Colbrync

The Colbrync are a highly developed rural-focused culture of halflings who mainly live in the temperate north of Hymar, between the northern Argelona desert and the eastern marshlands. The Colbrync were once many different and diverse halfling groups who had developed agricultural complexes across northern Hymar, but the Hymari Calamity (a subset of the Great Calamity) devastated these peoples. While their southern neighbors fell under cyclops boots, those in the north suffered a worse fate- being attacked, sacrificed, and even eaten by gnolls temporarily elevated from their madness by the calamity. Crops wilted, fields lay fallow, and many halflings fled from the plains, whether it be to the forests of the west, the marshes of the east, or the gnomish-held islands of the north. Only a few small states remained free from the gnolls, in the modern lands of Triunlend and Bizrun, while for a century the rest of the plains lay fallow and in turmoil.

Yet things would not be so horrible forever. Before long, the gnolls fell back into insanity and their control over the fertile plains began to waver. Halfling adventurers reclaimed small bits of land, then more, and by the second century SC the whole plains region was back under halfling control. Still, the lands were devastated, the population was low, and the people were traumatized. For several centuries, the southern regions as well as the hill country lapsed into tribalism, with hunters and gatherers taking precedence, and various cyclopes kingdoms came and went on the borders, occasionally pushing into the tribal regions but usually seeing it as worth little. Still, throughout this time, agrarian civilization was once more spreading south, and finally by 700 SC the entire region was once more settled and civilized. Through all this pain and violence, the various pre-calamity halfling groups came together into one- the Colbrync. Although they would later diverge once more into the various subcultures, the Colbrync influence suffuses every people of the northern plains.

Despite the rise of the Colbrync and the reestablishment of agriculture and of proper borders, development was uneven. The north, which had never even been conquered, was far more advanced than the tiny communes which existed in the south, having just been established in the last century. This developmental imbalance led to the northern states emerging as producers of much more refined product than in the south, and the north dominated trade, learning, and importantly, militarily. Although halflings tend to fight less than other races on a national scale, the imbalances made conquest lucrative and, often, simple. Halfling aristocrats from the north could plot wars with smaller nations which would then be easily defeated and incorporated into their personal lands. This led to a confusing mess of borders that were only rivaled by the mess in the south, where halfling guerillas defended isolated hamlets from cyclops warlords and assorted gnollish raids. Things seemed to be getting no better as the years crawled towards 1000 years since the calamity. But that was when an ambitious cyclops warlord set his sights on the north. Only a threat from outside could unite the fractious realms- and unite they did. Although much of the plains were overrun, the hill country held firm, as did the north, and eventually the warlord was defeated, the alliance victorious, and its leader crowned as King of the Colbrync realms. Not since the fall of the kingdoms of the south to cyclopes during the Calamity had their been a halfling king, though of course this was not as centralized a realm.

The Colbrync Kingdom itself would not last forever, as the various realms were slowly but surely divided into smaller and smaller pieces, upon which they were once more cannibalized. The Colbrync kingdom was declared defunct in 1426 SC, but technically persisted until 1708 SC in certain parts of the former realm as smaller states continued to swear fealty towards an empty throne to reinforce their loyalty. This collapse led to a series of smaller states, but because development had somewhat evened out, the states have, this time, become largely contiguous. Over the past 300 years, many of the Colbrync states have focused on aiding their southern pushing out gnolls and cyclopes from former lands, with states such as Calynsar, Erraldoria, Grmijesu, and finally Zikunak being liberated from the crumbling cyclopes states, freeing almost all the halflings from cyclops control.

All this history has led to the Colbrync containing four different subcultures, found in the northwest, hill country, central plains, and southeastern regions respectively. Those in the northwest, the Caeste, are naturally composed of much of the original Colbrync, as they never fell to outside invaders. Hvaing a long history of populating the rest of the Colbrync as well as a developed civilization which retains natural features and possesses a wealthy population, the Caeste are also known for having produced most of the Colbrync aristocracy, with various families taking power in the rest of the lands as the migration and mixing formed the modern Colbrync identity. They have strong ties with the gnomes as well as with the forest-dwelling Ioehque, who can be found in many of their nations, Triunlend in particular.

The hill country is mostly populated by the Morgwin. A stout, hardy Colbrync subgroup, they are the first line of defense against gnollish raids, but also are famed for their excellent wine vintages. This divide between defense and luxury has created an interesting parallel between Morgwin civilization and human cultures found elsewhere, with Morgwin being seen as the humans of halflingkind by those in the know. This of course does not detract from their halfling traits, and the hills are hollowed out for mansions just as often as they are for forts, while crops are grown at a high rate to feed their tremendous appetite. Sheep are the main livestock managed by the Morgwin, with the hilly land being ideal for their rearing.

Along the inland plains between the hills and marsh, the Dendaulas are a populous group making up the plurality of the Colbrync population. They are the agricultural heartland of the Colbrync, and produce the vast majority of foodstuffs such as grains, which make up the heart of the halfling diet. Much of the Dendaulas lands are made up of farms interspersed by small woodlands and dells, with ranches and rangeland making up the outskirts.

Finally, in the south and along the coast, the Meallai are situated on the borderlands between the southern and northern halfling groups. The last regions to be redeveloped into agricultural land, there remain large regions of sparse settlement here, even accounting for the high halfling birth rates. This is because the Meallai have grown into the niche between cyclopes and halfling-controlled territory, and being on the border had less ability to establish stable settlements and grow a strong population base. With the liberation of the southern realms in the past few centuries this has begun to change, but the Meallai remain much more scattered and focused on herding and pastures than on year in, year out farming.