FAQ

Neighbouring Lands and Peoples

Troimoira's Fane is but a small region upon the great world of Leithian. Hemmed in by mountains and the sea, it can often feel isolated; but it is not immune to events spilling over from neighbouring lands. The Fane sits on a volatile frontier, and its leaders have often had to deal with invasions or peaceful incursions as various peoples jostle for valuable land. The constantly shifting boarders and political allegiances in the wider region have a lot to do with the area's vitality - and danger.

The Götar
The Götar are a powerful confederation of tribes occupying lands to the west of the Fane. This age-old alliance of peoples stretches back to the times of the first Elanii invasions. In an attempt to consolidate their resistance to the tyrannical elves, the human, dwarf and gnome tribes of the Götemark (the wide band of land between the Angelan Sea and the Hellmouth Moutains) swore an oath of mutual protection. Since that time the Götar culture has matured and expanded, to take in Orc and Half-orc bands exiled from the Empire in the time of Guthrum's rebellion, and to settle the Åland islands in the north-west Angelan Sea.

The Götar are probably most renowned (or infamous) for the exploits of their sea-going traders and raiders. Their shallow-bottomed, flexible longships allow them to travel the full expanse of the Angelan Sea, and far up the river estuaries to make trades - or lightning raids against easy targets. To most outsiders, the archetypal Götar is a blonde human or powerful orc, who, armed with axe and sword, descends upon peaceful villages to pillage and destroy. This image unfortunately does little justice to the full depth and complexity of Götar culture, but the raider's victims have little time to concern themselves with such matters.

The Wilds of the Hellmouth Mountains
The eastern end of the Hellmouth Mountains lie to the NW of the Fane. The tall, rugged peaks stretch away to the west for many hundreds of miles, forming a terrifying barrier. The mountains are bleak, wild and snow-capped; the home of giants, goblin tribes and dragons.

Most folk would consider the mountains pretty inhospitable. However, they are home to wild bands of humans, dwarves and orcs. These peoples are scattered into small independent tribes, and they spend most of their time fighting each other (or occasionally the Götar). Although there has been the occasional disorganised incursion into the Fane, such efforts never last. Natives of the Fane are more likely to encounter an adventurous individual or small group, set on exploration and trade rather than invasion. Such visitors are, presumably, exceptional representatives of their peoples. However, most natives of the Fane would be forced to judge them as wild, uncouth savages, with no respect for life and some truly bizarre customs.

The Lotharian Kingdoms
To the North-east of the Fane, straddling the hills and planes between the Hellmouth and Anglegard Mountains and groping ever further to the east, is a battling confederation of kingdoms. Some two hundred years past, the whole region was unified under the rule of a mighty king, Lothar. His great domain failed within a year of his death as his three sons fought over the kingship, and in the generations since, the region has fragmented into progressively smaller kingdoms. Occasionally a leader will succeed in unifying a larger slice of the territory for a few years, but it is never a long-lasting success.

The Lotharian Kingdoms are, for the most part, militaristic, disciplined and feudal. Much of the social structure and custom is clearly derived from the model of the Elanii Empire at its height, though the power has shifted from the Elanii towards the humans. The Lotharians maintain strong fortified keeps throughout their lands, and each kingdom has a dedicated, well trained military. These are lead by orders of knights; dedicated, and heavily armed and armoured. It is just as well for the Fane that the kingdoms have been too busy fighting among themselves to turn their attention to their neighbours.

Dumnonia

South of the river Delos (the traditional southern boarder of the Fane), the land is hilly, heavily forested, coarse and of poor quality for agriculture. The people of this land are mainly humans and Ythaldin, although there are also small clans of dwarves and gnomes. They are all hardy, proud and independent. They largely survive on fishing, hunting and gathering, although they also trade surprisingly widely. For what their lands lack in food resources, it makes up for in mineral wealth - Dumnonia is a land of gold.

Dumnonia was an Empire province for centuries, and the Elanii relinquished it with poor grace. The natives of the area had endured their enslavement bitterly, and when the Elanii legions withdrew, the people rose up, slaughtering and driving off the remaining servants of the Empire, and tearing down any edifice that might remind them of their captivity. Some few Elanii remain in Domnonia, but they are the remnant of a single family, who adopted local ways so totally they have merged into the native population. This land is now profoundly dangerous for any other Elanii, who is likely to be attacked on sight.

Dumnonia society is clan based, with local family patriarchs holding authority in most matters. The royal clan, the Eogain, hold the great castle of Dun Delgan, but rarely seeks to enforce it's authority beyond it's clan boarders.

The Underdark
The people of Troimoira's Fane are all too aware that there are kingdoms beneath their feet; during the Black Flame legions of drow fought the armies of the surface to a stand-still. Besides the drow, there is also evidence to suggest that Kuo-toa and illithids live under the lands of the Fane in some numbers. These peoples are rarely seen on the surface, and the drows' motivation for their unique campaign is still a mystery.