History of Halruaa

Halruaans are the descendants of two cultural groups.
==Timeline==	
==Timeline==	
==Timeline==
Year 	Year	Event
-1732	 	Lapal tribes begin to settle the Lake Halruaa basin.
-339 	 	Karsus causes the fall of Netheril, and the archmage Raumark leads a cadre of Netherese south. This group eventually finds and settles Halruaa.
-125 	 	Hetel Hastalhorn, a prominent Halruaan archmage, founds Mhairhetel, now known as the City of Renegades, in the southern tip of the Mhair Jungles.
147 	 	Azuth worshipers formally break with the Church of Mystra and establish the House of the High One Ascendant in the mountains near Lhair.
173 	 	Several followers of Leira, dissatisfied with the stranglehold that worshipers of Mystra and Azuth have gained over the Council of Elders, depart Halruaa in skyships. These wizard lords eventually settle in Nimbral.
426 	 	Ongild, a wizard of some renown, crafts a magic gem that stores spells and gives it his name. The Ongild eventually winds up in the belly of a red dragon named Hoondarrh.
546 	 	Gulkuluster begins creating a series of powerful wands, one of which is currently in the possession of a sapphire dragon named Malaeragoth, who lairs beneath the Graypeak Mountains.
553 	 	Arkaiun barbarians from Dambrath invade the coast of Halruaa and occupy numerous cities for several months.
554 	 	Mycontil, the Wizard-King of Halruaa, assembles an army to drive the invaders out. During the battle, he slays the barbarian king, Reinhar I, with a devastating spell that also consumes Mycontil and his circle of apprentices.
585 	 	A fleet of Dambrathan galleys attempts to sail into the channel leading to Lake Halruaa and conquer Halagard. Devastating magic launched from both shore and skyships sinks almost every ship.
638 	 	The first rumors of a temple dedicated to Grumbar, hidden in the West Wall, arise on the streets of Halruaan cities.
827 	 	The wizard Omm Hlandrar of Halruaa engages a Red Wizard named Velsharoon in a spectacular magical battle in the skies over the Shaar. The contest ends in a draw.
973 	 	Crinti shadow marauders begin raiding the Nath Valley through the pass connecting the two nations.
1144 	 	The Halruaan archmage Ootheraum Deirin slays the dragon Thokiastees over the Shining Sea east of Orlil in an aerial battle.
1146 	 	The necromancer Akhlaur opens a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water, releasing the larakens into the swamp where his tower sits.
1260 	 	Lapaliiya attempts to invade Halruaa and is repulsed.
1262 	 	Zalathorm, the current wizard-king, ascends the throne of Halruaa.
1263 	 	Netyarch Zalathorm moves the capital of Halruaa from Halagard to Halarahh for defensive purposes.
1312 	 	Thongameir "Stormspells" Halargoth acquires a young bronze dragon as a mount and is frequently seen flying to and from his secluded mountainside keep, known as Narthtowers.
1321 	 	Darsson Spellmaker, later renowned for creating numerous spells, is born.
1332 	 	Hansandrar Ilmeth, an archmage of Halruaa, creates the Mighty Rune of the Master, a magic "spelltome" of Deneir.
1355 	 	Dwalimar Omen, an agent of Zalathorm, departs Halruaa in the Realms Master, a special skyship equipped with the Astrolabe of Nimbral, to collect dangerous artifacts across Faerûn.
 	 	
 	 	
==Lapal ex-slave herders==
Theiroriginal ethnicity comes from the Lapal (forebears of theTashalans), a people who fledtothisregionafterescapingtheiryuan-ti masters in the jungles near the Lapal Sea. More thanthree millennia ago, these escaped slaves settled a sheltered valleyregion that sat along the southern coast of Faerûn, surrounded onthree sides by high mountains and the Great Sea on the fourth.They established an uncomplicated life of farming, animal herding,and fishing. The Lapal had few cities and many monsterproblems, but their existence was secluded and undisturbed forover a thousand years.
==Netherese arrival==
When the empire of Netheril was shattered by the folly ofKarsus and the magic of the phaerimm, a number of wizards,along with their families, servants, and extended clans, fledthe northland, led by the archmage Raumark. They traveledsouthward by way of skyships, looking for a place where theycould both hide from the phaerimm and settle into a life ofmagic once more. Eventually, they came upon a broad valleyset between three mountain ranges that even their skyships haddifficultytraversing.TheretheyfoundthesimpleLapalpeople,still farming and fishing.Within three generations, the two groups had merged intoone culture. The Netherese taught the ways of magic, and theLapal offered the secrets of using the land’s resources. In thecenturies since then, the Halruaans have enjoyed a good life whilepreparing for invasion from elsewhere, always expecting eitherthe phaerimm or other jealous nations to come and try to taketheir magic away.
==Nimbral colonised==
At one point late in the second century DR, a small factionof Leira worshipers broke from the wizards of Halruaa andrelocated to the island of Nimbral. Though they are Halruaanby blood, they are a distinct culture separated from their kin bymany miles of ocean.
==Merging of the Lapal with the Netherese==
The two ethnic groups embraced one another rather than fighting over such a bountiful and available land, and they quickly learned to coexist. The wizards provided the simple folk of Halruaa with an organized ruling class, laws, justice, and wondrous works. Native Lapalians with a talent for magic were accepted as students with no hesitation, and the presence of so many powerful wizards soon discouraged the raiders and monsters that had once plagued the lowlands.
==Modern Halruaa==
In the years after the arrival of the Netherese, Halruaa grew and prospered as a nation of wizards in relative isolation. But although its citizens have never shown much interest in occurrences beyond the Walls of Halruaa, the converse has not been true - Halruaa's neighbors have made numerous attempts at conquest despite the country's fabled defenses. Envious of Halruaa's riches and magical treasures, the Dambrathans have been the most frequent pests, invading Halruaa for brief periods on several occasions.
Halruaans are a happy people who treat one another with exaggeratedniceties, though they are suspicious of outsiders and alwayssuspect strangers of trying to appropriate their magical secrets.They enjoy the fruits of their labors well, for the quality of lifein a land filledwithwizardsishigh.Eventhebasestofcommonersmight be able to perform a few simple spells. Likewise, withmagic so common in the culture, most people have managed toacquire at least one or two magic items.