Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

The Wizards’ Reach is not part of the kingdom of Aglarond
and never has been. It is so named for the powerful magical
empires that dominated this stretch of water for thousands of
years. Its cities were founded by the people of ancient Unther
(and Chessenta, which was subjugated by Unther at the time),
and over the last ten centuries they have been Untheric
colonies, independent, a loose league of their own, Chessentan
conquests, independent again, and finally Thayan conquests,
which is the current situation. In practice, the Red Wizards
hold Escalant in strength, Laothkund loosely, and Delthuntle
not at all.
The Wizards’ Reach has always been wilder and less settled
than the lands to the north. It has been nearly three centuries
since any single power grasped these cities in one hand, so communications
and settlement in the lands between are haphazard.
Monsters shelter in the southern eaves of the Yuirwood,
roaming the wilder places of the coastal plains, and the
marshes are home to dangerous lizardfolk and sivs. Most travel
and trade between cities is by sea—ruined settlements and forgotten
towers are common along the abandoned coastal roads.
The Yuirwood
The Yuirwood is named for the Yuir, the ancient star elves and
green elves who once made this part of the world their home.
Once this vast, green forest covered almost the entire peninsula,
but today Aglarond’s largest cities and most of its people
are scattered along its rocky northern coast. In six centuries
of human settlement, its northern edges have receded up to
fifty miles from the coast at some points, but the tenacious
forest seems to be making a comeback.
The Yuirwood divides Aglarond into two nations—or three,
if you count Altumbel as separate, as its inhabitants do. The
Aglarond most travelers see is the old human realm of Velprin
along the coastal plains of the northern shore. It consists
of wide, rolling farmlands and handsome port cities, interspersed
with the manors and estates of Aglarond’s human nobility
and wealthy merchants. While half-elves thrive here,
they are outnumbered by their human kin. Some fear that in
the lands north of the Yuirwood, Aglarond’s half-elven heritage
is slowly drowning in a rising sea of humanity.
The other Aglarond—the old, true land—consists of the
half-elf villagers and foresters who call the Yuirwood their
home. These are an insular people, suspicious of strangers,
even fellow Aglarondans of the coasts. They recognize the rule
of the Simbul and her advisory council but have as little to do
with the outside world as possible. Those who get to know the
people of the Yuirwood find them to be warm companions and
loyal friends. This is rare, however, since the half-elves hide
in the deep woods and do not confront strangers unless pressed
by need or circumstance.
The Yuirwood is a temperate deciduous forest, with milder
winters than typical of a land at this latitude. In the spring
and summer, it is a sweltering tangle of brush and dense
thickets, virtually impassable to anyone who doesn’t know
its ways. A low but rugged spine of forest-covered hills runs
the length of the peninsula, and from these well-watered
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highlands innumerable streams descend to the coastal lands,
although few are large enough to be termed rivers. Game is
plentiful but wary, as dangerous beasts and monstrous predators
hunt through the green gloom. Few truly malevolent
creatures haunt the forest, but foul-tempered beasts such as
boars or monstrous spiders are every bit as dangerous to the
unwary traveler.
Strange enchantments and old, strong magic are thick in
the Yuirwood. The ancient star elves were masters of powerful
magic, and they left behind two legacies that continue to
be useful. First, the Yuirwood is impenetrable to detection and
scrying magic. Attempts to pierce the Yuirwood’s leafy canopy
reveal the wood, but that’s it. They cannot reveal any specific
location, nor can they magically locate or track anyone under
its boughs. The subject is not shielded in any way—it just
seems not to be there, or anywhere else, at all. Over the centuries,
this phenomenon has served Aglarond well, since enemies
who inspect the place magically find nothing to report.
Second, the Yuirwood is littered with ruins, remnants of the
great elven society that once called this land home. These are
wonderful places for treasure seekers, but the most amazing
ruins are the circles of menhirs, standing stone monuments
carved in an ancient Elven dialect. The magic of these circles
has faded with the strength of the Yuirwood itself, but there
is some power left in them.
The menhir circles, many of which are nearly swallowed by
the forest’s undergrowth, form a network of portals that can
be activated by those who know their secret. This knowledge
is guarded by an elite group of half-elven druids and rangers
known as the Masters of the Yuirwood. (For more about this
organization, see Chapter 3: Prestige Classes.) Using these circles,
they can quickly transport themselves and their friends
from one point in the Yuirwood to another instantaneously.
Menhir circles sometimes trigger themselves by the light of
a full moon, and they are frequently employed by the Yuirwood’s
fey folk on these nights.
Any of these portals can connect to any other menhir circle
within the Yuirwood, but never beyond—at least not intentionally.
When not triggered by a Master of the Yuirwood,
treat these stone circles as malfunctioning portals. (See Chapter
2: Magic in the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting
for details.)
SILDËYUIR
More than two thousand years ago, the depths of the Yuirwood
held the realm of Yuireshanyaar, home to the reclusive
star, or mithral, elves. Faced with aggressive human settlers
along the Wizards’ Reach (most from Old Unther) carving
out lands of their own from the ancient forest, the star elves
decided to withdraw from Faerûn. Their High Mages forged
a forestwide network of stone circles and then worked a
mighty spell through the standing stones that created a demiplane
for the star elves to call their own. Most departed
Faerûn at that time.
Sildëyuir is a plane of eldritch beauty, a land of perpetual
twilight illuminated by a host of glittering stars. It extends