Yaiel
Yaiel is the federation of the kingdoms of the halflings and spans different parts of Hillit. It is a fruitful nation well known for its incredible agricultural fertility.
Yaiel is a simple, down-to-earth civilization that tries to ignore the complications and nuances found with more delicate races, like the eladrin. They have a simple hierarchy, general good will, and many farming communities in Yaiel. There aren't many adventurers from Yaiel, but the few adventures that come from there are known for their reliability and rationality.
Yaiel is a very hands-on place. Magic is not well-loved or understood, so it is mostly ignored. Simple, practical things are held in the highest regard, as is honest labor. Yaielans wear practical and simple earth-toned clothing.
Yaielans are almost all halflings. Arcane magic is treated as a foolish endeavor, but the divine magic of the clergies are respected.
Demography and Population
Yaiel has over fourty kingdoms, all of which are predominantly halfling. Few non-halflings find themselves comfortable in the relatively smaller buildings and settlements
There are two broad regions in Yaiel: the northern kingdoms on Forcun-Laianith and the southern kingdoms on Oini. There are about 494,000 citizens in the northern kingdoms and about 2,625,000 citizens in the southern kingdoms.
The northern and southern kingdoms have approximately the following distribution:
Territories
Yaiel has numerous kingdoms in its borders. fairly regularly, neighboring kings will push their knightly orders against each other to try and take fertile territory, but open warfare is rare. The Kaiser allows these border squabbles when they are contained -- it keeps the kings distracted, the populace rarely suffers directly, and is largely entertaining to him.
Much of the territory in Yaiel is exceptionally fertile. Powerful nature priests of Yaiel are able to evoke divine blessings on the farms, which they do every spring in a festival of new life.
A typical Yaiel kingdom is 20-40 miles across.
Military
Yaiel's kingdoms have standing armies, trained knightly orders, and small battle priest orders. The coastal kingdoms also have defensive navies.
The militaries largely fight each other for territory, but usually for surrender and not destruction. Citizens, farms, and villages are off limits in their code of honorable warfare and their prisoner treatment is one of the most humane in the United Halla Alliance.
Technological Level
Yaiel has a strong mechanical tradition of agrarian invention and flashy warfare. It has unparalleled understanding of how farming can be optimized.
Yaiel is strongly lacking in arcanum developments and artifice. Most common folk dismiss arcanum, so it doesn't receive much support. The most popular arcanist class is bard -- they can be charming, jovial, and can evoke similar magic to priests.
Religion
Yaiel is deeply observant to the Celestial Pantheon. The kings are crowned in religious ceremonies by celestial priests of Allathra. Priests of Aalun help keep order and some, who focus on his nature aspect, perform the fertility rites of the week-long spring festival of new life. Powerful priests are able to evoke significant enough magic to even bless the land with a bountiful harvest.
Some priests of Allathra focus on his martial aspect and become battle priests. These holy men wade into combat with the sole purpose of enforcing the Yaiel code of military conduct for all sides. In general, this means that it is bad form to coup de grâce an enemy when they are down, the humane treatment of prisoners, and non-combatants are strictly not eligible for warfare. There are ideals in combat, and the battle priests uphold them above all else.
Community is crucial to Yaielans, so devotion to Laetha is widespread. The red moon's crimson priests of hospitality, love, unity, and mercy are respected in any kingdom.
Arcanum is distrusted by the masses, so Corserei has a bit more of an odd-one-out relationship with the typical denizen. Mysteries, secrets, magic, and knowledge don't matter as much to them. However, the Stoa priests who focus on education are respected.
The Cyclical pantheon isn't particularly revered, but mystery cults to the Cycle do exist in some kingdoms. Few other courts are respected by the masses, but there are druids of the Spirit pantheon who help keep the land healthy and strong.
Foreign Relations
Yaiel is generally liked by the rest of the United Halla Alliance. The halflings are seen as almost adorable in their small kingdoms by outside nations, which Yaiel finds fairly patronizing.
The northern kingdoms of Yaiel border Isoka and has friction with them. A few kingdoms have 'left' the federation under the Kaiser and joined Isoka in the last decade. The Kaiser has not suggested any manipulations by the High Emperor Kianoush Eskandar, but the kingdoms beneath the Kaiser insist that they were conquered using Isokan spies and intrigue for their agricultural prowess.
The northern kingdoms of Yaiel are approximately 1.75 × 1011 fl2 (16,000 km2). The southern kingdoms of Yaiel are approximately 9.13 × 1011 fl2 (85,000 km2).
Agriculture & Industry
Yaiel, for its small size, is a powerhouse in agriculture. The techniques, methods, and tools Yaiel has developed for farming and animal husbandry is second to none in the United Halla Alliance. Yaiel produces more food than any other civilization and, since the actual citizens do not eat much, export the majority of it. Yaiel is well known for its wines, oils, grains, rice, and fermented products.
Yaielan industry is focused on three things: agriculture, construction, and warfare. Much of Yaiel's invention has been around perfecting agrarian techniques, such as developing new tools and equipment. Yaiel also has a booming castle industry. Each kingdom wants to have the most *luxurious* and *modern* castle as a status symbol, so keeps are frequently upgraded and refined. The frequent squabbles of the kingdoms also produces a decent warfare industry with weapons, armor, and training mounts (large war mastiffs and ponies, mostly).
Trade & Transport
Yaiel has numerous roads, most of them paved, that allow farming villages to bring their crop to their kingdom's central city. From there, food is sorted, organized, and either kept or sold to outsiders. Foreign traders will often meet in a lymu blanngäh (/ˈlymʊ blanˈgeː/ , large town), where buildings are scaled to be more comfortable for the larger folk. Here, they can sign the contracts needed to obtain large shipments of food, which the glensch übüssti (/glənʃ y:ˈbʏstɪ/ , far traveler) caravans will then deliver, either through ship or through land.
Education
Yaielans enjoy the Stoa educational programs for their children. Most halflings stay in a schooling environment until they are about 25 years old, then they will pursue a trade. There are a few Universitate campuses in various kingdoms that welcome any halfling into their halls.
Infrastructure
Yaiel has a robust infrastructure in its kingdoms.
Across all of Yaiel, the halflings have dozens and dozens of keeps, castles, and forts. There are hundreds of farms in the scattered kingdoms. There are well-maintained roads, traveler's shrines, caravansaries, and wanderer's inns. Major cities have sophisticated sewer systems, springs of water, and numerous amenities.
Yaiel's wealthiest resource is its farms, which produce a significant amount of the United Halla Alliance's food. There is little in the way of artifice, though.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Alternative Names
The Allied Kingdoms of Yaiel
Demonym
Yaielan
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Yaiel follows the Standard Currency model.
Major Exports
Yaiel exports food and agrarian tools.
Major Imports
Yaiel imports stone, metal, linen, leather, and furs.
Legislative Body
Each kingdom of Yaiel has its own monarch who determines local laws. The Kaiser oversees the monarchs and balances the local laws into a cohesive legal system.
Judicial Body
Each kingdom has its own courts (and the Arbiter's Outpost), where the local monarchs are the second highest court. For extreme crimes, or for crimes spanning kingdoms, the Kaiser's courts intervene.
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Location
Official Languages
Related Ethnicities
Comments