| The Green Lands
The Green Lands stretch from the White Mountains down into the rolling hills and forests that flow out to the flatter marshlands and grasslands. They are sparsely populated, filled with dozens of “kingdoms” that are little more than clusters of farming villages linked by culture, blood and the need to survive. Between these villages stretch a loose network of badly maintained trails and a few roads, with most travel done by foot or on the waterways. The people of the Green Lands are a people surrounded by a haunted and mysterious land where the spirits of nature rule and strange beasts wait to trap the unwary. Despite this, they face the challenge of living in these lands with a brave heart and a confidence bordering on foolishness. The Order of the Land The Green Lands are ruled over not by humans, but by the Great Beasts, the gods which rule over the spirits of the land. The greatest of the Great Beasts is Dagda (King of Warriors), a giant deer stag who rules the forests and hills of the land with his mate the doe Anu (Queen of Fields and fertility) and stands as the high king over all the living things in the land. Other Great Beasts are the giant owl Ogma (Lord of the Night, the Judge who oversees the laws of the land, and judges the spirits of man and beast), the great eagle Bel (Lord of the Sky, who tells the stories of man and beast), and the swan Aine (Lady of the Water, who loves and heals all living things) These Great Spirits are worshiped by the men and beasts of the land, and will often appear when the proper rituals are followed to ask their favors by the druids. There are many sacred groves (marked by spirit stones) or man made holy temples dedicated to some or all of these Great Beasts scattered throughout the land. Beneath these Great Beasts are the Spirit Beasts, who rule over smaller territories like hills and lakes and mountains. Spirit Beasts can be found scattered across the land in any place from patches of woods to the bottoms of wells and the tops of hills. Sometimes when a man sees an animal, he is really seeing a spirit beast, but the beast will quickly reveal itself if this is the case. There are also the Fey, these are assorted spirits of animals and people who live scattered in the nooks and crannies of the land. These are spirits who were either afraid or unable to pass on to the Far Lands where the Great Beasts and the spirits of those who came before live on. The Elves The first ones made by the Great Beasts were the Elves, they were the children of the Great Beasts, and they were perfect in face and form. They were the ones made to guide the races of men and beast and see to it that the Great Beasts were respected and honored by all. The Elves built great cities, and their songs and stories echoed across the land, all manner of men and beast paying them tribute. But, the Elves, full of their power, soon thought themselves better than all, and instead of guiding the other races, they conquered and ruled them. Everything became the slaves of the Elves: man, beast and spirit, and the Elves used the powers they stole from the spirits to reshape man and beast as they saw fit. But, the Great Beasts became angry with the Elves, for the shaping of life was not for such as them, and they cursed the Elves with envy and hatred for their own kind. War among the armies of the Elves was terrible, and the land literally burned in the fires of the hate the Elves had for each other. When it was done, few Elves or men remained, and those Elves who were left fled, hiding themselves away from the Great Beasts in shame for what they had done. They were a cursed and lost people, and with their passing the story of the Green Lands moved from the story of Elves to the story of Man. The Order of Man Like the world of nature, in the world of man it’s the strong and clever who stand highest, and there is a clear social structure common in the Green Lands. In each village will be found a King, the first among equals among the warriors, who leads the village and helps to give them focus. The Warriors themselves the highest class of people, owning land and having the most say in village affairs, their clans protect the villages and keep order. Beneath the warriors are the Freemen: the Druids, the Scholars, the Poets, the Storytellers, the Craftsmen, the Merchants and the others who have the skills the village needs to survive. Under the Freemen are the Common Men, the farmers who live on the lands of the Warriors and Freemen and harvest and manage the land for the warrior families. Occasionally, there may also be Slaves, those taken in battle or in debt, and these people live at the lowest levels of society, hoping to become Common Men or Freemen. Villages: The Men of the Green Lands live primarily in walled farming villages of a few dozen families living together for protection and survival. Within a single village one will find a number of small homes, a few craftsmen’s shops, a blacksmith, a temple, a main hall with stables and a king’s manor (usually attached to the main hall). The people of the village will work the fields around the village growing corn, wheat and barley, and often there will be a few clusters of houses outside the village, but rarely beyond an hour’s walk from it. Culture: The traits these people value most are bravery, honesty and generosity; traits that have proven themselves time and time again as being the cornerstones on which society is built. A man must be brave to protect his land, honest to be trusted by those around him, and generous to those of his community who need his help. Also, to the people of the Green Lands, nothing is more important than a man’s reputation, people literally live and die by their reputations. If a man has a good reputation, his friends and clan will benefit, and if a man has a bad reputation then those around him will bear the taint of it. As a result, people are always looking for chances to improve and prove their reputations, and will jealously guard their reputation against anyone who mars it. They believe that the more people who know of a man’s reputation, the greater than reputation is, and the greater the chance that the Great Beasts will hear of it. If the Great Beasts hear of it, then a man can be truly and literally blessed, and his name will be carried in the memories of the spirits for all time. To accomplish this, many men actively seek to do great deeds so that the storytellers will speak their names, and others hire poets and writers to pen their tales for all those (few who can read) to read. Life is a grand story to the men of the Green Lands, and to be a great man one must accomplish much. War: Although the villages of the Green Landers are of the same peoples they are a violent breed of men and war is common among them. A poor harvest can result in raiding parties sent against nearby villages to take food and slaves, and there are many clan feuds and rivalries that flare up from time to time. When villages go to war, the King will ride (or walk) at their head, usually equipped with the best arms and weapons he can have made. The armourers of the Green Lands know how to make chain mail, and not a few know how to make simple plate armour. The weaponsmiths can produce fair quality bronze weapons and there are a few iron weapons floating around as well. Of course, these are the weapons and armour of the rich and elite. Most men, to prove their manhood, often go to battle wearing only leathers and carrying spears and perhaps axes. Horses are difficult to keep, so most warriors travel by foot, and occasionally by cart. Travel and Trade: In the Green Lands, roads are few and far between, the most common mode of transport besides walking the unpredictable forest paths is by water. A large network of waterways runs throughout the Green Lands, some of them natural, some made long ago and bearing the signs of craftsmanship. These waterways are the main way by which people in the Green Lands travel to other villages, and it’s rare to find a village which isn’t located next to a waterway. As a result of this, a number of clans of tradesmen have formed which live permanently (or close to it) on the waterways. These people travel between the villages and carry with them all manner of items and foodstuffs, and occasionally slaves. Traveling on large flat-bottomed boats which double as homes, they even carry people and messages between villages. The Mystic Realm: In the Green Lands, there are many who claim to wield forces which go beyond the norm of human ken. The most common of these are the Druids, of which many can be found scattered among the villages of man, they act as scholars, teachers, doctors, and the bridge between man and the spirit world. Many Druids have learned ways they can call upon the power of the Great Beasts, asking these lords of nature to aid them in their efforts to help man and the land live in harmony with each other. Also to be found among the towns and villages are those who are not druids, but have been touched by the greater spirits. These people, who live under what is called a Geas, have been blessed by a spirit with some piece of the spirit’s power that allows them to do what most men cannot. Often granted by virtue of the man’s bravery or as a tolken of respect, these Geas make warriors into legends. But, power comes with a price, and all Geas are part of a contract between man and spirit, if the man breaks his contract with the spirit, then the power that has been granted will abandon him when he needs it most Far outside the villages live the outcasts, those who have been touched by the power that man is forbidden to wield, the power of the Elves. Among those are Witches, those who are said to be able to capture the magic of the spirits into themselves and then use its power for their own ill-gotten purposes. Tales say they can steal the spirits of others, especially children, and when children die mysteriously at night it is often said “a witch came and took them”, and a hunt will begin to find any witch who might be near in hopes of getting the child’s spirit back again. Endnotes: The culture of the kingdoms of the Green Lands is based on the culture of the historical Celts, borrowing much of their society and transplanting it with modifications into a fantasy setting. That said, these people likely resemble the Celts more as they might have been had they not encountered the Romans and been allowed to evolve on their own without outside influence. They are a little more advanced than the Celts actually were, and the presence of real magic and other factors have also produced some differences between them and the “real” Celts, which of course covered quite a range of peoples in and of itself. Back to Main Page |