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 Faerun'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 Dalelands 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 Faerun. How can small and disorganized groups of stubborn, backwoodsfarmers 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 Faerun, 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 rothe 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 migrationsattracted folk from other regions of Faerun: 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 forest
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 the
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 troubledinfancy. 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 these
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.
A Sea of Troubles
In the current year, 1372 DR, the Dales face a number of terrible
threats. The enemy they know best broods to the north in Zhentil Keep. An unsuspected enemy has just arrived to create the Empire of Shadows in the wastes of Anauroch. And in their Retreat to
Evermeet, the elves left the great forest of Cormanthor open toexploitation by another great foe, the drow.
The drow might not be the worst enemy the Dales face. The Dales Compact is fraying. For over thirteen centuries, this treaty has survived
treachery (usually human), magical disasters (usually elven),
and pressure from would-be colonizers (Sembians) and conquerors
(folk of the Moonsea). With the elves of Cormanthor now in Evermeet,
what remains of the Dalelands' agreement to preserve the
forest by cultivating only land that was already cleared by natural
forces? The people of some dales, such as Archendale, have already
welcomed the chance to log and exploit the elven woods. Residents
of other dales, such as Deepingdale, did all they could to encourage
elves to stay in the forest.
At the next Dales Council meeting of 1373 DR, the two most
pressing topics are likely to be the drow occupation of Cormanthor
and the fate of Scardale. The drow press hard upon the holdings of
those dales nearest Cormanthor. Other dales have yet to be affected
by the fight. One of these is Daggerdale, the site of next year's Council
meeting (still half a year away). Daggerdale's worst enemies are
the Zhents, who helped create Scardale's miserable situation. It
remains to be seen if the dales can agree on actions against either of
these enemies.
The Lost Dales
Bards tell colorful tales of dales that are no more—overgrown
ruins deep in the forest, their treasures waiting to be found. Much
of this talk of dancing ghosts, stalking monsters, and lost riches is
poetic fancy, but kernels of truth exist in every story. All Dalesfolk
know the names of the dales lost most recently: Moondale,
Sessrendale, and Teshendale. Dales have fallen before, and daleswill fall again.
Moondale Sessrendale Teshendale