• c. -11000 DR

  • The illithid (mind flayer) enclave Oryndoll is settled by refugees from Glyth, one of the wandering stars that circle the same sun as Toril. »

  • The Mindstalker Wars

  • -8100 DR to -8080 DR
    The illithids of Oryndoll attack the eastern subkingdom of Shanatar, beginning a conflict that came to be known as the Mindstalker Wars among the dwarves and the War of Cloven Thoughts among the mind flayers. The illithids are driven back, but in their wake the surviving Stout Folk discover that the caverns of Barakuir, which had been cut off in the early days of fighting, lie empty. Clan Duergar had been carried back to thralldom in the mind flayers' realm. After millennnia of enslavement and countless illithid breeding experiments, the descendants of Clan Duergar are transformed into a new subrace, the gray dwarves. »

  • c. -4000 DR

  • The duergar rebel against their illithid masters and eventually free themselves of the mind flayer's dominion. These newly liberated gray dwarves carve out their own holdings in the northern Underdark, beneath the Orsraun Mountains, and in isolated caverns deep beneath the Great Glacier. »

  • -1850 DR

  • Under the leadership of their greatest queen, Duerra, the gray dwarves of Underspires launch a series of attacks against their Underdark enemies, the drow of Undraeth, the illithids of Oryndoll, and eventually the remnants of Deep Shanatar. »

  • -1064 DR

  • The Netherese make first contact with the illithids. »

  • 76 DR [Year of Windsong]

  • Death of Alaundo "the Seer". Candlekeep becomes a haven for the veneration of his prophecies and knowledge.

    His skull is stolen shortly after his death and is considered a priceless relic, venerated by the faithful of Deneir and Oghma. It becomes greatly sought after by the illithids of Oryndoll. »

  • 153 DR [Year of the Wolfstone]

  • Illithids from the Underdark and their lycanthropic thralls conquer Gauntlgrym. A few survivors escape and are taken in by a tribe of Uthgardt. »

  • 329 DR [Year of the Closed Scroll]

  • Ioulaum is apparently slain by a cabal of Illithidliches. In revenge, his apprentice Tabra slaughters the illithids of Ellyn'taal. (In truth, Ioulaum is not dead, instead he had transfered his mind into that of an elder brain and now goes by the title 'The Oracle of Ellyn'taal'). »

  • 491 DR [Year of Faltering Fires]

  • Phanlinksal is founded by the elder brains ruling illithid society. They chosse a defensible cavern close to the surface to allow for easy raiding of Uthgardt tribes in the Lurkwood. One of the elder brains was relocated to the site. Despite this, the settlement always remained small. »

  • 568 DR [Year of the Pernicious Hauberk]

  • Illithids from Phanlinksal attempt to invade the drow city of Menzoberranzan from the Eastways. The mind flayers are defeated and 80 of them are executed by a vampiric illithid (kept as a "pet" by House Oblodra) in a location later named the Cavern of the Severed Tentacles. »

  • 697 DR [Year of the Triton's Horn]

  • The Dark Mother of Shar, Lalondra Worul seeks and achieves lichdom. Many of Lalondra's servants die, due to the life linkage magic Lalondra had established with them. Many of the underpriests of Shar riot throughout the Sword Coast, sweeping away the power of the Dark Goddess overnight. Uncarring, Lalondra walks her way in dark places beneath the earth seeking to conquer a new realm for Shar. Displeased, Shar deserts her, stripping away her spells and leaving her only Gorothir's Girdle. Alone and defenseless, lost in the caverns infested with drow and alhoon, Lalondra does not last long. »

  • 997 DR [Year of the Fearful Harper]

  • The Scepter of Mystra if discovered by merfolk and sold to a Calishite merchant, who then sells it in a bazaar in Schamedar. Its purchaser, Kloroth of the Seven Curses, discovers another power of the Scepter. An arcane worshiper of Mystra or a priest of Mystra can cast spells that are beyond his ability while holding the Scepter. Kloroth uses it to create a series of permanent gates in an attempt to create a fast trade network between the Sword Coast (Waterdeep in particular) and the Inner Sea lands (Sembia). However, the Scepter had another ability that got in the way of Kloroth's plans. If the permanency spell is used in conjunction with the other ability that Kloroth discovered, the Scepter permanently polymorphs the user randomly. Kloroth thus acquired an eight curse, this one personal (the other seven had been spells he had cast on opponents). Kloroth was changed into a shrieker mushroom in a dark street in Selgaunt.

    The Scepter changes hands six times that night. Dawn finds the last one to claim the Scepter to be an older and wiser Naerlus "Flamespell" Anarthandyer, who had been forced to flee the Sword Coast when he had lost the Scepter the first time and found himself facing many roused foes. After slaying the previous owner with spells that caused his arms to change into tentacles, Naerlus flees through Klauth's gate, and finds himself in Skullport. A mind flayer promptly slays Naerlus and flees into Undermountain with the Scepter. The illithid is in turn slain by drow, who then gets lost in Undermountains labyrinth, and dies. »

  • 1099 DR [Year of the Restless]

  • The War of the Broken Chains
    The grimlock thralls of Suruptik utterly destroy their mind flayer masters. In an impressive display of scourched-earth barbarism, they eat every illithid and burn everything that would burn. Survivors build the community of Reeshov in its place. »

  • 1154 DR [Year of the Sun Underground]

  • Ch'Chitl is founded by a cult of illithids that plan the settlement to serve as an adjacent to Skullport. »

  • 1210 DR [Year of the Armarel]

  • Alturiak The much-copied, bawdy narrative Life of Rebrum is penned by the traveling merchant Rebrum of Sheirtalar. In it, it mentions a drow trading band trying to barter away the Chanting Chain (an artifact of Talos) to drow from a distant city at a trade-fair, called "the Eleave" in the great subterranean cavern-complex of Vaerndoun (a cave complex beneath the surface city of Torsch). The trade meet is run by illithids, who refer to themselves and their subterranean land as the Asglyph (who seems to end up with the Chain). The price of admission to the fair is that all participants must bring slaves upon which the mind flayer feeds. »

  • 1246 DR [Year of Burning Steel]

  • Hoth of the Six Curses, a mage hired by a man that Andaren Robyth had not quite killed finds Andaren in his cave overlooking Phannaskull to kill him. Andaren buys his life by giving Hoth Yornar's Trail Companion (an artifact of Mielliki). Hoth takes the Companion and teleports the thief to Westgate, where he enjoys a short but colorful career.

    When Hoth discovers that the Companion contained nothing he could use, he disgustedly sells it in a bazaar in Morghyr. The man who bought it made the mistake of double-crossing a fellow merchant - who turned out to be part of a druuth (a small band of dopplegangers working for a mind flayer).

    The leader of the druuth tries to trade the Companion for a more useful magical item, but happened to choose the wrong man to try to trade with: the Elderly Rhighaermon O'Antlers, who uses every thing in his power to slay the illithid, seize the Companion, and take to to the nearest temple of Mielikki. He is successful, though sorely wounded and hotly pursued by dopplegangers. The priests of the temple were about to aid Rhighaermon when Mielikki herself appeared and took the Companion and slayed the pursuers. The next day, the Companion was found on the alter with a command from the goddess to continue the "Rightful Cycle". »

  • 1257 DR [Year of the Killing Wave]

  • In Kurrsh, there is an account of the raising of a band of warriors to smash a stronghold of Talos-worshippers who proved to be led by a mind flayer. After several costly skirmishes, the local warriors slaughtered the Talassans and burned their keep, looting some coin, a few jeweled swords, and the Chanting Chain as spoils. »

  • 1278 DR [Year of Many Bones]

  • The Kraken Society, after injuring the Elder Brain of the illithids of Gauntlgrym, abducts one of the mind flayers and successfully brain washes it. The illithids of Gauntlgrym begin staging attacks against the Kraken Society in response. »

  • 1328 DR [Year of the Adder]

  • The illithids continued to be a nuisance to Menzoberranzan, in response, the ruling House Baenre prepares to raid and destroy Phanlinksal. The city is spared when Methil El-Viddenvelp, one of the more prominent mind flayers, agrees to serve Matron Mother Yvonnel Baenre as her secret advisor in exchange for her sparing the city. »

  • 1330 DR [Year of the Marching Moon]

  • Lizardfolk and troglodytes join the grimlock population of Reeshov after being freed from mind flayer control. »

  • 1338 DR [Year of the Wanderer]

  • Drizzt Do'Urden arrives in Blingdenstone, where he befriends the Svirfneblin Belwar Dissengulp. The admittance of the drow renegade and his brief residence therein marks the end of centuries of isolation for the deep gnomes.

    Drizzt is later forced to leave Blingdenstone, due to the fear of its citizens and Drizzt's mental state. Belwar chooses to join the drow. The pair later teams up with Clacker, a pech that was turned into a hook horror by an evil wizard.

    The three are enslaved by illithids of Phanlinksal, only to be saved by the undead Zaknafein (who was raised by Malice using a special necromantic spell of Lolth called Zin-Carla and tasked in finding and slaying Drizzt), and quite separately, Guenhwyvar, who came to this plane by following curious illithids that were traveling the astral plane to examine the magical creature. The surviving illithids flee to Guantlgrym.

    Drizzt and Zaknafein later fight over a volcanic river, and Drizzt's undead father is able to regain control of himself long enough to hurl his body into the lava. This failure to bring the renegade Drizzt under control heralds the end of House Do'Urden. »