Abeir-Toril (pronounced: /ɑːɪˈbɪərtoʊˈrɪl/ ai-BEER-toh-RILL[1] or: /ɑːˈbɪərtɔːrˈrɪl/ ah-BEER-tor-RILL[2] 
listen) was the name of a prehistoric planet that existed before −31,000 DR when Ao sundered the world into two worlds: Abeir and Toril.[3] The name was archaic, meaning "cradle of life".[1]
Etymology[]
Abeir-Toril was a compound word, formed of two words that originated in the ancient language Auld Wyrmish.[4]
Geography[]
The shape of the planet was very different from either modern Abeir or modern Toril, consisting of one massive supercontinent known as Merrouroboros.[5]
Inhabitants[]
Abeir-Toril was dominated by abominations from the Far Realm,[6] among them the most prominent were the aboleths from the Abolethic Sovereignty.[7][8] Other races that lived in this prehistoric world were the giantkin and the mysterious Creator races.[5]
History[]
Abeir-Toril was one of many worlds that appeared after Ao crafted Realmspace out of the phlogiston.[3] Though barren and devoid of life, creatures of manifest entropy and elemental nature known as the primordials began to appear in Realmspace, coveting those worlds.[9] Unknown to the primordials, the first gods also began to appear in Realmspace. Selûne and Shar were the first ones[9], and they began to create life on the world of Abeir-Toril, creating the goddess Chauntea and the sun to sustain that life.[10]
When the twin goddesses became aware of the threat of the primordials, they rallied all the gods to defend the virgin worlds, even summoning gods from other dimensions to aid the native gods in the war.[9] This conflict was later known as the Dawn War.[11] While the gods and primordials battled for ages, life flourished on Abeir-Toril.[9]
The first lifeforms on Abeir-Toril were aberrant, however. Beings from the Far Realm who tried to gain a foothold in Realmspace,[6] among them the Eldest, the oldest-known aboleth and possibly the progenitor of the entire species.[8] The gods also opposed against them, and the Cerulean Sign was a rune of power created during this time by the gods to oppose those beings.[6]
It was the end of the Shadow Epoch, during the last period of the Days of Thunder, that a conflict between the titans and the batrachi sparked. To defeat their enemies, the batrachi summoned many primordials from their imprisonment. The gods quickly moved to battle their ancient foes, and a primordial called "Asgoroth the World Shaper" hurled an ice moon down to the surface of Merrouroboros in an event known as the Tearfall, intending to destroy the world she could not claim as their own.[3][12]
It was this action that finally spurred Ao to action, leading to the "changing of stars", in which the world was separated into two twin planets, Abeir and Toril. Ao gave the primordials control over Abeir, while retaining sovereignty over Toril for the gods.[13] When Abeir-Toril was sundered, the city of Xxiphu, the realm of the aboleth, remained on Abeir.[7]
Those events were unknown to Faerûnian sages until after the Spellplague, when the dragonborn of Abeir and the sarrukhs of Okoth revealed forgotten lore regarding the ancient past.[3]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb (August 1987). “Cyclopedia of the Realms”. In Karen S. Martin ed. Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (TSR, Inc.), p. 19. ISBN 0-88038-472-7.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 4. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (2021-01-30). Etymology of Abeir and Toril (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved on 2024-04-14.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bruce R. Cordell (October 2007). Stardeep. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 54–56. ISBN 978-0-7869-4338-8.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Matt Sernett, Erik Scott de Bie, Ari Marmell (August 2011). Neverwinter Campaign Setting. Edited by Tanis O'Connor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 90. ISBN 0-7869-5814-6.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bruce R. Cordell (December 2008). Plague of Spells (Mass Market Paperback). (Wizards of the Coast), p. 162. ISBN 978-0-7869-4965-6.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 42. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 261. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 43. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.