Alignment: Neutral Good
Status: NPC Realm
 
 

Province	Law	Temples	Guilds	Sources
Halwan (10/0)	HCL (10)	HTV (10)	HCG (10)	SP (0)
Golden Hills (8/0)	HCL (8)	HTV (8)	HCG (8)	SP (0)
The Moors (7/2)	HCL (7)	HTV (7)	HCG (7)	SP (2)

* Fortified holding
 
Abbreviations: HTL = Halwan Council of Leaders (various); HTV = Halwan temple of Vorynn (Anna Storinius); HCG = Halwan Council of Guilds (Verne Judicus); SP = The Silver Princess

Province/Holdings: Once long ago Halwan was part of Nehalim but for over a thousand years it has been an independent nation ruled by the Silver Princess.

• Law: In Halwan the elected government, the Council of Leaders run the law holdings.
• Temples: Only the Temple of Vorynn is allowed in this realm. Other temples do not find much support among the people.
• Guilds: There are many guilds and merchant groups throughout Halwan but their elected representatives are the Council of Guilds, currently headed by Verne Judicus.
• Sources: The Silver Princess hold all the sources inside the principality, and in many nations surrounding the tiny realm.

Treasury: The treasury is low at the moment as a lot of gold has been spent developing the new Halwan airship. Despite this there is still 45 GB left, and the realm generates an average of about 75 GB a turn, after taxes on trade routes and income from the Gold Mines is added.

Army: Halwan has a small army, currently comprising only 3 units of Swords, and 2 of Archers. Their navy however is very strong with 5 Catamaran's, 7 Trimarans, 5 Flyers, and 3 of the powerful airships, created by the Princess herself.

Regent: The Erhshegh known as the Silver Princess (Ferh; W27; Vo, Great, 94) has ruled this realm for over a thousand years, ever since she led a rebellion against the Nehalim rulers. For further information about her please see her character sheet.
The Silver Princess is loved by her people and none would even think of trying to remove her. She has little to do with the day to day activities of her realm, instead allowing the people to elect a Council of Leaders once every five years to take care of most matters. She prefers to continue her magical research. After a thousand years she has discovered many things, including the secrets of True and Realm magic and has become quite powerful. The Princess is assisted in her research by other Halwan mages, including descendants of hers. Long ago she had three children, who over the years have had children of their own. After a thousand years many in Halwan can claim to be related to the Princess, and although the bloodline has become tainted over the years there are many blooded individuals in the realm. Due to their relationship with the Principalities ruler, these blooded individuals are often elected to power in Halwan.

Lieutenants: Lady Serene Judicus (FNe; G7; Vo, tainted, 3) runs the Princess's silver and gold mines in the mountains in Golden Hills province. These vast mines bring large amounts of money into the Principalities coffers and Serene is always careful at her job. Her father Verne is the current head of the Council of Guilds and a strong supporter of Serene and the Princess.
The Council of Leaders are considered lieutenants of the Princess, although they do change every five years. These elected leaders have the tough job of running much of the realm. Unfortunately they often disagree on many matter and these arguments can continue for several days. The head of the Council, currently Unuien Kastius (MNe; T3; Vo, tainted, 5) is a strong old many who has been a member of the Council for nearly forty years. He is a descendant of the Princess, although only the faintest ties of blood still link them.
Keri (FNe; W12; Vo, minor, 21) is the Princess current favourite apprentice. She looks after the rest of Halwan's mages as part of her job, and assists the Princess with spellcasting and research. Keri is also the current head of the Council of Mages, appointed only recently to the position. There are five other blooded apprentices currently living in the palace, including Harkien Gorn (MAn; W7; An, major, 45) who has travelled from Anuire to Halwan in search of a skilled teacher.

Important NPCs: Anna Storinius (FNe; Minor; 12) is the current high priest of the Halwan Temple of Vorynn. She has only recently been appointed to the position, and at only 35 is the youngest priest ever to hold the title of High Priest in Halwan. The temples is the only religion permitted, or worshipped in Halwan, although shrines to other gods have sprung of from time to time. The other religions have never managed to find much support in Halwan though and are usually shut down after a few month. Anna is currently interested in expanding her temples into other lands, including Nehalim to the south. So far she has not been that successful though.
Verne Judicus (MNe; G12; Vo, major, 56) is the head of the Council of Merchants and Guilds. The council of guilds is elected much the same as the council of leaders, except only merchants and shop owners can vote in the elections. The Council of Guilds handles all trade into and out of Halwan and owns a massive fleet of vessels for transporting goods to market in Nehalim and beyond. Trade routes leave from all of Halwan's cities to the ports to the Nehalim, including the massive city of Nehalim itself. Jewellery, gold, and silver from the mines are the most common exports. The leader of the guild is invested with the power of its bloodline when they take office, and then divested with they leave. This means the guild collects a large amount of regency, which they can use to expand their influence into other realms.

Description/History: For many centuries this provinces of Halwan belonged to the Rjurik peoples, and then after they were driven out or enslaved the lands fell under the control of the Nehalim empires. With the two large provinces holding one of the two passes into the northlands of Nehalim it has always been an important part of the region. Over a thousand years ago the Erhshegh now called the Silver Princess claimed the two provinces after leading a small army over the mountains from Nehalim. With her magical abilities she managed to hold off all attackers for the past thousand years or so, and just recently signed agreements with Nehalim and Nordli to the north to allow their caravans to travel through Halwan. Up until the agreement was signed all traffic was forced to go through the dangerous eastern pass, leading to many deaths each year.
In the years after the realm came under the control of the Silver Princess it has flourished. Despite the conflict between Nehalim and Halwan the population has expanded dramatically and now numbers more than two million people. Most of these live in the city of Halwan itself, although many more also live in the two province, usually as farmers or mine workers. For such a massive population it has a small army and has relied on the reputation of the magical abilities of its ruler to prevent most invasions.
The principality does not have the farmland available to support such a large population so most grain is imported from the northern realms, and fishing is also used as a source of food. Halwan has a very large fleet of vessels based in the harbour, or in towns along the coast. Each day hundreds of deep sea fishing vessels leave port to search for schools of fish. These ships can occasionally stay at sea for several days filling their holds. Other vessels travel along the coastline trading Halwan gold for loads of grain and other foods. Timber is also scarce and in usually imported from the principality of Aral where vast forests are planted for lumber.
With a wizard as their ruler magic plays and important part of the way of life for Halwan. The realm has the largest population of True wizards anywhere, with at least three hundred making their homes here. Many of these could find a job in other lands, but prefer to stay in the city of their birth. Magicians are also found here in large numbers and magic finds its way into the lives of many of the people of Halwan. Magical items and weapons are also a rich source of income for Halwan with many items being sold to the nobles of Nehalim. Special orders are often sent from the south for weapons for one of the Nehalim princes, and even the royal sword of the Nehalim emperor was crafted here in Halwan. All wizards and magicians in the city are part of the Council of Mages, which meets once every month to talk about magical matters. The Silver Princess usually appoints the head of this council, often one of her apprentices is appointed. In times of trouble all mages and magicians are expected to aid Halwan with whatever powers they have available.

Provinces: There are three province's that make up Halwan, including the massive city of Halwan which supports a population of more than one million people.

• City of Halwan (10/0) Is the capital and the largest city north of the imperial capital of Nehalim. It is a city built on the slopes of a large hill on the coastline. At the base of the hill is the harbour, and most of the Halwan's shops and guilds. On the plains surrounding the hill are the homes of the more than a million people who live in the city. These home stretch for many miles. They are generally three to five story high building, similar to those in Aduria. Each home usually supports ten to twenty families, with each living in an apartment. Most of the richer merchants, wizards, and nobles live on the slopes of the hill, with their importance or wealth ranked by their distance from the summit. The summit itself is home to the Silver palace and the halls of government. Paved roads are found throughout Halwan city, and in much of the rest of the realm as well. With the lack of good supplies of timber in Halwan mud brick or stone are the most common building materials, with Marble and wood common in the homes of the wealthy. It is something of a status symbol to have a wooden floor in Halwan as only the rich can afford to import the timber needed.

Throughout the city large areas of parkland and markets where the people may meet and play. The streets are kept clean by workmen hired by the Council of Leaders and even the poorest districts are clean and well kept. Halwan is often seen as the centre of craftsmanship in eastern Aduria, ranking with the Adurian city of Floresele in status. The city is home to many Jewellers, Goldsmiths, and other craftsmen and wares from Halwan are sold all along the east coast of Aduria, even as far south as the city of Chorbrag.
• Golden Hills (8/0) This province is home to most of the farms and mines of Halwan. The south of the province is mountainous as the Azure peaks run through it to the coast. A recently re-opened road travels along the coastline to Nehalim in the south. All of the usable land in the province in turned over to farmland, and about a third of the food needed to feed the city is farmed here. Halwan has some of the best farmers in all of Aduria. The Golden Hills is also home to half the Halwan military, which are used to protect the valuable silver and gold mines in the mountains.
• The Moors (7/2) A flat featureless swamp is what is usually said to describe this province. Much of the land is been left as a swamp. Areas have been drained in south however and are now used for farmland. Also along the coast are many fishing towns and villages. Over a hundred thousand people live in this province, most of them coastal fishermen or merchants. The Moor's fishing fleet ranges along the coastline of eastern Aduria and out in to the water to the east in search of fish.

Enemies: Although the other nations may wish to take control of Halwan's provinces, now wish to risk losing their troops to the spells of Halwan's mages. Halwan is also not an aggressive nation and has not expanded beyond the two initial provinces claimed by the Silver Princess.
 
By Ian Hoskins