TRIBAL

Constant war taught the Wyldfolk to use not just the beasts of the wilderness, but also the defensible terrain with which their land of Annyrion is so copiously endowed. It was within these forests, fens, swamps and highlands that the tribes built their first settlements.

The Tribal Nations make up almost half of all the Wyldfolk and represent the typical image of their people. They build their homes in various terrain including foggy fens where wooden stilt-towns rise out of the still waters. Within the foreboding forests of Annyrion, tree-towns are constructed high in the eaves, while the swamps of the south are roamed by boat people in caravan barges. Among the sodden plains, and rugged heath, the Annyr build villages dug into natural hillsides or artificial mottes. Known as mound-houses, their dwellings range from one-room dirt hovels to homes with many chambers, braced with carved wooden arches and furnished with tartan wall-hangings. In the highlands, the hill-fort is the norm – dozens of fieldstone brochs enclosed by multiple ditch and wall defenses.

Tribal Annyr can be roughly divided into three cultural groups – Highlanders, Lowlanders and Fenfolk – each with its own distinct lifestyle and perspective. The rivalry between the gods Grom Graoch, Mabdhus and Andobha has perpetuated a conflict among worshippers that has shaped the history of Annyrion, and riven a cultural rift in the Annyr peoples, oft times widening into war. Much of Wyldfolk Mythology is dominated by the struggle between these cousin gods. Though Tribal chieftains are the masters of regions containing several dozen villages, it is the Druids who guide the clans from the shadows, resolving disputes, passing judgments, healing the sick and representing the gods. They maintain their own forces of hallowed warriors to defend the holy places, to guard the network of megaliths and to enforce the peace; these are the Glade Wardens and the elite Cromlech Guard brotherhoods.

Tribal Wyldfolk Defending Cromlech