Hayareni "Halfling"
It has often been said that the Hayareni are a people who dance on the edge of a blade. Placed by Al-Shams in a naturally perilous position, stuck between two of the greatest and most expansionist nations every known, their homeland a crossroads for armies marching hither and yon, they should by all rights have ceased to exist as a people centuries ago. And yet, there they are, still inhabiting their ancient hills, still speaking their unique language, still dancing without ceasing upon the very edge of destruction, with no sign that they will ever fall.
Then, Orontes, the son of the last satrap, declared himself King of Hayastan and was crowned upon the shores of Lake Arces. Under his dynasty, the Orontids, what began as a small state centered on the sacred lake expanded to become one of the largest and most powerful states in the region, stretching from the Mazandaran Sea in the east to the Elysian Sea in the west. Under the rule of Orontes great-grandson, Tigranes the Great, Hayastan won a number of great victories against the declining Nikean Empire and, for the first time, brought large non-Hayareni populations under halfling rule. It was in the period during and after Tigranes rule that the Hayareni began to settle in these newly conquered areas, resulting in the first large scale settlment of Hayareni outside of Hayastan. It would not be the last. However, this period of Hayastani strength was made possible by the decline of the Hetairoi kingdoms and the absence of a strong Quanar state (since the first Shahdom had been destroyed by Zul-Qarnain). But this power vacuum couldn't last forever, and Great Hayastan would be challenged by both the every expanding Elysian Republic to its west, and the Pahlar (Wild Elf) Shahdom to the east. Over the course of a century and a half, the Hayareni lost control of their conquests outside of old Hayastan. This decline in Hayareni fortunes climaxed with the imposition of a Pahlar monarch after the death of the last descendent of Orontes, Tigranes V. However, despite being ruled by an elvish monarch, Hayastan managed to preserve its autonomy by playing its two stronger neighbors off each other. It eventually became accepted practice that Hayastan would be ruler by a Pahlar monarch, but that monarch would have to be approved by Elysium before they could take office. So long as this system held, so did an independent Hayastan.
But the strategy of mutual denial would not work forever. In the 3rd century Before Emergence, the Pahlar Shahs began to lose their grip following a series of defeats at Elysian hands. The Pahlar would fall to a wave of rebellions that eventually saw the Quanar reassert their authority over their mountainous homeland, establishing the Second Quanar Shahdom. Taking advantage of this chaos, the Elysian Empire began to push eastward, overrunning many formerly Pahlar territories including Hayastan. Though initially caught off-guard, the Quanar fought back, and in the year 235BE the Emperor and the Shahanshah signed the Peace of Acilisene and divided Hayastan in two. Eastern Hayastan would be made into a satrapy with a Hayareni satrap, while Western Hayastan would be directly integrated into the Elysian Empire as a new province. This division would endure as long as the Quanar-Elysian rivalry did. Hayastan was frequently a battlefield during this time, with Hayareni becoming important figures within both states. But the dream of a united and independent Hayastan did not vanish. Indeed, as the frequent wars between the Empire and the Shahdom tended to devastate Hayastan, the dream only grew. Indeed, it could be said that Hayastan was the epicenter of this great rivalry, as one of the safest and surest roads between Ctesiphon and Iustinianopolis ran directly through the northern hill country. This centuries long struggle climaxed in The Last War of Men and Elves, during which more than a dozen field battles and countless sieges were fought in old Hayastan. As the war lasted first for months, then years, then decades, all the peoples of the known world cried out in anguish at the seemingly endless violence. Of course, I don't need to tell you what happened next. The Shamsar Emerged, and Al-Shams armies swept all before them. As the Shahdom fell and the Empire retreated, all Hayastan, East and West, fell under the authority of the Khalifate. Hayastan was made into an Amirate, and the Hayareni (being mostly Helionists) were declared People of the Light. Most importantly, due to the new borders Hayastan was no longer a border region, and enjoyed two centuries of peace and stability allowing for a much needed economic recovery. Unified and connected with distant lands through the Khalifate's trade network, the Hayareni have experienced a population explosion. The population pressure, combined with the extant Hayareni propensity for long distance trade, has led many Hayareni to leave the hill country and move to other parts of the Dar-al-Shams. There is even an ongoing rebellion from a Christian Hayareni controlled de-facto state in what is still officially the Hillakid Amirate, which as any student of geography knows is most definitely not in the traditional Hayareni heartland. It remains to be seen whether or not Hayareni independence, in whatever form, will utimately be able to endure; but if their history tells us anything, its that the Hayareni will survive whatever trials Al-Shams sees fit to put them to.
Halfling Traits
Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2. Your Charisma score increases by 1 Age: A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of 20 and generally lives into the middle of their second century. Size: Halflings average about 3 feet tall and weigh about 40 pounds. Your size is Small. Speed: Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Lucky: When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. Brave: You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened. Halfling Nimbleness: You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours. Naturally Stealthy: You can attempt to hide even when you are only obscured by a creature that is at least one size larger than you. Languages: You can speak Low Solar and Hayareni. You may read and write any of these languages, depending on your Background. Hayareni isn’t secret, but halflings are loath to share it with others. They write very little, so they don’t have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all halflings in the Khaliphate speak Low Solar to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which they are traveling.History
It is impossible to speak of the origins of the Hayareni. When the genies of ancient Lagash came to Hayastan, the Hayareni were already there. When Kurush the Great led his elvish host across the face of the world, the Hayareni marched along side him. When the Elysians first crossed the Sea of Dardan, Hayareni shepherds were there to greet them. And when The Shamsar first brought the light of Al-Shams to the hill country, it was to the Hayareni that they brought it. Such an ancient and storied people of course have a suitably long history, far to long to fully describe in this meagre volume. Before the emergence of the first centralized Hayareni state, there must have been Hayareni history, but as they did not yet have the gift of writing, it has been lost to us, though the annals of Lagash describe "a fearsome people, short of stature but numerous and tenacious" who inhabited "the northern hill country". This must surely be the Hayareni. Like all the other disorganized peoples on Lagash's periphery, they were subject to raids and demands for tirbute from the genie-kings. Unsurprisingly, when Kurush began to rally his forces to overthrow Lagash, he found the Hayareni very willing partners. In the great war that followed, the Hayareni fought and died to end the tyranny of the genie-kings. And when the dust settled, they were rewarded with their own homeland, Hayastan, and the greatest war-leader was appointed by Kurush as satrap, with maximal autonomy within Hayastan to rule his people in their own manner and custom. Under the protection of the Quanar, Hayastan flourished. But in this world, all things perish in time. After two centuries of power and culture, Zul-Qarnain led the Hetairoi across the Sea of Dardan and smashed the First Quanar Shahdom into a hundred pieces. After Zul-Qarnain's sudden and untimely death, in the scramble for the pieces of his kingdom, a human general named Neoptolemus tried to style himself King of the Smallfolk. He ruled for less than a year before he was killed at the Battle of the Sea of Dardan.Then, Orontes, the son of the last satrap, declared himself King of Hayastan and was crowned upon the shores of Lake Arces. Under his dynasty, the Orontids, what began as a small state centered on the sacred lake expanded to become one of the largest and most powerful states in the region, stretching from the Mazandaran Sea in the east to the Elysian Sea in the west. Under the rule of Orontes great-grandson, Tigranes the Great, Hayastan won a number of great victories against the declining Nikean Empire and, for the first time, brought large non-Hayareni populations under halfling rule. It was in the period during and after Tigranes rule that the Hayareni began to settle in these newly conquered areas, resulting in the first large scale settlment of Hayareni outside of Hayastan. It would not be the last. However, this period of Hayastani strength was made possible by the decline of the Hetairoi kingdoms and the absence of a strong Quanar state (since the first Shahdom had been destroyed by Zul-Qarnain). But this power vacuum couldn't last forever, and Great Hayastan would be challenged by both the every expanding Elysian Republic to its west, and the Pahlar (Wild Elf) Shahdom to the east. Over the course of a century and a half, the Hayareni lost control of their conquests outside of old Hayastan. This decline in Hayareni fortunes climaxed with the imposition of a Pahlar monarch after the death of the last descendent of Orontes, Tigranes V. However, despite being ruled by an elvish monarch, Hayastan managed to preserve its autonomy by playing its two stronger neighbors off each other. It eventually became accepted practice that Hayastan would be ruler by a Pahlar monarch, but that monarch would have to be approved by Elysium before they could take office. So long as this system held, so did an independent Hayastan.
But the strategy of mutual denial would not work forever. In the 3rd century Before Emergence, the Pahlar Shahs began to lose their grip following a series of defeats at Elysian hands. The Pahlar would fall to a wave of rebellions that eventually saw the Quanar reassert their authority over their mountainous homeland, establishing the Second Quanar Shahdom. Taking advantage of this chaos, the Elysian Empire began to push eastward, overrunning many formerly Pahlar territories including Hayastan. Though initially caught off-guard, the Quanar fought back, and in the year 235BE the Emperor and the Shahanshah signed the Peace of Acilisene and divided Hayastan in two. Eastern Hayastan would be made into a satrapy with a Hayareni satrap, while Western Hayastan would be directly integrated into the Elysian Empire as a new province. This division would endure as long as the Quanar-Elysian rivalry did. Hayastan was frequently a battlefield during this time, with Hayareni becoming important figures within both states. But the dream of a united and independent Hayastan did not vanish. Indeed, as the frequent wars between the Empire and the Shahdom tended to devastate Hayastan, the dream only grew. Indeed, it could be said that Hayastan was the epicenter of this great rivalry, as one of the safest and surest roads between Ctesiphon and Iustinianopolis ran directly through the northern hill country. This centuries long struggle climaxed in The Last War of Men and Elves, during which more than a dozen field battles and countless sieges were fought in old Hayastan. As the war lasted first for months, then years, then decades, all the peoples of the known world cried out in anguish at the seemingly endless violence. Of course, I don't need to tell you what happened next. The Shamsar Emerged, and Al-Shams armies swept all before them. As the Shahdom fell and the Empire retreated, all Hayastan, East and West, fell under the authority of the Khalifate. Hayastan was made into an Amirate, and the Hayareni (being mostly Helionists) were declared People of the Light. Most importantly, due to the new borders Hayastan was no longer a border region, and enjoyed two centuries of peace and stability allowing for a much needed economic recovery. Unified and connected with distant lands through the Khalifate's trade network, the Hayareni have experienced a population explosion. The population pressure, combined with the extant Hayareni propensity for long distance trade, has led many Hayareni to leave the hill country and move to other parts of the Dar-al-Shams. There is even an ongoing rebellion from a Christian Hayareni controlled de-facto state in what is still officially the Hillakid Amirate, which as any student of geography knows is most definitely not in the traditional Hayareni heartland. It remains to be seen whether or not Hayareni independence, in whatever form, will utimately be able to endure; but if their history tells us anything, its that the Hayareni will survive whatever trials Al-Shams sees fit to put them to.
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