Haitha (ha THAH)

Children of the Shurapak

The Haitha are Human that sit nestled in a land between the mountains of Slavyum, the highly trafficked Aabanu Sea, and the great Plashin Range, beyond which is the Heartlands of Novyum. Time and again the Heartlands have pushed their influence east over the Plashins and through the Aabanu into Slavyum, with the Haitha in the middle. These people have carved out a little nation, Haithfia, in spite of this. The people have been skilled, or just lucky, in negotiations with the greater powers around them, using their wealth to remain neutral in political strife of modern Novyum. This neutral reputation has led to Haithfia hosting many peace negotiations over the years.

Haitha are not known for the rugged tribal spirit that is pervasive among their fellow Slava. Their lands in Haithfia are relative flat compared to the surrounding mountains. The weather is warmer, and crops have a good yield. Factors that have the Haitha struggling less than their kin to the east. The common people live in relative rural peace, while the noble's life wealthy lives from the Gold their mines produce. Gold that they have uses to hire strong mercenaries for defense rather than calling their own people to fight. That said, many of the poorer among them often join, or create, mercenary bands to fight their way out of poverty.

Though the Haitha seem to sit in a bubble of peace while struggle continues around them. Their fellow Slava often see them as racial traitors, having adopted the western way of life from the Heartlands. Their gold mines are targets for bandits, and other nations often threaten the much smaller and weaker Haithfia for tribute from these mines to keep their neutral peace. It is these tributes that have secretly kept the nations out of harm's way for generations, as the Haitha pay for heavy prices for their freedom.

The Haitha are believed descended from the Shurapak people that dwelt in the region through the ages. The Shurapak was conquered by the Republic of Lakorth in their push across the lands to control Ethae. With Lakorth establishing what they called the Nineth Provence. Lakorth 'domesticating' these 'savages.' When the Republic declined and Lakorth withdrew from Slavyum, the Haitha remained, along with the Lakortha infrastructure. The nation of Haithfia was born.

As implied above, the haitha are heavily divided between the common and noble classes, with about a ninety percent commoner, to ten percent noble class. The commoners work as farmers, miners, merchants and other professions. Most own small plots of lands, inherited through the generations. Unlike in the west, however, land does not denote wealth, and commoners live a day-to-day life, scrapping out a living to survive. About half the noble houses are established in the western mountains where their gold mines dwell. The other half dwell mostly in Grimal, owning and controlling vast trade networks through and beyond their borders. Much of Haithfia's wealth flows only into the noble vaults.

Marriages among the Haitha are arranged by the parents, more so than even the Heartlands. These agreements can start as early as infancy, once it is sure the child will survive. Trade deals, alliances in political maneuvering, and financial protection are the common reasons for these marriages. That said, a healthy domestic life is important to the Haitha.the Church is popular and strong in Haithfia, and marriage partners are encouraged to seek counseling from the clergy when strife appears in the marriage. There is also not a class divide in marriage contracts. Though rare, there have been cases of young farm girls marrying into noble houses by lords seeking a new rural trade revenue, or food source for his workers. Something that western poets often romanticize, focusing more on the idea of the forbidden love of a noble lord and his beautiful farmer's daughter love. Of course, they leave out the business deals that are the true source of these arrangements.

Haitha hold the general traits of most Slava, with sandy to light brown hair colors. Both sexes tend to keep their hair longer and well groomed. Eye colors are often any natural human colors, though hazel seems to be common among the coastal families. Despite this, darker eye shades, like brown, are seen as more attractive as the 'ancestor's color'. As such it is common among women of Haithfia to use belladonna eye drops to dilate their pupils to give their eyes are blacker look, something that is considered attractive in their culture.