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

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 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.

attracted 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.

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 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

exploitation 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 Dales

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,

will fall again.