Ascalhorn

The city of Ascalhorn was once the northernmost city of the High Forest elves' realm of Eaerlann, and secured its borders. After the realm of Netheril collapsed, the elves offered the city to refugees who had escaped Netheril's destruction.

Already within the first century, the city's population was made up mostly of humans. The elves left it, reasoning that the tedious task of watching the northern orc hordes suited humans better anyway, freeing the elves' time for other things.

Over the following centuries, Ascalhorn's people studied the old teachings of Netheril, and the city became an important center of learning in the north. The use of magic multiplied, and the old causes of Netheril's destruction gradually faded into obscurity.

Wulgreth, one of Ascalhorn's most well-known magic-users, engaged in fierce competition with many other magic-users. Social pressure grew unbearable, and tensions rose between Wulgreth and his rivals. To turn the situation in his favor, Wulgreth opened a gate to the nine hells and summoned Asmodeus's demons to help him. Although Wulgreth was powerful and tried to be careful, over the decades Asmodeus's demons corrupted Wulgreth and many others, and succeeded in luring Wulgreth into becoming an undead lich. People moved away in droves. Eventually Asmodeus's forces took control of the entire city, and the last remaining mages, in desperation, summoned the devils of Hell itself to help them resist Asmodeus's forces.

The plan succeeded all too completely, and the devils of Hell destroyed not only Asmodeus's forces but also the city's inhabitants and the neighboring elven realm of Eaerlann, and what remained of the dwarves. The most powerful magic-users remaining from that era banded together, and succeeded in creating a magical shield around Ascalhorn (Hellgate Keep) that prevented the devils from moving back to Hell, further out from their city, or bringing in reinforcements.

That, however, didn't stop the devils ruling the city from sending their servants roaming. Turlang, who lives in the High Forest, and his ents, however, have closed off the way further into the forest.

Fortunately, many of Ascalhorn's inhabitants managed to escape, settling in Sundabar and the valley surrounding it, and elsewhere in the north. Their accounts of Ascalhorn have been passed down to later generations. The area is also called Hellgate Keep.