| Conjelado Anillo | |
|---|---|
| Region Number | 154 |
| Realm | (Conjelado Anillo) |
| Population | 75,000 |
| Resources | Miner Durirus, Weeping Stones |
| Religion | The Cold Woman |
Conjelado Anillo, “the Frozen Rings”, is a sub-arctic region far to the south of Telluris.
Geography[]
Conjelado Anillo, “the Frozen Rings”, is a sub-arctic region far to the south of Telluris. It has long, cold winters, and short, brutal summers. The hardy vegetation is low, rugged, and largely berry-bearing. The interior slopes rapidly up from the coast into a twisting maze of canyons and glaciers. They place bursts into the brief spring and summer in vast fields of flowers. Travel is hazardous at the best of times, and nearly impossible in the deep cold of winter.
The area has several unusual species. Giant bees, the size of a human forearm, collect pollen and make honey. They make their nests in caves in the ravines. Arctic tunnel worms, dozens of feet long, chew through the stone of the mountains feasting on the limestone layers. Miner Durirus, a strange carnivore, hunt them and attack anything else in their territories. They are fearsome beasts of claw and beak, standing at their shoulder as tall as a man. There are three primary landmarks:
Ria Plata forms the north-eastern border with Puerto Melizine. The massive falls cascade from the great lake to the east into a deep ravine that runs the length of the region, boiling into the sea. The entire length of the river is one vast rapids. The water tumbles and foams along its trip, hence the name. The Basahuan fear this ravine. They claim in ancient times it was spanned by 4 stone arches that their ancestors destroyed to prevent the ancient demons from invading.
Piedro Dejos are the chain of small, shaggy islands to the north of the region. Tempered by the warmer ocean currents, it is more overgrown than most regions. Vast flocks of snow geese and swans come here in the breeding season to lay eggs and raise their young. Minga melons grow here in abundance.
Atalya Anoche is a vast watchtower literally carved from a mountain. Or, to be more precise, an entire mountain was carved and crafted into a vast watchtower. It lies at the point of deep, geochemically warmed valley surrounded by a glacier. Its massive dimensions tie it to the cast structures of Puerto Melizine and beyond. It is considered a haunted place by the Basahuan. It is said to glow on certain nights, providing a waypoint for travelers in the wild.
People[]
The native people are called the Basahuan. They are giants, standing close to twenty feet tall. Their skin varies from blue to near purple. Their hair can be pale blue to stark white. They are a heavily muscled species who are nearly impervious to the cold. Their muscles bulge, showing off veins in stark white lightning shapes up and down their bodies. Incredibly strong, they stand the equivalent of ten normal humans.
They are a primitive people, living in small communities in the deep valleys and caves of the glaciers and ravines of the interior. They venture out to the coasts to fish with nets. In spring, they gather flocks of geese and ducks the same way. In summer they collect honey from the great bees and in fall they gather minga melons. Most communities have a summer residence and a winter residence of long lodge houses and surrounding palisades. A few metalsmiths and carpenters make more permanent homes around their mills. Travel is by foot or duirirus-sled.
They are a tribal and militaristic people, fiercely defending their fishing and gathering grounds. Steel plate armor, shields, and bludgeoning weapons are worn and used by both men and women.
Resources[]
The area is largely undeveloped. There is sufficient wood to build lodges, and enough metals to manage basic tools. Honey and fish feed the population. Minga-melon, a large hard shelled fruit, grow quickly in the brief summer. Tunnel worms are hunted sparingly to be turned into leather. Still, they have very little worthy of export.
Miner Durirus are the pack animals of the Basahuan. Congregations of them live in the tunnels and caves of the glaciers. Their sharp claws and crushing beaks constantly carve new passages. They hunt the tunnel worms for food. Despite their massive size, they are domesticated by the Basahuan and used in much the same way as guard dogs and sled dogs are used by humans.
Weeping Stones are another good resource. They are round stones found in the Ria Plata and along its shores. They appear to be large pieces of rounded blue adventurine, rounded by the crushing river flow. They always appear to be wet, even along dry patches of shore. The Basahuan have discovered that they excrete a watery fluid no matter what the temperature. The fluid tastes like water flavored with roses, and is nutritious enough to sustain a being. Each stone produces about one-tenth its weight in fluid a day, every day, for years. The Basahuan believe that if they are not returned to the Ria Plata at least once every decade, they will dry up.
Along the thin northern peninsulas there are many rocky outcroppings with significant sources of ammolite, also known as Dragon Scale. The locals have little use for it as it is brittle and requires careful handling. With the right 'small person' touch, it could be turned into another resource.
Religion[]
They Basahuan worship the Cold Woman. She is the goddess of ice and snow. She hold the land in her grasp, sleeping only for a brief time each year. If the people please her, she gives them more mild days to collect their food. Their history says that the land was once all verdant and green, but that was unnatural. Some other creatures, even larger than they, used them as slave labor in the lands. It was their watch-tower that they so fear. It was the Cold Woman who helped them free themselves. She destroyed the bridges and defeated the evil gods, freezing the lands to drive them out.
With the recent inhabitation of Puerto Melizine, the Basahuan fear the return of the evil gods. Some advocate attacking the “little people” before they cause something bad to happen.
References[]
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18793154&postcount=61