Hirudo Hijam-faj niv Talvos

Hirudo Hijam's-son (or simply Hiru) is the sovereign leader of the Emirate of Najer. He was the second Governor of the Central Najer territory and is the discoverer and leader of Nahrayn.

Early Life
Hirudo was born to a Najer father, Hijam, and a foreign mother in Najera'jad, a few years before the dissolution of the Sterling Crownlands. His mother vanished for unknown reasons, only leaving him with an unusual name. With his mother largely absent, he was raised almost entirely by his father, who was a minor Seyoh before the discovery of the Buried Bells. Hiru learned of the Najer ways and traditional religion. He spent his childhood in Najera'jad, until he was around eight years of age. With the instability of the Crownlands, his father became part of a war effort, from which he did not return. The Crownlands were dissolved shortly after, leaving the Najer people vulnerable and scared. Thankfully, Hiru was adopted by a local tribe of nomads, where he continued his education and further embraced the traditional ways of the Najer. He wandered with them for years until he reached adulthood, at which point he set off on his own as an independent nomad. He primarily traveled around Najer, occasionally visiting neighboring countries such as Alamayn and the rare, risky foray into Simulami.

Discovery
On one such travel, going from Wobambi-on-Sea to Central Najer, he was caught in a sandstorm. He eventually discovered an outcropping that he thought could protect him from the storm. Upon reaching it, he discovered it was an ancient statue, unburied by the wind. He took shelter by it, intrigued. The next few weeks would be spend excavating the surrounding area by hand, until a whole courtyard had been revealed. Excited by this discovery, Hiru began a concentrated restoration effort, gathering many culturally-minded Najer, mostly scholars and religious roving tribes, to assist him. The discovery of ancient texts in underground sparked a furor, and it was here that the name of the place was discovered: Nahrayn, which is to say, Two Rivers.

Over six years passed, and in that time, Nahrayn grew from a collection of tents and simple dwellings to a massive city-complex. Hiru guided the efforts of the city and its restoration, allowing new life to spring from the remains of the old.

After some time, Nahrayn had grown to become an established city in Najer. Hiru maintained good relations with the other nearby cities, and developed a friendship with Ironjaw, the governor of Central Najer, especially as Nahrayn attracted more citizens and business to the region. Eventually, the call came of an invasion to the west, and Hiru volunteered to go on a scouting mission, alongside Just_Shooter, to go survey the foe. They established relations with the invaders, who called themselves "Salem," but were quickly spurned, any attempts at diplomacy shut down.

The Najer Civil Coast guards were mobilized, and led by their war councilor, Irabella, they marched on the insurgent's fortress. They quickly swept away the opposition, garnering much popular support within Najer for their clean victory and timely response. Hiru was prompted to join the Coast Guard by it's leader, Shooter.

Governorship
Only a short while later, Hiru would receive word from Ironjaw of pressing concerns, ones that would necessitate the governor stepping down from his position. Hiru's prominence had not gone unnoticed, and Ironjaw wanted him to become the next governor. Although sad of the prospect of Ironjaw stepping down, Hiru accepted, and began receiving training in statesmanship.

Shortly before Hirudo's official instatement as governor, he was afflicted with a terrible dream, wherein he saw Najer laid to waste and his culture erased from history. Unsure if it was a premonition, or merely his nerves, he nonetheless swore to prevent that future from coming to pass.

Hiru began to grow into his governor role, while continuing to develop his city, Nahrayn. The city saw a rush of foreigners and opportunistic criminals, necessitating some stricter protocols. It would also be designated the capital of the province, and accordingly, Hiru oversaw the construction of a massive palatial complex that would serve as a meeting place and city hall for the region.

Some time after this, word came to him that Ironjaw had died defending a small village from a bandit attack. Devastated by this, he entered a period of mourning, distraught and disheartened. At some point, he would visit the ruins of Murmudas, a ghost town in his province. Frustrated and sad, he blacked out, eventually ending back up at Nahrayn.

Despite this, he continued his duties as a ruler of a city and a governor of a province. He held the first Central Najer provincial meeting and continued welcoming many new citizens to the city. Hiru would also help the Najer Armed Services expel several squatter settlements during this time, growing to be close friends with Shooter, who had been promoted to the Commandant of the Najer military by this point.

War of Solitudinem
Eventually, the Dixie squatter group would declare a hostile takeover of Najer's neighbor Solitudinem, kicking of the War of Solitudinem. Hiru and Shooter helped to organize and recruit soldiers to expel the invaders, gathering not only people from their own nation, but organizing a massive coalition of northern nations, including Simulami, Baronov, and many others. They gathered at the town of Purgatio before marching in a two-part assault against the squatters.

The coalition force then marched to the Hills of Bhaldor, quickly setting up fortifications, while waiting for the defenders to emerge. Then, after a brief skirmish, Dixie forces fled north to a better-defended fort, Castillo de Arena. There, the coalition and the squatters engaged in a long and bloody battle. There was only one soldier downed on the coalition side, while the invaders died by the hundreds. Even as the coalition slaughtered them, hour after hour, they refused to surrender, throwing themselves off of their fort rather than give in. Eventually, having fought all day and all night, morning began to approach. The coalition forces, bloody and battered, stood amongst a field of defeated Dixies, victorious. Their fort stood abandoned, all who defended it dead. The fort was later reclaimed and renamed "Fort Union," commemorating the coalition victory against the Dixie squatters.

Although not one for fighting, Hirudo reflected on violence and conflict as a valid solution to some problems. Despite this, the suicide of many of the Dixie members troubled him. Even outmatched, in a hopeless scenario, they refused to surrender. These people were the lowest of the low, barbarians, invaders, robbers, and yet, was their defiance admirable, honorable even? It didn't make sense to Hirudo.

Regardless, he continued with his life. He further cemented his reputation among the soldiers and citizenry of Najer, as well as his friendship with Shooter.

Sapphire Commonwealth
A short time later, Hiru received word from the Emir at that time, Dmitrio von Sturgeon, about the news of a concrete mega-alliance of the north. Having been raised on stories of the legendary Sterling Crownlands, he was thrilled to not only witness a potential successor, but be part of it too. He had often advocated and pushed for such an alliance wherever he could, and wholeheartedly supported the creation of this new one, the Sapphire Commonwealth.

Its creation would be officially announced later, with the Simulami Empire, the Plagatean Empire, and Najer becoming one mega-country. Hiru would throw himself into his new role as part of the Commonwealth, traveling between the three nations and gathering support for join projects. He took the lead in Najer affairs, as the Emir was growing old and was often bedridden. Around this time, Dmitrio contacted Hirudo and expressed his wishes that, when when he died, Hirudo would become the next Emir of Najer. Although hesitant, Hiru was eager to help his nation grow and become strong, and accepted.

A couple years later, the aging Emir Sturgeon would call his friends and other members of the government to Wobambi-on-Sea. He told them his final thoughts and wishes, passing on the crown of Najer to Hirudo. Mournful, the Najer placed his body in a coffin, to be interred later. They shared stories of their best and earliest memories with Dmitrio. Hirudo was shaken by the loss of a constant he had known his whole life, but remained determined to do his best.

A new leader
Only a few months into his role as the Emir, he received word of a hostile invasion of their neighbor and ally of Alamayn. A group called Halond had come with the intent to take over the country. Although he knew very little of Alamayn, and had never met any of their leadership, he immediately sent troops to help in the battle against the squatters, who were easily defeated.

Shortly afterwards, the Hands swept in to Alamayn, out for revenge against the Axumites who had committed a terrorist attack on their friends. They wreaked havoc across the nation, killing any leadership they could find. The heads of the nation hid themselves away while their nation burned, then destroyed their capital, Adwa, in a final act of defiance against the Hands.

Their leaders gone, Alamayn immediately crumbled into pieces. Their new leader was unpopular, sparking a half dozen rebellions in the first and only year of his rule. One such rebellion, led by the owner of The Silver Citadel, revealed their secret alliance with the Varandoy-Aestyrian Kingdom and his funding of the Halond squatters.

Hiru attempted to regulate the conflict and understand the situation, corresponding with several VAK diplomats, and eventually publishing a timeline of events that had led up to the situation in Alamayn. That situation continued to deteriorate, with provinces and towns declaring independence left and right. Hirudo talked with many of these people, as well as his fellow Commonwealth Monarchs, attempting to help where they could. Hiru's, and the rest of the Commonwealth's role remained mostly diplomatic as tensions rose with the VAK over the land.

Trivia

 * Hirudo is related to the previous Emir of Najer, Dmitrio von Sturgeon.
 * His mother's ethnicity is unknown. It is possible that she hailed from Plagos, or somewhere in Eldham.
 * Since Najer don't generally have last names, Hirudo took on the surname "Hijam's-Son" in order to fit in better among foreigners.