Capital: The
Great Delve
Population: 726,890 (86% halfling, 7% human, 3% gnome, 2%
dwarf, 1% elf)
Government: Republic
Religions: Conorrian
Imports: Salt, spices, cloth, pottery
Exports: Livestock, grain, wool, ale, pipeweed, woodwork
Updated Through: 2806
Between the swift-running waters of the river Veinre and the
waves of the Golden sea lies a fertile land of farms, fields and
wild heath. Little noticed among the nations of the world,
Aelissia is the homeland of Vatheria’s halflings. From their
hillside dwellings and small hamlets, the halflings of Aelissia
provide the Conorrian world with many fine varieties of brown ale
and mellow pipeweed, as well as woolen clothes widely regarded as
the very best.
The halflings of Aelissia are governed by an elected council
called the Moot, which meets for six months out of every year at
the Great Delve. Each village sends a single representative, and
each town sends two. The Moot makes laws and considers problems
facing the citizenry, but in practice its powers are limited to
setting trade policy in peacetime and raising armies in wartime.
The day-to-day power in Aelissia is local, with elected mayors and
sheriffs collecting taxes and performing most services.
Aelissia has survived amidst large and aggressive neighbors
because it has repeatedly proved itself capable of defending its
borders. More than one army of Lorraine or Corland has found the
superb Aelissian archers to be well-trained and well-armed. In
recent years, volunteer Aelissian militias have served in the
armies of Corland in the war with the H’rethek.
The Delves
While many halflings live in houses like those of the larger
races, most still live in the traditional manner. This consists of
burrows dug into the rolling green hillsides, usually amidst the
roots of some large tree. Any gathering or collection of these
burrows are called delves. A halfling burrow is usually
comfortably appointed, as halflings have a great appreciation for
creature comforts and tradition. They tend to be no more than five
feet high in most places, however, and so can be uncomfortable for
taller races. Hospitality is an important halfling value, however,
and so wealthier halflings often have foyers tall enough to
accommodate human guests.
History
Halfling legend tells that their forebears first crossed the
Veinre into the lush wilds of Aelissia a thousand years before the
founding of the Conorrian calendar. In any case, they kept no
records in those days, but when the Conorrian legions first
arrived in CY 503, they found this diminutive people in possession
of a wealthy and strategically-located land. While there was some
scattered resistance to the Conorrian conquest, most halflings saw
entry into the empire as preferable to the constant raids by their
human and goblin neighbors, and quickly settled into a profitable
relationship with their new masters. After their service in the
Beltene Wars, Aelissian halflings were given full Conorrian
citizenship in CY 896.
In the years CY 992-1140, Skane raiders were loose upon the
coasts of Vatheria, looting, pillaging and setting up petty
kingdoms. The Conorrian garrisons at Galladian and Nicomedia
provided protection against any permanent invasions, but were
powerless against the quick raids, and so most of the halfling
population moved inland, leaving the shores uninhabited for
centuries.
A far more serious invasion occurred in CY 1455, when the orcs
of the Stormpeaks came crashing down into the lands around the
Golden Sea in great numbers. The Conorrian garrisons responded
with admirable speed, blunting the tide of orcs and defeating them
in a series of pitched battles in the Lirienwood. But the battles
stretched the legions to the breaking point, and many bands of
marauders crossed into the quiet lands east of the wood. Aroused
to their danger, the halflings assembled their militias and went
to the aid of the Conorrians, fighting first a series of raids on
the orcish bands, and then a major battle in a field of hedgerows.
The halflings, under Kneddran, the Mayor of Great Delve, managed
to relieve the besieged legion at Oldbarrow, much to the amazement
of the beleaguered humans.
In 1791, when the Emperor Hadrasius XXI was assassinated, the
Aelissian governor was Hadrasius’ nephew, Edrigos. Edrigos died
the same night as his uncle. Many believe he was killed by a
halfling assassin who had been working among his staff. The bloody
civil war which thereafter gripped the empire was known as the
Mage Wars, and Aelissia was not to remain untouched by the
violence and savage bloodshed of those years. Longarrow the
Warlock, one of the many claimants to the throne, established a
temporary capitol at Oldbarrow and raised an undead army from the
bones of the orcs which had lain there for eight hundred years.
These minions of the Warlock had soon driven much of the
population to havens west along the coast, or south into Corland.
For those that remained, the devastation rained down on Longarrow
by his opponents, particularly the sorcerer known as Firedrake,
was as terrible as the undead occupation. Whole towns and villages
were put to the torch by Firedrake’s minions, and the Lirienwood
was nearly destroyed.
The Empire split in two as a result of the Mage Wars. In the
east, Hadrasius’ son Valerius had been named Imperator,
while the west came to rest in the hands of the arch-mage
Markimillien the Shadowstaff, who named himself Markimillien I. In
the aftermath of the war, Aelissia was left largely unhurt by the
stiff taxes under which most of the empire suffered for years.
This was because Markimillien had inherited a ravaged empire and
the big cities were literally starving and in constant revolt. As
one of the richest farming provinces, Aelissia was called upon for
large levies of food, but little in the way of taxes, and so the
halfling farmers returned to their former wealth in little more
than a generation, although the population has never recovered,
even to this day.
Markimillien’s empire became the Miletian empire, as powerful
and strong in the west as the Conorrian empire continued to be in
the east. The Blood Mages and Emperor’s Chosen kept the empire
vigorous and safe for the next five hundred years. By 2282,the
Miletians had grown so proud and so powerful that they failed to
notice to the vast hordes of barbarians brimming along their
northern borders. The Darothic hordes crashed down upon the
Miletians and wiped away their great strength in less than three
years. So began the dark ages.
Aelissia, safely tucked away in a corner of the world, suffered
as little from the Daroths as it did from the Mage Wars, and
became a haven for Miletian peasants fleeing the fall of greater
realms, such as Corland, Harkoria and Daerond.
MAJOR POPULATION CENTERS
The Great Delve (Small City; population 35,240) The
largest of the halfling cities, The Great Delve is the seat of the
Moot, and is also a major trading port. Goods from across Aelissia
are sold to Harkorian merchants, who resell it across the known
world. The city itself is built on a series of steeply-sloping
hills, giving nearly every burrow a window onto the Golden Sea.
Nearly a 8,000 humans and 2,000 gnomes make the Great Delve their
homes.
Oldbarrow (Large Town; population 18,060) The first of
the halfling habitations in Aelissia, Oldbarrow lies within the
Lirienwood. It is beautiful, particularly in the early evening,
when the twilight through the branches combines with the warm
yellow glow of fires from thousands of windows set into the
hillsides and tree trunks. Lamps light all the major streets, and
music wafts upon the air. Oldbarrow has an impressive stone
fortress built on a bare hill above the town by the Conorrian
legions. It is well-maintained and provisioned by the militia of
Oldbarrow.
Greensaddle (Large Town; population 14,970)
Strategically placed at the tip of the Aelissia peninsula,
Greensaddle is an important trading stop for ships from Harkoria,
Lorraine and beyond. It was founded by the Miletians and is still
dominated by above-ground stone houses, though there are many
halfling barrows as well. A fine Miletian fortress dominates the
mouth of the harbor and serves as the home of Luineth, a half-elf
sorcerer and retired adventurer.
IMPORTANT LOCAL SITES
The Blasted Moor - On the hilly uplands along the
Windhaven strait lies a region of blackened earth and the twisted,
petrified remains of a forest. This was the site where the
archlich Elianna the Accursed battled the Emperor Arcasius in
2187. That battle resulted in the Emperor’s death and the
destruction of the archlich. The land has remained infertile and
haunted ever since. The halflings will not come to this place, but
many of their rangers keep watch on its borders, for fell beasts
and unclean spirits still arise from its depths to plague the
land.
Uluthir, the Rainbow Bridge - Where the Veinre drops
across the Artagne escarpment, there is a great waterfall,
measuring a quarter mile in width and seven hundred feet in
height. The roaring of the water is a never-ending thunder, and
above it rises a permanent rainbow in the mist. The ends of this
rainbow are said to be guarded by three witches who will let none
approach.
The Caverns of Underhill - The prosaically named Caverns
of Underhill, deep in the Lirienwood, are far more dangerous than
they sound. These twisting passages are conduits between the
surface world and the hidden Realms Below. These caverns are
magical in nature, and their entrances never remain open in the
same place for long. Mapping is nearly impossible. The Caverns are
said to hold all manner of treasures, from the hoard of a
long-dead dragon to the ruins of an Iridian citadel. |
