Name: Called Neamh by the shamans, called the Hunterlands by everyone else.
Leaders: Cu Draigen, Chief of Daig Bran and head of the Cu Luar.
Type: A consortium of clans and tribes.
Capital: Nominally Port Karakas, as that is the only permanent city in the Hunterlands.
Largest cities: Port Karakas.
Location: The southern central coast of the Western Mainlands, on the Narwhal Sea.
Monetary unit: The ivory-token coinage of the Hunterlands, various coins from other lands, trade and barter with travelers visiting the Port. Among the tribes and clans, almost everything is communal property, and what is not is obvious to anyone - or at least, any native Hunter.
Ethnicity/Race: The Hunters, or as they call themselves, the Diadhaidh, and the Meanmna.
Language: The Hunters speak their own language, and many spurn knowledge of any other. Those who live in Port Karakas usually speak Common as well, and many know elven tongues.
Religion: Fanatical followers of, oddly enough, Eachthighern. They frequently call him Gaoth Deas, the South Wind, in honor of the never-ceasing wind that sweeps the breadth and width of the Hunterlands. The Cu Luar claim it is the breeze of his wings as he watches over his followers. He is also the only god that the Meanmna follow, and the Hunters regard these creatures as symbols of the diety.
Climate: Hot and arid during the summer, with a mild, steady wind. The fall and spring are cooler, with sudden, violent but infrequent squalls and downpours. Winter is bitterly cold, and frequently gets snow, although rarely very deep.
Resources: Raw, carved and scrimshaw ivory, shark and sealion skins. oil, and tobacco.
Flora and Fauna: The first thing that comes to the attention of anyone traveling the Hunterlands is grass. Innumerable varieties of it coat the flat-lands with a carpet of rippling gold and green. Low-growing vines are found near the springs, notable for the thin, black thorns that cover them profusely. The thorns are barbed, and will break off into any flesh they penetrate, slowly working deeper. Near the coast, the dark, oily leaves of a wild shrub are harvested by the Hunters for the mildly narcotic tobacco it makes when dried. This shrub is usually found growing alongside the stunted, gnarled trees that scatter the coastline. In the grasses, countless varieties of flying and burrowing insects make the air fairly thrum with the constant noise of chirping, clicking and the buzz of wings. A wide variety of seed and insect eating birds nest in the grass, and can be seen gliding, circling or hovering overhead. Small herds of giant Sable Antelope travel constantly from one source of water to the next, the long sickle curve of their horns a warning to any who get too close. The most remarkable creature of the Hunterlands is the Meanmna, an intelligent race of tiny creatures, no more than two feet tall at the shoulder, that come in every color imaginable. They have the bodies of minute, slender horses, a single curved, spiraling horn on their forehead, and the wings of an insect. They live off a combined diet of grass and insects, and when seen are frequently buzzing above the grass as they chase the larger flying bugs. Although they might seem at first to be harmless, they are neither friendly nor peaceful. Having been hunted nearly to extinction at one point in time, they usually either attack or flee on sight, depending on how many of them there are and how many they are against. The horn contains a poison that can paralyze and possibly kill. The Hunters commonly ride a species of large black bull, raising herds of cattle for meat and leather during the months when the whales move further out to sea.
For those approaching by sea, there are thick beds of kelp and sea grass near the coast, a possible hazard to larger ships. There are also numerous species of fish that live in the kelp beds, hunted by porpoise, shark, sealions and whales. There are both narwhal and beluga whales off the coast-lands.
Known Dangers: Although there don’t seem to be many natural hazards on the land, the Hunters are extremely intolerant of any intrusions into their lands, sometimes violently so. Other possible dangers include the Meanmna and dehydration, but people have even been known to pass completely through the Hunterlands and arrive in Port Karakas without ever seeing anything but insects and birds.
History: The Hunters were originally a small group of tribes that followed the path of the narwhal migration, barely living off what they could hunt or gather in their travels. Although each year they camped at the site where the city of Port Karakas currently stands, there was never any reason for them to strike inland. In a year when the winter was unusually harsh and an unknown disease was decimating the tribes, the god Eachthighern appeared to them, with a proposition. He would give them the knowledge necessary to survive and thrive, and would heal their illnesses if they would guard and defend the Meanmna against the predations that were destroying that race, for at that time they had been nearly hunted to extinction. The tribes had little choice but to agree, and the god was true to his word. Although they have no interest in expanding their lands, they defend them diligently, and will not stand for any threat to the Meanmna. The shamans abandoned the numerous gods that had not answered their prayers, and turned to the worship of the god normally followed by unicorns and pegasi. Taking the name Cu Luar, they bear as a symbol of their god a staff made from the long spiral tusk of a narwhal.
The Hunters are a very proud people, and tend to regard most other races as inferior. They frequently regard mages as contemptible, and feel that any magic not gained through religious devotion is tainted.
Each year when the narwhals pass in their migration, warriors of all the tribes and clans form camps among the small islands off the coast, and hunt the whales from slender, low longships using light harpoons, regarding the dangerous pursuit as a test of bravery and skill. Both women and men are trained for combat from the time they can lift a small training-spear, and in sea-lore from the birth. The original group of tribes conjoined into one, from which the others have since split off. The central clan is still called by it’s original name, Daig Bran.
Leaders: Cu Draigen, Chief of Daig Bran and head of the Cu Luar.
Type: A consortium of clans and tribes.
Capital: Nominally Port Karakas, as that is the only permanent city in the Hunterlands.
Largest cities: Port Karakas.
Location: The southern central coast of the Western Mainlands, on the Narwhal Sea.
Monetary unit: The ivory-token coinage of the Hunterlands, various coins from other lands, trade and barter with travelers visiting the Port. Among the tribes and clans, almost everything is communal property, and what is not is obvious to anyone - or at least, any native Hunter.
Ethnicity/Race: The Hunters, or as they call themselves, the Diadhaidh, and the Meanmna.
Language: The Hunters speak their own language, and many spurn knowledge of any other. Those who live in Port Karakas usually speak Common as well, and many know elven tongues.
Religion: Fanatical followers of, oddly enough, Eachthighern. They frequently call him Gaoth Deas, the South Wind, in honor of the never-ceasing wind that sweeps the breadth and width of the Hunterlands. The Cu Luar claim it is the breeze of his wings as he watches over his followers. He is also the only god that the Meanmna follow, and the Hunters regard these creatures as symbols of the diety.
Climate: Hot and arid during the summer, with a mild, steady wind. The fall and spring are cooler, with sudden, violent but infrequent squalls and downpours. Winter is bitterly cold, and frequently gets snow, although rarely very deep.
Resources: Raw, carved and scrimshaw ivory, shark and sealion skins. oil, and tobacco.
Flora and Fauna: The first thing that comes to the attention of anyone traveling the Hunterlands is grass. Innumerable varieties of it coat the flat-lands with a carpet of rippling gold and green. Low-growing vines are found near the springs, notable for the thin, black thorns that cover them profusely. The thorns are barbed, and will break off into any flesh they penetrate, slowly working deeper. Near the coast, the dark, oily leaves of a wild shrub are harvested by the Hunters for the mildly narcotic tobacco it makes when dried. This shrub is usually found growing alongside the stunted, gnarled trees that scatter the coastline. In the grasses, countless varieties of flying and burrowing insects make the air fairly thrum with the constant noise of chirping, clicking and the buzz of wings. A wide variety of seed and insect eating birds nest in the grass, and can be seen gliding, circling or hovering overhead. Small herds of giant Sable Antelope travel constantly from one source of water to the next, the long sickle curve of their horns a warning to any who get too close. The most remarkable creature of the Hunterlands is the Meanmna, an intelligent race of tiny creatures, no more than two feet tall at the shoulder, that come in every color imaginable. They have the bodies of minute, slender horses, a single curved, spiraling horn on their forehead, and the wings of an insect. They live off a combined diet of grass and insects, and when seen are frequently buzzing above the grass as they chase the larger flying bugs. Although they might seem at first to be harmless, they are neither friendly nor peaceful. Having been hunted nearly to extinction at one point in time, they usually either attack or flee on sight, depending on how many of them there are and how many they are against. The horn contains a poison that can paralyze and possibly kill. The Hunters commonly ride a species of large black bull, raising herds of cattle for meat and leather during the months when the whales move further out to sea.
For those approaching by sea, there are thick beds of kelp and sea grass near the coast, a possible hazard to larger ships. There are also numerous species of fish that live in the kelp beds, hunted by porpoise, shark, sealions and whales. There are both narwhal and beluga whales off the coast-lands.
Known Dangers: Although there don’t seem to be many natural hazards on the land, the Hunters are extremely intolerant of any intrusions into their lands, sometimes violently so. Other possible dangers include the Meanmna and dehydration, but people have even been known to pass completely through the Hunterlands and arrive in Port Karakas without ever seeing anything but insects and birds.
History: The Hunters were originally a small group of tribes that followed the path of the narwhal migration, barely living off what they could hunt or gather in their travels. Although each year they camped at the site where the city of Port Karakas currently stands, there was never any reason for them to strike inland. In a year when the winter was unusually harsh and an unknown disease was decimating the tribes, the god Eachthighern appeared to them, with a proposition. He would give them the knowledge necessary to survive and thrive, and would heal their illnesses if they would guard and defend the Meanmna against the predations that were destroying that race, for at that time they had been nearly hunted to extinction. The tribes had little choice but to agree, and the god was true to his word. Although they have no interest in expanding their lands, they defend them diligently, and will not stand for any threat to the Meanmna. The shamans abandoned the numerous gods that had not answered their prayers, and turned to the worship of the god normally followed by unicorns and pegasi. Taking the name Cu Luar, they bear as a symbol of their god a staff made from the long spiral tusk of a narwhal.
The Hunters are a very proud people, and tend to regard most other races as inferior. They frequently regard mages as contemptible, and feel that any magic not gained through religious devotion is tainted.
Each year when the narwhals pass in their migration, warriors of all the tribes and clans form camps among the small islands off the coast, and hunt the whales from slender, low longships using light harpoons, regarding the dangerous pursuit as a test of bravery and skill. Both women and men are trained for combat from the time they can lift a small training-spear, and in sea-lore from the birth. The original group of tribes conjoined into one, from which the others have since split off. The central clan is still called by it’s original name, Daig Bran.
Notable & Notorious Individuals
