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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Jan 2008 : 07:51:48
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Of Conquests in Luiren (An Excerpt)
“The idea that any hin would so debase themselves is insane. Brandobaris may tempt us with mischief, and Urogolan may remind of the finality of our lives, but the among the Children of Yondalla, there is no evil influence. It is sad that the honor of the hin might be so sullied by such wild tales,”--Zhendallial Longrider, Paladin of Arvoreen and Warder of Luiren, in an interview with the Halruaan sage Geirigilore Thendrillavos, Year of the Prince (1357 DR).
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2008 : 07:52:59
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Most tales of evil halfings (or hin, as they call themselves) are isolated tales of poor souls driven mad, often times from associating with the evils other races expose the hin to, or they are tales of hin that walk the path of greed and thus follow this temptation to a path of ruin. The hin have few tales of mad necromancers, bloodthirsty warlords, or vile cultists, and most often when evil taints the hin, it taints them in one isolated instance at a time.
Despite this, there are still tales, mainly told in the southlands nearer to the hin homeland of Luiren, that tell of entire tribes of vicious, violent hin. These hin slaughter outsiders, worship foul creatures of the Lower Planes, and mock Yondalla and her children as weakings.
The hin of Lurien can do little to stop the spread of these dark tales, though nearly every council of Elders in the nation agrees that the stories that are told are falsehoods, and often contract bards to travel the south spreading more positive tales and “correcting” the locals if they hear these tales of woe and discord. And while the old myths never completely go away, most humans do regard them as fanciful tales.
The bards of Luiren often point out that these tales of vicious, evil tribes of halflings most likely spring from ages long past when the priests of Malar incited the Ghostwise tribes against their brethren and the hin warred against one another. While not a proud time in the history of the hin, most Luiren bards can spin this tale as one that illuminates the necessity of the hin maintaining their own culture and not being swayed by the ways of the Big Folk, since Malar is clearly a god that the hin would never have worshiped if they had not be led astray.
But the Halruaan sage Geirigilore Thendrillavos began to make a more detailed record of the legends of the “dark hin,” and found that the legends don't seem to be associated with the Ghostwars, but rather from several centuries later, closer to the time of the occupation of Luiren by Arkaiun raiders. Not only has he managed to pinpoint the era from whence most of these legends originate, but he also found another name for this tribe of hin: the Jerren.
Legends in Durpar, Estagund, Var, and Halruaa only speak of half feral halfling barbarians that raid wanderers in the wildeness and eat their victims. Frightening stories to be sure, but easily dismissed as the wild fancy of a bard telling a wild tale, and perhaps even the frightened misunderstanding of victims of a goblin raid that are woefully unaware of the nature and culture of the hin.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2008 : 07:53:48
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Tracking Down the Myth
Geirigilore Thendrillavos took this into account, but chose a different approach from which to track down more facts on these legends. Among the various tribes of the Eastern Shaar, Geirigilore found more details to the legends, and the more details Geirigilore found, the more convinced he was that there may be more to these myths than a bard's fancy or a frightened traveler's tale.
During the Akaiun occupation, a small group of Ghostwise hin advocated trying to retake Luiren, driving out the humans and teaching the “civilized” hin the dangers of their soft way of life. The majority of the Ghostwise did not wish to go to war once again, especially if it bought them into conflict with the other hin of Luiren once more. Eventually this group became more and more agitated, and the Ghostwise Elders considered them dangerous, and drove them out of the Long Forest, into the foothills of the Toadsquat Mountains.
Around this same time, a group of hin from Luiren proper advocated working with the Akaiun invaders in an effort to “civilize” them. The hin of this faction thought it would be wise to allow the humans to rule in name only, but to help to create rules, laws, and regulations for the humans that might eventually be exploited for the good of the hin subjects. The fact that this system would be established by sacrificing large number of hin to willing slavery as a permanent underclass matter little to this faction. The hin elders cast them out, even as they were being taken by force to be sold into slavery.
The two factions of exiled hin banded together in the foothills of the Toadsquat mountains for mutual survival.. They eventually shared their plans with one another, and found that, while they would be have been at odds had either of them brought their plans to fruition, they could understand the point of view of their new allies.
Goblins and bugbears from the Toadsquats threatened this newly formed band, and the hin were nearly wiped out. Eventually the two pragmatic groups formulated a plan. They needed to go beyond the stealthy guerilla tactics of the Ghostwise and the tactical battle plans of the Luiren hin. They needed tactics that would strike fear in the hearts of the goblins and bugbears, to force them to take the hin seriously.
Spellcasters among the hin cast about the planes for spiritual help. Neither group of hin trusted the Children of Yondalla any longer, and the Ghostwise knew that Malar had abandoned them long ago. So their sorcerers and wizards cast about for new guides. While it is possible that many beings responded, there is one name that appears in the accounts of the Shaaran tribes more often than any other: Phalse.
Who or what Phalse was is a mystery, but the being was called forth from one of the Lower Planes, and brought with him knowledge of tactics, torture, and fear. He taught the hin how to poison, and to inflict pain. So armed, the hin braced themselves for war once again.
The goblins and bugbears hit the hin hard the next season, but reports began to filter back to the goblinoid tribes of torture, poison, and of the eating of their dead. Eventually the hin attacked so fiercely that they lost nearly as many as their foes, but they did so with a blood rage in their eyes and a love of inflicting pain in their blackened hearts.
While tales of these “Jerren” surface from time to time, no hard evidence of their lands or settlements can be found. Despite this, among the Eastern Shaar tribes, and even among those goblin tribes inclined to speak of such things, there is a deep, abiding belief that somewhere in the plains of the Eastern Shaar, the Children of Phalse, the Jerren, still roam, seeking only to inflict pain and dominate their enemies. |
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Darkmeer
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2008 : 23:34:38
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I think this is a nice way of dealing with things. It makes halflings much more than they are portrayed. It's also a great placement for them, somewhere they are truly based (as a race). It's a wonderful, disturbing thought, and the Goblins might even be afraid of 'em for real.
I like the demon Phalse, lots of fun to be had there.
/d |
"These people are my family, not just friends, and if you want to get to them you gotta go through ME." |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2008 : 23:37:22
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| I can't take credit for Phalse, since he was the mysterious fiend that tried to seduce Olive in Azure Bonds, but he did have a penchant for corrupting halflings, so I thought it might be appropriate. |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2008 : 18:00:58
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| I found it quite inspiring. Thanks KEJR. I like the bits of lore you help create in this community. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
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Aravine
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2008 : 18:09:48
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| Good job, KEJR. this is very informative.(what i've read.) |
The brave don't live forever,the cautious don't live at all |
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Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jan 2008 : 10:12:32
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| I always enjoy reading your lore KEJR, and this is no exception. Thanks for the work! |
One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
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A Mythical History of the Jerren
