Hazlan (HAZ-lun) is a domain of ancient magic and severe oppression, lying in the extreme southeast of The Core, at the southern end of the Balinok Mountains. The Hazlani Balinoks are rugged but traversable, though vegetation is sparse and landslides aren't uncommon. Dusty cliffs and canyons slope downward to a sweeping landscape of knolls and valleys that stretch off to the horizon. Massive blocks of golden stone and half-buried statuary hint at a forgotten era. Mineral springs, common in the foothills, are warm pools of jade-green water encrusted with alkali salts. Farther eastward, the foothills become dry plains blanketed by brown grasses and briars. Herds of sheep wander the lonely plains, their bleating carried weakly on the breezes. Occasional stands of trees dot the grasslands, but overall Hazlan is a land of open sky and trackless terrain.

The poorer Rashemani majority dwells in simple, squat structures of whitewashed brick. Roofs are flat and facades are unadorned, though ting, dutifully tended vegetable gardens grow alongside many homes. The estates of the wealthy Mulan, by comparison, are sprawling, opulent abodes. Serene gardens of poppy flowers and bubbling fountains surround magnificent edifices of polished gray, punk, and russet stone. Delicate latticework covers the tiny, rounded windows. Towering minarets and domes inlaid with intricate mosaics sparkle in the sun. Hazlan has a generally mild but temperate climate featuring long, hot summers and short, wet winters. Although the Balioks are capped with snow, truly frigid weather is rare elsewhere in the realm.

Major Settlements

Ramulai (pop. 300), Sly-Var (pop. 4,500), Toyalis (pop. 8,200)

People

Folk: Humans (92%), Halflings (4%), Gnomes (3%), Other (1%)

Languages: Vaasi*, Halfling, Gnome, Balok

Religions: The Lawgiver*, Hala

The Hazlani can be divided into two distinct ethnic groups; the Rashemani and the Mulan. The Rashemani make up 99% of the human population and are considered the lower class. They have short, muscular statures and skin that ranges from light olive-tan to deep, ruddy bronze. Hair color is usually dark brown or black, and eye color is commonly dark brown. Men keep their hair wild and wear bushy beards, while women work their long tresses into elaborate braids. Both genders dress in baggy trousers, tunics, or smocks and prefer earthy colors highlighted with dark reds, blues, and greens.

The upper class Mulan are tall and slim with angular features and fine cheekbones. Their skin is pale and sallow, their eyes gray or light hazel. Mulan hair is naturally a dark blond, but both genders ritually shave their heads daily. They also remove what little body hair they have and cover their skin with elaborate tattoos. Men and women wear distinct designs by tradition, and receiving one's first tattoo is a sign of adulthood among the Mulan. Both genders wear cloth wrappings instead of trousers or breeches and swath themselves in luxurious scarlet robes. Women wear vests, but men prefer to go about bare chested. Soft slippers and baroque jewelry complete the ensemble.

The Hazlani are hard-edged people with a deep sense of pride. Most are raised in the church of the Lawgiver, which tends to instill both a fatalistic streak and a somewhat cruel nature. Rashemani are practical and gruff, preferring actions to words. The Mulan, meanwhile, are generally arrogant and paranoid and obsessed with protecting their place at the top of society. Years of nervous submission under Hazlik's cruel eye have turned the Rashemani and Mulan alike into distrustful and suspicious folk. They have learned to be wary of other's motives and tend to regard everyone they meet as cold rivals or outright enemies. The Rashemani react with stubbornness, refusing to submit to those without authority to back up their strength. The Mulan, meanwhile, become livid with rage when their demands aren't met in a prompt fashion.

The Law

Hazlan is a feudal ethnocratic despositsm. Hazlan's ruler is the Mulan wizard-tyrant Hazlik, who holds power through sheer ruthlessness and arcane might. Although he rules under no mandate, Hazlik has established something resembling a feudal state, with a council of Milan governors overseeing various regions in his realm. Each governor is personally responsible for enforcing Hazlik's decrees, collecting taxes, and keeping the peace. The governors appoint other Mulan to help administer their territories, granting land and minor titles in exchange for shared culpability. Although there is the appearance of law in Hazlan, it is the Byzantine system of boons and favors among the Mulan that usually determines who can obtain justice. The Rashemani are stranded on the outside of this system, unable to participate except when it's strategically expedient for the Mulan to involve them.

There is no state military in Hazlan. Each Mulan family recruits a personal group of Rashemani soldiers, resulting in several hundred small corps of bodyguards, each in the service of a different master. Hazlik, for his part, has no interest in the politics of his own people, instead concentrating on his magical research. While the arcane arts were once outlawed in Hazlan, Hazlik has since institutionalized them. His wizard academy in Ramulai trains the most promising young apprentices, molding them to Hazlik's own mysterious purposes.

Trade and Diplomacy

Resources: Wheat, barley, corn, cotton, olives, grapes, hazelnuts, opium, tea, goats, sheep, cattle, honey, copper, lead, iron, leather goods, cloth, arcane knowledge.

Coinage: Soulorb (gp), moondagger (sp), bloodpenny (cp).

Hazlan is an insular domain where the folk are more concerned with their own squabbles than events in distant lands. The land's reputation as a place of magical power, however, draws the curious and the foolish. Hazlik apparently has little interest in making allies with his neighbors and is known to use captured spies for magical experimentation. Hazlan conducts some trade with Nova Vaasa and the Barovian village of Immol, but the Hazlani are generally not eager to invite outsiders to their realm.

Magic

The Hazlani have maintained an odd, inconstant relationship with the arcane arts. In the distant past, the Mulan considered the arcane arts a noble calling, and their greatest satraps and kings were mages. After Hazlik seized control, the practice of arcane magic was prohibited for decades, under penalty of death, for any save the Red Wizard himself. The Mulan grudgingly supported and enforced this prohibition, imprisoning and executing anyone discovered to be an arcane practitioner. The church of the Lawgiver in Hazlan eagerly supported the ban as well, proclaiming arcane magic as a violation of the natural order and a sin against divine law (with the esteemed Lord Hazlik as a divinely ordained exception.

After the Great Upheaval, Hazlik suddenly reversed his position, founding the Red Academy. Hazlani were now encouraged to study the arcane, even the Rashemani. Needless to say, the Mulan were confused, but also pleased, by this sudden change in policy. Many Mulan seeking to match Hazlik's power and follow in the traditions of their culture, had been put to death in previous decades. Now, suddenly, it was to be propagated and embraced, with no explanation for the change.

Characters

Hazlani heroes are usually clerics, fighters, rogues, or wizards.