Khayr Var

Khayr Var
State of the Aurora Confederacy
Khayr Var (dark green) in the ?!?!!? Islands (light green) Khayr Var (dark green) in the ?!?!!? Islands (light green)
Purchased from Exponent	1771
Capital	Haven Bay
Demonym	Khayr Vari

Khayr Var is a state of the Aurora Confederacy located in eastern Astyria. Located in the Mare Ferum, it consists of an island arc between the Blackhelm Confederate territory of Hanaki to the northwest and Aswick's Sandown Islands to the southeast.

History

First human settlement

The earliest habitation on Khayr Var dates to as early as 300 AD, probably by settlers from the Symphonia, followed by a second wave of migration from the Insula Fera in the 11th century. Some archaeologists and historians believe that a later wave of immigrants from the Insula Fera circa 1000 AD introduced a new line of high chiefs, the the practice of human sacrifice and the building of temples. This later immigration is detailed in the island's mythology. Other authors argue that there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence for a later influx of Feran settlers, and there was an indigenous population on the island for millenia.

Regardless of the question of immigration, historians agree that the history of the islands was marked by a slow but steady growth in population and the size of the chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, ruled their settlements and launched wars to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals.

Hesperidesian arrival

The first Hesperidesian explorers arrived in the islands in the 14th century, about a hundred years before Exponential settlers began to establish themselves. Marcus Barbellus commanded a fleet of six ships that left Tilurium (modern day Damatabwe, Bungussi) in 1342 bound for the Insula Fera, and depending on the interpretation,the expedition's reports seemed to describe the encounter with either Khayr Var or Hanaki If the crew had indeed spotted Khayr Var they would have been the first Hesperidesians to see the islands. Some scholars have dismissed these claims due to a lack of credibility, however, Paradise City archives contain a chart that depicts islands in the latitude of Khayr Var but with the longitude ten degrees east of the islands. For the next century Imperial galleons crossed the Mare Ferum along a route that passed west of Khayr Var on their way to Pangus and Prudenesia. The exact route was kept secret to protect the Imperial trade monopoly against competing powers.

The 1448 arrival of an expedition sent by Claudius VI was Khayr Var's first documented contact with Hesperidesian settlers. These visitors introduced diseases to the once-isolated islands, causing the population to plunge precipitously because native islanders had no resistance to influenza, smallpox, measles, or other diseases. By 1520, Hesperidesian diseases, famine, and wars among the chiefs and settlers killed more than half of the native population.