The Howling Steppe

There is nothing worthwhile to be found in Ukiah, so the wisdom goes. It is a wild land of rugged mountains, deep dense forests, and endless plateaus, where beasts roam free and men live like orcs. Even the Northmen are more civilized than the Ukians - they at least have towns and villages.

The Ukians, meanwhile, are nomadic pastoralists, living off the land and driving their herds of cattle, horses, sheep, and reindeer from one meadow to the other as the seasons change, their settlements little more than camps of yurts gathered around a communal pasture and likely to be somewhere else in a month. They dress in leathers and furs, they fight with bows, spears, and knives, and they are just as wont to raid their neighbors as trade with them.

Art by Gambargin

In truth, the Ukians' way of life was shaped by circumstance. The northern lands they dwell in have poor soil, and the terrain is foreboding - to say nothing of the brutal winters, where temperatures can drop below freezing even out on the treeless plains. So too, they count among their neighbors the goblins of the Great Wyrm Ridge, the Northmen to the west, the elves of the deep woods, and the Northborn Orcs of the Icy Coast, subject to their predations and caught in the middle of their wars. To survive in such a harsh climate, they were forced to make do with what they had. Forced to fight for their lives, they became ferocious warriors; every Ukian, it is said, trains in the bow from the day they can walk. Forced to forage for food, they became keen trackers and hunters - it is said that every Ukian knows what herbs and roots are edible, how to harvest syrup from trees, and how to pursue tracks through the snow. They are not merely barbaric rabble - their society is surprisingly regimented, with every tribesman knowing their place in the hierarchy of their clan and the role they have to play. They have no other choice; if they weren't so strict, they would surely perish.

The fearsome reputation of the Ukians would soon become known to their more settled neighbors in Kvesland and Vardessy - they made periodic incursions on their frontiers, raiding villages for crops and valuables. For the most part, however, they were of relatively little concern - their attacks were infrequent, the borders were well defended, and the Ukians waged war among one another often enough to keep them too busy to mount any organized threat.

That was, until the unthinkable happened.

In the last forty years, a great warlord rose up among the Ukians, by the name of Jahken Khan. Through a series of conquests, alliances, and political marriages, he managed to unite the various Ukian clans, organizing them into a formidable army. And it was that army that struck Vardessy with incredible force, driving many from their homes and even managing to claim several of the very fortresses built to defend against Ukian incursions.

Scrambling to defend themselves against this threat, the armies of Vardessy and their Kvessian allies were able to reclaim the lost territories and beat back the Ukian hordes. They made considerable incursions into Ukiah, establishing a system of marches and allotting the land to their nobles. This was a task of necessity, and one geared more toward strengthening the border than for any economic value brought by the land, but there were enough would-be settlers to volunteer for such a goal - second sons of noble families in need of their own manors, rootless mercenaries rewarded for military service, and even criminals who fled to the Marches to escape the law. Over time, these settlements were able to keep the hordes at bay, and the attacks have since dwindled.

Of course, the fighting is not over. The Khan's son, Kostten Khan, has since taken over his position, and already he has made great claims toward restoring his family's glory, with some clans hailing him as a prophesized leader who may yet eclipse even his father. The settlers have bred resentment in the Ukians, disrupting their trails and grazing lands, and many disaffected tribes have flocked to the Khan's banner.

Yet, settlement has not ceased either. There are still many reaches of Ukiah that are yet untamed, and many trails that have yet to be charted. Local nobles offer hefty prizes for those who return from such expeditions, and many have felt this is the opportunity they need to win their fortune and to make a name for themselves. But how long will such arrangements be feasible before another war breaks out?