AT A GLANCE:

The region known as the Dalelands is defined as the non-forested regions inhabited by man north of Sembia and Cormyr and South of the River Tesh and the town of Voonlar.
The region includes a wide scattering of different communities, all primarily rural in nature, who share (generally) common interests and ideals.
In addition, the Daleleands are the home of many powerful individuals or groups which find the independence of the natives in keeping with their own beliefs.

ELMINSTER'S NOTES:

The founding of the Dalelands long preceeded the founding of any of the existing Dales by hundreds of years, and the phrase "Dalereckoning" is actually a commemoration of manking being given permission to settle in the lands north and west of the Inner Sea.

In those ancient days, when Suzail and Chondathan which is now Saerloon were mere coastal trading posts, the Elves who ruled this forest entertained a request from settlers from the East, from lands such as Impiltur and Damara.
This request was not to settle the Elvish forest, but to farm and settle its borders, in particular the rich delves and dales along the rivers Arkhen and Ashaba.
The Elven Court granted that request, in return for aid from these new dale-landers against outside aggression.
In commemoration of that pact man and elf raised the Standing Stone which is now seen where the road from Mistledale reaches the road from Essembra to Hillsfar.
It is from the raising of this Stone that Dalereckoning is taken.

From the pact made, the Dalesmen would only settle those regions which were unforested or unclaimed by teh elves.
As teh Elven Woods receded under the axe-falls of further invaders and settlers, old Dales perished and new ones came into being along the borders of the woods.
Men, both good and bad, have raised petty nations in the Dalelands since, though any one dale that turned against the pact would have to deal with the others.

Each of the Dales is a large swath of farms and fields, with a few scattered settlements and usually one central marketplace, capital, or Dale center.
These centers are often but not always named after the Dale they aer in , adding to the confusion as to what is a Dalelands territory.
The Dales are not city-states, for their largest groupings of population rate as towns at best, nor are they true nations in the way of Cormy, Sembia, or even the shattered states of Damara. They occupy a grey middle-ground, and are nothing more or less, than Dales.

The Dales are self-governed, but form a loose Council that meets each year at Midwinter in a different town of the Dales.
This Dales Council is no stronger than the strength of its members, yet has been followed with (generally) good faith over the past hundred winters.
At the best of times, the Dales Council is a group of tough-minded, independent argumentativev individuals who wouldl lay down their lives rather than see another Dalesman threatened.

A list of the members of the Dales Council and their rulers or representatives follows.
No two dales have the exact same form of government, or even titles for their rulers.
Several merely send a representative for the people of that Dale, others have a hereditary or military leader, some pass from one adventuring bravo to another, and some, in the manner of Amn and more civilized states, hide the identity of their leaders behind a title.
The Dales are listed alphabetically, for any attempt to declare on Dale greater, larger, or more important than another is an invitation to an argument.
Each Dale has its own individual entry.
    Archendale
        The Three Swords
    Battledale
        War Chancellor Ilmeth
    Daggerdale
        Varies, each year a different representative (called Councilman, Councilwoman, or Councilelf) is sent
    Deepingdale
        Theremen Ulath, Lord of Highmoon
    Featherdale
        Representative Kirshoff
    Harrowdale
        Seven Burghers of Harrowdale, led by Reindorf Sandbeard
    High Dale
        High Constable Irreph Mulmarr
    Mistledale
        High Councillor Haresk Malorn
    Scardale
        Occupied by other Dalelands forces
    Shadowdale
        Mourngrym, Lord of the Dale
    Tasseldale
        Elizzaria, Grand Mairshar
    Teshendale
        Elder Jaoth Hulnhurn (Teshendale was destroyed some forty winters ago, yet it remains listed as a member of the Dales Council, and a chair is set aside at each meeting for the missing Elder Jaoth).

Each Dale has slightly different laws, customs, and military forms.
Many rely on the work of charismatic heroes and adventuring companies for aid in times of trouble, and a large number of these individuals use the region as a base.
This attraction to adventurers is further increased by the large number of pre-elvish ruins in the area, and the recent departure of the Moon Elves of the Elven Court for Evermeet, leaving the woods open.

The Dales have most recently been involved in a war with one of their own members.
The area of Scardale, under the command of Lashan Aumersair, launched a number of swift attacks, conquering a number of the surrounding Dales before a coalition of forces from the other Dales, Sembia, Cormyr, and Zhentil Keep crushed the invaders.