The Age of Dynasty

The Ages of Braided Shore

The Pre Historic Age ➡ The Elden Age ➡ The Varhim Age ➡ The Age of Settlement ➡ The Age of Dynasty ➡ The Fifth Age

Fourth Age

The Fourth Age – the Age of Dynasty – is also known as the Halzhaan Age, named after the Halzhaan Dynasty, who ruled from the city of Kasa. It is seen as an Age of strength.

During this Age, the groundwork for the Councils and Unions was laid out, and a more conscious historical documentation of events started to take form. Therefore, the rulers of the Halzhaan Dynasty are well-documented: First Monarch Issa Halzhaan, Monarch Ilmana Halzaan II, Monarch Sylla Halzhaan III, and Monarch Manas Halzhaan IV, also known as the Boat King. The colour orchid is also known as royal cobalt and it is the colour of the Halzhaan Dynasty, as well as of leadership, sociability, speechcraft, and the art of persuasion. The symbol of the Halzhaans is a flaming crescent.

While all three of Halzhaan IV's predecessors were popular, the Boat King's reign gave rise to much anti-royalist sentiment. Much knowledge of the Halzhaan rulers was almost lost to the violence erupting around the end of the Fourth Age. Unions rose up against the Boat King in anger, wishing to tear down the Halzhaan family tomb for good and destroy the remains of his ancestors. According to legend, what stopped the violent mobs in the end was their unwillingness to hurt the unarmed elders protecting the tomb.

Eras

This period can be categorized into four distinct Eras:

1. Halzhaan I
2. Halzhaan II
3. Halzhaan III
4. Halzhaan IV

Rulers

The rule was one of a single monarch at a time. In chronological order, the rulers of the Halzhaan Dynasty were:

1. Issa Halzhaan was the first monarch and her empire arose at the end of the Ice Hag War. She also appointed the first Coroners to investigate the Kasa Massacre. Under her reign, the bridge between Old Town and the Orchid District of Kasa was built and named Ilmana Bridge after her heir.
2. Ilmana Halzhaan II was the second monarch. She married the merchant Nadir Edu but died without issue. Nadir appears to have wished to found an Edu dynasty, but because he refused to take a second spouse the Edu family's claim ended after his death. Nadir is not counted as a ruler in the Age of Dynasty. Ilmana also had a brother Hakkaid. It is possible, but not confirmed, that Sylla Halzhaan III is related to Ilmana through him.
3. Sylla Halzhaan III married Elo Aël, the brother of Raph Aël, the leader of an order of mystics known as the Esoterim, the progenitors of the Esoteric Union. After their marriage, Halzhaan III made Raph Aël her Court Mystic and the Esoterim gained favour in her court. Raph Aël performed many miracles for her including the creation of the Umber Lake koi.
4. Manas Halzhaan IV was the final ruler of the Age of Dynasty, known also by their appellation "The Boat King". Details on their qualities as a ruler are sparse, however the end of their reign culminated in a violent revolution led by the twelve unions.

Organisations

The organisations that are known to have emerged during the Fourth Age include:

• Councils
• Court Mystics
• Corones
• Unions

The twelve labour unions in Braided Shore are:

• Crafters Union
• Esoteric Union
• Free Union
• Growers Union
• Hands Union
• Learners Union
• Merchants Union
• Machinists Union
• Skalds Union
• Wardens Union
• Waterworkers Union
• Woodshapers Union

Historical remnants

Ancient Relics

• Great Char Cape Bridge was raised by the Woodshaper's, Hand's and Crafter's Unions' in the prosperous era of Halzhaan III.

Significant Events

• The original Coroners were established by Issa Halzhaan in the early Fourth Age, to handle the investigation of the Kasa Massacre.
• During this Age, the groundwork for the Councils and Unions was laid out.
• At the end of the Fourth Age, the Unions rebelled against the Boat King, seeking to demolish the Halzhaan family tomb. According to legend, what stopped the violent mobs in the end was their unwillingness to hurt the unarmed elders protecting the tomb.

Miscellaneous

• In the fourth age, Minister Gel Halzhaan's son, Seshtep, led a famous expedition of fifty adventurers to climb the monolithic structure known as The Wall. None of them returned, prompting Minister Gel to campaign against future expeditions. Although the law was repealed in the fifth age, few dared to heed the call into the unknown.
• Most alcoholic beverages are prohibited in Braided Shore – a restriction that was put in place in the Halzhaan Age. Foreign legumes that had a psychedelic effect were also banned during the Halzhaan age.
• Minister Gel Halzhaan popularized a unique bonnet style during the fourth age. Originating in Myr during the third age, this headwear became a regional trend.
• The renowned courtier Nago Liama popularized a bright sulphur cloak for Skalds during the fourth age.

Mentions

The Age of Dynasty in general

Rulers of the Haalshan dynasty; First Monarch Issa Haalshan, Monarch Ilmana Haalshan II, Monarch Sylla Haalshan III, Monarch Manas Haalshan IV. (also known as The Boat King)

History student's practice knot

Have you heard what happened in Kasa? The council's pavilion stands empty for the first time since the overthrow of the Halzhaan Dynasty

According to folklore; the favourite dish of the princess of one of the of the Halzhaan Empresses was mushrooms. Failing to cultivate mushrooms in the royal garden, the empress had her Court Mystic spell-change the mushrooms to thrive within the castle walls. So successful was the Mystic that the mushrooms soon multiplied taking over the entire garden and threatening the Empress' beloved rosebushes and peach trees. The Empress ordered all the mushrooms uprooted and thrown over the walls. The garden giant mushrooms have been spreading all over Braided Shore since then and are now a common sight, in folk's vegetable gardens and growing wild in the forest. The princess wept such a stream of tears, it is said, that the ditch around the castle was filled with water. And that was how castle moats were invented.

Description of Garden giant

A shoulder cape styled after those said to have been worn by the Old Dynasty of Kasa. The shoulder cape was later adopted by the Halzhaan dynasty when they came into power, however the colour was changed from cinnabar to royal cobalt.

Description of Blood cinnabar draping

Ancestors bless me through knottings of your names. Old Dynasty of the Third Age bless me with courage. Halzhaan rulers of the Fourth Age bless me with strength. Councils of the Fifth Age bless me with wisdom.

Ward Knot necklace

Much of the magic of the southern clans have been lost to time and conflict, and the rumoured sandstorm knots have long since been buried deep beneath the dunes. The Halzhaan rulers carried out several expeditions to the desert to uncover these lost artifacts of knowledge but the sands were not gentle to the Kasa expeditions and very little was ever found.
I weep for these lost arcane secrets but I keep the hope that we might one day gleam parts of what has been lost

Thrilda Aegisknot, Academy Curator, Cinnabar coloured headpiece

Mentions of Halzhaan I or Issa Halzhaan

Bodraan, the legendary Twilit Knight that vanquished the calamitous Frost Hag is an enigma.
We know that he met Issa Halzhaan before the Cobalt Eclipse descended on the Braided Shore but the circumstances of this is unknown. We know he had a sister who is rumoured to have contracted the Frost Hag's cursed touch but how this happened has not bee discovered.
What's even more curious is that there is no official mention of Bodraan or his sister after the fall of the Frost Hag. One would assume that he would stay at Issa's side when formed her empire but alas there is no mention of him being there. One would think that perhaps he lost his life in the battle against the Hag like so many others did but no grave has ever been found. Such a hero would have undoubtedly been given a magnificent tomb, so where is it?

-Geva Kha, Historian.

Mentions of Halzhaan II or Ilmana Halzhaan

The Edu family was a short-lived merchant dynasty during the Fourth Age. The dynasty came to an abrupt end when the head of the family - Nadir Edu's wife, Empress Ilmana Halzhaan - died without an heir. Nadir never took a second spouse and fell into despair after Ilmana's death. And so the Edu family ended as quick as it had been born.

Description of Edu Family backpiece

A modest reptile skewered on a stake and roasted. Nago Liama appeared one day in the court of Ilmana Halzhaan where he became quite close with her brother Hakkaid who had hitherto been faithful to his wife. It is rumoured that Nago had a forked tongue, a blessing from some strange malevolent spirit, which he could use to charm anyone he spoke to. A forked tongue has now become a symbol for underhanded charm and seduction in the Braided Shore.

Description of Small roasted snake

Rosehip soup was a personal favourite of Ilmana Halzhaan who used to have a sweetened bowl as dessert after every meal.

Description of Pouch of dried rosehips

Mentions of Halzhaan III or Sylla Halzhaan

A disk with the imprint of an elongated salamander wrapping around itself. There was once a group of secretive mystics who banded together to research and preserve arcane mysteries and occult knowledge. The general population frowned upon the Esoterim when rumours arose that they were attempting to uncover some power to rival the Sefra and even the very winds. The rumours halted when Elo Aël, brother of Esoterim leader Raph Aël married Sylla Halzhaan and in turn made Raph Aël court mystic. From there it didn't take long before the Esoterim were granted royal support to act in an official manner as the Esoteric Union.

Description of Disk of the Esoterim

A marble and umber splotched fish.This species of koi is most commonly found in the brackish waters of Umber Lake just outside of Kasa. It was introduced to Umber Lake by Empress Sylla Halzhaan during the fourth age. The species of koi was enchanted by court mystic and brother-in-law to the empress "Raph Aël" to eat away at the polluted waters and clean any lake that the fish was inserted in. The secrets of his enchantment have been lost to time but the Umber Lake Koi fish are still diligently doing their duty many generations later.

Description of Umber Lake koi

A strange cave-dwelling salamander with an elongated body and underdeveloped eyes that leave it completely blind. Even in its eyeless state, the Olm still recoils from light which has caused researchers at Rivenleaf no small amount of confusion.
Notably, the old Aël family took the animal as its sigil when they achieved nobility through Elo Aël's marriage to Sylla Halzhaan in the fourth age.

Olm

Mentions of Halzhaan IV or The Boat King

At the end of the Fourth Age, when the Unions rose up against the Boat King, anger and pain burned like a wildfire in the hearts of the people. There were those who wished to tear down the Halzhaan family tomb for good, destroying any remnant of the Boat King's ancestors. With hammer and fire they approached the final resting place of Issa, Ilmana and Sylla but were stopped by five elders guarding the tombs. The elders were unarmed apart from marble canes which they used to hold themselves up. Unwilling to hurt the elders, the mob relented and the tomb still stands to this day. Without those brave elders, we would have lost much of the knowledge of those rulers which we know at the present.

Geva Kha, historian in the description of Sturdy marble handstaff