The Dalelands
The Dales are broad forest vales with rolling farmlands, linked by narrow trade roads running through beautiful woods. Blessed with fertile soil and a temperate climate (aside from the extremely harsh winters), the Dales are the breadbasket of the Heartlands. The Dales' independent spirit and age-old alliance with the elves of Cormanthor have made them the historic birthplace or favored home of many of Faerûn's greatest heroes.
Eleven separate dales exist today, each with its own territory, government (or lack of it), militia, trading pacts, ambitions, and character. Archendale and Harrowdale value trade over all else. Tasseldale values industry and craftsmanship. Daggerdale stands alone against a powerful enemy, while Scardale struggles to recover its independence after years of occupation. Meanwhile the other dales respect the old Dales Compact and prefer to be left alone.
The Daleland Character
Although they share common traditions, cultural practices and religious allegiances, the Dalelands are not a unified kingdom like Cormyr or Sembia. Instead, they are an enigma to the rest of Faerûn. How can small and disorganized groups of stubborn, back woods farmers and craftsfolk maintain control of the coveted lands surrounding the great elven forest?
In the past, the forest itself was a major reason for the Dales' continued existence, as the presence of the Elven Court deterred most foes. Now that the elves are a secondary power in Cormanthor, Dalesfolk rely upon the gifts they've always had: heroism, self-reliance, and a strong, almost clannish sense of community.
To an outsider, Dalesfolk seem close-mouthed, suspicious, and reserved. Until newcomers are identified as friends or foes, or vouched for by a trusted friend, Dalesfolk prefer civil silence to empty pleasantries. Once a person is accepted, Dalesfolk are generally open and giving, especially in the common defense. Once accepted by Dalesfolk as a friend, a stranger is expected to contribute to the defense of the community.
Most dales maintain at least an informal militia. The training levels and professionalism of such groups varies, but all are capable of providing some training with a melee weapon and a good Dales longbow. The archers of the Dales might be the finest human archers of Faerûn, which gives would-be invaders pause.
The Dales Compact
The Dales were once deep woods hunted only lightly by the dragons, for these creatures preferred to make meals of ogres, deer, bears, and rothé available in the open Stonelands to the west. As the wyrms declined and elven might grew, the elven realm of Cormanthyr flourished.
Humans hailing from lands known today as Chondath and Impiltur, settled the edges of that great forest. These migrations attracted folk from other regions of Faerûn: exiles, fugitives from justice, and adventurers who saw a land of bright promise. Scattered human farmsteads and hamlets began to appear at the fringes of Cormanthor around -200 DR. Elven defenses hampered woodcutting, so human settlements were scattered and isolated instead of sprawling across wide-open farmland, as they did in the lands that would become Cormyr to the west and Sembia to the south.
Foreseeing the eventual doom of his people if they tried to fight off increasingly numerous human settlers, the elven coronal Eltargrim arranged the Dales Compact between the elves of the empire of Cormanthyr and the humans who would become known as Dalesfolk. Human and elven wizards together raised the Standing Stone in the center of Cormanthor as a symbol of unity between the two races. In return for promising not to cut deeper into the Cormanthor forest, the ancestors of the current Dalesfolk were allowed to settle around the forest's edges or in places where the great trees did not grow.
While the early dales struggled to survive, the elves of Cormanthor grew strong and confident. In 220 DR, the elven coronal allowed humans to enter his kingdom. In 261 DR, he made the fateful decision to welcome them into its very heart, transforming elven city then known as Cormanthor into the open city of Myth Drannor. All races were welcome in Myth Drannor, which enjoyed a golden age that lasted nearly five centuries. Myth Drannor reached heights of arts, crafting, and culture unsurpassed since, and the city brought human, halfling, dwarven, and gnome trade, travel, and settlement to the Dragon Reach lands.
Myth Drannor's rise allowed the Dales to survive their troubled infancy. The city's fall in 714 DR gave the Dales the chance to flourish in ways that would have been impossible if elven might had remained intact. Few survivors of Myth Drannor's collapse escaped the demons, devils, and dragons that flocked to the ruins, but survivors took the scraps of their wealth, magic, and learning to the nearby dales.
Although the Compact stands no more, most of the Dales still abide by its terms. Tradition has replaced elven might as the principal motivation for adhering to the Compact, but for now it is sufficient to preserve Cormanthor's borders as they stand.
The Dales Council
Each year at Midwinter, every dale sends a delegate to a selected Dalelands town for the Dales Council. Delegates debate issues affecting all the dales, such as maintenance of trade routes, defense pacts against Zhent or Sembian aggression, border squabbles between neighboring dales, and matters relating to the great forest of Cormanthor.
Two serious attempts have been made to unify the Dales. The first was under the legendary Aencar the Mantled King, who sought to forge the Dales into one realm but was slain in 1044 DR. His dream died with him. The second would-be unifier rose and fell in 1356 DR. Lord Lashan of Scardale overran Battledale, Featherdale and Harrowdale, proclaiming his intention of conquering all the Dales. Lashan vanished after his defeat in the great battles in Mistledale and Shadowdale; but his legacy initiated a string of bad luck that has plagued Scardale to this day.
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