Vael'Dorais¶
"They burned the forests of Vael'Dorais, driving the Elves back until there was no forest left to retreat to." — the Sanctuary Age Timeline (S326)
Contested
Named in the open question Luiria and Oth'Baelin: two Proturan documents of the same date name the wood elves' homeland differently.
Vael'Dorais was the High Elven forest of the Broken Sea, "the last Elven refuge in the west", a realm with its own princes until the Sancturi Empire burned it to ash between 654 and 688 SM in the Fifth Age. Its survivors fled west and founded Luiria in 691 SM, a wood elven kingdom that is "one of the few elven sanctuaries left in the world". The spelling follows the newest sources; the Sanctuary Age Timeline writes Vael'Doreis.
Also called: Vael'Doreis; the High Elven Forest.
The elven realm¶
Vael'Dorais was ruled by the house of Sel'Dorais. In the Proturan reckoning, Arvandor Sel'Dorais was "born 156 AL to Ubravan and Isendria Sel'Dorais, rulers of Vael'Dorais", and was exiled by his father in 426 AL "for terrible magical experiments committed against the citizens of Vael'Dorais", having been "sentenced to death" until his mother pleaded for exile. He worked with "another high elven exile known as Malathar" on "experiments on Elves living on the edges of the realm of Vael'Dorais" and was believed slain in a raid by his father's troops in 432 AL. The Proturan regional timeline lists "Elves of Vael'Dorais" among the major civilisations from the Morning until about 440 AL, when "Elves of Luiria" replaces them.
The forest still held High Elves in the Sanctuary Age: the party that later walked its scorched ground knew it as the "High Elven Forest" of the Broken Sea. By 704 SM the Broken Sea's count of High Elves stood at none living.
Gap
The sources never convert the Proturan AL calendar to SM, so the Sel'Dorais reigns cannot be placed against the Sancturi campaign. No source describes the forest's extent, its cities or its position on the Broken Sea beyond lying west of the Sancturi homeland.
Phen'Arran¶
A High Elven city whose history was sold as a book in the Rivenlands (History of Phen'Arran, see Lesser Texts). A set of ancient portals included "one is Portal to Phen'Arran (city)", recorded beside the portal to the lost High Elven capital beneath the desert of Qom.
Gap
The notes do not say whether Phen'Arran stood in Vael'Dorais or elsewhere, nor what became of it.
The burning¶
The Sancturi Vael'Doreis Campaign began when "the initial staging areas were secured in 654 SM. However, the elves waged a guerilla war and Sancturi forces had difficulty penetrating the forests to damage Elven settlements." In 661 SM the High Council put the campaign on hold; "the elves went on the offensive but were unable to dislodge the Sancturi from their foothold." In 675 SM the Obsidian Legions, regrouped from the failed Danar Campaign, joined the Nightshade Legions "with a new scorched earth strategy. They burned the forests of Vael'Dorais, driving the Elves back until there was no forest left to retreat to. By 688 SM the entire area was reduced to ash and the last Elven refuge in the west was destroyed." See the Sancturi Military and the Sancturi Campaigns.
"Due to the widespread destruction, the Sancturi have decided against settling it or building it up other than a few roads crossing through the area that are well protected and maintained." Travellers arriving by portal in the 700s SM found "scorched earth", white stone, and a Sancturi garrison.
Luiria¶
"The survivors fled west and eventually established Luiria in 691 SM." In the survey of 704 SM Luiria is a "Wood elven kingdom (Fae). One of the few elven sanctuaries left in the world. They are always willing to take in elvish refugees and expand their borders into the wild. They make a concerted effort to not provoke the other kingdoms and have given up territory willingly to avert war in the past." It counts among the lesser Riven Kingdoms.
In the Proturan age the Wood Elves of Luiria migrated to Proturas around 670 AL and became one of its council factions, "absorbed when their homeland was overrun". A post-Sancturi account instead names the rising elven power "the Elves of Oth'Baelin", who "make exclusive use of Fae Magic"; whether Oth'Baelin is Luiria under another name is not said.
Gap
Where Luiria lies ("west" of Vael'Dorais) and when its homeland was overrun are not recorded.
Places noted in play¶
Three names were recorded, without description, in the session that passed through the forest's portal: Small Lagritch; Stonebay, "village. 100 inhabitants", home of Willian the fisher; and the Iron District, where a man named Engren sells tabards and battle robes. The notes do not say in which land they stand.