Halynd

"'The sun hardly ever truly sets. Even the moon is said by some to be a reflection of its radiance. Even behind the clouds, it shines. We are the scions of the sun, Pelor's own in these lands, and like Him and His glorious, life-giving sphere, we can not be extinguished. Let any who would dare strike us feel our scorching wrath! Praise the sun!' - Lord Solaire IV Estus, Marquess of Halynd and Bearer of The Holy Light"The March of Halynd is one of the nine states that constitues the Placid Realms. It is bordered by the Kingdom of Fife to the north, the County of Cybel to the east, the County of Brighton to the south, the Verdant Realms to the west, and the Archlectorate of Nuln to the northwest. Historically both a military and a Pelorite stronghold, the March of Halynd has proven to be a crusader state for the majority of its existence.

Lords of War
During the Suel era, the Theme of Placitum had three castra, provinces designated as important for local defense as opposed to the normal bandons. Initially established as a sort of buffer zone, the Castra of Halindos offered a defensible position against all manner of threats, such as the uncivilized tribes of the Uhlstars to the north, and the many hordes of goblinoids, orcs, and gnolls that infested the region. From here, the appointed lord of the province, the Marqueo of Halindos, maintained a formidable fortress and gathered local resources to outfit a fighting force rivaling a small Suel legion for local defensive purposes. Over time, the barbaric hordes were pushed further and further to the fringes, and the Theme of Placitum declared sufficiently secure to warrant further expansion outward, with the Theme of Veritum and the Theme of Mercurio Fluxus. This hardly ended the duty of the marqueo, but rather, shifted his attention northwards, towards the tribes of the Uhlstars.

Through prolonged wars and peace missions, the Suel Empire, through the Castra of Halindos, was able to influence the Uhlstars. The many tribes of the Uhlstars would ally and war with one another over the years, sometimes more temporarily via diplomacy, other times more permanently through marriages between clans. Eventually, High Chief Angus of the Clan McFife, leader of a mighty tribal confederation encompassing over half of the territory of the Uhlstars, came to be seen as a valuable ally, a noble savage of sorts possessed of more tact and thoughfulness than average. The marqueo of the time grew close to Angus, and the two shared many days together hunting, riding, and feasting, with the marqueo attempting to push Angus to consolidate his power. Finally, however, a sign appeared. The two noble warriors were approached by a venerable shaman of the tribes, who foretold of an omen that would appear to the west, upon a high hill, which would direct the course of fate for ages to come. Angus gathered a mighty party of warriors, with bands from every tribe of his confederation, while the marqueo brought his finest men, and they marched west until they found the foretold hill. As they approached, a solar eclipse began, and the shaman goaded them onward, to climb the hill before the peak of the eclipse. As the men mounted the hill, the eclipse reached its height, and suddenly it seemed that the sun itself was assaulting them, as a beam of pure sunfire shot down upon them. At first they were afraid, but soon realized the fire did not harm them, even as the ground beneath them was scorched black. Daring to look, it is said that those who gazed at the sun were not blinded, but instead saw the visage of the sun god Pelor, who spoke to them and gave them His blessing. According to accounts of the event, He said unto them "those who carry me in their hearts will burn bright for all eternity, in this life and the next", and then the eclipse suddenly ended. The whole of those assembled were converted, the shaman blinded, and the blackened hill later became the Holy City of Nuln, seat of the Church of Pelor.

Marching back to the lands of the many Uhlstar tribes, Angus announced his intention to destroy a coalition of all his rivals led by an Uhlstar tribe known as the Pogues. The Castra of Hunados in the east had been bedeviled by them for generations, as they had little interest in any form of civilizing, living as nomadic raiders. The Marqueo of Halindos saw an opportunity, and pledged his support to Angus, swearing to smite the Pogues with him. Their forces met in the Battle of Suthambria, where Angus earned the title Hammer of the Pogues for utterly destroying his enemies. The forces of the Castra of Halindos as well as the Castra of Hunados were present and supported High Chief Angus, though his own tribal warriors were the true heroes of the day, all with crude yellow circles painted on their armor to mimic the sun disc of their new god. While the forces of Suel fought with discipline, and those of Halindos with newfound faith as well, the forces loyal to Angus fought with a zeal and fury unseen before, praising the sun with every strike. With that, the Kingdom of Fife was declared, and established amicable relations with the Suel Empire through the Castra of Halindos.

Crusade Eternal
Centuries later, with the Great Collapse shattering the many realms of the Suel Empire into individual fiefdoms, Marqueo Solaire Estus became Lord Solaire of House Estus, 1st Marquess of Halynd. While the Theme of Placitum was no more, there was still plenty to defend. While never so large and powerful as the Kingdom of Fife to the north, Halynd was still counted by the Church of Pelor as a land of the dutiful and faithful, a land with a regular crop of crusaders and priests rising from the populace. They were raised by the Arch-Lector of Nuln to the ecclesiastical rank of a lectorate, equal to the Kingdom of Fife, though the Marquess of Halynd was never given the title Defender of the Faith that the King of Fife enjoyed. Over the millennia, many Halynders have excelled in the local seminaries and been able to travel to Nuln for further instruction in the divine mysteries of the Pelorite faith, and some throughout the years have even had the honor of serving in the Solar Fraternal Guard, the elite personal bodyguards of the Arch-Lector. The Halynd March Guard, occasionally led by the reigning marquess, has many times sent one or more companies to serve in a crusade as they have been called over the years by the Arch-Lector.

During the Great War Against Tiamat, Halynd answered the call to arms issued by the Church of Pelor, sending the whole of the March Guard to Nuln. Once there, they, alongside men from Fife and assorted units from the Verdant Realms, united under the Arch-Lector Ewan the Scarred to form the the Blazing Crusade, a legion of devout Pelorites that rose to fight the forces of evil. The crusaders marched far and wide, defending the Kingdom of Fife in the east, regrouping in Nuln to repel a trio of wyrms that almost breached the Cathedral of the Holy Eclipse, and chasing the last of the scaled menace, the vile wyrm Huzar, south into the County of Brighton, where it was finally laid to rest. While still not Defender of the Faith, the Arch-Lector did bless the march and declare it, its lord, and its people to be Lightbearers, a Pelorite accolade reserved for those who live a righteous life and model the faith admirably, usually given to those just below the ranks of the saints and martyrs. To this day, the Marquess of Halynd styles himself Bearer of The Holy Light.

During the Great River War, Halynd provided a fierce bastion of resistance against the forces of Fife, who themselves were reluctant to invade. Perhaps out of sympathy for their coreligionists, or some sense of brotherhood dating back to the time of the Pogues, the Fifians hardly dared enter Halynd, opting to go around. While the forces of the Kingdom of Fife did fight the March Guard of Halynd throughout the war, Fifian forces seldom were a rare sight in the march indeed. It was through the Marquess of Halynd that the Placid Realms were able to secure the aid of Nuln in brokering a peace deal through a neutral mediator, Supreme Patriarch and second in command of the Church of Pelor Balthasar Gelt.

Religion
The March of Halynd is largely Pelorite with a decent number of Kordians mixed in. The Church of Pelor enjoys the status of official religion, with the Marquess being crowned either by the Lector of Halynd or, in certain cases, the Arch-Lector of Nuln himself. Halynder architecture tends to emphasize sunlight through the use of stained glass even outside of religious buildings, as it is believed to invite in blessings of Pelor. Pelorite worship in Halynd tends to have a slightly more militant bent than average, leading to the reputation of a land on an eternal crusade. More realistically, this tends to encourage more hero types, which meshes well with nearby Pelorite culture; some speculate this may be a holdover of the Kordian past in the Castra of Halindos. Due to proximity to Nuln, Halynd has a slightly higher than average number of highly trained Pelorite specialists and members of holy orders, such as the Golden Order of Radiant Servants. Many towns have a communal fire pit in the center for both religious gatherings and mundane functions such as lighting torches or bringing fire to one's hearth.

Culture
The March of Halynd is a land of passionate worshipers and eager martyrs, all waiting to one day be called to a higher purpose. There is a strong belief that they are responsible for spreading the good word far and wide, and as a result they tend to throw themselves headfirst into any and all endeavors, hoping to live and perhaps die as virtuously as possible. Many Halynders have no fear of death, believing that their faith in life will bring them closer to Pelor in death. Personal sacrifice is seen as a noble endeavor so long as it is in service to good, and is highly encouraged. While self-denial is not necessarily espoused as an ideal life, struggle in the name of good often means going without, and Halynders will gladly sacrifice for the sake of another. They usually explain this attitude in some solar metaphor: usually that the light and flame spread by touch, and that to smother it helps no one. This usually leads to intellectual and theological sparring with Kordians, who consider principled self-denial to be a form of personal discipline and inner development. Hence, Halynders tend to be more openly charitable, and willing to receive without shame.

Politics
The March of Halynd maintains good relations among the other Placid Realms, including regularly offering to send a company of their March Guard to help with any potential problems and foster good goodwill, spreading their light by actions rather than words. At least once a year, one company or more gets sent across the realms to assist in some affair, usually a particularly savage tribal gathering of orcs, goblinoids, or similarly bestial beings. Prior to the Great River War, the Kingdom of Fife was considered both a friendly neighbor and a longstanding comrade, with their shared faith and history binding them and fostering amicable relations. The Archlectorate of Nuln enjoys high esteem in Halynd, with the Marquess sending a regular tithing of gold in addition to a ready flow of crusaders to the holy city. The neighboring Verdant Realms receive a degree of trade, but not the diplomatic involvement Halynd invests in its other neighbors. House Estus has reigned since the time of the Castra of Halindos, and advances the Pelorite cause at every chance, funding all manner of projects in celebration of His shining glory.

Ecology
The March of Halynd features more rolling hillsides than most of the rest of the Placid Realms. In most areas, the land is fertile, and closer to the remaining functional mines and quarries, the rockier soil makes for excellent potato growing. Towns and villages are often tucked into small valleys or atop select hills, with the land beside them used for agriculture depending on climate; a hilltop village may have been built there to allow the valley to produce high volumes of grain, while a valley village may reserve the surrounding hills for fruit cultivation, for instance. In either case, food grows readily, and the operational mines and quarries provide enough raw materials to locally sustain a decent life, with enough left over for maintaining the March Guard and providing the the Marquess' tithe. While only a single gold mine operates, it is enough, and local iron deposits keep men at arms armed and dangerous. This is a necessity, as the fertile lands allow for more sophisticated threats, from greater bands of gnolls and larger orc tribes raiding the area to goblinoids that play at higher civilization, such as the dreaded Gobboboi Confederacy that plagued the region for a bloodsoaked decade. Toward the east and southeast the land becames more marshy, wherein stalk all manner of foul beast. The southern fringes become slightly more flatland, with limited herds of wild horses occasionally crossing over from Brighton. Semi-legendary pests, such as the King of the Kobolds, the Cackle of Yeenoghu, and the dreaded orc Maguk Manbasher have called Halynd home, and there is never a shortage of such things.

Economy
The March of Halynd profits by way of agricultural exports to Nuln. The Archlectorate simply does not have the agricultural base to support its disproportionately high population, especially given that much of that population is engaged in affairs beyond the mundane and worldly. Furthermore, arts and crafts dedicated to Pelor fetch a high price, with stained glass and golden ornaments generating high revenues. Glaziers and goldsmiths are slightly more common in Halynd, and they ply their craft readily. Blacksmithing is another common trade, usually in service to the March Guard in the form of arms and armor. Mining, smithing, and farming make up the three most important industries, and related trades form the majority of the economy. Exports of finished goods generate significant revenue, allowing for the maintenance of the March Guard with ease, and the local bounty keeps stewpots full and people clothed.

Military
The Halynd March Guard is a powerful force for good in the world, funded by gold and fueled by faith. It maintains the largest Realm Guard in the Placid Realms at an astonishing seventeen companies, many filled with eager crusaders that have traveled far and wide to spread the good word of the sun god. The majority of units are infantry, wearing breastplates emblazoned with the sun disc and wielding maces and heavy steel shields. Among the elites are the 1st, 8th, and 17th Companies, each a different flavor of cavalry specialists, all in half-plate and with masterwork gear. The Halynd March Guard 1st Company is known as the Solar Stallions, and they bring to bear unrelenting force, wielding war maces with brutal efficiency, rushing into the fray and pummeling enemies into submission. The Halynd March Guard 8th Company, known as the Moon Riders, instead opt for a support role by firing greatbows from horseback, usually stylized to look like crescent moons, the reflection of the sun; even their breastplates bear a unique crescent moon emblem. Just as the moon is meant to be the pale reflection of the sun, the Moon Riders are the subtle, quick counterpart of the aggressive mode of action the Solar Stallions are known for. The Halynd March Guard 17th Company, established after the Great War Against Tiamat, are known as the Lightbringers, and wield lances, smashing through lines and trampling foes underfoot with golden pennants streaming behind them. Combined, these three companies offer great flexibility and support, and make the Halynd March Guard a terrifying force when fully brought to bear. During the Great War Against Tiamat, the whole of the March Guard was deployed, fighting valiantly but hardly joyously, as their enemy was their coreligionists and historical brothers in arms.