Geography and Climate of Nidor and the surrounding lands

Nidor
Nidor is located more-or-less centrally in a large continent with many names. Some believe it to be located on a world called Toril, others say it is on a world called Arda, and others still place it on worlds with even stranger names. The Hylar have divided Nidor into two provinces, called simply North Nidor and South Nidor, respectively. North Nidor is roughly 100 miles east to west and 70 miles north to south; South Nidor is roughly half that size, about 70 miles east to west and about 50 miles north to south. The border between the two provinces is the Nidor River, which flows northeast to the Gentourin River, which flows south to the ocean some hundreds of miles to the south.

The climate of Nidor most closely approximates that of the U.S. state of Missouri, with wet, humid summers and freezing cold winters, although the winters are not as brutal as the winters in lands farther to the north (I don't think there are any comparable Old World climates, since regions of comparable latitude are either more maritime and more mild or else are blocked from the ocean by mountains making them considerably drier). Precipitation is distributed roughly evenly through the year, slightly more in winter than in summer; of course, winter precipitation falls as snow, and summer precipitation falls as rain. Although the winters can be harsh, it is very predictable: spring frosts are an anomaly, and the snows never come before a properly planned harvest. If anything, it is the winters themselves that can sometimes be unpredictably mild. The principal difference between the weather in Nidor and the weather in the real Missouri is that the sporadically hilly terrain tends to disrupt summer thunderstorms to the point where tornadoes aren't much of a concern.

North Nidor is largely flat, with rolling terrain, although there are some hills in the northernmost part of the province. The northern part of South Nidor is also flat, but most of the province is covered by wooded hills. Nidor generally would be forested, but two centuries of human habitation has cut down most of the trees. Hylarin agriculture, like that of most elves, depends heavily on trees, but six years is not enough for the forests to have really returned yet.

At the moment, the most populous race in Nidor is without question the Hylar, who drove other peoples off their land where necessary in order to make space for themselves. Some of the population of Nidor before the invasion, most of it consisting of halflings, remains, particularly in western Nidor near the border, and along the Nidor and Gentourin rivers. The Citadel of Books is located on bluffs about eight miles northwest of the confluence of the Nidor and Gentourin rivers, where the halfling community of Cliffport still remains, its neighboring human settlements having been abandoned. Roughly six thousand of Nidor's hundred-thousand plus inhabitants live in or around the Citadel of Books. Laramní's fortress temple is located on the northernmost of the hills in South Nidor, set apart from the other hills, some of them higher. What is described as a tribe of intelligent bears is said to reside deeper in the hills to the south.


Damarin
Most of the area west of the Gentourin in the immediate area is under the control of the kingdom of Damarin, which Nidor had been part of before they Hylarin invasion. Like Nidor, Damarin is largely flat, although there is more hilly terrain farther away to the west, but in general, Nidor was one of Damarin's hillier provinces. The climate of Damarin is generally similar to that of Nidor, with another large river away to the west. Most of the population of Damarin is composed of humans, although other intelligent races, including halflings, goblins, and assorted other races, also live here in some numbers. Damarin covers roughly five times the area of Nidor, even with Nidor removed from it. About a million people live in Damarin in total. Its capital is the city of Anar, which houses about twenty-five thousand.


Eluchish
A large, but somewhat disorganized kingdom to the east of the Gentourin, Eluchish is a nation composed of an odd mix of humans, lizardfolk, and other races. While larger than Damarin in area, Eluchish is much hillier, and its peoples are considerably less well organized, so the exact lay of its land is more uncertain. What is certain is that the capital and largest city is Partash, a community of nearly fifty thousand on the Gentourin and within sight of the spire of the Citadel of Books. Eastern Eluchish is also colder and drier than the lowlands, as it tends toward the Lethdam Mountains.


Lethdam
Lethdam is a rugged but not particularly tall mountain range in western Eluchish. Like Nidor is to Damarin, Lethdam is officially claimed by the king of Eluchish, but in reality the dwarven clan that lives under the mountains maintains control over it and permits people to inhabit in the mountain valleys only when they desire. The Lethdam mountains are high enough that the winter is noticeably longer and snows can last even into summer, but it is a rare year that snows that fall in winter still remain when the next winter's snows come. There are tribes (mostly human) who live in the Lethdam mountains from whom Eluchish extracts occasional tribute in the form of warriors or mercenaries, but the dwarves manage to maintain their independence.

Magic and Paths

Different nations, religions, and magical traditions practice what are called "paths" of magic. Paths are in many ways analogous to schools, but unlike schools, paths deal with particular forces in the magical and real universe, rather than different ways of manifesting those forces. There are eight paths in total, one for each of the four classical elements, and an additional four for cosmic players guiding the material universe. Almost every nation has access to more than one of these paths, but a very few practice all of them to a large degree, and most lack at least some paths altogether.

(Note: if the paths look awfully similar to Dominions, that is where I took the idea)

The paths of magic possessed by a nation, culture, or religion strongly affect what magic-using character classes and what options for character classes are available for aspiring mages of that tradition or set of traditions. Magical abilities (i.e. classes) fall into one of four categories, which are affected by the paths of a nation or culture in different ways:
-Thematic Magic, which is what most magical classes belong to, have magical abilities specific to their class. These class abilities are not affected by the path(s) of their religions or traditions in any way, but each also has a certain path or combination of paths that a tradition must have in order to have the class. Example classes include the Bard, Druid, Monk, and Ranger. The Paladin is a special case of this class: there is a sense in which holy magic serves as a nineth path, to which all religious traditions have access, and therefore can have paladins (assuming, of course, that their alignments are also appropriate).
-Sorcery, which signifies innate spellcasting derived from some inherited divine, magical, or elemental affinity. All sorcerers have a single path from which they cast magic, rarely two or three with more limited powers, and sorcerers do not choose their paths: they have talents they are born with which they choose or choose not to develop (although players playing sorcerers can choose their sorcerer's paths, just as they also choose their characters' race and sex). It should be noted that all sorcerers, regardless of their path, can still learn a handful of Astral metamagic spells such as Detect Magic and Dispel Magic. The only class in the PHB to use this type of magic is the Sorcerer itself, although a number of monsters (e.g. Dragons) are powerful sorcerers as well.
-Clericry, which signifies divine spellcasting learned in relation to magical domains. Both Clerics and Elven Priestesses practice clericry. All of the domains that a cleric can choose from are associated with one or more of the paths, and clerics cannot choose domains unrelated to the paths of their religions. Moreover, some traditions have multiple paths, but which are not associated with each-other; if this is the case, then clerics of those traditions cannot mix domains of the non-associated paths. Once a cleric has chosen her domains, however, paths are irrelevant, unless she decides to take another class.
-Wizardry, which consists of the academic study of magic. Wizards do not have paths; instead they have schools, and the overwhelming majority of wizards belong to one of the schools. Each school is in turn uniquely associated with one of the paths, but once a wizard is a wizard, they do not care about what spells are in what path, only what spells are in what school. Wizards cannot specialize in a school that their tradition does not feature the corresponding path for, but they are not forbidden from learning spells of other schools. All specialist wizards must of course forswear at least two of the schools (one for diviners), but the schools that a wizard forswears do not need to correspond to paths at all. Nonetheless, the spells that a wizard's college has in its library are going to heavily favor the schools that the students of the college specialize in!


Paths and Sorcery
Fire - Fire magic includes all spells that create or manipulate do with fire, heat, or light, as well as a number of spells that increase attack capabilities through nonelemental means (such as True Strike or Bull's Strength). A few emotion-type spells, particularly those that invoke anger or aggression, are also fire spells. Acid magic is both fire and water, so a sorcerer with either can use it.
Air - Air magic includes anything and everything having to do with wind, clouds or mist, and electricity, as well as virtually all illusions, and spells that enhance clarity of the senses (but not extrasensory perception); thus spells like True Strike belong to Air as well as to fire.
Water - Water magic includes spells that create or alter water, ice, cold that isn't necessarily water or ice, or mist. Water magic also can enhance the agility of individual targets, so spells such as Cat's Grace and Haste are also water spells. Acid magic is both fire and water, so a sorcerer with either can use it.
Earth - Earth magic includes spells that affect, invoke, or alter dirt, stone, mud (although water magic also affects mud), as well as metal. Much of defensive magic belongs to earth, including toughness-enhancing spells such as Bear's Endurance.
Astral - Astral magic is arguably the purest of all magic, but also includes a hodge-podge of various magical effects. Astral magic can invoke light, a lot of mental magic (particularly compulsions), any kind of metamagic, and almost any kind of dimensional travel (at least, that which does not involve either the Elemental or Lower Planes).
Death - The Path of Death (literally, what 'necromancy' translates to) includes prettymuch what it says, but also includes spells that invoke darkness, as well as spells that destroy things without invoking other powers to do so, such as Disintigrate.
Nature - Nature magic includes all spells that have power over plants or animals, spells that invoke or manipulate biological substances such as wood, or spells that affect, especially in a positive way, the physiology of living beings (thus, all of the ability-enhancing spells, mental and physical, can be learned through this path). Charms are also nature magic, but compulsions are not.
Blood - Blood magic is a little bit different from the other seven paths. In order to cast blood magic, the sorcerer must sacrifice blood, but the spells that can be cast are a spell level higher than what they are for other paths. Generally, this means a loss of wound points equal to three times the spell's (new) spell level, or alternatively the taking of the life of a one-hit die creature for every two spell levels. Blood magic involves nearly all magic that has the (evil) descriptor, including magic that deals with the Lower Planes, summoning, banishing, and calling on infernal powers from those planes, as well as some ability-enhancing spells (particularly strength-enhancing). Blood magic can also summon hellfire.

There are no official alignment restrictions for sorcerers of particular paths, but some (particularly blood) are difficult for persons of some alignments to use conscionably.


Paths and Clericry
Fire - Chaos*, Fire, Destruction, Sun, War
Air - Air, Law*, Travel, Trickery
Water - Chaos*, Protection, Water
Earth - Earth, Law*, Protection, Strength, War
Astral - Good*†, Knowledge, Luck, Magic, Sun, Travel
Death - Death, Evil*, Destruction
Nature - Animal, Good*†, Healing, Plant, Strength
Blood - Evil*, Magic, Strength

*Needs requisite alignment as well as requisite paths.
†A tradition that has access to the Evil domain paths loses access to the Good domain.


Paths and Wizardry
Fire - Evocation
Air - Illusion
Water - Abjuration
Earth - Transmutation
Astral - Divination
Death - Necromancy
Nature - Enchantment
Blood - Conjuration

It should be repeated that while traditions that do not have access to a path cannot have wizards of the corresponding school, the individual spells that wizards can learn are not restricted to the schools corresponding to the tradition's paths beyond the existing requirements imposed by specializing in a school in the first place.

It should also be noted that wizards don't care about paths once their schools are taken. For example, for both sorcerers and clerics, Cone of Cold is a water spell. For wizards, it is an evocation spell, which means that the path that it is most closely associated with is fire, not water, because fire is the path associated with evocation. Priests of magical traditions that have access to the path of fire but not the path of water will not be able to cast Cone of Cold, but that same tradition will also have evokers who will be quite capable of casting that very spell.


Paths of Nations in the Nidor Region:

Hylar - the Hylar are reliant upon Air, Astral, and Nature, and to a lesser extent Water. Hylarin traditions, particularly associated with Nature, can also be associated with Fire and Earth as well, but Fire and Earth are very rarely found together with Astral.

Damarin - Damarese magical traditions use Fire, Air, Earth, and some Astral. Historically, long ago, they have legends of Blood also being a part of their repertoire, but they have not used the Path of Blood in living human memory.

Eluchish - The priests and wizards of Eluchish are less well-organized than those of Damarin and so have less codified traditions and are less unified. Among their sects and colleges through, the paths most favored have been Water, Astral, Nature, and Blood.

Lethdam - It isn't well-known what magic the dwarves in Lethdam have, but it's pretty common for dwarves to be very heavy on Earth, somewhat weaker on Fire, and usually having some combination of Air, Astral, or Nature, as well, in small amounts.

The Enemy - The Great Enemy who drove the Hylar from their previous city, prompting them to invade and conquer the Land of Nidor, used many paths, but predominantly Fire, Air, Astral, Death, and Blood.

[This message has been edited by Beren V (edited 08-06-2010 @ 09:44 PM).]

Hylarin history leading up to the invasion of Nidor

Time: Time in this account is measured in the Calendar of the Kingdom of the North, abbreviated KN, which is measured in years after (and before, for negative numbers) the the founding of the City of the North and the Dynasty of Telenar. It is considered to have ended in 1283 with the death of King Terin, athough the reckoning of the Citadel of Books starts a few days beforehand.



-11 KN: The Hylarin capital is destroyed by the Dragon of Vaelati's Prophecy. The two surviving daughters of the Prince and Princess of heroes (themselves slain by the Dragon's Mate) in desperation summon an Angel as spoken of in Vaelati's prophecy from their mother's memory, but the Angel is only able to seal the Dragon. The Dragon's minions slay both princesses, leaving the only surviving members of the imperial family under twenty years of age. An attempt is made to hunt them down by the Order of the Worm.

-5 KN: A rebel general against Order of the Worm manages to locate five of the royal grandchildren, and smuggles them and about a thousand Hylarin families out of their former lands, protected by the last thousand soldiers or so of the once great Hylarin Imperial Legion. Whatever Hylar managed to survive or flee in other directions, all of the other imperial children are accounted for: the Line of Maialiwen lives only with these refugees.

0 KN: The refugees, after five years of wandering, find a relatively uninhabited land. Despite his youth, the youngest of the five children suddenly displays immense gifts from the gods, and the Telenar to chosen the first new king of their new age. Telenar names their new land the Kingdom of the North.

321 KN: Hylarin explorers follow the Gentourin River to the ocean for the first time, passing through what will later become Nidor on the way.

1127 KN: Terin, the last king of the Kingdom of the North, born.

1140 KN: Hylarin adventurers in the ancestral lands of the Hylar recover a tablet of enigmatic origin under the mountains north of their long-ruined capital.

1149 KN: Scholars identify the tablet as containing a curse inscribed by the legendary Dark Prince of ages ago and transcribed by his apprentice Vaelati which speaks of the reawakening of the Dragon and its subsequent destruction at the hands of the Angel. The university of the City of the North initiates a research program designed to provide magic and relief to escape the Dragon and its curse, while the temple embarks on the creation of a new order of warrior priestesses to bring about the next phase in the Prophecy's completion and defeat of the ultimate evil.

1190 KN: Terin marries his childhood friend, a member of the new order of warrior priestesses, named Maelisi.

1191 KN: Terin's mother, Queen Ilensë, is slain by a Dragon, thought to be one of the children of the now-sealed Dragon of long ago. Her husband, King Maradin, leaves the kingdom to "seek out the truth of the Dragon's Children".

1194 KN: After numerous attempts to determine King Maradin's whereabouts, it is determined that he is not coming back. The young Prince Terin is crowned king.

1201 KN: Prince Almanin, son of Terin and Maelisi, born.

1224 KN: An emissary of the Order of the Worm appears in a land neighboring the Kingdom of the North, prophesying the return of the Dragon and the gifts of boundless wealth and power to those who will join alliance with it. The emissary also mentions a "curse of the word" that will be placed upon all who touch it, and their lands will be overrun by the what he called the "Devil of That Which Shall Come". Alarmed, Terin orders the emissary assassinated. Refusing to be caught blind, scouts with magical communication are sent far and wide to learn the strength, influence, and power of the Order of the Worm, as well as suitable places to acquire resources or refuge, if it comes to that.

1225 KN: Princess Laramní is born.

1230 KN: After five years of searching, Terin's scouts have come back all but empty-handed. The Order of the Worm has been largely defeated and its power overthrown by a guild of adventurers claiming to have been founded centuries ago, indeed by one of Maialiwen's line. There are still a few monastaries away in the northeast part of the world, but they have no armies and no apparent strength with which to assail the Kingdom of the North. Terin relaxes, but Maelisi does not, remembering that Vaelati's prophecy also calls for a Devil.

1253 KN: A warlord named Dakan conquers the land immediately to the west of the Kingdom of the North, with abundant help from Orcish tribal allies. Terin steps up military defenses along the border and watches, trying to learn Dakan's intentions.

1255 KN: There is an attempt to steal the tablet recovered in 1140 from the temple vaults in the City of the North. Investigation quickly uncovers that the attack originated from Dakan's agents. Maelisi removes the tablet and takes it to what she hopes to be a secure location, together with her priestesses. Realizing that Dakan is not only hostile but obviously knows something about the tablet that he shouldn't, Terin prepares for war.

1256 KN: Terin marches on Dakan's capital with over thirty thousand troops. Thirty days of brutal fighting ensues in the heat of summer, but Dakan's armies are beaten back into their strongholds in the mountains. Terin regroups in the more temperate lowlands and sends scouts to ascertain the strength of the fortifications.

1257 KN: Terin chooses and besieges one of Dakan's fortresses. Despite scouting reports, Dakan himself turns out not to be in the fortress. Dakan counterattacks out of the other fortress the as winter approaches, and Terin retreats across the border.

1259 KN: After two years of cat-and-mouse border skirmishes, Terin succeeds in returning to Dakan's conquered realm and besieges Dakan's other fortress. Scryers determine that a major ritual is being performed in the fortress, and Terin and Maelisi personally lead a desperate commando operation to stop the ritual before it is too late. The infiltration makes it into Dakan's fortress, kills Dakan, and destroys both a magical laboratory and a temple to unknown dark gods, but the ritual was apparently completed before the commandos could stop it. Exactly what the ritual did, however, is unclear.

1260 KN: A rebellion in Dakan's former kingdom besieges the remaining fortress and throws out the Orcish mercenaries and allies. Terin's army returns home, but peace does not resume as normal: orc incursions occur sporadically over the next few years, although the army is able to hold them off.

1262 KN: Maelisi has a dreadful dream about the tablet that she removed to a safer place, and organizes an escort to go and check on it. After she does not return for two weeks, Almanin goes to check on his mother. He determines that Maelisi and her escort never arrived at the secret vault, but that somehow, the tablet had been removed without the sentries having any knowledge of it. Terin orders a kingdomwide search and sends out spies in all directions, but the search is fruitless: no trace of the Queen, nor her tablet, can be found anywhere.

1263 KN: In the spring, Laramní joins the order of warrior priestesses and begins her training, to replace her mother. Her initial evaluation identifies her as a gifted student, if possible even moreso than most of her ancestors among the royal family or her mother.

1264 KN: In the heart of winter, after years of skirmishing, a major orcish invasion commences over the mountains from the tundra immediately to the north. Three years of brutal fighting ensue, severely pressing Terin's military strength to its limits.

1267 KN: Terin's army succeeds in beating the orcs back to the tundra, but in that winter the orcs redouble their assault. With them this time are mysterious cultists, who strengthen the orcs' resolve and their muscles with dark magics. Terin orders a full mobilization of all citizens, religious, military, or civilian, to combat the newly visible threat. The temple priestesses and mages manage to establish a magical communion which brings winter weather so foul that even the orcs must care for their provisions, and the Hylarin armies and civilians retreat to their towns and fortresses.

1268 KN: The communions of the mages call forth such storms in the summer that the cultists and their orcish underlings are beaten back, but they remain just beyond the mountains. In her first battle, Laramní distinguishes herself on the field by her talent, bravery, and intuition as a member of the priestly communion.

1269 KN: The orcs fortify their position in the mountains. Two years of relatively uneasy peace follow.

1271 KN: Scouts and diviners report that the cultists leading the orcs are summoning demons. Laramní takes part in a small infiltration force of priestesses and commandos to disrupt one of the rituals, while Almanin launches a cavalry raid as a distraction. Both missions succeed flawlessly, and about a dozen of the cultists' best ritualists are killed, crippling the cult, but a number of demons have already been summoned. The summoned demons assume the role of leadership henceforth.

1272 KN: The demons resume summoning more of their own, but soon run out of fresh blood to fuel the summons. The orcs begin making raids on Hylarin villages. Several more commando operations ensue, but the demons are soon out of resources. Terin besieges the orcish forts, but after three months of bloody stalemate, he decides to wait out the enemy. Meanwhile, at the temple's (particularly his daughter's) instigation, Terin orders his scouts in the nations in the field to begin searching for a suitable place to send noncombatants in a hurry, and orders the mages to research spells to facilitate it, if it comes to that.

1274 KN: Another army, this one of undead, surge over the mountains to the south. The priestesses redouble their efforts to combat the new threat, and as they do so, the demons and their orcish armies break out of their steadfasts in the north. Terin's armies fight the orcs, but a human army begins to emerge out of the west, trampling over Dakan's defeated kingdom. The new kingdom that overthrew Dakan is able to hold off the invaders for now, but scouts report that the army is flying banners emblazoned with one of Vaelati's emblems over a depiction of a sleeping dragon, and the Hylar realize that this army is coming for them. For the time being, the kingdom that overthrew Dakan is able to hold off the invaders, Terin is able to hold off the orcs in the north, and the temple holds off the undead in the south, but it is clear that this won't be the case for long.

1278 KN: The war of attrition is beginning to take its toll on both the Hylar and their human and dwarven allies. Refugees from the west are already heading for Hylarin cities. It is clear that they will fall in a year or two, and then the Kingdom of the North will be slowly beaten back. In that same year, the mages make a significant breakthrough in exploring the ruined Twin Cities of the Dead in deserts far away to the southwest, recovering keys to several spells that will save the Hylar in the years to come.

1279 KN: The Kingdom of the North's allies fall, and the Awakeners, as they call themselves, march into the Kingdom of the North. Terin is able to make them pay for every inch of ground they take, but ultimately is sacrificing ground for land. There is a temporary lull in the bloodshed during the winter, but the following spring, the first of the cities of the Kingdom of the North are besieged. Those with skill in stealth try to get as many of the inhabitants out as they can before the cities fall.

1280 KN: The City of the North, the capital of Terin's kingdom, is besieged. The priestesses are able to induce gardens on rooftops to grow enough food for the city's inhabitants and many, many refugees to eat, for the time being. Every able-bodied citizen is pressed into military service. Rituals are cast to create wall-building machines to repair the city's defenses and keep up with the onagers and bombards. For the moment, the city is able to stand. Meanwhile, Laramní organizes an expedition to return in stealth to the Twin Cities of the Dead, believing that she can coopt one of the principles of their forgotten magic into something more wholesome. Almanin goes with her.

1282 KN: While the gardens continue to provide ample fruit, meat and grain are beginning to run low, as are reserves of stone. The continually increasing press of men, demons, orcs, and the walking dead are pushing the machines to their limits, and it is obvious that it is only a question of time before this last city falls. Scout reports meanwhile have identified several regions as possible refuges, if only a way were available to get there. In the same year, Laramní and Almanin unlock the secrets they need. The mages and priestesses feverishly slave through the winter to perfect three spells, and to summon up the power needed to perform the rituals: first, a spell to transport a small number of mage-commandos (namely, the warrior priestesses themselves) over great distances in a few days, second, a way to open a gate between magical laboratories through which many thousands of people can safely pass, and finally, a spell which can conjure and consecrate a place of learning into a new fortress that specially guards the lives of those whom it protects.

January-April 1283 KN: The priestesses forge sets of special armor and weapons that can boost their power in rituals and will enable them to fight as elite commandos, as well as summon enough aid to prevent them from being overwhelmed by a small militia. Meanwhile, supplies of metal for the forges runs out. Nidor is selected as the target for the new kingdom.

May 1283 KN: In April, Laramní and seven other priestesses of her choice carry themselves and party of adventurers to Nidor, where they make a surprise attack on the local garrison and take over a small town. Laramní marries her beloved, the warrior and mage Elerim, on the night before she departs for Nidor.

June 1283 KN: The priestesses hastily build a nexus for their few spells, while the adventurers do what they can to eliminate scouts from the rest of Damarin, trying to buy as much time as possible before the Damarese army arrives. Meanwhile, in the City of the North, the first significant incursion is made into the city's defenses. They have, maybe, three months left.

July 1283 KN: Elerim casts the gating spell, and he and the elite of the elite of the Hylarin army marches through the gate, followed by as many as can be sent of the Hylarin people and their human and dwarven refugees. Simultaneously, Laramní raises the library of the small university into a great fortress thereafter known as the Citadel of Books. Meanwhile, Terin and Almanin and another contingent of soldiers watch the northern side of the gate until all possible have gone through, before Terin orders his son to go through the gate himself. The magical resources needed to cast the rituals expended, Terin has the laboratory and the university entirely destroyed while he fights to delay the invaders. With most of the soldiers gone (only about three thousand remained behind), the city falls in a matter of days, instead of months, and Terin is killed in the fighting. Here the history of the Kingdom of the North ends.

The Invasion of Nidor

Time in this account is measured in years of the Calendar of the Citadel of Books (CB), which began when Laramní consecrated the libarary that she and her prietesses had built and penned, transforming it into a mighty fortress. The New Year in CB reckoning is in July.


ca. -200 CB: The area of Nidor, having been depopulated after previous wars pestilences centuries earlier, is settled by human immigrants and put to serious agriculture for the first time in over two hundred years. The forests begin to fall.

-148 CB: Kabara, the king of the city of Anor, tours Nidor with his army, adding it to his gains elsewhere between the Damarin and Gentourin rivers. As such, the Kingdom of Damarin is founded.

-28 CB: Damarin and Eluchish, both eyeing each-other's lands greedily, begin to launch offensives across the Gentourin. The first battles fought are fairly minor, but they increase in severity with time, with periodic lapses of peace and quiet as well. Nobody suspects, meanwhile, that the elven adventurers periodically milling about are the agents of a third power considering invading their lands, for they know of no such elven kingdom anywhere nearby.

August -5 CB: The Battle of Cliffport: the foothold that Eluchish had planted in secret just north of the confluence of the Gentourin and Nidor rivers is the site of a bitter battle as Damarese soldiers drive Eluchish soldiers and civilians alike to drown in the river. Over the next year, the Damarese begin settling along the western bank of the river, and Cliffport becomes what appears to be a small community destined for health populated by human masters and their halfling slaves. The halflings are relatively content, for the moment - they aren't free, but they aren't mistreated either.


18 May, -1 CB: In the night of 18 May, an octet of elven women wearing magical armor that seemed to cover their bodies like a weightless second skin arrive without warning seemingly from nowhere. They cast spells over their bodies that make their flesh as difficult to harm as mist, and which heal their wounds as fast as they can be harmed. Their skill at arms is deadly, their flashing swords lighter and faster than wind. With them appear several parties of what are apparently adventurers, which may have stayed in inns in Cliffport or maybe arrived by river. Together they assault the garrison in cliffport and slay the watch before the soldiers can even put on their armor. After this sudden attack, they seize a village and a shrine northwest of Cliffport, while their adventuring party burns or scuttles the boats by the river. Despite the carnage in the barracks, the town is left untouched.

19 May: More adventurers arrive, most of them elven and carrying weapons of amazing make. The leader of the women (later revealed to be Princess Laramní), obviously mage-priestesses of some heretofore unseen religion, begins overseeing the construction of a small shrine with an altar and start constructing a henge out of blocks of masonry from the village. Meanwhile, the adventurers begin kicking down doors in Cliffport; those who resist are beaten senseless rather than killed. One of the adventurers, a halfling, begins organizing a revolt among the halfling slaves.

20-21 May: The halfling rebellion and the adventurers' muscle manages to round up nearly all of the humans living in or around Cliffport. Laramní orders that the humans in the village be imprisoned in the town's granary, while she goes back to constructing her shrine and place of magical ritual. The adventurers leading the revolt set guards on the prisoners, but also ensure that they are given ample food and water and are not otherwise mistreated.

8 June: Although the priestesses and adventurers doubtless bought themselves some time by imprisoning the former slavemasters, it still was only a question of time before King Tjiran in Anor found out that an attack of some kind had been made on Nidor. Initially fearing it to be mounted by Eluchish, he sends out an army heading northeast, along the south side of the river, planning on a diversionary raid on Partash while sending marines to seize Cliffport. By this time, the slave revolt has spread over much of the province, and the adventurers have a fairly easy time leading the Damarese army astray from the actual cause of the attack. It is not until the end of the month that Tjiran finds out what is really going on.

14 June: The henge is completed and an initial selection of books for the library is completed, including several noteworthy magical tomes and scrolls. The priestesses begin performing the rituals that will erect the Citadel of Books. Meanwhile, skirmishing around the edges continues, and the halflings organize a militia to hold off the larger parties of the king's troups.

1 July: Tjiran assembles his army with infantry and cavalry and begins marching on the halfling slave revolt and what he assumes to be elven terrorist cultists. His progress is slowed by the pace of his infantry and their supply wagons, but he does not expect the halflings to have any reinforcements and the victory to be an easy one.

18 July, 0 CB: The ritual is completed, the library ready and more books conjured or summoned from the City of the North, and the Citadel of Books rises around the priestesses' shrine. Two thousand elite Hylarin troops under command of Prince Elerim march out of the Citadel and meet Tjiran head-on on the open road, supported by the priestesses' communion calling the very skies to bring down vengeance upon the Darmarese army. In four days, the northern half of Nidor is full of elves, as untold numbers of civilians poured out afterwards in a display of magic beyond anything in Tjiran's living memory. Meanwhile, King Nandviless of Eluchish was completing preparations for his counterattack in retaliation for the Damarese navy lobbing flaming oil all over Partash's docks. The reckoning of the Citadel of Books begins on this day.

20 July: After her displays of insight, bravery, and competence, Laramní is crowned Queen of the Hylar. Her first act as queen is to put her brother Almanin in charge of handling the setting up of the state and the military while she and her husband Elerim concentrate on making certain that the magical powers of the Citadel are ready for the carnage that is surely to come.

4 August: Tjiran assembles his full army of over twenty thousand soldiers with siege equipment and marched on this huge castle that had suddenly appeared in the northern part of Nidor. He makes haste, just in case the Elven invaders have managed to conjure yet more reinforcements by the time he arrives. Little does he realize that the Citadel itself provides all the reinforcements they need.

5 August: Nandviless musters about fifteen thousand troops and sails down the Gentourin in small groups, planning to land in southern Nidor and seize the southern half of the province, and work his way north or west from there.

6 August: Hylarin scout reports reach Laramní and Almanin. Almanin ascertains that the region north of the Nidor river is not large enough for a hundred thousand Hylarin refugees to settle, especially not with the twenty thousand former halfling slaves to contend with as well. The southern half of Nidor, south of the river, will also need to be seized.

13 August: Laramní verifies that the ritual was indeed successful, and that the power of the Citadel of Books is ready. She appears before the populace, and proclaims that each and every Hylarin citizen has their profile contained within the library, and that all who are slain in the defense of the library as long as the Citadel is not reduced or in the thrust of power in the conquest of their new land as made by the influence of the Citadel, will be made living again by the uttering of their names contained in the books. Once again, Laramní calls for all able-bodied citizens to take up the arms they carried in the Citadel of the North less than a month before, only that this time, the victorious dead will remain dead only as long as it takes to invoke the ritual of the Citadel.

14 August: Almanin and ten-thousand Hylarin troops march on Southern Nidor. That night, the local garrison in South Nidor receives word of the Eluchish invasion from across the river. Elerim and Laramní meanwhile prepare for the siege.

17 August: Elerim orders fifteen thousand civilians out of the Citadel to hide in the surrounding countryside under hedges and in what woods are available. Inside of the citadel, Laramní arrays civilian archers and spearmen (and women), and the four-hundred elite infantry and one-hundred and fifty cavalry for the battle.

18 August: Tjiran's army arrives outside of the Citadel of Books by nightfall. Nandviless arrives with the completion of his army by river. Almanin's army stops in the forest outside of the regional garrison near the river but not in view of it and still unaware of what Nandviless has done.

19 August: This was the bloodiest day in the written history of Nidor. At 5:30 a.m., Tjiran's trebuchets begin casting missiles into the Citadel of Books, but the internal complex containing the key central parts (including the magical library) is able to withstand the hits with little or no effect. Battering rams are set up to assail the front gates. At 5:50, the horn signals go out, and the bow-armed civilians descend upon Tjiran's army from the sides. As the Damarese their bows on the civilians, Laramní sounds her second call, and the longbowmen on the backs of the walls begin firing on the trebuchets, and the gates of the Citadel are opened and out march the elite infantry, then the cavalry, then the priestesses led by Laramní herself, and then another thirty thousand Hylarin civilians armed with bows, spears, long knives, and clubs.

Within minutes, Tjiran's entire army is in disarray, either out chasing the civilian archers, fleeing from the elite infantry, or firing volley after volley into the advancing civilians, all the while the Hylarin cavalry riding to and fro smiting down any force that allows itself to get too distracted. The carnage on both sides is horrific, or would be for the Hylar if not for the Books; Laramní fearlessly charges Tjiran's personal guard of five-hundred with her priestesses and several thousand civilians, of which barely half survive (and not including Laramní), but killing almost all of Tjiran's troops in the process. By the time Tjiran realizes he is hopelessly outnumbered, he has already lost nearly half his men, and he loses more than half of what remains while limping back to Anar. For their part, the Hylar never seem to notice the loss of their queen - and indeed, Laramní's speech rings true, when she and many thousands of her dead subjects would walk out of the library a few days later, alive, unhurt, and as if nothing had happened. As for the soldier who killed her, there is no indication that any of the Damarese recognized who the leaders of the enemies they faced were or were not on the battlefield, only that they were fearless.

As Tjiran's army retreats west, the garrison in southern Nidor is caught between Almanin and Nandviless. The Hylarin troops arrive first, and sweep over the garrison effortlessly having it outnumbered it roughly 30:1, but Almarin quickly discovers the Eluchish invasion and maneuvers to place himself between them and the garrison to prevent them from getting all of the way onto land. Nandviless still does not realize that the Hylar are a third party to the war between Damarin and Eluchish, and so his troops open fire on Almanin's army. The seasoned Hylarin troops rain flaming darts on the boats from the cliffs above the river and fight against Nandviless' army as fearlessly as his sister fights the Damarese to the north. The battle breaks out in earnest at about 10:00 a.m., and continues until about 3:00, at which point all of the Damarese garrison are dead or wounded and the Hylar and Eluchish have all but collapsed from exhaustion in the summer heat, but by now Almanin has a clear tactical advantage in position. By evening, Nandviless has ordered his men to return to the river, while Almanin's army is waiting on the river cliffs. Between the battle in southern Nidor and the siege of the Citadel of Books, approximately forty thousand are dead, although about fifteen thousand of those will not stay dead for long.

21 August: The Hylarin civilian army pursues Tjiran to the fort of Albthon, where Tjiran seeks refuge. After a day of siege (and another five-hundred dead, this time mostly Hylarin), the surviving priestesses manage to convince the civilians to return to their Citadel. Nidor is won.

22-23 August: The sages roll off the names of the fallen in the Citadel of Books, starting with Laramní, and sure enough, all of the Hylarin dead either in the north or the south are restored to life. Although resurrective magic on this scale is unusual in the Hylar, it was not unheard of, and things like it on a smaller scale had been done in the Kingdom of the North, so it is not as jaw-dropping to the Hylar who survived as it is to the former halfling slaves. Laramní also cautions her subjects that this was possible only because the Citadel was besieged and yet not reduced, and only then because there was a magical ritual that had been prepared earlier at considerable expense: the citizenry of the new Kingdom of Nidor should not assume themselves to be immortal henceforth. Nonetheless, there are a lot of human and lizardfolk corpses, and a not insignificant number of halflings who marched as slaves to the Damarese army who will not be breathing again, giving them the dignity they deserve will take some work on the part of the conquerers and their new land.

28 August: Laramní sends an envoy to both Anor and Partash, offering peace, explaining that they invaded because they had been driven from their home in the north. Most of the human population of Nidor has been rounded up and rousted from their lands, often with the halflings moving into their former homes, but the elves are now settling Nidor and parceling out the land for themselves under Almarin's administration. Tjiran sends the envoy back "out of his sight", not willing to be at peace, but also realizing that he cannot realistically fight a war with these new invaders. Nandviless is less belligerent, hinting that perhaps the new invaders, now that he recognizes them for what they are, could form an alliance against Damarin.

28 September: Laramní erects a second magical fortress, the Fortress Temple, in the new province of South Nidor. At this point, the Hylarin resources for large-scale magical rituals are largely spent, although they could still call upon what rituals they have if their enchanted fortresses should be besieged again.

26 March: The Kingdom of Nidor sends envoys again to Anor and to Partash, offering peace and trade, and continue to offer envoys through the following summer. From what Tjiran is able to glean from scouts or spies, his enemies still, have powers that he can't even dream of, and so scraps his summer invasion plans.

2 April: Laramní addresses the populace, and instructing the Hylar that while she does not forbid them from adventuring or going abroad, she asks them to avoid doing anything that would irritate their new neighbors any further, including settling in their land, or even trying to free their slaves, because she wishes to avoid further war and bloodshed.

June, 3 CB: Tjiran sends another flotilla down the Nidor river into the Gentourin and raids a town in Eluchish south of Partash. Two weeks later, emissaries from Eluchish ask to reaffirm the Hylarin position on Damarin. Almarin and Laramní, appearing to reign jointly, make it clear that they don't want to fight another war any time soon.

Prominent Figures in Nidor, Damarin, and Eluchish

Note: Arranged by name in alphabetical order. Entries for approximate age, level, and character class are in all cases based off what is commonly known (or commonly believed) about them, and may or may not reflect their real ages, classes, or levels.

Almanin
Occupation/significance: Prince of Nidor, brother of Queen Laramní
Race: Hylarin Elf
Sex: Male
Approximate character class: Paladin
Approximate level: 5
Approximate Age: 87
Almanin is the elder brother of Queen Laramní and the chief military and administrative leader in Nidor, overseeing the construction of roads, agriculture, and so forth, while his sister concentrates on the academic and religious health of the budding kingdom. Almanin has also proved himself a competent general, like his father Tiren was, and he continues to oversee the health of the military and make sure that it does not lose its edge, regardless of what the priestesses are doing.


Caran Redfoot
Occupation/significance: Leader of the revolt that freed the halfling slaves in Cliffport, now the town's mayor.
Race: Halfling
Sex: Male
Approximate character class: Rogue / Fighter
Approximate level: 5
Approximate age: 45
Caran Redfoot was one of the citizens in the land of Martonok, the kingdom immediately to the west of the Kingdom of the North. After Dakan displaced his family, he and his siblings took up adventuring, and joined the effort that King Tiran organized to find a new land for the Hylar to colonize as it became clear that he could not prevent the Kingdom of the North from falling. He was in Nidor as a spy when the decision was made to choose Nidor as the place to come, and he aided Laramní's priestesses in preventing swift retaliation from Damarin by organizing the halfling slave revolt in Cliffport. Since then, he has taken the proceeds of his adventuring career and been elected mayor by the grateful former slaves, where he oversees Cliffport and is trying to develop it into Nidor's most important trading post.

Elerim
Occupation/significance: (nominal) King of Nidor, professor at the university in the Citadel of Books
Race: Hylarin Elf
Sex: Male
Approximate character class: Wizard / Fighter
Approximate level: 7
Approximate age: 55
Elerim oversees and conducts the magical research program in the Citadel of Books, together with his wife Queen Laramní. He also oversaw and took part in special operations in warfare the last time Nidor was at war (which was during the invasion). Being Laramní's husband, Elerim is technically King, but in reality he does very little in the way of things that a king might, leaving Laramní and her brother Almanin to take care of most of the affairs of state. When Laramní goes on expeditions for religious or magical reasons, however, Elerim goes with her.

Laramní
Occupation/significance: Queen of Nidor, high priestess of the Maidens of the Sword
Race: Hylarin Elf
Sex: Female
Approximate character class: Elven Priestess
Approximate level: 9
Approximate Age: 54
Laramní is the high priestess of the Hylarin pantheon (which consists of slightly altered conceptions of the Valar), and the Queen of Nidor. She is the woman who provided the critical research for and subsequently led the rituals that created the Citadel of Books and the Temple Fortress. Although she is queen, Laramní spends most of her time performing religious services or magical investigations together with her husband Elerim, and leaves most of the administration of her realm up to either her husband or her brother Almanin.


Nandviless
Occupation/significance: King of Eluchish
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Approximate character class: Fighter / Rogue
Approximate level: 5
Approximate age: 40
Although the King of Eluchish, Nandviless maintains a weaker hold over most of his kingdom than Tjiran or Laramní. Not infrequently, Nandviless must tour portions of his kingdom to remind the scattered and disparate inhabitants that he is still their king and to collect tax, and on occasion he has to fight for them. Still, he has not been able to subdue the dwarves in Lethdam. Having not been so openly attacked by the Hylarin invasion, Nandviless is more willing to accept the idea of trade with Nidor, but he is concerned that the Hylar may be trading with his enemies in Damarin as well.


Nari
Occupation/significance: King of Lethdam
Race: Dwarf
Sex: Male
Approximate character class: Fighter
Approximate level: 6
Approximate age: 150?
Nari is the king of Lethdam. Almost nothing is known about him in Nidor or Damarin (and hence the stats above are just best guesses). According to Nandviless, he is a rebel and traitor, but the dwarves consider themselves independent.


Tjiran
Occupation/significance: King of Damarin
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Approximate character class: Aristocrat
Approximate level: 4
Approximate Age: 35
Tjiran is the king of Damarin after he inherited the throne from his father who died of a sudden illness when Tjiran was nineteen. Over the past some years, he has demonstrated that he shares his father's ambition and desire to expand Damarese borders, and spends most of his tax budget on the military. Tjiran worships the Sons of the Giants, but many question how much he believes in them or merely pays lip service to them. While there are scholars of magic in Damarin, they are relatively few, and historically Tjiran trusts in money and in troops more than he has magic. With the appearance of the Hylar, Tjiran has stepped up funding research on magic as well, since it is clearly what makes them so formidible.

[This message has been edited by Beren V (edited 08-07-2010 @ 06:35 PM).]

Important rituals and incantations in recent Hylarin history

Incantations and rituals are the magic that is most alien to vanila D&D players, so need a special section to explain them and what they do. All rituals and many incantations require the expenditure of what are here referred to as "resources", which include magical gemstones as well as other things usually associated with sites of elemental or other magical power or affinity. "High", "medium", or "low" should give some indication of how much they cost, with anything more expensive than "low" being probably outside of the range of what any single mage might accumulate, and "high" being things that only powerful nations or major temples could possibly accumulate (and even so, they couldn't do these very often).

Spells also have paths requirements, which are specific to the mages and their classes and generally grow with classes. If a PC mage attempts to cast rituals or incantations, they should consult with the GM what paths they might have, but path level should generally not be higher than one third of caster level without path-boosting incantations or items. For reference, Laramní without her path boosting items is Air 3, Astral 2, Nature 1, and Holy 2.

The spells in this section are grouped into categories, of which there are three: casting rituals, forging rituals, and incantations. Forging rituals produce magical items that have powers that follow them, including the ability for other rituals to transport additional adventurers in accordance with how many items they have. Incantations are the only spells that can be cast quickly enough to be effectively used in combat, but even they take longer than ordinary spells. It should also be noted that boni provided by these spells are generally in the miscellaneous category, and therefore stack with any enhancement boni provided from lesser magic.



Bastion of Protecting Knowledge
Category: Ritual
Path/Level: Air 4
Requirments: Knowledge (arcana) 11, Knowledge (religion) 6, Spellcraft 11
Resource requirement: very high
Description: This spell transforms a small library containing a set number of magical books into a great library fortress containing all of the magical knowledge and the knowledge of the people of the nation and religion. The fortress also has very thick walls and its interior is enclosed from above, making it able to easily withstand many catapult stones before failing. Like all fortresses, it is associated with a garrison of soldiers intrinsic to the fortress; these will be by default recruited from the local population, but if the local population is not big enough, the Music allows that these soldiers be created (see Name of Being, below). Additionally, the fortress protects the lives of additional garrison defending it, so that if the fortress is besieged the additional garrison can be replaced from excess population or, if needed, restored to life (see Name of Life below). Unlike other fortresses, the scholars defending library enhances the strength of the fortress in amount according to their knowledge and skill as well as their strength of arms, receiving two virtual wizard levels while inside the citadel as long as it is not reduced. Finally, the library contains books with vital information on all citizens of the nation or tradition of the caster, thereby making a number of the naming spells easy.
Use: This is the spell that created the Citadel of Books. Laramní needed the Staff of the Clouds in order to cast it. The powers of the Citadel as a fortress are what enabled the spectacular mass naming of life that occurred within days after the large battle in which the Hylar defeated the Damarese counterinvasion. The citadel's function as the site of a university enables more great magic, but it is less unusual relative to the Citadel itself. It should be noted that if the Hylarin population were to get too large, the ability to resurrect large numbers of defenders would disappear because said defenders could simply be replaced from the larger population, although irreplaceable leaders or other figures could still be resurrected.


Flashing Sword
Category: Item
Path/Level: Astral 1
Requirements: Knowledge (arcana)
Resource requirement: low
Description: These swords are ritual variants on simple magical swords; however, a closer look proves interesting. They look like +2 Longswords, but in addition to their enhancement boni they also augment the wielder's base attack bonus by 2, effectively giving a +4 to hit and a +2 to AC. Someone wielding one of these can also call to their a swordsman whose longsword is blessed with a +2 enhancement bonus once per day.
Use: Most of the priestesses had these, although some had other, somewhat more powerful Water magic-based magical swords, and one had a Fire magic-based weapon.


Flawless Breastplate
Category: Item
Path/Level: Air 2
Requirements: Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (nature) 6, Spellcraft (6)
Resource requirement: low
Description: This magical armor fits around the wearer's body like a second skin, conforming to the wearer's body shape and offering perfect movement. It weighs about as much as a heavy jacket. The protection provided by the armor is only that of a normal breastplate (armor bonus 5), but it has no armor check penalty, and no maximum dexterity bonus, making it ideal for a monk, elven priestess, or arcane spellcaster who is severely hampered by normal armor. Its protection, of course, does not stack with that of any other armor, including force armors such as Mage Armor or Bracers of Defense, and the item does not come with a helmet, leaving the wearer's head exposed (and vulnerable to called shots) unless a helmet is provided from some other armor. The armor also has no enhancement bonus of its own, although ordinary spells such as an armor-equivalent to Magic Weapon could give it one temporarily. A priestess wearing one of these suits can bless one breastplated warrior so that his armor becomes +1, and when using personal transport spells such as Sails of the Clouds she can take the warrior with her. She can switch the warrior she blesses once per day.
Use: This was one of the items that the Hylarin mages in the Kingdom of the North developed for their warrior priestesses as the war turned against them. All eight of Laramní's warrior-priestesses who led the attack on Nidor (Laramní being one of them) have one of these suits. No more were forged prior to the Invasion, they are inexpensive enough that one of them could have been made for Elerim, for example. Most of the Air-affiliated magic power the Hylar used however was reserved for the Citadel of Books.


Flesh of Mist
Category: Incantation
Path/Level Air 3
Requirements: Knowledge (arcana) 10
Resource requirment: fatigue
Description: This spell resembles the non-incantation spell Gaseous Form. The spell targets a small area about five-feet in diameter, and everybody in the area of effect has their flesh change to a mist-like consistency. Magical weapons not only cause normal damage but dispel the mist, rendering the target vulnerable to normal weapons as well.
Use: The priestesses used this when they attacked the garrison in Cliffport. This, combined with their armor, and magical swords, allowed them to easily defend themselves from what counterattacks were made against them.


Helm of Stars
Category: Item
Path/Level: Astral 3
Requirments: Knowledge (arcana) 10, Spellcraft 10
Resource requirement: medium
Description: This helm provides about the proection of an iron skullcap to the head, but it does several other things of far greater import: first, it provides empowerment in the Astral path by one level, and second, it provides an inherent +2 to Intelligence which stacks with all other boni.
Use: The Hylar only made one of these (in fact, Elerim made it), and Laramní used it to gain the Astral power necessary to erect the Temple Fortress. Although there is no reason in theory why Elerim (or, using the one she has, Laramní) could not forge more, the fact is that they have no need of more than one, and they are costly enough that another would be a needless expense.


Name of Being
Category: Ritual
Path/Level Holy 1
Requirements: Knowledge (nature) 10, Perform 8
Resource requirement: low
Description: This spell is used if the Music commands that living beings (most often people) be in a particular place at a particular time doing a particular thing, such as soldiers defending one of the magical fortresses created by other rituals (e.g. Bastion of Protective Knowledge, Tower of the Faithful, etc.). When invoked, Name of Being calls appropriate beings to the location where the Music calls for them to be. If they are able to come under their own power, they will do so. If they need to be brought in by some magical means, a lesser form of magical transport will bring them. If the beings needed by the Music simply do not exist, then the ritual creates them, altering reality such that they came into being and are available; such people thus created will have personal histories and lives, and history itself will be altered in as unobtrusive fashion as possible to accommodate them. People created this way will constitute a representative sample of the gene pools of the races to which they belong.
Use: The Hylarin priestesses used this to accelerate the transport of the Hylarin population through the gate from the City of the North to the Citadel of Books, and have not used it on a large scale since. Using some of the knowledge contained within the books, the Hylar could do a number of other things, if needed, but at the moment, it is not needed.


Name of Life
Category: Ritual
Path/Level Holy 2
Requirements: Knowledge (arcana) 8, Knowledge (religion) 8, Knowledge (nature) 8, Perform 8
Resource requirement: varies, but usually very low or very high
Description: This invocation is the proximal reason that allowed Laramní and many, many others to be restored to life. All persons have a place in the Music, which represents the fabric of destiny and reality as well as time and space. If a person dies in the physical world, but somehow in the Music that person still lives, this invocation can restore them to life and health by the rightful Music. It should be noted that if a person dies in the Music, then they cannot be resurrected, period. It is if the Music is ambiguous that spells like Raise Dead need be used. The circumstances under which life or death in the Music occurs depends on the person and are too numerous to list here, although certain magical objects or rituals (for example the Citadel of Books) can cause a disconnect between life in the Music and death in apparent reality.
Use: Maialiwen used this, and her Hylarin descendants use it still. The Name of Life, or rather the ability to call upon it, precludes the use of certain other powerful invocations, however, such as Flesh of Mist; you can either be almost invincible, but mortal, or easily killable, but immortal under the right circumstance.


Skin of Health
Category: Incantation
Path/Level Nature 1
Requirements: Knowledge (nature) 6
Resource requirment: fatigue
Description: The caster begins to heal at an incredible rate, healing 5% of his wound points (round fractions up) per round per level of Nature magic. The caster also gets a +4 bonus to fortitude saves made to survive injury due to the awesome rate of healing conveyed by this enchantment. The spell will continue healing the caster until the caster is fully healed and no longer in danger. This has no effect on vitality points.
Use: This is really a "lesser" spell, similar to Flesh of Mist, although it is cast as an incantation and as such causes fatigue and performance rather than the use of lesser spell power. The priestesses, those who possess Nature magic (which is most of them) used this when they attacked the barracks in Cliffport.


Staff of the Clouds
Category: Item
Path/Level Air 3
Requirements: Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (nature) 10
Resource requirement: medium
Description: This magical staff functions in combat as a +2 Quarterstaff. Like the Flashing Sword, the staff also grants a +2 bonus to base attack. However, its largest power is its boosting of its wielder in Air magic, giving them one more rank in the path of Air, and an inherent +2 to Charisma.
Use: Like the Helm of Stars, there is only one of these, which Laramní made to aid herself so that she could erect the Citadel of Books. It was only used the once, and has not been needed since, as Laramní prefers to carry her sword into combat instead of this staff.


Tower of the Faithful
Category: Ritual
Path/Level Astral 3, Holy 2
Requirements: Knowledge (arcana) 8, Knowledge (religion) 10
Resource requirements: high
Description: This spell transforms a temple into a mighty fortified tower of religious faith. Like all fortresses, it is associated with a garrison of soldiers intrinsic to the fortress; these will be by default recruited from the local population, but if the local population is not big enough, the Music allows that these soldiers be created (see Name of Being, above). Additionally, the fortress protects the lives of additional garrison defending it, so that if the fortress is besieged the additional garrison can be replaced from excess population or, if needed, restored to life (see Name of Life above). Unlike other fortresses, this fortress is strengthened by religious warriors defending it. Sacred warriors (ordained as such) gain one virtual level of Paladin while defending the fortress so long as it is not reduced, and divine spellcasters gain two virtual levels of priest per rank in the Holy path.
Use: Because this ritual requires both Astral and priestly magic, Laramní was needed to cast it, not Elerim, and it was for this that she needed the Helm of Stars. The Fortified Temple that it created is not as impressive as the Citadel of Books, but nonetheless it is at least as strong a fortress as many a castle, and apart from the knowledge contained within the library itself within the City of Books, The Fortified Temple has all of the same powers.


Vaelati's Prophecy
Category: Ritual
Path/Level Blood 6, Astral 5
Requirements: Knowledge (arcana) 15, Knowledge (religion) 12, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Spellcraft 10
Resource requirements: very high
Description: Not so much a spell or ritual, this terrible prophecy created symbolic elements of destiny and power that can be used to create a prophecy concerning the rise and fall of entire civilizations over vast periods of time, reaching forth, through, and allowing other forms of great magic and ritual. The symbols are physical objects that command great power and dominion in their own right when placed in temples or other sites of power. However, if you do this, and your enemy defeats these temples through questing, then they can use them against you!
Use: Probably the most powerful spell ever cast by a mortal which relates to Hylarin history, this was cast once, and only once, as a portion of the legendary Dark Prince's assent to nearly deific levels of influence. While not re-cast, it was reiterated through the Dark Prince's protogé Vaelati in the climactic confrontation with the Hero and Heroine before Vaelati, too, was sealed, with the Heroine using symbols of the Prophecy she and the Hero had liberated from temples where Vaelati had placed them to battle the symbols Vaelati had kept for his own. Thus was written into the Music itself the destiny of the Hylar:
-First, a Dragon shall appear and poise to destroy Hylarin civilization.
-But the tribe shall be saved at the last by the appearance of the Angel, which will slay the Dragon.
-Yet, the Angel shall be corrupted by the Devil, who will bring ruin.
-The species of Elvenkind shall rise from the ashes symbolized by the arrival of the Phoenix.
-In time, a Hero will come forth, and to defeat evil he must slay the Phoenix, lest all be ruined in spite of it.
-The Hero will marry the Lady, and the true power of the Phoenix will be unleashed by their love and the bounty that comes from it, as evil is finally defeated.

It is believed that the Dragon that destroyed the great civilization before the Kingdom of the North was the Dragon spoken of in the Prophecy. Why the Angel did not appear to defeat it has puzzled mages and philosophers ever since, but of the seers and students who have sought out the truth in the distant corners of the world many still claim that the Angel is still to come, and indeed, while the Dragon was sealed, it is not dead.

Economics and society of Nidor and the surrounding regions

Agriculture

Nidor
Prior to the invasion, agriculture in Nidor was similar to what it was in most of the rest of Damarin, with the exception that the hillier areas of Nidor were uncultivated and largely uninhabited. However, since the arrival of the Hylar, the land has been reassigned to a very different style of agriculture.

The most important crops of the Hylar which grow well in Nidor are of walnut, oak, apple, nightshade, blueberry, blackberry, pine, and peach, roughly in that order. The nightshade, in particular, produces both tomato-like edible fruits and potato-like tubers (tomato and potato both being nightshades themselves). The halflings continue to grow cheese and wheat. The growing of rice has long been abandoned as it grew very poorly in the Kingdom of the North, and even Nidor still really isn't warm enough. Unfortunately, most of the trees take sufficiently long to grow that they are not yet producing enough food to feed the population, so other crops are being grown in the mean time. Some Hylar, as well as most of the remaining halflings, have taken to cultivating the domesticated wheat that the Damarese farmed prior to their eviction. However, one of Laramní's many research projects (one that isn't secret) is experimenting with a native grass related to rye which may serve better than the grains that had been used beforehand. In their past lands, game was also an important food supply, but it was largely hunted out by the land's former inhabitants. Laramní has issued a ban on all hunting large game, even by royalty, until populations recover; rabbits, however, can be hunted by anyone.

Taxes on farmers and horticulturalists in Nidor typically account for between 30 and 50% of the harvest, more in good years than in bad. Most of the taxed food, especially in productive years, is stored in local granaries and storehouses to be doled out to feed the many hungry mouths in what would otherwise be lean times. About 30% of the taxed harvest is paid to the relatively large number of people who work in some capacity for the Nidorian regime. On the whole, Nidor produces roughly 60% more food per year than is needed to feed its population of roughly 140,000 assorted elves, halflings, and a handful of other races. Because of this, food is cheaper in Nidor than in any nearby land, even Damarin, which makes heavy use of halfling slave farmers. Most of the rest of this food is exported, making particular use of the Gentourin river, as Nidor has relatively few mines.


Damarin
The Damarese chiefly grow wheat, barley, and grapes. Taxes on the harvest are close to 30% levied from what free landed farmers there are, and about 70% typically from serfs who make up the majority of the kingdom's estimated one to two million people. About 15% of the population also consists of slaves, most of them halflings, who are also used to farm the land. Smugglers have realized that the Hylar grow more food than they eat and have sought to get crops out of Nidor to grow them or, better yet, copy the elves' agricultral techniques, which so far they have failed to do most immediately for political reasons. Food is cheaper in Damarin than most other goods, but it is not cheap: Many Damarese starved during the winter two years ago that the Hylar survived comfortably on their stored up reserves.

Of the taxes in Damarin, much of the food is sold in order to increase the state's monetary budget, although food is stored in granaries and used, when needed, to feed the starving populace, just not as efficiently as may be desired. Nobody is really sure what is done with a large fraction of the budget, although substantially overweight wealthy merchants, nobles, and priests, is something of a stereotype in Damarin.


Eluchish
Eluchish is a strange mix of civilized, inhabited land, wilderness, and other things in-between, and its agriculture reflects that. Dominant crops in more civilized lands are wheat, barley, and, in the southern extents, rice. The walnut that the Hylar are now planting in large quantities as their future primary crop was originally imported from Eluchish, although in Eluchish it is grown sparingly. Farther from civilized areas various forms of livestock replace farms, including sheep, cattle, and horses, which are raised for food as well as for mounts in Eluchish. There still are abundant game in large parts of Eluchish, however, although these are theoretically reserved for the nobility.

Likewise in keeping with the mixed nature of Eluchish, the level of taxation on crops is also sporadic. Rich farmlands near population centers are taxed at over 50%, although Eluchishian tax collectors prefer to collect currency instead of crops, so peasants who are able to sell their crops for copper can pay their taxes in actual money instead, which in the end costs less than paying in crops. However, local lords in Eluchish are frequently fairly tribal off of the mixed-race components of Eluchish as well, paying tributes to the crown instead of actual taxes. The threat of civil war between rival lords is almost constant in much of Eluchish, so levies of taxes, either in grain or gold, are for the most part turned into levies of soldiers.


Lethdam
Dwarves are, as usual, mysterious and secretive, although these dwarves are even more so because their secrecy is combined with their isolation. The barbarian tribes in the Lethdam mountains are ranchers and farmers of various crops, and are thought to trade with the dwarves for iron. It is not known to most non-dwarves what, if any, food the dwarves grow underground, or if there are hidden mountain vales where they, too, have farmlands.



Trade

Nidor
Ever since the invasion, Nidor has mostly relied on a barter economy. The queen's soldiers are for the most part paid in food and housing and only nominally with actual coin (they do get coin, but it would not be enough to live off of). Much of the actual money that remains in Nidor is Damarese, although Almanin is overseeing a new royal mint which is working to produce new Hylarin currency for the Kingdom of Nidor. As their new civilization and economy develops, Nidor is slowly shifting to a more moneyed economy, but the transition takes time and it has only been six years.

Despite having largely a barter-driven domestic economy, Nidorian merchants, both Hylar and the former halfling slaves are becoming known as merchants up and down the Gentourin river ferrying normally expensive foods such as dried fruit at prices comparable or even undercutting ordinary grain. Several merchant houses in Cliffport have become surprisingly rich in the short time their halfling owners have owned themselves. While they do deal in coin, Laramní taxes them for nearly 50% of their profits (the remains of which are still enough to make several halfling families very wealthy). This money is used to cover Laramní's large surveying, espionage, and magical research abroad programs that are largely secret but which Laramní and Elerim spend their time personally overseeing.


Damarin
Damarese merchants deal in many goods, having access to both the Gentourin and Damarin rivers, and despite the decadence displayed by much of the upper classes, Damarese towns are home to a growing middle class driving the kingdom from a feudal to a moneyed economy, with many of the social upheavals that often come with that. Damarin has many more mines than Nidor does, and also has contact with some exotic goods including metals but also food from the drier lands to the west. Damarese merchants prefer deal in ivory, silk, and spices, however, because these are usually the most lucrative for those merchants that can get their hands on them. They are, however, coming to eye the formerly enslaved Nidorian halfling merchants with envy in their ability to make large profits off of common and domestic goods, which contributes to some of the continuing political tension between Nidor and Damarin, as the merchants buy political influence.

Tjiran taxes his merchants at roughly 30% of their earnings in theory, but in reality the tax is much more as much of the nobility have come to expect "gifts" from the wealthy merchants. Nonetheless, the wealthy merchants are able to make large profits off of their wares, and some of this trickles into the pockets of artisans, temples, and quality soldiers and guards. Tjiran pays his soldiers in coin, whence much of the taxed (and bribed) money goes, although Tjiran has also begun to step up an expanding magical research program, which he desperately hopes will allow him to catch up, or at least not fall farther behind, the Hylar.


Eluchish
Most of Elushish, even the relatively civilized areas, still rely on a largely feudal economy. Its capital city of Partash, however, is among the most important trade cities on the Gentourin, the only one clearly surpassing it being the sprawling metropolis of Mara, at the mouth of the Gentourin. In Partash, merchants carrying all manner of wares, from saffron to silk to sorghum to slaves. The most important Eluchish exports are iron and timber, which are bought and sold in large quantities, often in exchange for food, to Nidor and other lands. While already rich Eluchish merchants are getting richer off of trade with Nidor, the political structures of Eluchish are more uncertain and unaware of the elves' intentions.

Tarrifs on goods in Eluchish are set at about 20%, low because of the Nandavess' desire to promote commerce and civilize the rest of his kingdom, ideally eventually bringing the dwarves under his sway. While Partash is a large city with many rich merchants, however, most of its population live in poverty and are hired by the merchants, or worse. Temples to many gods also have gotten rich off of the donations and tithes of merchants and the king, which has turned much of Partash into what has been described as a "city of thieves".

[This message has been edited by Beren V (edited 08-14-2010 @ 09:49 PM).]

Armies, Soldiers, Equipment, Tactics, and uses thereof, Part I - The Hylar in Nidor

Preface: This section covers the Hylar as they exist today as the dominant people in Nidor. The other peoples in Nidor (i.e. halfling former slaves), as well as the Hylar before the fall of the Kingdom of the North, will be covered in a subsequent section.

Thirty years ago, there were about five times as many Hylar living in the world than there are today. Most died in battle with the armies that ultimately brought down the Kingdom of the North. Those that survived did so in part because of their ability to fight for their lives. Most living Hylar, soldier or civilian, have some kind of combat experience, and many, especially the trained soldiers, have actually slain foes on the battlefield. As a consequence, this generation of Hylar is, as a people, more capable of combat than most any other population of the common races in the world. The Hylar also make heavy use of magic in war, although in recent times they have generally used magic of the ritual sort that is performed before (and sometimes after) a battle, instead of magic actually performed on the battlefield, although they do use both.


The Army
The army of Nidor has about ten-thousand standing soldiers, of which roughly 3/5 are infantry, 1/5 are archers, and 1/5 are cavalry; this distribution is a consequence of the way the war ended up, not by design. Of the above three categories, each has a core of elite troops, distinguished by wearing silvered armor, and numbering roughly 1/8 of their respective portions of troops. Hylarin soldiers are trained in and can employ a variety of different tactics on the battlefield, although the classic Elven style of hitting from a safe distance with accurate ranged weapons and retreating, regrouping, and striking again remains their favorite tactic when time, terrain, and circumstance allows. When time is pressing, as it was during the battles of the Invasion, the infantry are well-equipped to form phalanxes and fight like a legion in a more conventional, imperial army. All of the soldiers, even the infantry, carry bows; the only difference between the infantry and the archers in this regard is that the infantry are only capable as archers, while the actual archers excel at it.

Hylarin soldiers are organized into squads, each squad containing about a dozen men and commanded by a sergeant. Three squads make a platoon, commanded by a lieutenant; three platoons a company, with a captain; three companies a batallion, with a major; three batallions to a regiment, with a colonel; three regiments to a brigade, with a general. There are four brigades in the Hylarin army, two of infantry, one of cavalry, and one of archers (and the latter two have only two batallions each). In the past, brigades were grouped into divisions or legions, but with only one legion, it makes fairly little sense to say they are anything other than simply "the army".

Despite the recent warfare, the most common character class in the non-elite Hylarin armies is warrior, although warriors with levels above 1 are common. The elite troops, as well as the officers of both the elite and regular armies, are mostly composed of fighters (infantry), scouts or fighter/scouts (archers), or fighters or multiclass fighters (cavalry).

Sample Hylarin infantryman:
male elf, Level 2 warrior;
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 10;
Base attack bonus +2, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 19, 17 wound points, +3 Fort save (+8 or more vs. injury), 13 vitality
Masterwork longsword, masterwork longspear, 2 masterwork javelins, mighty composite (+2) shortbow, masterwork large wooden shield, masterwork breastplate
Phalanx fighting

Sample elite Hylarin infantryman:
male elf, Level 2 fighter;
Str 15, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base attack bonus +2, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 19, 20 wound points, +2 Fort save (+8 or more vs. injury), 12 vitality
Masterwork longsword, masterwork mace, masterwork longspear, 2 masterwork javelins, mighty composite (+2) longbow, masterwork large metal shield, masterwork breastplate
Phalanx fighting, Weapon Focus (longsword or longspear), Toughness

Sample Hylarin archer:
male* elf, level 2 warrior
Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10
Base attack bonus +2, base armor class 11 (with buckler), armor class 20, 15 wound points, +2 Fort save (+6 or more vs. injury), 10 vitality
Masterwork battleaxe, masterwork spear, masterwork buckler, mighty composite (+1) longbow, masterwork chain shirt
Weapon Focus (longbow)

Sample elite Hylarin archer:
male* elf, level 1 fighter / level 1 scout
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base attack bonus +1, base armor class 11 (with buckler), armor class 19 (20 with Dodge), 15 wound points, +1 Fort save (+5 or more vs. injury), 11 vitality
Masterwork longsword, mighty composite (+3) longbow, masterwork buckler, masterwork chain shirt
Weapon Focus (longbow), Dodge, Fast Movement, Skirmish +1d6

Sample Hylarin cavalryman:
male* elf, level 2 fighter
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +2, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 19, 17 wound points, +3 Fort save (+8 vs. injury), 14 vitality
Masterwork light flail, masterwork light lance, masterwork mighty composite (+2) shortbow, masterwork large shield, masterwork breastplate
Mounted Combat, Ride-by-Attack, Mounted Archery

Sample elite Hylarin cavalryman:
male* elf, level 3 fighter
Str 15, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +3, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 22, 18 wound points, +3 Fort save (+12 vs. injury), 21 vitality
Masterwork light flail, masterwork light lance, masterwork mighty composite (+3) shortbow, masterwork large shield, masterwork full-plate
Mounted Combat, Ride-by-Attack, Mounted Archery, Weapon Focus (light flail)

Sample Hylarin infantry lieutenant:
male* elf, level 4 fighter
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +4, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 24, 20 wound points, +4 Fort save (+9 vs. injury), 28 vitality
Masterwork longsword, masterwork mace, masterwork mighty composite longbow (+2), masterwork large shield, masterwork breastplate
Weapon Focus (longsword), Power Attack, Cleave, Skill Focus (knowledge: war), Weapon Specialization (longsword)

*The vast majority of soldiers in the Hylarin army are men; however, it is common (even typical) for a Hylarin soldier's wife to accompany him while he is on military campaign. Hylarin women who follow their husbands on campaign often look like militia (see below) when they start out in terms of equipment and abilities, but they are more likely to gain experience (and thus levels) faster than their purely militia counterparts. More experienced soldiers are likewise likely to have more experienced wives. In combat situations, soldiers' wives act as foragers, scouts, and sometimes skirmishers, but they avoid the battlefield in situations where armor affords better protection than stealth.

Sample Hylarin infantryman's wife (husband is a 2nd-level warrior):
female elf, level 2 rogue
Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 13
Base attack bonus +1, base armor class 10, armor class 19, wound points 9, -1 Fort save (+1 vs injury), 8 vitality
Masterwork short sword, masterwork light crossbow, masterwork leather armor, masterwork gray-green cloak (+2 to stealth - an elf wouldn't call this a magical item, but many other races would)
Lightning Reflexes, Sneak Attack 1d6, Evasion


The Militia
Even in the days of Maialiwen, before the Hylar even considered themselves a tribe, it has been customary for Hylarin citizens to be able to defend themselves, and as a consequence every able-bodied citizen, male or female, be a member of the militia. Because of the fall of the North Kingdom, the militia has seen a lot of combat, and as a consequence is fairly experienced. At present, the Hylarin militia numbers about 80,000-strong, and together with the army amounts to roughly 90% of the total population (the rest being considered too young to be expected to fight).

For stats of typical Hylarin militia members, militia members who are also adventurers, priestesses, or even simply the wives of soldiers in the regular army should be looked up in their respective sections. The militia members described below are ordinary citizens, be they farmers, artisans, or (nonmagical) scholars.

Sample male Hylarin citizen
male elf, level 1 expert / level 1 fighter
Str 13, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +1, base armor class 10, armor class 14, 16 wound points, Fort save +1 (+2 vs injury), 10 vitality
Axe, club, shortbow, padded gambison
Skill focus (profession: something civilian), Toughness

Sample female Hylarin citizen
female elf, level 1 expert / level 1 scout
Str 11, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +0, base armor class 10, armor class 17, 10 wound points, Fort save -1 (0 vs injury), 9 vitality
Spear, dagger, shortbow, padded gambison
Skill focus (knowledge: something civilian), Fast Movement, skirmish 1d6


The priesthood
Religion and magic have been a large part of warfare for the Hylar again since the beginning of Hylarin civilization and probably before, likely predating even Maialiwen. The most powerful weapon the Hylar have ever used against an enemy is their Theme in the Music, which realizes their mythology of great heroes, civilizations rising out of ruin, and poetic justice of even evil deities bringing about their own downfall. The people in Hylarin society who spread this religious Dominion and Music are the priestesses*.

*Note: Most Hylarin mages are women and are divine spellcasters, so colloquially it is common to refer to the entire clergy as "priestesses", despite the fact that some of the orders of mages are about half men. For this reason, orders that have men among them (see below) are marked with an asterisk (*).

Clergy among the Hylar belong to several orders, who have different tenants and traditions, although many members of the priesthood have at least honorarily been accepted into more than one order. In general, the priestesses do several things that are of military value, these being...
(1) lead research expeditions to both local and far away locales, probing ancient secrets and long-lost knowledge and resources that strengthen their command over both ritual and battlefield incantations;
(2) perform magical rituals that forge powerful magical items, or cast other spells that provide the Hylarin war machine with decisive advantages;
(3) cast spells or incantations in battle to improve themselves and/or those around them as warriors;
(4) consecrate temples and shrines that represent Hylarin mythology and propogate the Themes in the Music that leads to proximal or ultimate victory for the Hylar.

The orders of priesthood of the Hylar are:
-The Maidens of the Sword, the youngest order and currently the most important order as this is the order to which Queen Laramní belongs. These are warrior-priestesses specifically trained to be good swordswomen as well as priestesses. In practice, the Ladies of the Virtues aren't a whole lot different from the Maidens of the Sword (although the Ladies usually prefer bows over swords).
-The Ladies of the Virtues, historically the most important order and the most important order in mythology; the Legendary Heroine was one of these priestesses. These women attempt to exemplify the three Virtues of the Three Valier with whom the Hylar have their New Elven Covenant. However, as bravery is one of the Virtues, the Ladies need not be that different from the Maidens.
-The Priests of the Three*, possibly the oldest of the orders exclusive to the Hylar, they represent the tradition descended from original worshipers of the Three Valier. Today, they are grouped together as one category, but there are actually three orders: one for Varda, one for Yavanna, and one for Estë.
-The Druids*, also older than the Hylar as a tribe and also contender for the oldest of the orders, the Druids are the Hylarin branch of more global Druidic order. Hylarin Druids at first glance resemble Druids anywhere (or at least good-aligned Druids); the only thing that separates them from other branches of the Druids is their kinship and willingness to impart honorary Druidhood to non-Druidic spellcasters, if they are worthy. Given the fact that the Druidic secret language still hasn't been leaked and isn't generally known is an indication that all their choices have indeed been worthy...
-The Followers of the Lords*, another sect that predates the Hylar, these are the worshipers of the husbands of the Three, Manwë, Aulë, and Irmo. Their worship is as old as that of the Valier, and arguably belong to the same religion. It should be noted that worship of other deities (or rather, other names of deities) have crept in here. For example, the Hylar believe that the frequently worshiped Elven deity Correlon Larethean and Manwë are different names or different aspects of the same god, despite that Correlon is normally worshiped as chaotic good and Manwë is normally worshiped as lawful good.
-The Maidens of the Shield, an order founded under the reign of the Queen Mother of the Heroine, these are warriors charged with protecting other priestesses in battle and being their arms of might (or, for otherwise martially capable priestesses, being their sisters in arms). Unlike the other orders, the Maidens of the Shield are not primarily spellcasters: they are sacred warriors with sacred blessings that give them holy powers, but they are warriors, not mages.
-The Wizards*, not actually priests at all, these represent the arcane arm of Hylarin magical might, although they often work with priestesses in research, magical rituals, incantations, and, very rarely, creating Theme-propagating constructs (they aren't as good at this as actual priestesses, but there are still a few things they can do). The Wizards are themselves divided into six schools, which correspond to all of the traditional schools of wizardry except for Necromancy (it being associated with the Path of Death, which Hylarin magical tradition does not have), and Conjuration (ditto, but Path of Blood).
-Husbands*, not a priestly order or a magical order per se (although they can be members of such), although recognized as a crucial element of Hylarin religion. It is not actually required by religious law, but it is highly desired that any priestess have one (even those who belong to orders with the word "maiden" in the title). They are exactly what their name implies: the husbands of the priestesses. These men are usually adventurers, sometimes soldiers, occasionally priests of other orders that allow male priests, and should be looked up in their respective sections for soldiers, adventurers, etc. Of course, male priests also are desired to have wives - who should usually be priestesses themselves.

Sample Maiden of the Sword
female elf, level 4 elven priestess
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 15
Base attack bonus +3, base armor class 10, armor class 28 (29 with Dodge), 12 wound points, Fort save 0, 20 vitality
+1 Longsword, masterwork longbow
Two domains (pick), Aimed Attack, Dodge

Sample Lady of the Virtues
female elf, level 4 elven priestess
Str 11, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 14
Base attack bonus +3, base armor class 10, armor class 28, 10 wound points, Fort save 0, 20 vitality
Masterwork rapier, masterwork mein gauche, +1 Longbow
Two domains (pick), Aimed Attack, Weapon Finesse

Sample Priestess of Varda (one of the Three)
female elf, level 4 cleric
Str 11, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 16
Base attack bonus +3, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 22 (23 with Dodge), 15 wound points, Fort Save +4 (+10 vs injury), 24 vitality
Masterwork longsword, masterwork longbow, masterwork large shield, +1 Breastplate)
Good domain, Sun domain, Spell Focus: Evocation, Dodge

Sample Druid
male elf, level 4 druid
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +3, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 23, 19 wound points, Fort save +5 (+8 vs injury), 28 vitality
Masterwork quarterstaff, mighty (+2) composite longbow, masterwork large wood shield, masterwork hide armor
Wild Shape 1/day, Spell Focus: Conjuration, Augment Summoned, Puma animal companion (see 'Leo' in the Giant Trilogy)

Sample Follower of Manwë (one of the Lords)
male elf, level 4 cleric
Str 13, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 15
Base attack bonus +3, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 21, 17 wound points, Fort Save +4 (+9 vs injury), 24 vitality
Masterwork longsword, +1 Mighty Composite (+1) Longbow, masterwork large shield, masterwork breastplate
Air domain, Law domain, Spell Focus: Abjuration, Weapon Focus (longbow)

Sample Maiden of the Shield
female elf, level 4 paladin
Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base attack bonus +4, base armor class 13 (with shield), armor class 27, 21 wound points, Fort Save +7 (+12 vs injury), 28 vitality
Masterwork longsword, mighty (+2) composite longbow, +1 Heavy Steel Shield, masterwork breastplate
Lay on Hands, Divine Grace, Smite Evil, special mount, Power Attack, Extra Turning

Sample Wizard
male elf, level 4 enchanter
Str 11, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 14
Base attack bonus +2, base armor class 11, armor class 19, 11 wound points, Fort save 0, 12 vitality
Masterwork longsword, masterwork light crossbow, +1 Ring of Deflection
Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (enchantment), Brew Potion

Note: All of the sample characters here are fairly experienced. Hylarin mages usually are higher level than soldiers in the army, but for the most part are lower-level than high-ranking military officers. Laramní herself is exceptional in being possibly the highest-level person in the kingdom, but this is in part an accident, with her being a priestess, former commando, and general, all in one.

Adventurers
Adventurers are, without question, the group of people who have seen more military action than any other group since the battles of the Invasion ended, at least from the standpoint of the Kingdom of Nidor. At this time, about 60% of the kingdom's monetary budget goes to hiring adventurers (the mages get another 30% and the army gets the rest). Laramní hires hundreds, perhaps thousands, of adventurers as bodyguards, navigators, or local experts for magical research or prospecting expeditions for the priestesses, and as scouts, spies, surveyers, the bodyguards of the aforementioned, and as commandos for her army. While many of these adventurers are elven, a majority are picked from other local races as being easier to fit in when inserted into foreign lands, less obviously agents of Nidor. Using one of the favorite, but not ubiquitous to the Hylar, divination spells, Imaginary Reality, Laramní personally screens many if not most of her adventurers to ensure their competence and character before confirming their hire. Of course, many adventurers have reasons other than mere coin for doing Nidor's bidding, such as being married to someone whose duty is to serve (such as a priestess), or who is being paid (another adventurer), and wishing to accompany one's spouse.

Sample priestess' husband
male elf, level 3 ranger
Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +3, base armor class 12 (with shield), armor class 24, 16 wound points, Fort save +3 (+7 vs injury), 18 vitality
Masterwork longsword, masterwork large shield, mighty (+1) composite longbow, masterwork chain shirt
Favored Enemy: Orc (from the North), Track, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Endurance, Weapon Focus (longbow)

Sample scout
female elf, level 2 scout
Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 12
Base attack bonus +1, base armor class 10, armor class 20, 10 wound points, Fort save 0 (+2 vs injury), 12 vitality
Masterwork spear, masterwork shortbow, masterwork leather armor, masterwork gray-green cloak (+2 to stealth)
Fast Movement, Skirmish 1d6, Skill Focus (senses)

Sample spy
female human, level 2 rogue
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base attack bonus +1, base armor class 10, armor class 18, 9 wound points, Fort save +1, 8 vitality
Dagger (poisoned)
Sneak attack 1d6, Evasion, Skill Focus (gather information), Skill Focus (sense motive)

Sample surveyer
male dwarf, level 2 scout
Str 13, Dex 11, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 9
Base attack bonus +1, base armor class 10, armor class 17, 15 wound points, Fort save +2, 12 vitality
Hatchet, masterwork light crossbow
Fast Movement, Skirmish 1d6, Skill Focus (knowledge: geography)

Sample bodyguard
male human, level 2 barbarian
Str 15 (19 while raging), Dex 13, Con 14 (18 while raging), Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 8
Base attack bonus +2, base armor class 10 (8 while raging), armor class 17 (15 while raging), 22 wound points (26 while raging), Fort save +7 (+9 while raging, +10 vs injury, +12 vs injury while raging), 16 vitality (20 while raging)
Greatsword, longbow, studded leather armor
Fast Movement, Rage 1/day, Great Fortitude, Power Attack


Military Tactics and Strategy
Nidor has, for all intents and purposes, been at peace since September of 0 C.B. A large garrison is maintained at the Citadel of Books, a smaller garrison at the Fortress Temple, and smaller garrisons still are housed at a handful of forts have been erected along the border with Damarin. Apart from building schools and mandating that every halfling child in Cliffport be instructed in reading, writing, and basic arithmetic (plus collecting taxes), the Hylar and their regime largely leave the halflings to themselves. Nonetheless, every village holds weekly militia drills, and a rolling system of Imaginary Reality spells is used to train and simulate a variety of potential military situations, from a renewed invasion from Damarin to the Enemy that drove the Hylar from the north finding them here in Nidor.

Nidor has two proven and capable military leaders, Queen Laramní and her brother Almanin, but they excel in very different ways. Almanin leads by his intelligence: he is the master general whose war strategy encompasses all of the elements of a successful military campaign, from choosing the right troops to counter an enemy move to outmaneuvering and outflanking an enemy on a battlefield to supply and logistics to battlefield intelligence.

Laramní has skill in the planning of a military campaign, but does not have the finesse that Almanin has. Instead, she leads armies by her charisma and her force of character, inspiring them to fight bravely and never rout, even in the face of terrifying opposition. In truth, however, Laramní leads using magic: by the time she is fighting a battle, she has cast the spells and performed the rituals that will make her win, and even if it kills her the victory will not be Pyrrhic because she can be resurrected. Those who follow her into battle know this, and her charisma is enough so that they believe it as well, in their hearts, with never a doubt in their minds. Laramní is a very good tactical fighter, however, but from that prospective she performs at her best in commando-type raids and seizures, better than her brother.

There are two more generals in Nidor who have proven their skill in war as well, these being King Elerim and the leader of the halfling rebellion, Caran Redfoot. Elerim does not possess his wife's natural charisma, but he fights wars in the same way: researching magic, choosing the right spells to cast and the right rituals to perform, and winning the magical race before the enemy does. Also like Laramní, Elerim knows how to lead a commando operation.

Caran, like Almanin, is very good at military intelligence, and also possesses some of Laramní's charisma which he wields by assuming moral authority. In truth, however, Caran was never put to the test the way that any of the three elven royals have: the city guard who would have put down Caran's slave revolt had already been incapacitated by Laramní's commando attack. Caran's biggest military accomplishment was that he managed to create an angry mob of former halfling slaves yet kept them in check well enough to prevent them from killing their former owners.


Recent Military Activity
Since the invasion, most of the quasi-military actions that Nidor has undertaken have consisted of either expeditions to foreign lands to uncover magical secrets or the dispatching of adventurers to survey, scout, and spy on other kingdoms. Laramní and Elerim both take an active role in overseeing this, but the scale of the operation is kept secret, as is the amount of resources that Laramní and Elerim have to take personal charge over it. They do play a large role, however; many an adventuring party has been briefed or debriefed by one, the other, or both, of them.

[This message has been edited by Beren V (edited 08-17-2010 @ 08:47 PM).]

Note: This post is going to be moved when I provide more military information for the other kingdoms later. For the moment, however, here is some background on Hylarin demographics.


Population, aging, and demographics of the Hylar

The Hylar are unusual among elves of this age. Many elven kingdoms have become isolationist, wishing not to interact with the shorter-lived and usually shorter-sighted races (because it's dangerous), and living out their long lives in peace. For this reason, the age of adulthood in most elven nations is around 100 to 120, because they feel no need to rush their lives in any way, and the age of death varies from around 600 to many thousands, depending on the mythos in which the elves live (some mythi require that elves be immortal, others do not).

The Hylar are not like that - indeed, they are much more like the elves of earlier ages. Hylarin families still have many children (for elves), explorers of the tribe still ply the seas, and most members of society voluntarily go on some kind of adventure at some point in their lives. In many ways, this makes the Hylar much more like humans than what is often thought of for elves: their lives are usually much shorter and more turbulent, and while they are unwilling to compromise many of their basic principles (usually those associated with good alignment), they are open to social and cultural change. Theologians say that this is largely on account of the peculiar religion that they practice.


Religion: The New Elven Covenant

According to myth, the Hylar are the descendants of an ancient elven matriarch named Maialiwen, who was of the Sindar* people and migrated with the remnants of her tribe eastward out of the ancient subcontinent of Beleriand before it was destroyed long ago. Maialiwen, it is quoted, rested for a time in the Dwarven capital of Khazad-dűm, and while there she sealed a prayr with the Gods, who then presented her with what has become known as the New Elven Covenant. It was not for many years later, after Maialiwen had perished in battle while leading her people eastward that her three daughters sealed the Covenant with the Three Valier who have since become the primary deities of Hylarin religion.

In Sindarin myth, and in the myths of many other of the more ancient tribes of elves, the were to have been two Children of the Creator deity to come into the world, these being the Firstborn (the elves themselves) and the Followers (generally considered to be humans, and related races such as halflings). Many Elven myths, including those of the Sindar, explain that the appearance of other intelligent creatures into the world was achieved through a divine alteration of the fabric of reality, which has the ability even to alter the past in order to input these 'new' creatures and their histories, but all of these myths also agree that there was to be a time of the Elves and a time of Men. The Sindar believe that the time of the Elves is now over and that the time of Men has come, which, they explain, is the reason for the general isolationism of Sindarin peoples today.

While Hylarin myth contains the same basic principles of the Time of Elves and the Time of Men with the latter succeeding the former, the Hylar do not believe the true Time of Men to have come yet, its onset delayed by the New Covenant Maialiwen and her daughters made with the Gods. This Covenant, a Hyla would explain to you, combines the attributes of Elves and Men in the Hylar, making them immortal in spirit as the Elves (Hylar and Sindar both believe in reincarnation), but mortal in body as Men. Being mortal of flesh, Hylar also believe that in order to continue to exist in the world and to bring about the true Rise of Men that they desire to see, a race of men prepared to inherit the grace of the elves, the elves must continue to live, and live wisely, heroically, and capably, and strive to show men, by their example, how to share in the beauty that is the elven legacy.

It is for this reason that Hylar claim they are different from most other elves. Their Covenant, they believe, can extend to all elves, should they accept it, but thusfar only they have actively taken to it as a people; elves of other ethnicities that adopt Hylarin religion are sufficiently few that they inevitably wind up being assimilated by the rest of Hylarin culture thereby becoming Hylar themselves.

*It is virtually certain that the Hylar are an offshoot of the Sindar, as evinced by many aspects of their culture, including, most obviously, their language, which has added a few words from other languages, chiefly Dwarven and Draconic, but otherwise is nearly mutually intelligible with Sindarin. Indeed, those few Sindar ancient enough to remember what they call the First Age and who have visited the Hylar remark that the Hylar are indeed very similar to the Sindar of the First Age, moreso than today's Sindar even - and specifically, they most resemble the elven people who dwelt at the mouth of the river Sirion together with the remnant Edain houses before the arrival of the Army of the Gods.


A typical Hyla's life

It is difficult to say what a 'typical' Hyla's life has looked like through her people's history, largely on account of the fact that the Hylar have gone from large, healthy populations to barely escaping extinction at least three times in their history, and probably more than that (it is believed that Maialiwen's tribe was also nearly wiped out, indeed was closer to being wiped out than the Hylar themselves have ever been). Nonetheless, some common demographical generalities can be made, and these generalities drive Hylarin population dynamics at a large scale when their population is healthy.

Childhood
Like most elves, during childhood, Hylar age at roughly half the rate of human children, but instead of the age of adulthood being placed at sexual maturity as in humans (about 16, for a healthy human), the Hylar prefer to be more fully physically grown before being considered to be adults. Usually, adulthood is given to children at about the age of 40, at which stage a Hyla's apparent age to a human would be about 18-20. It is, however, up to the parents to determine whether their child is an adult, and some children are declared to be adults at a slightly younger age, while others wait to be older. The thing that separates the Hylar from most other elven cultures is the willingness to declare an individual an adult at the age of physical maturity; most elven societies today require an elf child to have a period of experience having been fully grown of at least as long as they were physically growing before being considered full adults (again, ancient elven cultures were often more like the Hylar).

Early adulthood
Upon achieving adulthood, a Hyla becomes legally independent and can seek a profession of their choosing, as well as a suitable mate. It is common for the eldest child of either sex to inherit the family business (or be prepared to, should the parents die unexpectedly), but not universal, especially if the eldest child displays talent and interest for something else and a younger child displays more talent for said family business. Younger children have several options, either to work as junior members in the family business (meaning less experienced, but not automatically subordinate), or engaging in other pursuits such as enlisting in the military, the priesthood, taking up adventuring or settling new land. Family members happily support each-other throughout their lives, however, and accommodations are almost always made to house members of the family, and their families, who have taken up the same or other professions.

Adventuring
The desire to explore, innovate, push the limits of their knowledge, and to aid just causes where possible is perhaps the most defining characteristic of the Hylar relative to other elves in today's world. Most Hylar refer to the physically active side of this kind of behavior as adventuring, and Hylarin mythology and history are rife with tales of heroes and adventurers seeking out secrets of nature or the past, or in valiantly trying to set wrongs to right.

While the image of 'adventurer' in people's minds commonly conjures up images of the armored party of heroes containing the familiar roles of warrior, thief, arcane and divine spellcaster, seeking out treasure in ruins or crypts while braving dangerous monsters in doing so, a relative few Hylar actually engage in this type of adventuring. However, the equally iconic image of the hunter, pilgrim, or explorer making his way through trackless forest or scorching desert, visiting exotic cities learning of their cultures, joys, and woes, and yes, sometimes aiding the downtrodden where they find them, is something that most Hylar do engage in at some point in their lives, although most often a Hyla's adventuring companion is his or her spouse and not a knight errant's trusty squire or a nature priest's loyal wolf companion. Many Hylar even make their careers as adventurers of this sort, as merchants, explorers, pioneers, or even scouts or spies for the military. The Hylar believe this is part of the example they wish to set for the rise of Men that is to come, and they willingly accept the innumerable dangers that such travel incurs. And, while most Hylar do not engage in the iconic dungeon-delving, a larger fraction do than most other cultures.

Marriage and child-raising
Most Hylar marry between ten and twenty years of reaching adulthood, carefully choosing a spouse they will be happy spending the rest of their lives with, although the unlucky may have to wait longer before finding an appropriate mate. Arranged marriages are rare (although they happen), but even in those cases the people to be married have full control over whether or not they actually marry. As with the Sindar, the actual act of marriage is considered by law the sexual union of the couple being married while the bride is not suppressing her ovulation cycle (which elven women can do), and requires no ceremony or witness. In Hylarin society, it is customary for the couple to marry first, and then hold a wedding afterwards as a celebration of their union, as opposed to a justification for it beforehand. Hylarin society does allow divorce, but divorce is very rare: most couples choose their mates wisely, and are married until one or, more often, both spouses die.

The first ten years or so of a couple's marriage are most often childless as the new couple establishes themselves in their lives. The first child usually comes during the next decade, and the second two to four decades after that. After the first two children, Hylarin couples who live long enough typically have two more children about fifty years apart from each-other and from the second. Couples who continue to live after that usually have no more children for at least a century, and sometimes more, although it is not unheard of for couples three or more centuries into marriage may suddenly decide to have a child again and do so. Nonetheless, by this stage, mortality has cut away a large enough fraction of the population that those still alive to have children are becoming fewer and fewer.

Mathematically, the generation time in the Hylar is roughly one hundred years, due to the timing of their first and second children.


Mortality (not having to do with aging)
Despite being potentially physically immortal like the Sindar, the Hylar do not imagine that they will live forever. This is a dangerous world, and living in a dangerous world and doing the things that make life worthwhile inevitably involve the risk of death, and if you risk your life enough times, then, equally inevitably, death will happen.

In comparatively peaceful times, an average Hyla lives to be between two and three hundred years before dying. This is a half-life, not a life-span: this is the average age after which half of a cohort population will be dead. After another two hundred years, the surviving cohort will be half again reduced, and so on, assuming that comparative peace continues. During peacetime, the most common circumstances under which a Hyla may die is while adventuring. Most Hylar are more likely to adventure earlier in their lives rather than later, most often shortly after marriage, and as a result the largest fraction of mortality happens then, but Hylarin couples can and do travel at any age, and never truly stop, so the risk never truly disappears. It is in part for this reason that there are extremely few aged Hylar who, by playing it safe, have survived long enough to potentially die of old age. Usually, when killed adventuring, Hylarin couples die together, because they are traveling together.

Not all periods of Hylarin history have been peaceful. Death rates increase in periods of strife as one might expect them to. Individual Hylar regard their culture as being integral to who they are, and as a result everyone, whether trained as a warrior or not, is willing to fight to protect their civilizations. It is difficult to make blanket statements about mortality rates in warfare, as the Hylar use powerful ritual magic when they can to relieve or prevent death rates in war, but they are not always able to do so. Historically, the Hylar have won most of their wars, and when they win they usually do not suffer large numbers of casualties, especially civilian casualties, due in a large part to their effective and versatile use of magic. Those few wars the Hylar have lost, however, have nearly resulted in their extinction, with a substantial majority, of their population dying in a period as short as a score or less. These population bottlenecks also play a role in creating an effective upper age limit to the Hylar, as it is invariably the older generations that sacrifice themselves so that their children and their children's children can escape and survive their impending doom.

Aging
Hylar continue to age after reaching adulthood, and more rapidly than their Sindarin cousins, which they attribute to the New Elven Covenant (some of their distant cousins, especially the Noldor, have suggested that it may be do to a splash of Edain blood that made it into Hylarin ancestry in their prehistory). Like the Sindar and Noldor, Hylarin men can and do grow facial hair when they reach a certain age, which for the Hylar is roughly five-hundred years (it is several thousand for Sindar). Those few Hylar who have lived to be a thousand years old or more have often been described as appearing the way a human would in his middle thirties. No unequivocal "true" Hyla has ever been recorded of obviously dying of old age; there is the occasional member of the tribe who has died of old age at less than a thousand years, although this is credibly attributed to the presence of human blood in some Hylarin families, which manifests in other aspects of more rapid aging, less control over female ovulation, more susceptibility to diseases, and other things that commonly afflict humans but not elves.

Nonetheless, Hylar do appear to be mortal of body, just as their mythology says they should be, only that their natural lifespans greatly exceed the length of the lives they actually get to live. From their prospective, death in war or while adventuring is a perfectly natural way to die, and two hundred years is considered to be "a lifetime" in Hylarin culture - most young adults do not expect to live much longer than that.


Population dynamics

Although this varies depending on how peaceful the times, through most of their history, the population of the Hylar has been growing at a rate roughly doubling every two centuries, in stark contrast to the long-term trend of almost all elven societies which are characterized by a long, slow, population decline. These periods of prosperity and positive population growth have typically lasted between one thousand and fifteen hundred years, and are punctuated by sometimes very severe population bottlenecks. Following these bottlenecks, however, growth rates often spike as prosperity returns, before returning to the normal two-century doubling time.

Hylarin tribal leadership has always had a tendency to look to the future, and to acquire land such as will be able to hold their population hundreds of years hence as well as in the present. However, the adventurous tendencies of the Hylar as a people lead them to explore and settle new lands when they feel the urge, which is usually strongest when the lands they inhabit are beginning to become saturated. The Hylar have never had to deal with an internal overpopulation problem, as their explorers have never found any shortage of lightly inhabited land to which settlers could go as a new frontier (even Nidor was less well-settled than the rest of Damarin). However, the Hylar have always, when able, held on to a region of land that was to be their kingdom, subjected to their laws and dominated by their religion, in part to ensure the continuation of their cultural identity and to make sure that the magical Theme of their faith always has a refuge to dwell in and cannot be destroyed by other Themes. They do, however, share their land with other tribes and even other races provided that they do not interfere with their religion, however, as is the case with the halflings in Nidor (many of them turning to worship the Hylarin pantheon themselves). At present, Laramní has given no indication that she has any intention of expanding the borders of her people's domain beyond their current holdings of Nidor, although Nidorian merchants, both elf and halfling, certainly are expanding their influence up and down the Gentourin, which has gotten some kingdoms concerned about the possibility of future expansion.

Near extinctions
So far, the Hylarin population has crashed three times in their recorded history, with at least one more instance if Maialiwen is considered part of their history (although Maialiwen doubtless would have called herself a Sinda). These are:

-Mailiwen's band: Maialiwen fled east out of Beleriand after her people's kingdom was destroyed by Morgoth, the Great God of Evil in the Sindarin pantheon. It is somewhat of a mystery exactly where in Beleriand this kingdom was, although linguistic similarities and records of the Dwarves seem to suggest that it was in Ossirand. What is known is that Morgoth pursued Maialiwen and her people eastwards at least as far as Nen Hithoel on the river Anduin, where Maialiwen is said to have fallen. According to myth, there were barely a score of women in Maialiwen's band when they left Beleriand, although the men outnumbered them by 3:1. If true, this number had diminished further by the time Maialiwen reached Khazad-dűm, assuming Dwarven records are to be trusted: King Durin I welcomed Maialiwen and her tribe openly but kept his dealings with her very secret, so secret in fact that the only records that survive are sentry reports, which might be underestimates if Maialiwen's people were good at stealth, which legend holds them to have been. There is not enough time between Durin's records of when Maialiwen lived and when the first written censuses of Hylarin population were taken, however, for even liberal estimates of population increase to bring as few as twenty females up to the tens of thousands the censuses counted, indicating that either the myths overstate the severity of the destruction of Maialiwen's people, or else the pre-Hylarin population was bolstered by further immigration from other elven tribes.

-The Dark Prince: Shortly after the rise of the first great Hylarin civilization, an individual from a neighboring kingdom now titled the Dark Prince, in the words of the myths surrounding him, stole the Power of the Three. The Dark Prince then proceeded to wreak havoc upon Hylarin and other civilizations until he was defeated by an octet of heroes from various races, two of them being the first incarnations of the legendary Hylarin Hero and Heroine. It is not known for certain what the loss of life was a the civilized infrastructure was almost entirely destroyed, although it was certainly more than half of the Hylarin population. Moreover, the happiness of the Dark Prince's defeat was short-lived, as it left the civilization vulnerable to invasion by a series of warlords who conquered what had been Hylarin lands. This is the only time in their recorded history that the Hylar have existed as a tribe but not as a sovereign entity: they lived in the wilds of the forests and in mountain strongholds with a sister tribe believed to be an offshoot of the Hylar and living in those mountains still. Nonetheless, their religion survived, as the warlords did not grasp the significance of the difficult-to-get-to elemental temples the Hylar had built previously and the Dark Prince temporarily usurped, and so therefore made no effort to destroy them.

-The Dragon: Nearly fifteen hundred years after the rise of the Dark Prince, the second recorded incarnations of the Hero and Heroine defeated a sorcerer by the name of Vaelati who tried to undo the seal on the Dark Prince, and partially succeeded before the Hero and Heroine stopped him. Then he, in a battle of magic with the Heroine, uttered what is known as Vaelati's Prophecy, which called for a Dragon to destroy the Hylar. About three hundred years after that, the Dragon came, bringing with him an order of wizards who worshiped him, as well as the vast armies that a near god-like Dragon can conjure up (either literally or figuratively). These destroyed the great Hylarin civilization, which had a population of well over a million. In the end, the Dragon was sealed, along with the Dark Prince and Vaelati, and prophesied to be defeated by the Angel at a later time, but only some thousand, the real number is not known, but certainly less than five percent, of the Hylarin population survived. About ten-thousand of these refugees founded the Kingdom of the North a few years later. What has become of the other clans, or if they survived at all, is unknown at this time.

-The Fall of the Kingdom of the North: Hylarin population prior to the fall of the Kingdom of the North (generally having regarded as having begun with the appearance of the warlord Dakan, although population was still rising for part of that period) was about four hundred thousand, possibly more as some settlers had set off to the southeast. One hundred thousand went through the portal into Nidor.