History of Abeir-Toril

The Blue Age was a time in the ancient history of Abeir-Toril when life on the planet resided in a single, vast ocean.

The Dawn War between the gods and the primordials raged mostly over this unfortunate planet at the time and one of the primordials, Dendar the Night Serpent, devoured the sun. The temperatures on Abeir-Toril subsequently dropped markedly and not long afterward, most life on the planet became extinct. Thus ended the Blue Age and the Shadow Epoch began.

The Shadow Epoch stemmed from the fall of the Blue Age, when Dendar the Night Serpent devoured the sun. With most life on Abeir-Toril dead from the loss of heat and light, there was less for the gods and primordials to fight over in their constant battle for the system, but the fighting raged on regardless. According to Sarrukh legend, the Ouroboros, the World Serpent led the gods in epic battles against their enemies. These battles ended in stalemate until the primordial Ubtao, in exchange for a portion of the land they fought over, aided the gods in killing or imprisoning his former allies. A new sun was supposedly created, giving light to the Days of Thunder.

The Days of Thunder was an ancient period of Toril's history. This was the time of the fabled creator races, or Iqua-Tel'Quessir in the elven tongue, and many other races still hid in caves.

The Days of Thunder began when the majority of the glaciers left by the cooling of Abeir-Toril's ocean during the Shadow Epoch finally revealed a supercontinent that would eventually be called Merrouroboros. Life bloomed on this landmass in the form of the creator races and the ancient ape-like ancestors of humans.

The Dawn Age, also known as the Age of Dawn, the Time of Dragons, or the Time of Giants, was a period lasting from −30,000 DR to −24,000 DR, when the powerful empires of the creator races disappeared from the face of Toril and their land was occupied by giants and dragons far more powerful than those of the Present Age. It was a time of constant war for land in Faerûn, that led to the creation of great kingdoms and empires.

Scholars believe the Dawn Age began circa −30,000 DR, when dragons launched devastating attacks against the dominant Aearee Empires throughout the land, air, and underground, creating the first flight of dragons, destroying those nations completely. They also battled against giants over territory, forcing giantkind to yield their lands and flee to the north. Individual dragons and dragon clans came to rule large swaths of territory and battled with their rivals not only for dominion of those lands, but also over matters of religious nature as the dragons of this age were devout followers of the Draconic pantheon. Those wars, known as the Draco Holy Wars, led the race to near extinction.

During that time, the "lesser" races (those of primitive humans and other demihumans) were enslaved by the dragon lords. Although some believe the metallic dragons were less brutal masters than the chromatics, a few metallics believe this was not the case.

The Dawn Age came to an end after the first Rage of Dragons had devastated the dragons' civilizations, and elves began to build their first empires in Faerûn, starting the age known as the First Flowering.

The First Flowering was a period in Faerûn's history between −24,000 DR and −12,000 DR. At the start of this period, the elves had split into five major realms: Aryvandaar, Illefarn, Keltormir, Miyeritar and Shantel Othreier, as well as several smaller ones such as Eiellûr, Ilythiir, Orishaar, Syòrpiir and Thearnytaar. During the First Flowering, the last of the winged elven race Avariel are believed to have left Faerûn.

It was during this time when the elves cast a ritual known as the Sundering to create the Isle of Evermeet, that also resulted in widespread disaster which destroyed or altered much of the world.

The Crown Wars were a series of elven wars spanning a period of 3,000 years. The great elven civilizations participated in five primary conflicts, leading to the decline of elven power in Faerûn. Some of the Crown Wars overlap each other.

The Crown Wars are considered, amongst most elves, to be possibly the most shameful series of events in elven history. While any elf could find more information about this period of time, an elf will not willingly share information about this period of time with a non-elf. Sun elf communities, especially, will be reluctant to even discuss the existence of the Crown Wars and will discourage any research of this period of time.

The Founding Time, or the Age of the Proud Peoples, was the period just after the end of the Crown Wars when the elves and the dwarves dominated Faerûn. During this time, the humanoid races began their expansionist efforts. Elves, dwarves, and the human tribes founded several realms such as Evereska, High Shanatar, and Imaskar. Several major conflicts occurred during this time, including the Spider Wars and the Era of Skyfire.

This period began with the decline of the elven and dwarven empires and the flourishing and expansion of the human empires. These new, expanding empires included Calimshan, Imaskar, Jhaamdath, Mezro, Mulhorand, Netheril, Narfell, Raumathar, and Unther.

Of these human empires, that of Netheril represented the genesis of this epoch. Thanks to the discovery of the nether scrolls, they were launched into history. Around −3000 DR, the Archmage Ioulaum raised the first enclave of Netheril, Xinlenal, through his newly fashioned mythallar. However, all of these human empires left their indelible mark on the Realms, and the influence of their actions was felt for centuries afterward, as three of these nations - Calimshan, Mulhorand, and Unther - survived past this era, albeit in forms much different than seen in this epoch.

The Present Age was considered one of the most tumultuous ages in the history of Toril. It was a time of constant struggle but also a time of discovery and exploration.

During the first years of the Present Age, Faerûn reestablished trade with Kara-Tur and Zakhara, and the Great Glacier began to retreat, uncovering the realms of Vaasa and Damara. Later, the continent of Maztica was discovered by Amnians. In 1358 DR the most cataclysmic period in Faerûn's history began with the calamitous events of the Time of Troubles and the start of the period known as the Era of Upheaval.

In a period of less that one hundred fifty years, the world of Toril was nearly destroyed, shaken to its core during the Spellplague. The political landscape reflected the cosmic state of Realmspace, and while its "reunion" with its long lost twin world, Abeir, was brief due to the Second Sundering, its mark on Toril was significant and enduring, leaving at least three new regions after it departed: Akanûl, Tymanther and Laerakond.

Most scholars believed that the Era of Upheaval started with the calamitous event known as the Time of Troubles, that took place in 1358 DR, when the gods were cast down from the Upper planes and roamed the land incarnated as mortals. The chaos of the Time of Troubles left a lasting mark on the world. When Lord Ao destroyed the Tablets of Fate, he unraveled the laws of Realmspace and the worlds of Abeir and Toril, separated since the Tearfall, began to join once again.

Among the known effects of the Time of Troubles are:

Wild and Dead-magic zones, areas where magic behaved erratically or ceased to function, were direct effects of the Time of Troubles.

Because of the destruction of the Tablets of Fate, the planar barrier that separated the worlds of Abeir and Toril weakened, and both worlds began to exchange small, almost imperceptible parts of their lands between them.

Many gods died or disappeared, while dead gods returned to life without explanation; many mortals ascended to divinity as well.

Likewise, denizens of the Outer Planes theorized that the gods of Realmspace became interested in becoming multi-spheric because of the heavy-handed methods used by Ao during the Time of Troubles.

Mimicking the cosmic chaos, the political landscape of the world became tumultuous as well. The Tuigan invasion, the Twelfth Serôs War, the return of Netheril, the last Rage of Dragons, among other huge political conflicts happened in less than thirty years.

Then, in 1385 DR, Cyric, aided by Shar, murdered the goddess Mystra. This act ripped asunder the Weave, unleashing its raw power in a catastrophe known as the Spellplague. This accelerated the fusion of Abeir and Toril, and whole regions and even continents where exchanged between the two worlds.

More gods died and others simply vanished. Some gods were revealed to be aspects of others or not gods at all but primordials, while a few gods were so weakened after the chaos that were subsumed by other gods of similar nature, or became exarchs under the service of more powerful gods. Interloper deities began to migrate to the sphere of Abeir-Toril, as well.

While recovering from the effects of the Spellplague during the Wailing Years, the political upheaval continued in the world. New nations were created, while older ones, like Myth Drannor, were restored. The major political crisis of the late years of the 14th century DR were the conquering of Sembia by the Netherese and the fall of the Zulkirs in Thay.

In 1482 DR Lord Ao began the Second Sundering as a way to restore the worlds of Toril and Abeir of the ravages of the Spellplague. When the Second Sundering ended, in 1489 DR, Lord Ao decreed the end of the Era of Upheaval.