HATTIAS (County of)
Location: Large island off the southeastern corner of the continent of Brun, south of the City of Thyatis, east of Minrothad. OW
Area: 12,980 sq. mi. (33,620 sq. km.).
Population: 300,000 including the city of Hattias (pop. 30,000) and the towns of Port Hatti (pop. 10,000), Vinton (pop. 5,000), Pilion (pop. 10,000), and Grey Bay (pop. 7,500) and Fort Southpoint (pop. 1,250).
Languages: Thyatian (Hattian dialect).
Coinage: Thyatian Standard: emperor (pp), lucin (gp), asterius (sp), denarius (cp).
Taxes: 25% income tax collected quarterly on the aristocracy, nobility, and wealthy; 20% income tax collected quarterly on everyone else (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, and Ei. 1). Thyatians abroad must still pay their taxes. Expensive and magical items are also taxed 25% of their worth. 10% imperial commercia sales tax on all goods except food, clothing, and fixed assets; levied on imports, rebated on exports. Tax on slave owning equal to 50% of the slave's value annually. Property tax levied based on quality of land, roughly 6% of its value annually.
Government Type: Dominion, member of the Thyatian Empire.
Industries: Agriculture, ale & beer, animals (especially sheep & goats), crafts, fishing, oil, privateering, trade, wine, wool.
Important Figures: Heinrich Oesterhaus (Count, human, male, Pr20 of Thanatos), Eugenos (Lord, human, male, M20).
Flora and Fauna: Mulberry trees (for sericulture), grape vines, olive trees, cedar, peach, pear, orange, and cherry fruit trees in cultivated orchards. Herds of cattle, sheep, horses, goats, swine, and mules. Bees kept for honey. Bears, boars, centaurs, lycanthropes, mountain lions, foxes, dryads, wolves, unicorns and goblinoids can be found in the wilds of the empire.
Further Reading: Dawn of the Emperors boxed set, DDA1 Arena of Thyatis, DDA2 Legions of Thyatis, previous almanacs.
Description by Vivianna Romanones.
This county is known for its racial intolerance. The Storm Soldiers make their home here, and they preach about racial purity and how women should stay at home to raise families and not try to learn to fight or obtain power. Hattias rebelled several times against the empire, most recently leading the way in unleashing the War of the Crown rebellion.
The Land
The largest dominion of the Thyatian heartland, Hattias has long been known as a somewhat infertile island. But for some reason ever since the sinking of Alphatia Hattias has received more rainfall and the land has begun to become more productive as a result. The northern areas along Vanya's Girdle are perhaps the most productive, acre for acre, and are host to fields and vineyards that primarily serve the needs of the City of Thyatis. The hills here are verdant and rolling, and a lot of sheep herding takes place in the areas that aren't given over to vineyards and orchards. There are small pockets of fertile lowlands on the eastern coasts, but most of this area is hilly. In the past, these hills were full of iron mines, producing much metal for export. Many of these mines have played out over the years, though some finds are still discovered, and iron production is sufficient for local use. But they no longer export in quantity as before, and the centre of mining in Thyatis has shifted to the Altan Tepes.
For the longest time, though, most of Hattias' useful lands were along the western shores, and in the Stegger and Pilion river valleys, near Hattias City. This is where most Hattians live and work. Barley is grown here in preference to grapes, as the Hattians themselves tend to prefer beer and ale over wine. The interior is gradually given over to forests, which then fade into forested hills, and finally into rugged hills. The forests are home to boars and deer, while the hills are used as pasturage for goats and sheep. The southern portion of Hattias has many small coves and anchorages that are home to privateers and corsairs who prey upon non-Thyatian shipping.
Hattias has numerous towns and communities, though only the capital (Hattias City) can be considered large. Port Hatti lies directly across Vanya's Girdle from Thyatis City, and is used to ship the goods of Hattias to The City's markets. Vinton lies near the eastern end of the girdle, and its economy is centred on exporting the wines of Hattias. Portus Pilium is the eastern counterpart of the Tower of Aes-a lighthouse and village at the mouth of the girdle, to guide ships.
Pilion, the town at the mouth of the Pilion River, serves as Hattias City's main port. Hattias itself is an unwalled town at the confluence of the Stegger and Pilion rivers. About half way down the coast is the town of Grey Bay, a fishing and mining community, producing iron from ore in the nearby hills. At the southern tip of Hattias is the imaginatively named Fort Southpoint, a garrison and way station for imperial fleets patrolling the Sea of Dread. A dozen or so miles to the south is a small island, no more than a few square miles in area, that forms the Hold of Eugenos. The mage who lives here has long maintained his tower as a lighthouse, and is a helpful friend to sailors in need of aid. Eugenos retired here from Thyatis City many years ago, but entered imperial service against the Alphatians and has more recently helped the resistance to the Count of Hattias during the War of the Crown rebellion.
The People
The Hattian people form one of the ancient tribes of Thyatis, but though their appearance and language is the same as the Kerendans' and Thyatians', their customs are markedly different from their brothers'. The Hattians use naming conventions that seem more akin to those of the Antalians or Heldanners, prefer beer to wine, and most importantly are known for their intolerance of outsiders, a trait greatly different from the cosmopolitan and tolerant Thyatians and Kerendans.
Hattians are tough, stoic, taciturn people by and large. Jolly and happy around their family and their own people, they are close-mouthed and inhospitable around strangers and travellers. Some scholars say that the Hattians most closely preserve the original culture of the tribes, but I must say that Thyatian civilisation, as we observe it today, flaws and all, is much to be preferred to the culture of Hattias. If the Hattians are the closest example to the original way of life of the tribes, then one can only say the culture now found among the Kerendans and Thyatians are changes for the better. For throughout the world, the most common examples of "Thyatian" treachery, betrayal, intolerant zealotry, and the like tend to be among those of Hattian decent. From Ludwig von Hendriks' rule of Halag (admittedly under the tacit acceptance of Stefan Karameikos) to the Heldannic Knights' religious intolerance in the north, or the latter's sudden and unprovoked termination of the alliance with Thyatis after the War of the Wrath. Hattian Storm Soldiers are known the world over for their wickedness. The War of the Crown rebellion was inspired and led by the Count of Hattias and his pretender, and has found its strongest backing among the Hattians.
Still the War of the Crown rebellion also proves that just as one should be careful generalising about "Thyatian treachery" or "Thyatian corruption," so too should one be careful in portraying the Hattians as universally immoral. Among the earliest and fiercest resistance to Count Oesterhaus were many of the Hattians themselves. Once the count began his more despicable acts (see recent events below), many Hattians of honour and virtue took to the Century Hills and began a resistance movement against his rule. Others left Hattias and moved overseas rather than support him. What is true is that a fish rots from the head down, and once the Hattians are given more noble leaders, we are likely to see the better side of them.
Recent Events
Hattias was unscarred by the War of the Wrath and its aftermath, though many Hattians continued to emigrate elsewhere, usually to the lands of Heldann. But last year Hattias became the focus of a great upheaval that has shaken the empire's heartlands. Around midyear the archaeologist Stellmann Grimm located the original Imperial Crown at a dig in the Century Hills. In transit with the crown to Thyatis City, he and his party were brutally murdered in Port Hatti by agents of the Count of Hattias. Count Oesterhaus then used the crown in a coronation ceremony to declare the pretender Manfred Torion Dörfer emperor. This unleashed the rebellion, the most recent crisis Thyatis has faced.
The count and his pretender mobilised forces on Hattias, as well as encouraged dissidents to emigrate. He persuaded many nobles to support his cause, most notably the dukes of Kerendas, Kantrium, and Machetos. Count Oesterhaus called upon the forces of darkness to aid his cause, opening vile temples on Hattias (and closing the temples to beneficent Immortals). He had priests of the cult of Thanatos conduct bloody sacrifices in these temples, usually using foreigners who were unlucky enough to be caught on the island when the rebellion began, but also turning against despised citizens of Hattias itself. As word leaked out, many Hattians were sickened by this practice, even those who had supported the dream of a Hattian-led imperium. Soon a resistance movement sprang up, centred in the hills and forests of the interior.
Eventually the emperor dispatched forces under the command of Thyarius Palykratidius, including the empire's skyships, to occupy Hattias. The island was lightly garrisoned at the time, since most Hattian troops were located on the mainland, besieging The City. Many of Hattias' other troops had been sent into the hills to try and put down the resistance movement. Imperial marines quickly occupied Port Hatti and other coastal towns, while the aerial force swept into Hattias City. Members of the resistance rose up to attack the city by land when the skyships arrived. Fighting against Storm Soldiers and Thanatons (priests of Thanatos) was fierce here, and the count's palace was completely levelled by aerial bombardment. Within a few weeks Hattias was under the control of the loyalists-the pirates of the south having been either beaten by the imperial navy or never loyal to Oesterhaus in the first place. Fort Southpoint was recaptured with the aid of Eugenos and his followers.
There
remains one dark spot on Hattias-the cancerous pit beneath the main temple of
Thanatos. Though the temple itself has
been captured (and was largely destroyed in the battle to root out the
Thanatons), the tunnels beneath it remain in the hands of the Storm Soldiers,
Thanatons, and their minions (which include many undead and other foul
monsters). These tunnels seem also to
snake their way under the count's palace and indeed much of the city
itself. The entrances have been warded
by magic and are heavily guarded by constructs created by Eugenos, but no
effort has been made to engage the evil creatures that occupy this hive of
villainy. Thyatis' most skilled adventurers
are still devoting their energies against the rebel forces encamped outside the
City of Thyatis. The emperor would
welcome brave individuals who sought to clear these caverns of his enemies, and
who knows what treasures lie in these vast dungeons.