![[Pasted image 20251222162221.png]] **Type:** Broad Central Region of Faerûn **Location in Faerûn:** Central–Eastern **Kingdom or Country (if any):** Multiple (*most notably [[Cormyr]], [[Sembia]], [[The Dalelands]]*) **Note:** The Eastern Heartlands are widely regarded as the cultural and political core of [[Faerûn]], a vast temperate region of rolling plains, river valleys, market towns, and ancient roads that bind the continent together. Neither wilderness nor empire, the Heartlands endure through balance: land worked for generations, cities rebuilt rather than abandoned, and traditions reinforced rather than replaced. Whoever shapes the Heartlands shapes Faerûn itself. [[Cormyr]] stands as the region’s most stable power, ruled by the [[House Obarskyr]] under [[Queen Raedra Obarskyr]]. Its authority is enforced by the [[Purple Dragons]] and tempered by the vigilance of the [[War Wizards]], whose presence ensures that threats mundane and arcane alike are addressed swiftly. Cormyr’s influence radiates outward through trade routes, military patrols, and faith, shaping much of the surrounding Heartlands whether welcomed or resented. Threaded through the region are roads that have carried armies, caravans, and pilgrims for centuries. The [[Dragon Trail]] and [[East Way Trail]] link inland settlements to the [[Dragon Coast]], while rivers such as the [[Immerflow River]] and the [[Starwater River]] sustain farms, towns, and shrine-communities along their banks. Travel here is common, but never trivial; borders blur, but loyalties do not. Faith plays a central role in Heartlands life. Shrines and temples are commonplace, with [[Tymora]], [[Lathander]], and [[Chauntea]] among the most widely venerated. The [[Cathedral of Lathander]] at Eveningstar stands as a prominent beacon of renewal and hope; its stones bearing witness to both miracles and tragedy. Smaller faith-centers dot the countryside, including shrine-towns like [[Silvercross]], watched over by communities such as the [[Order of the Lucky Blades]], whose creed blends courage, superstition, and service. Culturally, the Eastern Heartlands are defined by diversity without spectacle. Humans dominate, but elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes are neither rare nor exotic. Stories travel easily here... told at hearths, inns, and roadside shrines; and legends are treated less as distant myths and more as events that happened “not so long ago.” Heroes are remembered, but never abstracted; their failures linger alongside their triumphs. The Eastern Heartlands are where [[Dio Eldwynair]] learned how the world actually works. Not through revelation or prophecy, but through miles walked, nights slept rough, and loyalties observed from the edges. [[Silvercross]] gave him belief, [[Cormyr]] gave him discipline, and the roads between taught him how quietly power asserts itself. Even now, the region anchors his memory; unchanged enough to hurt, stable enough to persist, and wide enough to forget him entirely.