of Shade. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 134. ISBN 0-7869-4362-9.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 52. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout (February 2005). Lost Empires of Faerûn. Edited by Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 105. ISBN 0-7869-3654-1.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout (February 2005). Lost Empires of Faerûn. Edited by Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 98. ISBN 0-7869-3654-1.
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 12. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 59. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout (February 2005). Lost Empires of Faerûn. Edited by Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 99. ISBN 0-7869-3654-1.
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 117. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Ed Greenwood (November 1991). Anauroch. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 20. ISBN 1-56076-126-1.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Troy Denning (July 1991). The Parched Sea. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 65–66. ISBN 1-56076-067-2.