The North	-	-	-	Virtual Fantasy
Berun's Hill	Citadel Adbar	Citadel of Many Arrows, The	Citadel of the Mists, The	Delimbiyr, the River Shining
Delzoun	Dessarin, River x	Eaerlann	Everlund	Fallen Kingdom, The
Fallen Lands, The	Fireshear	Gauntylgrym	Hellgate Keep	Helm's Hold x
Herald's Holdfast, The x	High Forest, The x	Iceflow, The x	Ironmaster	Leilon
Llorkh	Longsaddle	Loudwater	Luskan	Mere of Dead Men, The
Mirabar	Nesme	Netheril	Neverwinter	Port Llast
Silverymoon	Stone Bridge, The	Stronghold of the Nine, The	Sundabar	Tower of Twilight, The
Triboar	Unicorn Run, The	Weathercote Wood	Yartar	-
1st Edition AD&D	-	FR1 Waterdeep and the North	-	Forgotten Realms

<x = no FR1 redirect page>

"The North" is a term applied to many different
areas of Faerûn, depending upon
who's speaking. In these pages, and in tradetalk
over much of the Realms, it refers to
that area between the Sword Coast and
Anauroch (the Great Desert). The southern
boundary of this region is the cause of
much dispute. To many a satrap of Calimshan,
the "cold land of savages and beasts"
begins at the northern border of Amn. To a
Waterdhavian (a native of Waterdeep), "the
North" begins at the City and stretches due
east to the Desert, taking in everything
north of that line. Most sages agree that "the
North" begins somewhere to the south of
that, but they disagree on just where. Most
use the Winding Water as a boundary. This
book uses the Waterdhavian boundary.

The North has been known as "the Savage
Frontier" for many years. It is a rugged,
heavily wooded wilderness only lightly
ruled by humans. Such civilization envelops
the coastal regions (as far inland as the
"Long Road" that runs from Mirabar to
Waterdeep) securely; the vast, open rolling
valley lands of the river Dessarin less
securely; and the eastern region, dominated
by the High Forest and mountains, only as
far as the points of their ready swords.

1000 years ago, the North consisted
of a number of civilized elven and
dwarvish realms surrounded by a wilderness
roamed by fearsome monsters, and
such races as orcs, trolls, hobgoblins, and
bugbears. Human tribes were few and
primitive, dwelling along the coast. The
lower birth rates of the demi-human races
rendered them less able to replace casualties
suffered in their almost continual fighting
with the aggressive humanoids, and
with the years their number dwindled.
They have been steadily pushed southward
by the ever-expanding, fecund orc tribes,
abandoning realm after realm, or being
overwhelmed by numbers and slaughtered.
The many resulting, largely-empty dwarven
delves and holds are what human
adventurers refer to as "dungeons."

The demi-humans, although they
achieved many splendid victories in battle,
could not stem the humanoid tide even <humanoid>
when they united (see "the Fallen Kingdom").
Today, the dwarves remain only
around the richest "mithril mines" in the
North, and no known elven settlements of
any size exist north of Evereska. The rise of
human power in the North outstripped
even the growth of the orcs, and prevented
the collapse of civilization in the area.

The North remains a land of riches, mineral
wealth equalled nowhere else in the known
Realms, and seemingly endless strands of timber
of a size not often found elsewhere. Game
is plentiful, and the landscape is beautiful. But
danger is always lurking; for the most part,
the law of the North is the law of the sword.
Traveler, you have been warned.

TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE NORTH
There are fortunes to be made in The North,
for those willing to risk its dangers. Sword
Coast shipping is imperilled by the often
fierce weather and by piracy (sometimes
covertly supported by Luskan, a city which
would like to control all waterborne trade).

Overland travel is menaced by many monsters,
an as a result is usually in the form of
large, well-armed caravans, accompanied by
clerics and magic-users if possible. The terrain
and the need for constant vigilance keeps caravan
travel slow. 25 miles a day is a
very respectable pace. Horses and draft oxen
cannot be used to exhaustion when one might
be attacked at any moment. Naval travel averages
twice that daily rate.

The northernmost settlements of the Sword
Coast exist because of rich mines, and sent
their ores south by ship. Mirabar, inland, is the
richest of these, and must send its metals overland
to its Southern markets via the Long
Road, or by road to the port of Luskan (the river
Mirar is not navigable). From Luskan, the
older, "High Road" runs along the coast to Port
Llast and Neverwinter. It continues through
Leilon, cutting east around the
Mere of Dead Men, and thence to Waterdeep.

The Long Road runs south from Mirabar
through the desolate Crags, to the village of
Longsaddle, past Berun's Hill, and thence to
Triboar. The Dessarian grasslands open out
to the east of the Road here, stretching
south to the sea at Waterdeep. The Long
Road continues beside the Dessarin to the
City, through a series of small settlements
spaced a day's travel or so apart.

To the east, in the Dessarian valley lies
Nesmé, the only settlement in an area roamed
by trolls. The lands to the east of the valley are
largely uncivilized, although they once held
great kingdoms of dwarves and men and
elves. From the Ice Mountains (known to be
home to remorhaz and frost giants) to the
north, this region descends into lesser peaks
where orcs dwell in uncounted thousands.
Whenever their numbers grow intolerably
great for the available territory, the orcs issue
forth in great hordes and sweep south. They
have taken one city, The Citadel of Many
Arrows, and their numbers are more than
sufficient to hold it.

The "mithril mines" (the richest delvings
known to exist in all Faerûn) keep the
dwarves in the northeast, where their
mighty fortress, Citadel Adbar, and savage
courage keep the orcs at bay. A trade-road
built by the ancient dwarven King Adbar
brings the wealth of the dwarves south, and
then the road branches east to Ascore and
west to the fortified city of Sundabar.

From Sundabar trade can go west overland
to Silverymoon, largest city of the far
North, and (for the warmest months of the
summer) by river (the Rauvin) to Everlund.

Silverymoon is a strong, bustling city, the
height of human culture in the Northern
interior. To its west lies The Heralds' Holdfast,
along on a crag. To its south lies
Everlund, and beyond it the vast and mysterious
High Forest, little visited by men. It is
drained to the south by the Unicorn Run.

Far to the east of the Run, the Forest ends
at the banks of Delimbiyr, the River Shining,
which is navigable as far as the fortified
town of Loudwater. Long ago, wagons took
trade around the Shining Falls and back
onto the river, which is navigable from
there up to its headwaters. Here of old elves
lived in numbers in the eastern High Forest.
The remains of an old road and a ruined
port, names forgotten with Time, mark the
site of their now-abandoned land.

The elves of Eaerlann (for so the abandoned
elven kingdom was known) were
few, and embittered by long strife with
orcs. When Ascalhorn fell to evil, becoming
Hellgate Keep, the elves left, traveling
southwest, and vanished--over the sea to
Evermeet, the first realm of elves in Faerûn
known to have done so.

Druids came into the deserted woodlands
to preserve the old, lovingly-cared-for trees,
the Tall Trees, and remain there yet, defying
the strength of Hellgate Keep. Strong garrisons
of men and dwarves from Everlund,
Silverymoon, Sundabar, and Citadel Adbar
now together hold Turnstone Pass, barring
the forces of Hellgate Keep from the lands
to the west, but there is constant fighting
merely to hold the Pass.