Spacious pasture land...
Abundant agriculture...
The deadly Golden Plains...
Races
Chīali (Halflings)
The Pure Caretakers
- The highest good is kindness
- The kindest person is the one who shares what he has with his neighbor
- The most sacred life is the neighbor
- The most sacred duty is caring for the needs of others
- The most wicked evil is selfishness
- The most heinous crime is refusing to extend or receive hospitality
Overview
The continent of Chīa is characterized by the golden plains that dominate the continental grasslands. In the gleaming twilight hours, the fields glimmer as they rise and fall in waves beneath the prairie gales as though the entire continent were breathing the sweet aroma of Chīali summer air. But behind the glint of the golden plains, a deadly presence floats on the breeze. Banshee's Breath - as the golden grains have come to be called by outsiders - produces a pollen that, while harmless to the inhabitants of Chīa, causes rapid clotting of the blood in any trespasser unfortunate enough to inhale it. While Chīa is benevolent its own, the continent is secluded from outsiders. And so the Empty Plains would have remained, had it not been for the kindness of the Chīali.
Though they have lived in isolation as the only sentient race on their continent, the Chīali - also called halflings by other Terras - believe everything good they receive is a gift that must be shared. Individual success is meaningless if the community suffers. Thus, they worked their land with gladness and gratitude as a coalition of villages dedicated to their continent and to each other. The Chīali villages are very distant from each other, but this is to provide ample land for each family and avoid conflicts over farm or pasture boundaries. The Chīali are extremely peaceable and religiously practice selflessness and hospitality to all their brethren.
Selflessness is the pillar of Chīali communities. Everything is shared. Everything is communal – except for the land. The Chiīali maintain the integrity of private property and respect the sanctity of territorial ownership. However, the Chīali nearly always default to generosity in a conflict, even when their magnanimity was tested by the arrival of the first aliens to the shores of Chiīa.
Villages
There are many villages that pepper the interior of Chīa. A few of the larger, notable ones are listed here.
Ptiliah: The Liberator of the Golden Plains
Ptiliah is one of the few coastal towns. The Chīali do not care much for exploration and find their greatest joy in permanent settlement. Ptiliah is a prime example of this virtue. Though it is technically a port town, the production of seafaring vessels ceased entirely after the Tragic Return. Now the only vessels constructed are for coastal fishing in the crystal waters of Chīa.
The village was named in honor of Chief Ptīr Ptiliah who united multiple villages, not by collective kindness but in collective aggression, to retake the Eastern coast of Chīa from the monsters that had congregated along those shores. During the campaign of Ptīr Ptiliah, the great chief was killed in the final stand against the monsters. The loss of Chīali life weighed heavy upon the people and they hung up their weapons for good. But out of gratitude to Ptiliah for his leadership, his clan established the village of Ptiliah on the coast he helped liberate, and they dedicated the field of battle where he lost his life to serve as a monument to his altruism. Today, the Empty Plains remain unsettled and wild as the highest tribute and most sacred honor to the Liberator of the Golden Plains.
Fęr Dishur: The Crux of the Rivers
This river-locked village serves as the crux of the three sections of Chīa. The rivers Fer and Kinid flow from the south and south west regions of Chīa to merge at the Falls of Fyemmina, after which they flow as a single river called Ferkinidinl all the way to Port Mercy.
Fęr Dishur is unique in that it gleans its sustenance not from agriculture or stock animals, but from charging a service fee for any Chīali who wish to transport their goods downstream without suffering the rage of the Falls. Fęr Dishur is the only village in Chīali that is not self-sufficient.
Port Mercy: The Gateway of Commerce
Like the rest of the Chīali villages, Port Mercy remains quiet and pleasant year-round except during the two-month rainy season in which the city becomes a furious hive of trade activity and massive ferries transporting Chīali goods to the Crown - an island chain outside Chīa.
During the rainy season, the two-month window free of Banshee's Breath opens and vessels plunge into Port Mercy eager to be loaded with the long list of orders that accumulate over the course of the year. To prevent any blockades or mix-ups, the only ships allowed to transport good between Chīa and the Crown are the massive Barge Ferries developed by Nakada. Trade vessels from the other continents make port at the Crown where they check-in with their orders and wait for loading. Then, the barges transport numerous orders from Port Mercy back to the Crown where the cargo is unloaded and transferred to the the correct vessels.
Shetesh
The small ranching community is recently one of the most incredible villages in Chīa. Nestled beneath the Wrestling Rock, it is the home village of local hero, Koozon.
Over one hundred years ago, the storm god - Rangi - appeard over the cliffs overlooking Shetesh. Tearing a hole in the sky with lighting and thunder, Rangi hurled a whirling pillar of ice and storm onto the cliffs, freezing the plains and coating Shetesh in a blanket of sleet and snow. The terrified villagers closed themselves in their little huts, trying to keep warm. But they knew nothing of frost or winter; they were without firewood, without food. Huddled in their huts, they worried for their brothers and sisters out on the plains. How would they make it home in a blizzard; how would they even survive the ice storm on the plains? Little did they know, their salvation was already in motion.
When the blizzard flooded the plains, Koozon was reaching for a runaway calf who had fallen into a canyon. He had just caught up with the little creature when the snows thundered down from the cliffs. They buried in his herd at the base of the cliffs below. Over the roar of Rangi's ice pouring over the edge of the cliffs, Koozon heard the cries of his cattle being crushed in the canyons far below. Terror in his heart and snow in his eyes, Koozon looked frantically for shelter. Finally, he spotted a crevice in the canyon walls. He started for the cave when he heard the little cries of the calf still trapped in the canyon. Thunder and Lighting rocked the cliffs, but Koozon braved the climb down into the canyon.
Fingers numb and bleeding, cliffside slippery and cold, Koozon climbed down to the little calf - the last of his herd. As he reached the floor of the canyon, Rangi's fury thundered with a loud crack above him, and the upper lip of the canyon edge came tumbling toward him. The calf screamed, tugging frantically at its captured leg. Koozon dove for the creature. He tucked his body around the little calf just as the frigid rocks came tumbling down on top of them.
In the darkness of their frigid tomb, the sounds of storm were muffled by the rocks but replaced by Koozon's screams. Somewhere in the darkness, his leg was pinned beneath a rock. A warm kiss graced his tear-streaked face. The little calf was free from the crevice. But who had freed it?
A warm glow sprouted from the place where the calf had kissed Koozon, and when the light faded, his leg no longer hurt. He was also no longer staring into the eyes of calf, but the very eyes of Yona, goddess of the plains.
"Shepherd. You have fulfilled your sacred duty. But you have more to do."
"I have nothing to fight against a God."
"Go to the top of the mountain. You will find the strength along the way. And at the top, you will find the strength you require to end this winter."
Koozon, with his leg freshly healed, gasped as the rocks around him were lifted from him. The talisman hummed in his hands and the rocks lifted away.
Koozon climbed to the top. Where he found Rangi at war with himself in the ice and storm. Koozon used the Talisman to duel the storm god. Those villagers who could brave the downpour of icy rain beheld the summit of the mountain alive with the flashes of eerie light and the great shouts and rumbles of a great battle unfolding upon the summit. For a day and a night, the storm ravaged the mountain and the land surrounding. But on the morning of the next day, just as suddenly as it had opened, the pillar of ice withdrew into the sky, and the land was warmed again by the glow of the sun. For Koozon had triumphed over Rangi.
Koozon returned to Shetesh a hero. He went back to his simple life as a herdsman, but every year after, he made the trek back to the top of the mountain in remembrance of Yona's provision for the plains.
Today, the villagers of Shetesh make Koozon's Climb every year to remember their ancient hero and appease the wrath of Rangi, believing that their welfare depends on the success of this ritual.
Legends say, that Koozon the Deliverer fought with the Storm God for a day and a night and defeated the Storm God with the help of a talisman delivered to him by the Plains Goddess, Yona. To prove his tale, Koozon brought the Talisman back to Shetesh and the villagers celebrated his victory over the rampaging god and praised the goddess whose favor now rested on Shetesh.
History
The Golden Plains and the Merciful Rains
The air of Chīa sparkles in the early morning hours in glinting specks of vaporous pollen. It is not uncommon to find many villagers rising stopping their work to gaze at the swirling shining clouds launched into the clear blue sky by herds of cattle or horses charging across the plains. The delicate beauty of the Banshee's Breath is interrupted only by the two-month rainy season that knocks the pollens from the sky and coats the continent in unceasing showers of blue and grey. It is in this two-month period that Chīa becomes habitable to foreigners, and its doors are suddenly opened to the sharp culture of the other continents.
Annual Mayhem
Minerals, agriculture, exotic beasts - all these resources were highly desired by the global market but none could seem to access the island long enough to make a transaction without dying in the process. And even once they had left the island, the exports were still at a biological weapon status because of the pollen that clung to the cargo. This "minor set-back" did not, however, deter the economically aggressive gnomes of Asah'Ibolim from launching multiple projects to pierce the veil of the Banshee's Breath.
Nakada Industries - the reigning gnomish monopoly before the Seafolk Exodus funneled impossible sums of resources into developing a vaccine for Banshee's Breath in their laboratories on Sembre. In the meantime, they set up a trade post on one of the islands in the Cap - a belt of islands about a few miles off the coast of Chīa that appear to "crown" the northern rim of the continent. The Crown is actually one extensive island as its prominent land masses as separated not by open water, but by miles and miles of wade-level shallows. Though at first the Crown seemed an unfortunate obstacle to trade between Sembre and Chīa, it has since become an integral midpoint for the sanitization of exports through the process of "scrubbing," a process introduced by the Seafolk themselves.
The process of completing successful transactions between the Chīali and these foreigners was surrounded by death until the Seafolk introduced the coral scrub that could sanitize the exports, effectively removing all traces of Banshee's Breath from cargo. This also helped promote good relations with the local mermaid population, who harvested the coral for the Chīali in exchange for materials. Still, even with this new sanitization method, all imported goods from Chīa are held in customs for absurd periods of time to ensure their safety.
After the Seafolk showed that the Banshee's Breath could be removed from exports, the gnomes convinced the Chīali to construct Port Mercy on the northern tip of the continent to facilitate swift trade with the ports strung across the Crown. Although, the Chīali were raised in a strictly agricultural environment, they proved to be adept in the extensive organization and execution of the trade season. Nakada was so impressed by their management that the company eventually withdrew its hand as a director of the trade seasons and became merely a facilitator - providing a majority of the barges ferry the goods. Nakada's decision was also influenced by some bad press which had revealed that Nakada's supervisors on the Chīali mainland were held in station too long and died from Banshee's Breath poisoning, but they prefered not to mention that.
Odyssey
With the possibility of entering by ship came the subsequent possibility of leaving by that same way, and the idea of escaping Chīa infected the Chīali youth faster than a Banshee's Breath infection.
Of course, not all halflings agree with the concept of practical selflessness. And when the presence of foreigners arrived in grand trade vessels, the youth of the Halfling community were invigorated to escape their hospitable prisons and explore the world beyond the golden plains. Since the nature of generosity is not compulsory in the Halfling culture, it was decided that all Halfling youth were to be given a time of “odyssey” as they transitioned into adulthood to explore the world and decide if they would stay in Chīa or leave it all behind. This was followed by a massive Children’s Exodus.
At the first onset of this new proclamation among the villages countless Chīali took to the first barges that reached the rain-soaked docks of Port Mercy. Teary-eyed parents watched their young ones drift into the terrifying embrace of the horizon, hopeful that they would return, but proud of their children’s courage. Almost all the Chīali were carried to the ports of North Sembre and Asah’Ibolim. Some unlucky few were shipped to Sahr’Barabor. Only one ship went to Dysmiridia. Some thrived, others failed. In the end, when the next rainy season came the following year, a large group of the Sembre halflings boarded vessels to assuage their homesickness. They would return to Chīa.
The returners were welcomed with jubilee from parents who had, for months, longed for their far-off children. The day passed in happiness and celebration until one by one, the gladsome returners began to choke and sputter -faces pale, eyes burning and betrayed, hearts contracting against massive clots wrought by Banshee’s Breath. The returned wanders had lost their ability to breath the Banshee’s Breath by their time away from Chīa and had come home not to their sanctuary but to their own slaughter.
Word was immediately sent out to those Chīali still abroad to stay away form the island except during the rainy seasons. Chīali made deals with gnomish researchers to determine the exact time-window for Chīali to wander and still retain their life in Chīa. The reports came back: six weeks. The Odyssey could only last six weeks. After that, the Chīali would lose their ability to breath the Banshee’s Breath and lose the Golden Plains forever.
The champion of Chīa
Vyttía
Vyttía was a restless Chīali who spent her childhood in Fęr Dishur honing her skills as a ranger and yearning for her Odyssey. When her journey took her to Asahb'Olim, Vyttía skipped the mines by finding work at the trade outposts on the Cap, promoting trade relations on the gate into Chīa. There she met Arciborus Açah Ravajá who took a liking to the halfling and offered her a position as "Chīa Liaison" to Nakhada Industries.
When the Continental Alliance was formed, Arciborus suggested that Vyttía represent Chīa in the Oceanic 8. Vyttía agreed with surprising swiftness – eager to prove her race’s position in the globalized society – and soon became an integral part of the alliance.
Despite her enthusiasm, Vyttía struggled to gain acceptance in the group as she was regarded as either naïve or insolent by her peers. Eventually, she became friends with Noldûr. After the Nautilus War, she stayed with her friend in Dûrdn until Pax arrived with his army of Oceanic Guard to seize their Nautilus Pieces. That was the last anyone ever heard of or saw Vyttía.
It is said that the Chīali hero was killed in the destruction of Noldûr’s mansion when the dwarf was arrested that violent, stormy night. But the question remaned: where did Vyttía go and where is her Nautilus Piece?
During the Apocalypse of 1624, Oceanus and Talon Duása travelled to Chīa and discovered that Vyttía had made her way back to her homeland to hide her Nautilus Piece before setting out to rejoin her dear friend Noldûr, and eventually bring his body back to his people in High Dûrdn. Having lost her ability to breathe Banshee's Breath after the protracted running from Pax, Vyttía was unable to return to her own people. But her heroic endeavor to bring Noldûr back to the kingdom peaks won her favor with the dwarves, and Vyttía lived out the rest of her days on the mountains at the top of the world.