On Cormanthor and Elves in the Dale Lands

Since around 30 years ago before our campaign starts in DR 1372, the elves that populated the nearby forest kingdom, Cormanthor, fled the region in an exodus to lands far off (Evermeet, Evereska – quite remote from the Dale Lands). Only around 10% of the population that once was still remains.

Some elves stay because they do not wish to leave. Others stay because they have been set as guards over what the elves left behind. Cormanthor forest remains a place that few dare to tread, for the Elven kingdom there was always insular and did not take kindly to strangers.

This means that elves have become rarer to see in the Dale Lands (1% of population). Folks may have many reactions to elvenkind. They may be fascinated. They may be suspicious. They may regard elves as itinerants owing to their pilgrimage to those faraway lands. Or, they might blame them for abandoning their territory. In a way, the exodus of their peoples left a power vacuum between the Dale Lands and the Zhentarim in the north, giving the Zhents a greater chance to press south.

The reasons for this racial exodus are not widely known -- a directive was meted out by the Elven Court, a culturally and racially important authority for the elves of Faerun.