The Northern Steppe
Arrith lies in the north-eastern reaches of Auldwyn beneath the Khinaor and Karrick-Har mountain ranges. It is a hard, open land of long horizons, cold winds, gravel-bed rivers, sparse woods, and rolling grass. To outsiders it may seem empty, but the plains are alive with movement: caribou darken the hillsides in their season, wolves follow the herds, birds of prey ride the mountain winds, and bears and elk move through sheltered valleys.
The land is generous only to those who understand its rhythms. Rivers provide water and fish, the plains sustain great herds, and the mountains hold passes, caves, and old trails. Weather can turn without warning, teaching those who live here that survival comes from listening to the land rather than trying to conquer it.
The Tah'nai
The Tah'nai are the four clans most closely bound to Arrith. Though outsiders sometimes mistake their simpler technology for a lack of sophistication, their culture is deeply ordered around clan, memory, survival, and the animals they revere.
The Telkhmar honour the Elk and are known for calm strength and tradition. The Khagmen honour the Grizzly Bear and are fiercely protective of kin. The Wulark honour the Great Gray Wolf and are feared for pack tactics and old blood feuds. The Aelkhor honour the Peregrine Falcon and remain the most mysterious, said to dwell high among the mountain ranges. Each clan protects its patron animal and never hunts it.
Herds, Rivers, and Weather
The great caribou migrations shape life across Arrith. Their passage brings food, hides, bone, antler, trade, predators, and dispute, while sometimes closing routes for days. The Tah'nai treat the herds with restraint, believing waste and greed offend the order of life itself.
Arrith's gravel-bed rivers mark crossings, camps, and seasonal meeting places, but they can change quickly with thaw and flood. Roads are often little more than herd paths, river tracks, cairns, or remembered landmarks. Snow may come early, fog gathers in low ground, and storms cross the plains with little to slow them. Shelter is respected before it is needed.
Frorepass Village and Valkharun
Frorepass Village sits within the Khinaor Ranges and serves as one of the main settled approaches to Arrith. Traders, guides, hunters, and caravaners gather there before pressing north. Its value lies not in grandeur, but in supplies, local knowledge, and its place at the edge of familiar roads.
Valkharun is a Telkhmar trading post beside a broad gravel-bed river. It is a seasonal meeting place of camps, markets, and guarded negotiation rather than a conventional city. Outsiders come for hides, antler, cured meat, horses, guides, and knowledge of the plains, bringing tools, cloth, salt, medicines, and news in return.
What Brings Travellers to Arrith
Travellers come for trade, clan diplomacy, northern passage, rare materials, guiding work, and old stories. Adventurers may protect caravans, recover missing travellers, investigate strange movements among the herds, carry messages where no formal road exists, negotiate between clans, or seek forgotten sites in the mountains.
Arrith offers opportunity, but comfort is never cheap. Respect the herds, the rivers, and the clans. Open country is not empty country, and the land notices who walks carefully.