Heth

*"The Heth are a great threat to Veshen, even if so few outside of the South believe in their existence. Their numbers are seemingly unending, as thousands of years of fighting hasn't lessened their hold on the western desert. If not for the religious devotion to halting their advancement by the Red Hand Kingdom and a handful of gnomish families, we may have seen the potential accuracy of the Mirageborn prophecies." - Professor Dyrwock on the Heth*

## Heth

A Heth wandering the western desert of southern Veshen

## Other Information

### Description

The Heth are creatures that wander the deserts of Southern Veshen, and historically battle the Red Hand Kingdom for control over the region. They do not appear to be capable of speech, but their attacks have been remarkably organized, causing outsiders to believe they must have some other form of communication. Heth all wear robes, most typically black, and adorn themselves with gold likely taken from fallen enemies. Normally a Heth will be found adorning a mask that resembles a skull, even using actual skulls as masks, leading to some believing they are some kind of undead. However, spells targeting the Heth have not shown to be especially effective.

### Personality

As Heth do not communicate with the other races of Veshen outside of combat, their personalities are unknown. Some have been observed to creating fires, gathering, and exchanging weapons and gold they've pillaged, causing some scholars to believe that at least some Heth have some semblance of individual personalities. It is unclear how prevalent these practices are, however, due to the dangerous nature of observing Heth.

### Abilities

Heth have not been seen portraying any unique abilities. They are skilled with martial and ranged weapons, but whether this comes from individual skill or some kind of feature of their species remains unclear.

### History

The Heth emerged from a lost Gnomish Kingdom in 2960 (EA), quickly overwhelming the region and destroying all traces of what is estimated to have been a very powerful kingdom. What was once a lush and magnificent region, filled with mountainside cities and monasteries, became barren and decayed by the Heth's influence. The nations of Veshen quickly responded to the threat of Heth expansion by banning together to support the surrounding nations, in hopes that they would be able to stop the Heth from conquering the world.

Over the coming centuries, the Heth established a clear territory in southwestern Veshen, with their numbers seeming to grow exponentially the closer one travels toward the now smokey mountains in the core of their new home.

### Influence On Veshen

The most obvious influence of the Heth on Veshen would be the Mirageborn faith of the Red Hand Kingdom. Once a loose coalition of desert tribes, the Heth emergence forced them to unite in order to survive and maintain their homeland, with a newly arrived human, becoming their king to unite under. To many within the new Red Hand Kingdom, the Heth signaled the death of their god, and the faithful devoted themselves to halting the Heth at any cost. Due to their proximity to each other, the other nations of Veshen were quick to send aid to the Red Hand Kingdom, to help keep the Heth at bay. Even with most of these nations unable to survive to the present day, and the Red Hand Kingdom eventually becoming a predominantly human kingdom, several treaties are still honored to ensure the Heth are relegated to the western half of the desert.

The southern most families of the Southern Hill Clan Coalition are some of the only peoples outside of the Red Hand Kingdom to follow the Mirageborn faith, building forts along their border with the Heth to keep watch and defend against any potential incursions into the gnomish territory.