Halruaan
History
Halruaans are the descendants of two cultural groups. Their original ethnicity comes from the Lapal (forebears of the Tashalans), a people who fled to this region after escaping their yuan-ti masters in the jungles near the Lapal Sea. More than three millennia ago, these escaped slaves settled a sheltered valley region that sat along the southern coast of Faerûn, surrounded on three 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 monster problems, but their existence was secluded and undisturbed for over a thousand years.
When the empire of Netheril was shattered by the folly of Karsus and the magic of the phaerimm, a number of wizards, along with their families, servants, and extended clans, fled the northland, led by the archmage Raumark. They traveled southward by way of skyships, looking for a place where they could both hide from the phaerimm and settle into a life of magic once more. Eventually, they came upon a broad valley set between three mountain ranges that even their skyships had difficulty traversing. There they found the simple Lapal people, still farming and fishing.
Within three generations, the two groups had merged into one culture. The Netherese taught the ways of magic, and the Lapal offered the secrets of using the land's resources. In the centuries since then, the Halruaans have enjoyed a good life while preparing for invasion from elsewhere, always expecting either the phaerimm or other jealous nations to come and try to take their magic away.
At one point late in the second century DR, a small faction of Leira worshipers broke from the wizards of Halruaa and relocated to the island of Nimbral. Though they are Halruaan by blood, they are a distinct culture separated from their kin by many miles of ocean.
Outlook
Halruaans are a happy people who treat one another with exaggerated niceties, though they are suspicious of outsiders and always suspect strangers of trying to appropriate their magical secrets. They enjoy the fruits of their labors well, for the quality of life in a land filled with wizards is high. Even the basest of commoners might be able to perform a few simple spells. Likewise, with magic so common in the culture, most people have managed to acquire at least one or two magic items.
Few Halruaans develop wanderlust. Of those that do venture beyond the mountains that shelter their home, most are simply on a quest for new and unusual spell components or devices they have never seen before. Ironically, Halruaans are loath to give up their own magical mysteries, but they don't think twice about acquiring the arcane lore of others.
Halruaan Society
Halruaans make a point of elevating those accomplished in the arcane arts. It's a fact of their society that masterful wizardry is the ultimate goal in life. That is not to say that they scorn or abuse those who cannot wield magic. On the contrary, the lowly cook who must light a fire with flint and steel serves an important function - even the high evoker needs a full belly to practice his magic. Still, the haves and the have-nots are clearly delineated in Halruaa, though no discriminatory laws against magic-bereft individuals exist in the nation.
Appearance is everything among Halruaans, the flashier the better. Folk measure one another by their dress, responsibilities, and transportation, impressed all the more if magic is a part of all three. Halruaans prefer to dress in bright colors, lavishly adorn themselves with trinkets and magical effects, and ride in luxurious vehicles. Conveyances are often magic items, such as a skyship or carpet of flying.
In the countryside, flamboyant ways are not so important, but the use and display of magic still is. Rural folk value the practical application of magic more than magic for its own sake. A spell or item that can harvest the crop or herd the sheep more efficiently is esteemed more than flashy wizardry.
The Halruaan government is also set up around the influence of magic. The netyarch, or wizard-king, of Halruaa is generally accepted to be the single most powerful magic-wielding individual in the entire nation, culled from an elite group of wizards called the Council of Elders. It is the wizard-king, with advice and assistance from the elders, who determines the policies of the land. A netyarch certainly recognizes the value of evaluating decisions from evey angle, but everyone understands that decrees handed down favor those with the gift of the Art.
Language and Literacy
Halruaans almost universally speak Halruaan, which is simply a modern dialect of ancient Netherese. They employ the Draconic alphabet in their writings. Of course, no self-respecting Halruaan wizard limits themself to a single language. Many go out of their way to master half a dozen or so tongues, many of them ancient and or dead, to aid in magical research. The lowliest wizards learn at least one or two other languages, if for no other reason than to better facilitate trade with nearby nations.
A land of wizards is also a land of literacy. Those who cannot invoke arcane energy still learn to read and write at an early age. The Halruaans have two reasons for this basic education. The first is to uncover those Halruaan children who have a spark of magic in them, which is accomplished through a series of tests. Part of the preparation for these tests is learning to read and write. Additionally, a developed intellect is prized in Halruaa, as the nation's public school system, which all youngsters attend, shows. Literacy is quintessential to this point of personal pride.
