Goth

The Gothar live east of Vykir and south of Ice Peaks along the shoreline of the White Sea. North of their land is a cold sea filled with island of ice and snow beyond which the giants and dragons live. When the breath of Néébeka, the great ice serpent, touches the sea the water will freeze allowing the giants into their lands. This is a time of great struggle and death; however, the Gothar stand strong and proud against the odds.

• Capitol: none
• Languages: Daconian, Elven
• Demonym: Gothar
• Government: Heimstadt (Village)
• Ruler: none
• Area: xxx km²
• Population: xx
• Currency: barter

The Gothar migrated to this area from the west, pushed out by the advancing brund. A nomadic tribe of humans they partially settled upon the lands of bogs, lakes, and rocks found near the western shoreline of the White Sea. Over the years as they have becoming increasing settled permanent holdts have been built by the larger tribes near good grazing lands.

The Gothar people are held together by strict religious and social order. The society is strongly stratified with the warriors (Spjóti) as the ruling class. The position of the warriors is strengthened by the religious belief of the Gothar that they are a chosen people placed in this land to hold back the eternal night of Néébeka who would cover the world in ice and snow. To that end they do battle with the giants that live beyond the sea and come to this land when great numbers of ice float in the sea.

Goth is a land of rock, ice, and snow with temperatures averaging from -30ºF to 50ºF with about 6 to 10 inches of rainfall during the year. The short growing season (40-60 days) and shallow soil over the permafrost makes the land difficult for any sort of agriculture aside from lichen, grasses, and small shrubs. Most of the fresh water is found in the thousands of small bogs and ponds scattered about in ground depressions caused by melting snow.

See also: Stonefists Run

The Iron Mountains dominate the southern border of Goth and the Blackhair and Bloodskull tribes who live in the mountains on their border frequently raid the southern heimstadts. Stonefists Run is the only valley that passes through the Iron Mountains to the Druyen Highlands. The Gothar use this valley to trade goods with Krandryia and to a lesser extent the Kingdom of Dakar.

It is a dangerous journey and typically only used in large numbers during the heavy winter when the possibility of avalanche is lessened. The only safe location for anybody moving through this valley is the dwarven outpost of Blackstone Gap which sits on the shore of Coldstone Lake. Outside of this area the Gothar and Kranydrians must rely on the strength of their spears and bribes to the more powerful orc warleaders.

The Gothar are ruled by a simple, but strange to outsiders, system. The system revolves around keeping as many warriors as possible ready for battle. The Gothar are a hardy warrior race. However, they are a people chosen by the gods to stand fast against the evil. This makes them more tightly held together than any other nation in the Realms.

The Gothar society is caste based with the warriors (Spjóti) at the top and the elderly (Aldraðir) at the bottom. Survival of the heimstadt is of utmost importance and any that cannot contribute may find themselves left behind when the rest of the people leaves the area. Dying upon the open snow is considered a honorable end and many elderly choose that over slowly wasting away.

These individuals are the strength and heart of the people, they are its warriors and ruling caste of Gothar society. The spjóti rule the heimstadt and all of the people that are a part of it, with those with the most battle honors ranking above those with less. The Gothar highly prize individual honor in battle. While not in battle or recovering from battle the spjóti gather the food for the others which serves to sharpen their skills and remind them that all work for the survival of the heimstadt.

Móðir are the second caste of society. They are women who have given themselves to bearing and rearing children. These women are afforded a very special place within Gothar society. They are responsible for the strength of the next generation. Women cannot be counted among the warriors after they have given birth, which makes rape not only a crime against the entire heimstadt. Women currently carrying a child are honored and revered among the people in lean times it is they that claim the right of first choosing. A woman is expected to take many partners for the benfit of the people.

The craftsman of the village are the third caste and the comprise the largest in terms of population. Additionally they are the only caste that is permitted to own and trade things. The spjóti may earn honors upon the battle, but are forbidden from trading those honors for any other good or service as the déantóir give the spjóti what they need. The déantóir are the Gothar who are the most learned, with the majority of them knowing their basic glyphs and numbers.

Börn (children) are expected to learn the laws, practice basic skills of both war and craft. When they reach their tenth year they will appear before the leader of each caste, except the aldraðir, and show their skills in the hopes of finding a place within society. Those who fail are given to the aldraðir. Until they reach their majority the börn are not permitted to own or trade anything and cannot win honor battles, they have no caste or true place in the heimstadt.

The aldraðir are the lowest caste of society and have little say in the affairs of the heimstadt. They have no skill with either spear or craft, nor can they bear children. Instead they have little to offer the village except for their labor. Very few of the aldraðir live for more than a few decades as they are treated worse than beasts of burden.

Aldraðir women can only mate with other aldraðir as no other would mate with them. Children born from this union are not counted among the börn and are not given any training or instruction. On their tenth birthday they must still stand in front of the leaders and prove their worth. Given their poor instruction most become aldraðir, but a few will often find themselves raised to a higher caste. The weakness of the parent is not a sin upon the child.

Töframann are those that have been called to the path of magic and spirits. These men and women live outside of the rest of the village, often making their home upon the snow or ice far from the hearth. They are responsible for defending the Gotha against the darkest evils that have no fear of spear. They draw upon the breath of Néébeka and the wisdom of Heldt.

The arrival of a Töframann to a heimstadt is always a time of change. If a woman is nearing her birth it could be that her baby will be Töframann. If no woman is near then it is more likely a time of darkness is nearing the heimstadt and a Töframann is needed to guide them through. More than one Töframann arriving is always a sign of a great battle approaching.

The Gothar hold fast to their belief that they were created from the purest stars and sent to this world to turn back the evil in any form. This gives them a strong sense of duty in relation to their neighbors. Even in the darkest times the needs of the people are more important than the individual.

See also: Eishen

These women live on the rocky islands in the White Sea. It is a land forbidden to men and dangerous to those women not willing to submit themselves. Occasionally the brave or stupid will tempt Néébeka's wrath and cross the sea to reach the islands. Those strong, brave, and smart enough might even see the light of day again. Those that do return receive great honors for the battle they have fought against both Néébeka and the warrior women that she shelters.

See also: Vykir

This nation of clans also considers themselves strong warriors who raid the Gothar during the dead winters when the herds are scarce. As long as both people exist they will forever clash over land, herds, and the best rivers and streams. While these have occassionally resulted in larger battles the difficulty of life in the north means that neither can afford to lose its strength in a continuous war.

The people respect the strength and courage of the Vykir and know that should the giants come from the north they will give the darkness their full measure before being overrun. The Gothar have learned that they Vykir do not surrender even in the face of overwhelming odds. The Vykir may be pagens, but the Gothar respect their strength.

See also: Brundswag

On several occasions the Brundswag have tried to capture territory belonging to the Gothar, but each incursion has been met with a far larger response as several heimstadts band together to raid the Brund. In the veins of the Brund runs the blood of the giants and they have the heart of a dragon. The Gothar believes that the Brund were once humans who accepted dragon gold for abandoning the men of the north and have been cursed for all time. No Brund would find anything but death in Goth; although they know that the Vykir actually treat with them which has angered many Gothar.

The spjóti are the warrior caste and responsible for battle in all of its forms, which includes hunting and fishing as well. The traditional spjóti warrior is clad in fur and leather that has been treated with oils to resist water. The face is never covered nor any headgear worn as a warrior should face any battle with their enemy fully aware of who will kill them. Instead they heavily decorate their armor and tattoo themselves with the battle honors they have won.

The traditional weapons of the spjóti are spear, dagger, and shield. Those that have won great honors in battle will often carry a sword as well although steel has more important uses to a heimstadt than a sword. The frigid weather renders bows and crossbows useless as they snap after a few pulls so the warriors instead rely on javelins and heavier harpoons.

When a heimstadt is under attack all are expect to defend it no matter their caste. The déantóir (craftsmen) use the hammers, axes, and picks of their trade. The börn are limited to staff and sling as they have not yet become adults. The móðir may use any weapon although bone or obsidian studded clubs. The aldraðir are forbidden from using weapons and must resort to rocks and their bare hands. The spear is reserved to the spjóti and any other who takes it up can be challenged by a spjóti for insulting them.

In battle the spjóti seek out opportunities to earn battle honors and thus attack as a collection of individuals rather than any unified military. This would tend to weaken their ability, but the spjóti are highly motivated to gain honor that any attack must be nearly killed to the last as they almost never retreat. They do use ambush and raiding when attacking, but this is typically only be a few individuals.

Any group of spjóti more than a raid will be led by a stríð (warleader) that is chosen by the spjóti in the warcamp. As long as that stríð is strong and the warriors gain battle honors the warcamp will stay together. Only a few times in its history has a stríð held a warcamp together for longer than a season or included more than a few heimstadts. The idea of the entire land of Goth going into battle together is absurd.

Goth is a hunter-gather society that lives almost completely off the land following the great herds of caribou and reindeer that populate their land. Only the déantóir may own something that they have not earned and only they made trade with other heimstadts or outsiders. The déantóir know of outsiders love of the zinc, lead, gold, silver, and gemstones that can be found beneath the surface.

They do not mint coins nor accept them as worthy goods to trade. Instead they prefer steel bars and wood, both items are difficult to find in the wind-swept tundra.

The gothite religion is very strict and very exclusionary. In essence, it states that Goth was created to hold back the evil that was across the great sea. The sea would freeze and the evil would come so that all Gothites could do battle against it. Dying in battle is considered acceptable, but not seen as the highest idea of Goth. Instead, a warrior should best their opponent so they may continue to fight and teach their skills to the children.

The magic used by the töframann is more of a call for ancestral intervention instead of the knowledge used by the dakarians. Unlike other magics, the power of the töframann seems nearly limitless when the töframann is living upon the land settled by their ancestors.