Darjalia and their Legendary Horses.

A darjal’n is someone from a race of giant men and women from Darjalia. It is a harsh place ringed on the south by the Anin Angar mountains in the farthest northwest edges of the Kingdom of Ainghaille. Roevash’s own father, Marin of House Alahiar, is from the Upper Nort Mountain range on the eastern side of Darjalia. Few ordinary humans dare enter this region of the kingdom because the terrain is freezing cold more than half the year and the mountains very treacherous and steep. The tall Darjalian find such terrain inconvenient whereas ordinary sized humans find it deadly.

Darjalia is governed by its own sovereign who resides in his palace on the Isle of Roche. The king of Darjalia shares a bloodline with the High King of all Ainghaille. As a people they were granted longer lives by the Lords of Ilmatar, up to 1000 years possibly more, for the act of saving the Edhellen from slaughter when they first arrived into the realm. The elves hold an influence over the hearts of these giant peoples of Darjalia. The Darjalian folk revere the elvenkin, and they lived in harmony together with them.

Many scholars believe this time in history is when the Edhellen learned battle technique from darjal’n hosts. The elves then migrated south into the more forested areas of the kingdom. Though a few still remained in Darjalia they are scarce. It is also rare to find a darjal’n outside of their northern homeland unless called to war. An exception was the settlement of folks, whom by their ruler’s request, stationed themselves in the Illianheni foothills to keep watch on the Ajattara Fells. This area to the southeast of Illianheni is where the last known evil was put to rest in the “Great War” at the end of the “Third Age of Elves.” They were there to purge the area of evil forces should they try to arise again. As time wore on into centuries, the place was abandoned as the threat diminished and the families went home to Darjalia.

“Chivalry and ambition leads to success,” was the credo from which they lived. When a darjal’n wasn’t called to battle life was fairly peaceful in their society. They were fishers, farmers and ranchers just like any other human population. The young men were often times indentured to those of influence so they could have a chance to become influential themselves. They were a people of honest integrity, so abuse was never a factor in taking on a young squire as a servant.

The Darjalian race has always had a second name designated by their estate property. They kept that name even when adopted into servitude. Men and women worked side by side as equals in the harsh mountainous climate. The women folk of Darjalia were often times taller than their menfolk. They are also exceptional horsemen and women. Over time their people developed a terrifying black war horse with long flowing mains and tails. The mounts towered to an imposing 17 to 20 hands tall. The animals were sturdy and sure-footed, strong enough to carry a fully armored darjal’n over rough terrain.

If Roevash had been raised in Darjalia he would have been trained in the ways of a warrior from a young age, but his crystalline blue eyes set him apart. Like his father he would have been a commander of men. Darjal’n men and women often times bore the scars of childhood. This was not a point of pride because scars went to the loser of a fight. The women did not often go to battle with their men because they raised up the young and were keepers of vast estates that sometimes indentured hundreds.