Varenshade was an outpost located in the Dragonspine Mountains. Secretly constructed by the Church of Tyr in the years prior to the Shadowbane War, its original purpose was to serve as a forward listening post for gathering intelligence on Zhentarim and Shadovar forces in the area. When the nearby Zhentil Keep fell in 1383 DR, the Church deemed Varenshade an untenable location to maintain and abandoned it. During the Second Sundering in the late 15th century DR, a horrible creature of darkness was lured into Varenshade where it was trapped. Several elite members of the Order of the Amethyst Claw entered into Varenshade to slay the beast within, but none emerged.