Hmurrath (pronounced: /hmˈmɜːrrɑːθ/ hm-MUR-rath[4]), also known as the Hmur Empire,[1] the Hmur Imperium[2] or the Second Kingdom of Hmurrath,[3] was a merfolk empire in Serôs beneath the Sea of Fallen Stars that broke away from the Aryselmalyr Empire.[4] It was succeeded by the kingdom of Eadraal.[8]
Geography[]
The territory of Hmurrath encompassed the Hmur Plateau,[4] with its most remote outposts being situated on the slopes above the Bymmal Trench.[9]
Government[]
Each settlement of Hmurrath was centered around a clan,[10] who were collectively governed by one king or queen,[4][5][7] referred to by the title of "praessar".[7] The praessar ruled from the empire's capital city of Baomal.[5] For a long time the Hmurran's rulership over Serôs was compared favorably to the aquatic elves that ruled the Aryselmalyr Empire. However, over time the Hmurrath government similarly became subject to corruption and despotism, with its praessars causing destruction in the land comparable to the sahuagin.[2]
Over the course of the empire's history there were forty-six praessars, with thirty-seven of them being male and nine of them female.[7]
Culture[]
Hmurrath had an isolationist and patriarchal warrior culture.[10] Much of its social structure was derived from the Aryselmalyr Empire, as it had overtaken the original social structures of the merfolk of the Inner Sea that were often kept down by their aquatic elf rulers. Hmurrath also adopted Aryselmalyr's advancements in weapon technology and its complex, organized architectural styles[11] that used a combination of coral and carved stone. Though the empire distanced itself from the elven styles it adopted by adapting various hardier corals for their buildings in place of carved stone.[12]
Following in the footsteps of Aryselmalyr, the empire of Hmurrath systematically oppressed the merrows that lived on the Hmur Plateau, keeping them in a barbaric state over fears of them potentially dominating Serôs.[13] And Hmurrath's merfolk commonly carried a prejudical attitude towards all those who lacked a full fish tail like them.[10]
Time was measured in the kingdom using a system known as the Calendar of Hmur, which continued to see use by some merfolk and many locathahs long after the empire's fall.[14]
History[]
With the fall of the Aryselmalyr Empire, the Sixth Serôs War was kicked off and many of the races of Serôs that were once subjects to the aquatic elves began to vie for their own control of the undersea world.[15] Following the war's end in −145 TS (−215 DR), the empire of Hmurrath arose alongside the new empires of As'arem and the Theocracy of the Deep Ones. This signaled the start of the Third Epoch of the Inner Sea,[16][17] also known by the epithet "Time of the Merfolk".[2]
In the Seventh Serôs War (−38 TS (−108 DR)–−36 TS (−106 DR)) the empire allied with Es'rath,[16] the oldest kingdom in the shalarin empire of As'arem,[18] against the onslaught of the Theocracy of the Deep Ones.[16][19]
Hmurrath later fought alongside As'arem as a whole in the Eighth Serôs War (289 TS (219 DR)–291 TS (221 DR)) against the ixitxachitl kingdom of the Paolan Reef,[16][20][21] culminating in its destruction.[16][22]
In 652 TS (582 DR), a merrow chieftain by the name of Tarag led an uprising against Hmurrath through a combination of his own battle strategies and the legendary sword Ilbratha. He conquered the empire's western frontiers, founding the Axe Kingdoms.[23] Over time tensions gave rise to the Ninth Serôs War (723 TS (653 DR)–726 TS (656 DR)).[16][24] In the second year of this conflict the Battle of the Haunted Plains took place,[16] where the Hmurrans achieved a major victory and drove four-fifths of Serôsian merrows south, forcing the merrows to invade sahuagin territory on the other side of the Sharksbane Wall. This upset drove the sahuagin to send raiding parties over the Wall, dragging other kingdoms into the war and prolonging it.[16][24]
The genocidal violence that was conducted during Ninth Serôs War arose concern among the various people of Serôs. Four years after the conflict this culminated in Hmurrath, As'arem, and the organization of wizards known as Dukars to draft together the Laws of Battle, thus ensuring that such devastation might not foul the waters of their land in the future.[16][24]
The beginning of the end for Hmurrath began in 779 TS (709 DR) with the Tenth Serôs War. This conflict was comprised of a series of seven civil wars,[16][25][note 2] waged by the six living princes of the empire.[4] These conflicts tore the empire apart, pitting all of the races of Serôs against one another,[16][25] and caused devastating losses of life.[11] Even the shalarin contributed to decimating the empire.[16][26] Throughout these civil wars the Dukars remained uninvolved, only stepping in to protect bystanders and innocents as well as to uphold the Laws of Battle.[16]
The conflicts tearing Hmurrath apart slowly waned in time, seeming as though the warring might soon be at an end. But then in 785 TS (715 DR),[16] Serôs experienced a large influx of refugee clans from the fallen surface elf empire of Cormanthyr,[12][27] who had used an artifact known as the Sashelan Glass to transform themselves into sea elves.[12] This influx stirred up the second half of the Tenth Serôs War,[16][27][note 3] as Hmurrans grew concerned that the elves were trying to restore the ancient empire of Aryselmalyr.[16]
794 TS (724 DR) was considered by some to be the date when Hmurrath had fallen completely,[4][note 1] but remnants of the empire continued to wage war, with the Tenth Serôs War not ending until 820 TS (750 DR).[28][29] When fighting had finally ceased the merfolk were overwrought with grief over what they had lost. But among their numbers an oracle blessed by the gods arose,[26] Selana the Peacemaker.[10][28][26] She brought a reformation to the mindsets and beliefs of the merfolk,[10] restoring the age old traditions that had been lost under subjugation by Aryselmalyr, such as clan loyalty,[11] and led them back into harmony with the other races of Serôs.[28] Under her guidance the surviving Hmurran clans reformed around some of their older settlements,[4] founding the successor state of Eadraal[28][4] in 805 TS (735 DR).[28]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 As the date of 724 DR is also given on the same page where it's erroneously stated that Hmurrath fell during the Fifth Serôs War, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the date might also be an error and therefore that the end date of the Tenth Serôs War (750 DR) might be the more accurate one.
- ↑ It is erroneously stated on page 139 of Sea of Fallen Stars that it was the Fifth Serôs War where the kingdom fell in part, whereas in other parts of the book it is clearly stated to have been the Tenth Serôs War.
- ↑ It is incorrectly stated on page 136 of Sea of Fallen Stars that Myth Drannan refugees "stirred up the latter half of the Seventh Serôs War."
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
The Sea Devil's Eye
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 62. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 130. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 139. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 146. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 61–62, 70. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 135, 139. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 79. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 80. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 97. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 127. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 105. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 61. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 51. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 16.14 16.15 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 70. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 49. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 153. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 23. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 152. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 136. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 71. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.