Halruaa
Halruaa, the Gem of the South, the Remains of Netheril, The City of Magic. This city is probably the most high-magic city you will find on the face of Toril. They spare no expense when it comes to portraying their magical prowess, from inventing Skyships to floating buildings, but this is mainly thanks to the Electrum that runs like water in the region. (The first picture is slightly exaggerated)
Halruaa is the most isolated region in the entirety of Faerun, being blocked on three sides by "The Walls of Halruaa" a mountain range that averages 30,000ft in elevation. Halruaa was initially created to isolate itself from the destruction caused by Karsus' Folly and to protect them from the Phaerimm. The Phaerimm never came and the only things that tried to attack were monsters like orcs and other things. This led to Halruaa becoming an incredibly Xenophobic country telling horrors of the lands beyond the walls, and traders coming back with horror stories of what horror life was beyond. All people in Halruaa speak Halruaan, the language of ancient Netheril. You will find very few people who even speak common. The Council of Mages wishes to keep its magical prowess securely in its hands even if that means limiting diversity. In Halruaa's eyes magic is something only to be toyed with under supervision and respected.
There is near zero crime in Halruaa, due to its magical prowess. All crime is snuffed out nearly instantly, from giving confessions to investigating murders. If caught doing a petty crime it was many years locked up, If caught doing a major crime it was death.
Halruaan society favors appearances and everything done and worn is a done to portray something. You can tell a women is pregnant by the colors and patterns she wears, how rich someone is by how much magic they radiate, etc. Fashion and everything you do was seen as something.
All Foreigners in Halruaa are taken with the intent to do wrong to the country as they are "warped by the energies of the outside world". Foreigners here should be expected to be searched often and be under the effects of multiple divination spells.
History
After Karsus' Folly the people of Netheril fled to the area of Halruaa, free from the mass murdering of humans done by other races. For the common folk of Netheril it was hard to get used to, the land was barely fertile, forests far and few, and fresh water was near impossible to find, even with the use of magic. Eventually they learned how to work the fields here and became a prospering nation which to them was the only human nation left on Faerun. Learning from their ancestors, they forbade the use of high level magic unless they openly worshipped and followed the guidelines of Mystra to ensure their magic was regulated. One prolific mage that followed these guidelines was Savras, a divination wizard who worshipped Mystra. Savras eventually became a chosen of Mystra and came into contact with another chosen, Azuth. The two fought for years on end and eventually Azuth won, imprisoning Savras in the Scepter of Savras. Time of Troubles comes around and the Council of Mages divined Mystra's death, and fearing what happened last time, transported the entire country into Aebir, a parallel world of Toril where the elementals went after the Dawn War. Here they stayed in isolation besides the few dragons that tried to claim their country, but they defended it well, and got a cool new resource air wood.. With magic being all weird during the Time of Troubles the commoner class began to struggle since they could no longer use the assistance of magic to farm and produce crop. Eventually they transported themselves back to Toril after the Time of Troubles when Mystra was once again answering prayers. After the Time of Troubles they began building their famous Skyships with the new Air Wood that permeated the land thanks to the effects of shifting from world to world. Also, a Halruaan mage freed Savras from the Scepter of Savras and Azuth apologized for his wrongdoings and the both became lesser gods under Mystra's tutelage. The Skyships brought trade from Halruaa across Faerun, but entry to Halruaa was still near impossible, and even then outsiders would be treated as aliens. A notable family, the Cagdule Family settled down in Waterdeep with the first Sky City port being constructed there in 1472 DR. But all was not happy and the Council of Mages began to take too much power thanks to some corrupt members on the council. In 1480 DR a civil war broke out between the peasants and mages caused by the passing of a law which regulated the commoners to the back-breaking work of working fields without any help from the mages. The mages also ended up turning magic against them, using it slaughter all who didnt pay the proper taxes and who didnt follow the Councils word strictly. The commoner class began to hate magic and saw its uncontrollable, destructive nature. Many families fled this horrible time in their history to distant lands such as Amn, Tethyr, Cormyr, and other lands. These families feared what outsiders were capable of, but were pleased to find out that they were normal humans like they were. In 1485 DR all of the corrupt mages were exiled, and they fled to Thay. Only Halruaans know the bigger details... that the mages who fled were secretive Netherese wizards claiming to hail from the Shadowfell, conspiring for some goal. Everything was now back on track for Halruaa and people were happier than ever with the first non-magic user on the Council of Mages to ensure protection for the Commoners of Halruaa. Today 5 of the 20 chairs on the council are given to non-magic users.
After Karsus' Folly the people of Netheril fled to the area of Halruaa, free from the mass murdering of humans done by other races. For the common folk of Netheril it was hard to get used to, the land was barely fertile, forests far and few, and fresh water was near impossible to find, even with the use of magic. Eventually they learned how to work the fields here and became a prospering nation which to them was the only human nation left on Faerun. Learning from their ancestors, they forbade the use of high level magic unless they openly worshipped and followed the guidelines of Mystra to ensure their magic was regulated. One prolific mage that followed these guidelines was Savras, a divination wizard who worshipped Mystra. Savras eventually became a chosen of Mystra and came into contact with another chosen, Azuth. The two fought for years on end and eventually Azuth won, imprisoning Savras in the Scepter of Savras. Time of Troubles comes around and the Council of Mages divined Mystra's death, and fearing what happened last time, transported the entire country into Aebir, a parallel world of Toril where the elementals went after the Dawn War. Here they stayed in isolation besides the few dragons that tried to claim their country, but they defended it well, and got a cool new resource air wood.. With magic being all weird during the Time of Troubles the commoner class began to struggle since they could no longer use the assistance of magic to farm and produce crop. Eventually they transported themselves back to Toril after the Time of Troubles when Mystra was once again answering prayers. After the Time of Troubles they began building their famous Skyships with the new Air Wood that permeated the land thanks to the effects of shifting from world to world. Also, a Halruaan mage freed Savras from the Scepter of Savras and Azuth apologized for his wrongdoings and the both became lesser gods under Mystra's tutelage. The Skyships brought trade from Halruaa across Faerun, but entry to Halruaa was still near impossible, and even then outsiders would be treated as aliens. A notable family, the Cagdule Family settled down in Waterdeep with the first Sky City port being constructed there in 1472 DR. But all was not happy and the Council of Mages began to take too much power thanks to some corrupt members on the council. In 1480 DR a civil war broke out between the peasants and mages caused by the passing of a law which regulated the commoners to the back-breaking work of working fields without any help from the mages. The mages also ended up turning magic against them, using it slaughter all who didnt pay the proper taxes and who didnt follow the Councils word strictly. The commoner class began to hate magic and saw its uncontrollable, destructive nature. Many families fled this horrible time in their history to distant lands such as Amn, Tethyr, Cormyr, and other lands. These families feared what outsiders were capable of, but were pleased to find out that they were normal humans like they were. In 1485 DR all of the corrupt mages were exiled, and they fled to Thay. Only Halruaans know the bigger details... that the mages who fled were secretive Netherese wizards claiming to hail from the Shadowfell, conspiring for some goal. Everything was now back on track for Halruaa and people were happier than ever with the first non-magic user on the Council of Mages to ensure protection for the Commoners of Halruaa. Today 5 of the 20 chairs on the council are given to non-magic users.
Established: -300 DR, Re-Established in 1370 DR
Population: 750,000
Races: Humans (70%), Dwarves (10%), Halflings (10%), Other (10%)
Territory: South Faerun
Capital: Halarahh
Major Cities: Halagard, Zalazuu, Galdel, Aluarim
Ruling System: The Council of Mages
Religion: Mystra, Azuth, Savras (all gods of magic)
Population: 750,000
Races: Humans (70%), Dwarves (10%), Halflings (10%), Other (10%)
Territory: South Faerun
Capital: Halarahh
Major Cities: Halagard, Zalazuu, Galdel, Aluarim
Ruling System: The Council of Mages
Religion: Mystra, Azuth, Savras (all gods of magic)
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