"In Havarrlan the men live in thatched hovels amongst ruins yet more splendid than the mightiest of their halls. Such men of the sword are poor stewards of our legacy, they know only what it is to destroy and nothing of what it means to live." - The Chronicle of Muir, A History of Elaria
Overview
Havarrlan is a land of petty kingdoms, once held together by the enigmatic warrior-king Havar the Mighty Years after his death, it has fractured into a realm of rival kings and ruthless warlords, each vying for power amongst the ruins of the ancient elven kingdom they displaced.
A land of great rivers, sprawling marshes and a temperate, rain-soaked climate, Havarrlan has bred a hardy people of skilled seafarers and brutal raiders. They are less accomplished as builders, however. The few great stone structures that remain were raised centuries ago by the Elari, a civilisation the Havarrs can scarcely comprehend, let alone hope to match.
Though dominated by humans, Havarrlan is also home to a sizeable elven underclass: the remnants of the Elarathi who did not, or could not, flee to the southeast. Often valued for their skills as artisans and craftsmen, these elves, known to the humans as Gam Blods, or Old Bloods, live on the fringes of Havarr society, remnants of a people whose ancestors once ruled the land.
Founding of Havarrlan
Centuries ago, the legendary warrior-king Havar the Mighty and his two sons led their people across the treacherous western seas to the shores of what would one day be known as Havarrlan.
The Havarrs, as they would come to be known, were a seafaring people who had long terrorised the coastlines and rivers of Elaria, descending upon its settlements in swift ships to raid and plunder. Under Havar, however, their numbers swelled, and their hunger for loot gave way to a greater ambition, a land of their own.
Abandoning the life of landless marauders, Havar and his followers carved out a permanent kingdom in the rich lands of Elaria. What followed were several brutal campaigns of conquest, with the elves being driven from their cities and forests, their great settlements put to the torch as wave after wave of human invaders swept across the land.
Yet the conquest came at a terrible cost. As the elves were driven out, the land itself was devastated. Vast forests that once stretched from the mountains to the coast were felled, while the ancient magics that had made Elaria so fertile were shattered. What remained was rain, marsh and bog, transforming the once bountiful realm into the bleak and sodden wilderness that would become known as Havarrlan.
At the heart of this new kingdom, Havar raised his great capital, Havarhold, a mighty fortress from which he intended to rule his conquered lands for generations to come.
The Division of Havarrlan
For generations, the descendants of Havar the Mighty ruled over Havarrlan, expanding its borders and solidifying their control over the land. It was upon the death of King Havar III, where the kingdom would be shattered into three pieces when each of his three sons: Valdrik, Eirik, and Sovryn each claimed a portion of their father's realm.
A bloody civil war ensued and when the dust settled Havarrlan was split into three separate petty kingdoms: Wesvarria in the west, Norvarria in the north, and Souvarria in the south.
This division, while meant to preserve peace among the brothers, instead sparked an era of bitter rivalry and bloodshed. The three petty kingdoms, each seeking to outdo the others, fell into a cycle of warfare and betrayal that persists to this day.
The War Against the Elves
While the realm of Elaria fell within a decade of the arrival of Havar and his sons, the war against the elves would persist for centuries. As the Elari were slowly driven back and their forests burned, it was the fracturing of Havarrlan that would allow the elves a reprieve and a chance to prepare their defenses.
Now within the forest known as the Crimson Wood, the last vestiges of old Elaria cling to existence in the face of numerous wars and raids levelled upon them by their sworn enemies, the Havarrs.