Estraguil

Estraguil is a magical forest that stretches from the sea on one side, to the plains several hundreds of miles away on the other. There are hills and lines of mountains within the forest, with many caves and hidden places. The land is rocky, full of rivers, and gorges. Inhabited by diverse plants and animals, as well as many different cultures, Estraguil is a place of wonder and adventure, of treacherous magic, conflict and possibility.

Through the forest run the dark roads, ancient ways of travelling that appear nd disapepar without warning. They move not only across the land, but through time, in some very unexpected ways. Legend has it that the dark roads lead to the centre of the forest, where the oldest trees dream the world into being. Legend also says that if you walk the dark roads and survive you will return either mad, or a poet.

There have been twelve great kith groups in the history of Estraguil. Some came from beyond the forest, but others have stranger origins. While the kith groups are basically humanoid, they are full of diversity. Skin, hair and eye colour varies dramatically in Estraguil. Some people have forked tongues, or horns, of hooves, some have tails, some can shapeshift. Others might root themselves like trees, or breath beneath the water. The possibilities of life are endless and constantly changing. There are three genders in Estraguil. Males and females predominate, but there are also melfates, individuals who posses characeristics of both other genders.

Welcome to Estraguil. May you journey well.

The Kith of Estraguil

There are twelve great kith groups in the forests of Estraguil, although not all of them originated in the forest. Some were made there, some came seeking a home. Over the thousands of years of life in the forests, some kith groups have vanished away into legend, their fate uncertain, while new groups come to take their place. The different kith groups all have their own stories about how they came to be, how old they are (several claim to be the oldest) and what their purpose might be.

Those individuals whose destiny might include great leadership, will often dream of a tower. On that tower stand twelve figures made of stone. Each one of them represents the founder of a kith group. Many of the founders have dreamed about meeting their own image upon the tower.

Below is a guide to the kith groups. Some are more fleshed out than others for the simple reason I have not yet written about all of them. As most kith groups have a long history, this is just a brief overview of their main characteristics and myths, although the real stories prove different in some cases.

Sillian

Founded by Silla, a legendary huntress and inventor of the longbow. Sillians are nomadic herders and hunter gatherers, living mostly in the forested uplands. Silla is one of the oldest heroes, and her kith is a truly ancient one, perhaps one of the first – it claims to be the oldest and to have set the pattern for all other kith groups. Generations of skirmishing with the Erians, Dothrians and Illyans continually depletes their numbers, and increasing. In many ways the most primitive and simplistic of the kith, they value blood ties highly. Legend has it that Silla never missed what she shot at, and her nickname of ‘golden brow’ is in deference to her great physical beauty. Her son Charn, is said to have fallen in love with the lady of the fickle moon.

Illyan

Founded by Iylla, a mythical shapeshifter who could commune with animals, her stories associate her with vengeance, feuds and justice. The Illyans were created to deal with the effect the Sillian incomers had upon the forest. Iylla’s power items are a set of masks that allowed the holder to shapeshift. Illyans are hunters and fighters. Many of their kith group can shapeshift into a second form. They are the only kith to be able to work with krask hounds, and generally have a reputation for cruelty, brutality and treachery. Other kith groups consider them dangerous and malevolent. The are the wildest kith group, living closer to the other creatures in the forest than any other humans.

Straifian

Straif is a crone figure, an ancient earth mother with a myth of having fought the god of waiting to make the land green again. Straifians are hill dwellers living in small dispersed groups. They are predominantly farmers but have well established links with with the Maisrians in some areas. The Straifians have a strong tradition of travelling singers, story tellers and entertainers. They are generally fairly gentle and co-operative.

Tolthian

Founded by Tolth, who was a mythological scholar, a maker of maps both of the land and the sky. Tolth is reputed to be the one who named the constellations. His kith are one of the older ones and vanish from the forests of Estraguil while the other kith still flourished, becoming legendary. It is said that Tolth knew the secrets of the dark roads and that his people passed along them and were never seen again, and thus they escaped the harrowing. Some say that while the kith left, Tolth still watches over travellers. Tolthians live in meritocratic systems and tend to produce thinkers, philosophers and academics.

Lorian

Where Loric came from remains a mystery, as does the origin of his kith. He understood the powers of the elements, especially earth energy. His kith occupied an island off the coast of Estraguil, which he is reputed to have raised out of the sea. Fundamentally ill equipped for war and dependant on their isolation for protection, the Lorians largely went unnoticed for a long time. The entire kith was wiped out, and the general legend is that they were all taken by the harrowing in a single stroke. Given that the harrowing seems to be drawn to dense populations, this seems credible, although suspicion of the more warlike groups remains. Like the Tolthians, they are later considered an extinct line.

Maisrian

Founded by Maisry, this is a mystical kith that ventures out from its mountains only occasionally when pressures of dwindling population have required them to take partners from other kith groups. Gentle visionaries and hard nosed survivalists, they’ve never had much time for war, and apparently haven’t been touched by the harrowing. Little is known about them. Most of their contact with the outside world is through hill farming Strafians and Rhians, they control metal extraction and smelting. They use hand gliders and balloons to travel between their various mountain strong holds.

Medrian

Founded by Medri, a contemporary of Erin. Medri was one of the Straifian kith, but while the Straifians refused to respond to the challenges of war, Medri, with a small number of close kith, abandoned her lands to brook peace, making a pact with Erin that saved her people from his ravaging. She was the first lawmaker attempting to make laws binding between different kiths, and most of the kith groups respect the laws that she set down. Medrians were always peace makers thereafter, with limited success, although most of the weaker kiths would never have survived so long without their work.. Medri had a power item, and any oath sworn on it would be binding for life. The item passed into her kith, but vanished when they were harrowed, and legend has it, was hidden for safe keeping. The Medrians always maintained close ties with their parent kith, and while intermarriage between most of the kith groups is rare, it’s quite common between these two, and many of the people considered themselves as belonging to both kiths, or there being no real difference between them.

Dothrian

Dothrin’s legend is that he was a noble from a distant land, sent on a quest to capture a live Krask and return it to his King. It was hopeless mission, one intended to get rid of a troublesome hero who might otherwise take the throne. Dothrin’s people spent many years questing in the forests for the Krask and had several battles with the fearsome beasts. However, their presence soon attracted the attention of Erin, and unleashed war on the countryside. Dothrin’s people were by far the better warriors, but were vastly out numbered and did not know the landscape. However, they managed to survive for some generations, acquiring followers and avowry from the indigenous population. They settled in the marcher lands where Erin had prevailed, and feuded long with the Illyans. They stole from the Illyans the knowledge of how to work with the Krask hounds.

The historical Dothrin has become somewhat confused with his one time leader, Math. Math’s sword is a power item amongst this kith – to own it is to rule. Being harder metal than forest mining creates, it is unstoppable.

In reality, Dothrin was of mixed blood, his mother came from Estraguil, his father did not, as was true of many of his people.

Erian

Founded by war leader Erin, this is one of the younger kiths. Erin was initially a landlass errant of unknown origin, who, through fighting prowess, drew others to him until eventually he formed his own kith. Erin was an expansionist and warred with several other kith, most notably the Jerians, Illyans, Dothrians and Sillians. Other kith consider Erin to be the bringer of the harrowing, although it existed long before he arrived. The Erian tradition is that the Dothrians were aggressive invaders threatening the balance of the land, and that the Dothrians brought the curse with them, and that Erin held the march lands against a horde of invaders for nearly a decade, and only fell to the Dothrians because none of the other kith would come to his aid, and some actively harmed his efforts. Erin claimed to be descended from the mythical road builders.

Jerian

Founded by Jerek, a trickster and prankster figure renowned for his cunning and guile. Claiming to descend from the Lorians kith, he managed to trick his way into land and fortune, in mythic battles of wit, riddling and the like. An illusionist, he used his magical skill to advance the fortunes of his small kith, and the secrets of his magic were passed along amongst his followers. The Jerians are traders and river people and are one of the younger kith.

Lian

Leath was a bard when the first descendants of Erin ruled in the marches. He claimed to be the sole survivor in the world of the Tolthians, and that he had travelled the dark roads to the places beyond, and returned, and that his mother was an ancient sea goddess, and that he himself was part deity. He fathered fifteen children of his own, who became the basis of his kith. A small kith, its founder was contemporary with Jerek. There are tales in which the two figures meet and compete – outcome dependant on whose tale it is.

Rhian

Rhia was a leader of the Erians some generations after the founder. She fell in love with a Dothrian, and was exiled by her people when this was discovered. Her lover was executed. Rhia and her few supporters fled into the mountains, to live amongst the caves and secret places. They accept anyone who comes to them, regardless of background or kith, they will not turn away those in real need. Basically peaceful, they will fight to defend themselves and thus far have remained largely overlooked.