5001-HârnWorld/3rd Edition/39

The Sindarin are not noted for keeping much in the way of written records. They rely mainly on oral histories and they rarely speak of their past. Legend recounts that the Sindarin came to Hârn “from the east” and the date of their arrival is held to have been around 10,000 BT. The island was only one of several brief stops the Sindarin planned to make on a journey to the Blessed Realm but, unable to resist the pristine beauty of the island, many decided to stay “a while.” For 3,000 years, these Sindarin dwelt in peaceful solitude on Hârn with Siem, their deity. When Siem decided to continue his journey westwards, some Sindarin chose to stay on Hârn.

The Khuzdul
The Sindarin remaining on Hârn shared the island with a new race, the Khuzdul. The origins of the dwarven Khuzdul are vague, especially to outsiders who must rely on second-hand myths and speculation. Common legend recounts that Siem awoke the Khuzdul from “their eternal slumber deep within Kethira’s bosom.” How the dwarves came to be on Hârn is far from clear, but the Khuzdul did establish two impressive mountain cities at Kiraz and Azadmere around 6900 BT.

The Codominium
The Sindarin and Khuzdul have vastly divergent world views and have always preferred to dwell in separate communities. Nevertheless, they lived in nearperfect harmony for five millennia, a golden age known as The Codominium. Then, as now, each race possessed skills complementary to the other. The Sirion Scrolls detail trade and friendly intercourse between the two races, and the existence of a mutual trading center at Pesino is well documented. But with the coming of man, relations between the two elder peoples began their decline.

The Coming of Men
More than 2,000 years ago, the distant heartlands of Lythia spawned massive barbarian migrations that brought human immigrants to Hârn. Some say these were the first humans to reach Hârn, but a mysterious Henge Culture existed, at least on Melderyn, as early as 2700 BT. Because the Sindarin dwelled mainly in forests inland and the Khuzdul preferred the mountains, both were willing to tolerate the brash, short-lived humans. The newcomers called themselves Jarin and recognized the superior culture of the elder peoples. They swore fealty to the elven king, Daelda, and prospered along the coastal regions of Hârn.

Given their higher birthrate, men came to outnumber the Sindarin and Khuzdul within a few centuries.

Inevitably, some Jarin migrated inland from overcrowded coasts and human communities soon dotted the whole of the Hârnic Isles. The Sindarin were increasingly distressed at the humans’ clearing of ever-larger tracts of forest for cropland. It is likely that bloodshed would have resulted were it not for a greater common threat.

The Atani Wars
Around 1,600 years ago, warlike Lythians began to raid Hârn. At first only a minor threat to coastal villages, the raids increased in severity until King Daelda was forced to order all coastal settlements fortified and garrisoned. Checked only briefly, the barbarians began traveling up the rivers of Hârn and raiding inland.

After a century of pillage, the barbarians began to land forces intent on conquest. At first, King Daelda and his allies were able to expel them, but they were gradually forced to abandon the coasts of Solora and Horadir to these determined warriors. The barbarians pushed inland and a great battle was fought c. 683 BT to decide the future of Hârn. Known as the Battle of Sorrows, the invaders were routed, but Daelda suffered a mortal wound.

The Sindarin Abdication
King Aranath, Daelda’s successor, knew the elves could win most battles against men, but also knew they would eventually expend their limited numbers against the endless swarms of barbarians. Aranath renounced his sovereignty over Hârn and withdrew his kinfolk to the Shava Forest, there to establish the Kingdom of Evael. The Khuzdul deemed this act a betrayal (which they have yet to forgive) and withdrew to their mountain strongholds. So it was that the elder peoples withdrew from the mainstream of Hârnic history and the island came under the domination of men.

By 500 BT, the Lythian invaders had either assimilated or driven the remaining Jarin into exile in the wilderness areas of north and northeast Hârn. Without the influence of the Sindarin and the Khuzdul, the level of Hârn’s civilization declined.

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