Hallia
"[...] and what do we have to be proud of? The civil war? The cleansing of the minor houses? All we ever knew is bloodshed! We are yet to have a golden age. Our ancestors never achieved anything that could make us be proud to be hallians. And I will not go to the grave without doing everything - EVERYTHING - in my power, to change that! This much I can promise you[...]" - Mathor Riak, the king of Hallia
Ah, Hallia. The youngest of the realms of Notwarr. The small kingdom south of the scorching Deadland, lying on the border of civilization. A kingdom founded by outcasts, outlaws and all kinds of unwanted individuals from the great kingdoms to the north, Hallia is no stranger to conflict. Its troublesome founding, the clashes between the nobility and all the invasion attempts from the north made hallians into warlike people, who are more focused on fighting than building their kingdom into the glorious realm it could be.
Structure
Hallia is ruled by the Great Houses, the noble families, who played key roles in the country's foundation. Of the original five families, only three remains now:
- Great House Riak is the current royal family, its head the king of Hallia. Riak was the main instigator behind the civil war and as the winner they took the throne, hoping to lead the country in a better direction than the former rulers could.
- Great House Tyrral is ruler of the southern part of the kingdom. The lands south of Hallia are untamed and mostly unsettled. Tyrral's charge is to keep the order amongst those, who wish to settle down on those lands.
- Great House Northguard, as the name suggests, is the ruler of the northern lands. Their charge is to guard the kingdom from the powers to the north, who would wish to conquer them.
Culture
The people who first settled in the south, were from both Farum and Shurrah. They brought their country's culture with them and stayed mostly true to it.
The shurrans, the people brought with themselves the greed and cruelty of their former overlords. These former slaves or laborers, who left behind their own country, did so to build a new way of life. However, overtime they turned to treat their underlings similarly how they were treated in their old country. Even though slavery was never implemented in Hallia, those hailing from Shurrah expect complete obedience from their people. Shurrans are also conquerors and they see the southlands as theirs to take.
The farumens on the other hand believe in progress and the betterment of life. They care more about advancing culture and civilization in lands they already own than go conquering even more. Farumen nobles aim to achieve a way of life in this new land similar to what they had in their former country.
Public Agenda
Hallia is a sovereign state and they aim to keep it that way. The kingdom was meant to be a safe haven for those who do not want to live under the rule of Farum or Shurrah. Their final goal is to have everything south of the Deadland under their rule.
History
The first Hallian settlement, Sunrest, was found in the year 1041, by a group of shurran explorers, who later became known as House Missar, the first royal house of Hallia.
House Missar initially welcomed settlers from the north as they were aware that they alone cannot defend their fledgeling kingdom. Many wished to escape the tyranny of the northern realms and were willing to accept Missar as their ruler. The kings at the time granted title easily to those who were helpful in building the kingdom. Of these many nobles, four other houses, Riak, Tyrral, Northgurad and Morwen formed the high nobility alongside the royalty.
House Missar's goal was to rule the whole of the south. To achieve this, they constantly kept inviting new people to their kingdom, giving them rank and lands. This lead to a fast growth, but the country was highly instable. Lesser nobles only respected the royal house, as they were the source of wealth. And when left to their devices, they kept fighting and bickering amongst themselves, sometimes even disrespecting the Great Houses. This irritated the high nobility to no end. To stop the senseless growth and to bring stability to their lands, three out of the four Great Houses united against House Missar to overtake Hallia.
During the civil war House Missar was wiped out and House Morwen, whom originally took the side of Missar, agreed to help out the rebelling nobility in exchange of sovereignty from the new royalty. They founded their own kingdom and named it after themselves to Morwen.
After the current head of House Riak was elected to be king and his descendants continue to rule to this day.
Foreign Relations
Hallia is formed by those who refuse to live under the rule of others. As such, they have an uneasy relationship with other realms. The desert that lies between Hallia and the north kept the nations from going to war thus far, but as the desert slowly shrinks, Hallia and Shurrah are getting closer to each other, which can eventually lead to war.
The Hallian flag shows the desert, which separates the country from the rest of the world. The red triangle stands for blood, representing both those who died crossing the desert, as those who died under the tyrannical rule of the old kingdoms. The largest are of the flag was left empty, to represent the yet unwritten future.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Demonym
hallians
Ruling Organization
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Legislative Body
The laws are written by the high nobility, especially the royal house.
Judicial Body
Each noble house - lesser or higher - enforces these laws independently among their subjects.
Subsidiary Organizations
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Comments
Author's Notes
This article is created for the setting of my first novel, 'The Forgotten Houses'. Any and all feedback(content quality, grammar, punctuation, what's too much, what's left out) would be most welcome. If you read it this far, thank you and have a great day :)