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.

During this time, he gained a general discontent with the state of the world. Bandits roamed the lands, slaughtering entire villages in their lust for blood and riches. People looked down on him for his ethnicity and nationality, mocking the fallen Sterling Crownlands, and the general disrepair the wandering desert had fallen into, calling it a backwater nation. His pride hardened, taking in the criticism, but refusing to accept it. He continued to travel, searching for goods to trade and lands to discover.

Discovery
On one such travel, going across a desolate and forgotten region of the desert, 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. Thrilled by what his discovery might mean, Hiru began a concentrated restoration effort, gathering scholars, archaeologists, and traders to assist him.

He spent over six years excavating and restoring the city, eventually growing from a collection of ruins and simple huts to a massive city complex. People flocked to the city, although growth was severely curbed by the isolation of Nahrayn from the Sterling road system and the rest of most Najer settlements. Eventually though, the city did grow and become part of the nation.

Ancient texts underneath the city led to several discoveries, mainly ancient stoneworking and architectural techniques, as well as the name of the city: Nahrayn, a word in an ancient Najer dialect that means "Two Rivers," befitting the two rivers the city was built around. Hiru assumed the lead of managing the city, becoming established with his neighbors in other cities. The governor of the province Nahrayn was located in, Ironjaw, took an immediate interest in the burgeoning city, and befriended Hirudo, teaching him many things, and introducing him to other important figures. Nahrayn's growing role in the region cemented their relationship, leading them to work together on many things. Hirudo entered politics on the local level, receiving some training from Ironjaw. He did his best to improve Najer, working on several cleaning projects and diplomatic relations with other cities, politicking and growing more experienced working with other people.

One day, a call came of an invasion to the west, and Hirudo quickly led a small complement of soldiers to investigate. He met up with a scouting party led by another Najer, Just_Shooter, and together they established relationships with the invaders, who called themselves "Salem." They were quickly spurned, their attempts at diplomacy shut down but the impudent squatters. Hiru and Shooter called in reinforcements from the Najer Civil coast guard, and soon after a force led by their war councilor, Irabella, joined them. Together, they marched on the insurgents fortress and stomped the opposition. This victory gained much popular support for Hiru and Shooter, as well as for increased military action in Najer, due to the clean victory and swift response of the forces. Hiru was invited to join the Coast Guard by Shooter, the spark of a great friendship between the two.

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 to lose the mentor and friend that Ironjaw was, he was eager to move up in the ranks of his country. He began the transfer of power, receiving several items, mainly documents, as well as further political instruction.

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. Aware that he had been affected by his time traveling as a nomad, he was unsure if this was merely his nerves and fears showing through, or a true premonition. Nevertheless, he swore then to prevent that future from coming to pass. The day of the national convention came, and Ironjaw stepped down, putting the spotlight on Hiru as the newest governor. Although he had experience dealing with some provincial issue already, he felt very green in his new role, especially among the other members of the federal government, who were all accustomed to each other already.

Hiru began to grow into his governor role, while continuing to develop his city, Nahrayn. It continued to grow in prominence, gaining many developments beyond what anything its original builders could have envisioned, and attracting many new people. The city saw a rush of foreigners and opportunistic criminals. This influx would undermine the largely trust-based system in place at the time, forcing Hiru to write and enforce more stringent laws to protect his citizens. This further damaged his opinion of opportunistic foreigners, jading him somewhat. Nahrayn would also be made the provincial capital by Hirudo at this time, as the largest and most successful city in the area. Hiru oversaw the construction of a massive palatial complex that would begin to serve as the provincial capitol building, as well as the city hall.

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 dealt with the other governors, as well as many foreign diplomats who came seeking his land. He would also be responsible for the first Central Najer provincial meeting, the first such gathering in the nation. He continued to welcome many new citizens to the city, and would lead several campaigns with the Najer Armed Services. His friendship with Shooter continued to develop. By this time, Shooter had risen to become part of Najer's government, leading its military forces.

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 hundreds of 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. The coalition army would set up camp at the city of Purgatio, before marching across Solitudinem to defeat the squatters. They marched to the Hills of Bhaldor, quickly setting up fortifications, siege engines, and bivouacked across the river from the squatter base. The Dixie savages came out, fighting briefly before being driven back. They soon fled to a different fort, named Castillo de Arena. The coalition army marched after them, beginning a long and bloody siege against the invaders.

Hiru marched with Shooter at the head of the Najer forces, leading the charge against Dixie. Although reluctant to come out of their fort, constant bombardment forced the Dixies to come out of their fortress and engage the coalition armies. Better equipment and more experience meant that the coalition routed the squatter army. A pile of bodies taller than a man lay at the base of the Dixie fortress, and yet, they refused to give up. There had not been a single casualty among the coalition forces, although there were many injuries. Forced into a war of attrition against an enemy who wouldn't submit, the coalition forces began indiscriminately slaughtering the Dixies, unable to take prisoners due to many attempts to trick and backstab them. Hour after after, the battle dragged on, until the sun began to rise.

The coalition forces, bloody and battered, stood atop a mountain of Dixie corpses, victorious. Their fort stood abandoned, all its defenders dead. The coalition forces entered the fort, placing their own banners on its gates, and renamed it "Fort Union" in honor of their victory over the Dixies and the unity it had brought to the north.

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 a dispatch from the Emir at that time, Dmitrio von Sturgeon, detailing concrete plans for a new 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, sad to contemplate the coming death of his friend the Emir, Hiru was eager to help his nation continue to 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, interring him after a low-spirited funeral. 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. Halond was easily defeated, and his troops returned home victorious.

Shortly afterwards, the Hands swept in to Alamayn, out for revenge against the people of the city of Axum, 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 Alamayni residents and the VAK over the dispute. Twice the Alamaynis sent assassins after him, though both attempts were foiled.

Hiru helped to arrange peace talks with the VAK, touring the land of Helmia, a place he had never been to. Eventually, the leaders of the Varandoy-Aestyria kingdom and the monarchs of the Sapphire Commonwealth agreed to band together to protect and bring order to Alamayn. Vultures had arisen in both Rathnir and Eldham, slavering over the corpse of the dying nation, hoping rip it apart bit by bit. They all agreed this was unacceptable, signing a mutual defense pact. With things cooling off in Alamayn, Hiru was able to finally focus his attention back on his own nation. He worked with the other government members to produce a revitalized public road system, adding new infrastructure in places that had lacked it for decades. He also issued several other reforms, renaming two of the provinces to better reflect their role and heritage, as well as some small governmental and organizational reforms.

His time as a governor and a leader of a city had served him well, and he put the skills he had gained to use as the Emir.

Traits and abilities
Hirudo is a quiet individual, having been hardened by the lack of parents and the loss of many of his friends over the years. He is often considered blunt for a Najer, but retains the trademark friendliness and hospitable nature of his culture. He has a strong sense of national pride, and would do anything to help his country grow stronger. He is often offended when people look down on him and his country.

He also detests violence and war, a remnant of his troubled childhood, but has come to recognize its usefulness in some situations. A true child of the Sterling Crownlands, he has a strong sense of honor and duty, and respects his nations legacy highly.

Hiru is primarily a scholar and artisan. He has compiled some of the most accurate historical records of the Najer and is one of the most knowledgeable of all those who have not experienced it firsthand. Hiru can often be found occupied at his study, writing and researching for hours at a time. He also loves to design buildings, being the chief architect of his city, Nahrayn, and has had years of experience with architecture.

His many years as a Seyoh and a governor has also granted him some competency in statesmanship. He is polite, and cautious to a fault when dealing with others. Aware of the reputation of the leaders of the Najer as charismatic and skilled diplomats, he often feels pressure to live up to those standards.

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.