The Emdoor Region
Located in the south of the western most continent, this region has extremely long winters and only
a few weeks of true summer each year. A forest of ancient evergreen trees covers the area. There is also a mountain range
in this area that is always covered with snow.
The Trock
There are small, scattered tribes of people living in the forests and mountains. They simple call
themselves "The Humans", which in their language is Trock. The peoples of the forest are of a similar stock. They are a broad
and strong people, with hair and skin ranging from light to darker. They were probably merged with some different peoples
in the primitive past, since both darker and lighter individuals can be found. Despite intermarriage, the variation
in coloring continues. The coloring does tend to run to certain shades within different bands, but they do interbreed.
These tribes live very primitive lives. Their shelters are earthen works and they have no knowledge
of metalworking. The men make spearheads and arrowheads from stones. Despite this, their weapons are well crafted and expertly
wielded.
The Trock survive on hunting. The animals are sacred to them for the life they provide. They make
their clothing and tools from the skin and bodies of the dead animals.
They hunt along the coasts as well, in long bark canoes. Hunting parties have been know to catch
all sorts of ocean dwelling animals, including the massive ice snakes. The oil they can get from these snakes hold much of
the nutrients they need for life and can also be used stone lamps, for weatherproofing clothing and for other uses.
Whenever a kill is made, the hunters thank their God Barkus, the Hunter. Their religion is primitive
and not elaborate. They relay more on their own strength and stamina, than on divine aid. Still, They thank Barkus for providing
the animals that allow them to hunt.
The Trock see the animals that they kill as being gifts from their god. They also see these animals
as having souls and tribes of their own. It is the order of things that the animals must die to feed the human tribes, but
they still mourn for the tribes of the slain animals. They usually leave a portion of the animal behind for other tribes of
beings. This honors the sacrifice the animal made and shows that they to are willing to share in the order of things. When
a wild animal or a Troll kills one of the hunters, they simply see this as a part of the order. That person is honored for
their sacrifice. Animals slain have a place of honor as the eternally hunted in the here after. If they are a
prey beast, such a wolf, they will have a place in the eternal hunt.
They do not weave, but they are very skilled at using the hides of killed animals for clothing. Most
men and women wear buckskin pants and shirts. Over these they layer heavy furs. Their buckskins are decorated by burning elaborate
patterns of hunting scenes from myths, legends and recent hunts.
Both men and women have long, very thick hair. Women and men both hunt, but when a woman is expecting,
she is protected and not allowed outdoors. There is little or no separation of tasks between the genders, except when women
nurse the young. When a new child is born the whole tribe helps care for her. She knows who her parents are, but everyone
is family.
The Trock mate for life. Life is short and hard though, so it is not uncommon to have more than one
mate in a lifetime. When a mate dies, his brother, or her sister usually takes them on as a mate, unless they are already
mated. In this case, the widowed one can look for another mate if they wish. Their children may go with men who leave for
a new mate, or not, as they wish.
Despite their love of the hunt and skill with their weapons, these are a peaceful people. Warfare
is virtually unknown. They kill because it is the order, but can barely understand killing without a purpose. No one has ever
tried to conquer them. This is probably because no one really wants their frozen lands.
On the few occasions that one of them has started killing for no reason, or outsiders have come through
and done the same, they were killed. Those who kill outside the order of things are no longer part of the order themselves.
They must be killed to preserve the order. This is always a sad and somber act. The offender or offenders are captured, stripped
naked, tied up and left out in the snow. They are left within earshot of the camps, since their suffering is not only a lesson
for all, but so those who must perform the act that kills the offender are not removed from the consequences of what they
had to do.
The Trock believe in The Divine Mother. They do not have a concept of the soul being reborn in another
body. Instead they believe that all who follow the order of things faithfully become part of a great hunt after death.
They believe that all who live for the hunt, and so for the tribe, deserve a place with The Mother, as do all living beings
that follow their place in the order. In the huntlands of the mother, they will hunt, or be hunted, for all time.
This will fulfill the nature of their being. Those who break the order do not deserve a place in the hunt. Their
fate is much debated.
There is great fluidity among the tribes. Each tribe has no more than twenty people at a time and
as little as ten. When a tribe gets to small, it will merge with another tribe. When a boy is of marriageable age, he will
look for a mate among the other tribes. When he finds her, he joins her tribe. There is no real conflict among these tribes
since they see themselves as one big family.
Some of the tribes have sent trading parties out. These parties leave with furs and come back with
steel axe heads and knives. A few in these parties can speak the trade tongue. The future is slowly coming.
