The introduction of cattle, sheep, and goats revolutionizes farming in the Durpar region. Herds are semi-nomadic, driving their animals between seasonal pastures. By -35,000 DR, the desertification of Durpar begins perhaps in part because of overgrazing. The herders respond by migrating northwest from The Goldenwater to a region of semi-arid savanna they name Okoth. In Okoth, south of modern-day Mulhorand, the sarrukh (a saurian creator race) found their first permanent settlements. Early sarrukh villages are dominated by temple complexes dedicated to the worship of the World Serpent. Most sarrukh settlements of this period have a population of between two and eight thousand people, though Daar Mundigak itself, the largest city in Okoth, has over ten thousand. Within a hundred years, most of Faerûn is theirs.
History of Faerun
The Grand History of Faerun and the Forgotten Realms
Days of Thunder
-35,000 through -30,000
These earliest days of recorded history begin at the end of a great Ice Age, some 37,000 years ago, when the last glaciations largely ended, and the great ocean receded to reveal dry land. In this ancient time before The Sundering, the lands which would one day be identified as Faerûn, Kara-Tur, Maztica, and Zakhara were each but one part of a much larger super-continent named Merrouroboros. None of the dozen or so common races which populate the world today existed in this distant era. Merrouroboros knew none of the civilized folk—elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes. Nor did the savage peoples—goblins, orcs, ogres and their kin—inhabit the land. Though Humans did exist during this time, they were primitive and apelike, using only simple tools and living in caves. These were the Days of Thunder, the time of the Iqua-Tel’Q uessir, the fabled creator races.
-
circa -35,000 DR
Rise of the Sarrukh Empires
Era beginning/end -
circa-34,800 DR
Founding of Mhairshaulk
FoundingThe sarrukh establish the realm of Mhairshaulk, on the Chultan Peninsula westward from the Lhairghal to the Jungles of Chult. The Mhairshaulkans are believed to have created nagas, pterafolk, troglodytes, and yuan-ti, as well as numerous other races long since lost.
Location
Faerûn -
circa -34,200 DR
The Advent of Writing
Scientific achievementThe sarrukh civilization enters a new troubled phase as they had conquered so many races that they became the minority in their own empire. Writing is invented as an aid to administration in communities that had grown so complex that sarrukh memory could no longer store all the information needed for efficient government. The earliest sarrukh signs are pictographs scribed on clay tablets then dried. The sarrukh writing systems are widely adopted by their slaves.
Location
Faerûn -
circa -33,500 DR
Fall of the Sarrukh Empires
DisbandmentSarrukh-ruled Mhairshaulk, faced with starvation, declines gradually, sinking slowly into somnolence. The sarrukhs begin a cycle in which thousand-year hibernations alternate with brief periods of activity, during which food gathering and procreation could take place. The empire becomes the domain of the yuan-ti; this marks the Fall of the Sarrukh Empire.
Location
Faerûn -
circa -33,000 DR
Rise of the Batrachi Empire
Era beginning/endThe batrachi (creator race) are also known as amphibioids or creators of the bullywugs, doppelgangers, kopru, kuo-toa, locathah, sivs, tako, and other shapeshifters, amphibious or piscine races. The first sea born batrachi begin to flourish in the mild northern currents of the Black Sea known as the Fertile Crescent. The supply of mussels and other shellfish is so rich that in some areas the hunter-gatherer population could settle in semi-permanent villages. During this time, many batrachi began to undergo metamorphosis to walk upon the land.
Location
Faerûn -
circa -31,500 DR
War between the Batrachi and the Giants
Military actionThe giants of Ostoria take the offensive against the batrachi, supported by the titans of Lanaxis. They seize the fertile land between the Inner Seas. The batrachi battle the jotunbrud for centuries, neither side gaining an advantage
Location
Faerûn -
circa -31,000 DR
The Tearfall
Disaster / DestructionThe conflict between the Batrachi and the giants of Ostoria comes to an abrupt end when the ice moon Zotha falls from the sky devastating much of the lands within central Merrouroboros. A large fragment of the moon carves a gorge so deep between the four Inner Seas, they merge together to form the Sea of Fallen Stars, an event the sarrukhs remark on as a "changing of the stars". Severe earthquakes rocked the region for weeks afterwards. The crystalline batrachi cities, though reinforced by magic, were unable to withstand the incessant aftershocks. Within a year, the Batrachi Empire had fallen into ruin. The impact of the moon threw up a thick cloud of dust into the atmosphere obscuring the sun for seven years. Without the sun, plant-life began to die out across the land, soon followed by the herbivores and finally the carnivores. Only those peoples possessing great magic or divine protection survived the mass extinction. In the weeks following The Tearfall , tens of thousands of dragon eggs begin hatching across Merrouroboros. These precursor wyrms are not the mighty dragons known today for they possessed no wings, no magic, no dragon breath, and in the case of seawurms no legs. Nor are they a new species of the great thunderers common in Mhairshaulk, for they are warm blooded and possess greater intelligence.
Location
Toril
The Dawn Ages
-30,000 through -24,000
The empires of the creator races fade into memory, ushering in the Time of Dragons and the Time of Giants. Individual dragons and dragon clans rule large swaths of territory and battle with their rivals for control of the lands, seas, and skies. During this period of devastating warfare among the dragons of Faerun, isolated pockets of formerly dragon-ruled territory fall under giant control. Over time, such giant-ruled kingdoms come to threaten the hegemony of dragonkind, leading to great battles between giant kingdoms such as Darchar, Grunfesting, Helligheim, Nedeheim, Ostoria, and Rangfjell, and dragon-ruled realms such as Argissthilliax, Caesinmalsvir, Darastriverthicha, and Tharkrixghontix. This time of conflict plunges Merrourboros into a four-thousand-year-long "dark age". The fey are particularly active in Merrourboros during this period, using their small size and potent magic to aggrivate the wyrms at every opportunity.
-
circa -30,000 DR
Time of Dragons
Era beginning/endThe Time of Dragons is ushered in as dragons across Faerun swarm together in the first Flight of Dragons.
Location
Toril -
circa -29,500 DR
War of the Seldarine
Celestial / CosmicAraushnee, with the help of her son Vhaeraun, gathered a host of evil deities and Dark Elves opposed to the Seldarine, and convinced them to attack Arvandor, in an attempt to overthrow Corellon Larethian the patron god of all elves. The assault ultimately fails and Araushnee, along with her followers, is cast down into The Demonweb Pits, where she becomes the demon-goddess Lolth. The dark elves that supported her are cursed to become Drow and dwell in The Underdark.
-
circa -29,500 DR
The Tarrasque Attacks
Disaster / DestructionIn the south, the first human civilizations are devastated by the dreadful Tarrasque, which pushes southward from the Black Sea. The Lopango, Eshowe, Thinguth, and Tabaxi tribes are conquered, their culture subsumed by the newly formed empire of Katashaka. Only the humans of northern Maztica, under the protection of the feathered serpent Qotal, escapes enslavement
Location
Maztica -
circa -27,500 DR
Dragonrule
Political eventFor the next four thousand years a succession of dragon empires dominate central Merrouroboros. Notable among these empires is the Demesne of Atranjikhera, ruled by the desert landwyrm Argissthilliax. The wasteland empires's rule was harsh. While the empires of dragonkind waxed and waned, the giant tribes united once again and spread to cover most of northeastern Merrouroboros. The Colossal Kingdom as it comes to be known is divided into several regions, one for each jotunbrud tribe, Vilmos, Nicias, Ruk, Ottar, Masud, Obadai, Dunmore, and Lanaxis. Voninheim is constructed as the Ostorian capital.
Location
Toril -
circa -27,000 DR
The Coming of the Elves
Population Migration / TravelThe Fey work to undermine dragon rule and open new gates allowing the first elves to immigrate to Toril. These primitive green elves worship the Faerie gods (not the Seldarine, which were unknown at this time). Although most green elves are content to remain in small scattered tribes, one group of Dark Elves known as the Ilythiiri negotiates with the dragons and begins to carve out a small kingdom in the south. The great Ilythiiri capital at Atorrnash remains a shining beacon of elf culture for millennia.
Location
The Feywild -
-26,000 DR through -25,000 DR
Thousand Year War
Military actionAn avatar of the draconic deity Garyx leads red dragons in battle against the giants of Ostoria. Eventually all of dragonkind is drawn into the conflict, which rages on and off for a thousand years. Upon its conclusion, Ostoria has shrunk to only a shadow of its former self. The Colossal Kingdom now occupies only the northern most edge of the continent (Present day Great Glacier and the Cold Lands).
Location
Toril -
circa -25,500 DR
First Rage of Dragons
RevolutionIn a newly built citadel in the northernmost reaches of Toril, the elves create the Dracorage mythal. Tied to the appearance of the King-Killer Star, the Dracorage mythal incites the Rage of Dragons, a madness driving all dragonkind into mindless destruction as well as turning them against their own offspring. Draconic rule begins to fade from this point on.
Location
Toril -
circa -25,400 DR
Exodus of the Gold Elves
Population Migration / TravelFleeing the destruction of the island kingdom of Tintageer in the Feywild, a small circle of gold elves led by the young prince Durothil cast a divination to find their new home - on the world of Toril - and then create a portal leading there. The refugees name their new home Faerûn, the One Land, and the name of Merrouroboros fades into history. Integrating into the native green elf communities, the descendants of the gold elves of Tintageer become known as sun elves, while the descendants of the sole silver elf refugee, Sharlario Moonflower, become known as moon elves. By the end of the first millennium since their arrival, the moon and gold elves had built great cities that rival the ancient Dark Elf city Atorrnash.
-
-25,000 DR through -24,500 DR
The Draco Holy Wars
RevolutionQuick upon the heals of the truce with the giants that ended the Thousand Year War, a sect of silver dragons launches a sneak attack against the gold dragons claiming the sole divine favor of the deity Asgorath. The golds retaliate against the silvers, greens attack reds, and soon all of dragonkind is drawn into the conflict. Their ranks already depleted from the war with the giants, this five hundred year conflict is enough to significantly deplete the dragon population on Toril and actually threaten extinction.
Location
Toril
The First Flowering
-24,000 through -12,000
The great elf civilizations of Faerûn reach their peak during this age. As a result of the elves' success against the orcs, dragons, and giants, the other races thrive in safety and begin the slow climb to civilization. During the next several millennia, elf civilizations mark time by the reigns of rulers. The Elven word rysar is used to define a span of important time or generation, depending on its context. As a time measurement in this context, one Rysar encompasses the reign of a particular ruler, or coronal.
-
circa -24,000 DR
Flowering of the Elves
Construction beginning/endBoth sun and moon elf communities build great cities that rival the magnificence of ancient Atorrnash. The sun elf city of Occidian is heralded as the center of elven music and dance, while the moon elf city of Sharlarion is unrivaled as the crossroads of trade and commerce.
-
circa -18,000 DR
Citadel of the Raven Constructed
Construction beginning/endLogical estimates suggest that the Citadel of the Raven was constructed in this period. Some scholars purport that the citadel is irrefutable evidence that a grand human nation existed on Faerûn long before recorded history. Sages have further theorized that the barbarians of The Ride are the descendants of that once-great civilization. The Citadel of the Raven is a series of interconnected fortresses carved high on the northern slopes of the Dragonspine Mountains north of Teshwave. For many years, human and half-orc bandits used the citadel as a refuge, but civilization wiped these marauders out as it advanced north.
-
circa -17,600 DR
First Sundering
Disaster / DestructionHundreds of High Mages assemble in the heartland of Faerûn at the tower of the Gathering Place to create the new elven home of Evermeet. Ignoring the lesson learned from the destruction of Tintageer centuries earlier, they cast a spell of elven High Magic designed to create a glorious elf homeland. On the Day of Birthing, the magic reaches its apex as the spell extends both back and forward in the mists of time. Merrouroboros, the one land, is sundered apart by the unbridled force of the Sundering. As a result, hundreds of cities are washed away, thousands of elves lie dead, and the face of Torilis changed forever. The name Faerûn, no longer the One Land, is given to the largest continent. Surrounded by vast expanses of water, the island of Evermeet, thought to be a piece of the Elvish Heaven and a bridge between worlds breaks the surface of the Trackless Sea.
Location
Evermeet -
circa -16,000 DR
First Dwarf Settlements
Population Migration / Travel