(Cyran) your mystical rival —
(Brelander) your blessed sort —
(Thrane) your weaponsmaster —
(Karrn) your skillmonkey —
(Aundairian) your shield —
(Cleanup) ...from beyond the current borders of the Five Nations.
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That outsider is, of course, you. Your homeland was once considered part of one of the Five Nations of Galifar, but since the Treaty of Thronehold was signed, recognizing many more countries than before, it's better known as...
[] (MC's Homeland) The Eldeen Reaches. The Towering Wood was only ever Aundair's on paper; to the extent that it was "ruled" at all, the druid sect known as the Wardens of the Wood guided the few tribes of people who lived there. The real development was that hundreds of square miles' worth of farming villages, those west of the Wynarn River and north of Lake Galifar, rejected Aundair's control and aligned themselves with Greenheart instead. With a dozen towns no longer paying so much as lip service to either Galifar in general nor any of its provinces in specific, the Eldeen Reaches had enough of a "civilized" presence to be recognized at the negotiating table. Really, though, the whole idea of people being ruled by kings rather than left to help each other strikes you as silly in the first place, and the idea of going to war over it selfish and wasteful.
[] (MC's Homeland) The Mror Holds. Your people were not always united; in the time of King Galifar I, you were so weakened by wars between the dwarven clans that his son Karrn was easily able to conquer you. It was this that prompted you to spend hundreds of years mending the worst of the feuds and build a common society within the Ironroot and Hoarfrost mountains. As such, it wasn't very long after the Last War began that the Mror Holds declared independence from Karrnath and Galifar as a whole. You were able to hold out for decades, easily winning a seat at the negotiating table. From your perspective, the history of your own people is a testament to the folly of civil war.
[] (MC's Homeland) Zilargo. Your country was well-established by the time the humans came to Khorvaire. The three great gnomish cities of the region — Korranberg, the city of paper; Trolanport, the city of water; and Zolanberg, the city of jewels — each have a representative in the Triumvirate, each earning their place through scheming far more extensive than Breland's more restrictive politics. Order is enforced by the Trust, a corp of secret police who could be anyone and anywhere. When the forces of Galifar came to conquer Zilargo during the formation of the kingdom, your people immediately surrendered... only to negotiate very favorable terms that essentially left you a part of the province of Breland on paper but independent in practice. As your people say, "five words defeat a thousand swords". When the Last War escalated to the point that lots of new countries were breaking away through protest and bloodshed, yours simply declared an alliance with Breland, leaving your declaration of full independence in subtext. Really, the entire history of Galifar is just sadly amusing to you.
[] (MC's Homeland) Droaam. Your lands were considered the "western frontier of Breland", but the fact was that the Barrens were always full of various independent tribes, short-lived chiefdoms, and bottle societies, all comprised of peoples blessed by the Shadow with power the conquering humans feared. The peoples of Droaam may embrace the term "monster", as the Dark Six intended, but that doesn't mean you're out to slay people from societies shaped by the jailer gods known as the Sovereign Host if they don't walk into your territory and ask for it. Thirteen years ago, a force greater than any mere chiefdom arose within the Barrens: a circle of hags known as the Daughters of Sora Kell. They named the Barrens Droaam and began bringing order to chaos... something that the other nations refused to accept as worth recognizing. You came to the remains of the Five Nations in hopes of understanding the soft peoples better, in hopes that you could find a way to get more recognition. That Galifar collapsed in what they deem a "civil war" strikes you as an odd thing to fixate over.
[] (MC's Homeland) Darguun. Late in the Last War, a ghaal'dar (hobgoblin, to the gath'dar) now known as Lhesh Haruuc united various dar mercenaries, convincing them to abandon their service to those who invaded the remnants of the long-fallen Dhakaani empire of the ancient past and instead use the equipment obtained through their employment to conquer southeastern Cyre. Today, he rules over the region, now known as the nation of Darguun — the self-declared successor to the empire of Dhakaan. It isn't clear how long the new dar nation will last after his death, given that there's been relatively little unity since the initial conquest. You find your people's stubborn clinging to tribes of the traditional size to be counterproductive, and first came to try to understand the larger "tribes" that are Aundair, Breland, Thrane, and Karrnath. That you found a small warband that believes even these nations are too small and weak compared to the empire they once comprised has been enlightening.
[] (MC's Homeland) The Talenta Plains. The entire concept of "control of land" has always struck the Talenta peoples — the various tribes of halfling nomads — as odd. When it turned into outright combat in the western part of the plains, that confusion morphed into outright horror. Your peoples were forced to band together to fight off those who made it too difficult for those tribes who regularly wandered that way to live. You even established a council of tribal leaders to help organize these efforts, which has proven useful for the pursuit of other shared interests as well. This council and the loose alliance it represents was given some kind of ritual blessing by the settled nations a few years ago; it didn't completely make sense to you at the time, but it did lead to peaceful trade between the shared town of Gatherhold and the settled nations. Your tribe was a southern one, suffering from the twin problems of the slow expansion of the Blade Desert and elven raiders from Valenar. Ultimately, it has reluctantly decided to disband in the face of these obstacles. The majority have successfully petitioned to marry into different halfling tribes, but a sizable minority, yourself included, opted instead to move into the settled lands. Adventuring seemed like the way you could contribute to settled society best, and while this party's perspective on unity contrasts intriguingly with the one the Talenta peoples were driven to, you all agree that unity is strength.
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(From a story perspective, this one's very, very short — but frankly, it's hard to write much more without narrowing down the perspective being written from. I considered also including Valenar, but I figured that was too Hard Mode for all involved...)
Thank you, everyone!
