The Ancestral Lands

Starting to the southwest of Vardessy and stretching far out into the western ocean, Sonderlund is often described as a land out of time. It is a place of deep, dense forests, misty moors, and rugged hills, and it is perhaps the strongest holdout of the Old Faith, a remnant of the many tribal ancestor-worshiping cultures that once dominated the western part of the continent before the introduction of Pantheonism. The Sonderlundings are a stubborn sort that are reluctant to turn their back on tradition, and many still practice the Old Faith, honoring ancestors, nature spirits, and the fair folk and living by the oaths they swear to such powers and to one another.

Yet, even Sonderlund is not untouched by the hand of civilization. The eastern part of the peninsula is dominated by a confederation of fourteen thanages; the territories of powerful nobles who have managed to unite the varied clans into kingdoms of their own. These thanes meet as a council to determine matters of policy through common consensus, and this has allowed them, as a unit, to deal with the Imperial powers of Vardessy and the wealthy City-States as equals when they could never measure up on their own. Though the thanages still officially practice the Old Faith, there are many Pantheonist temples to be found within their borders, and many rituals once known only to the druids have been adopted into local cults of varied gods. In turn, Sonderlunding tribal customs were tempered, and the thanes adopted a form of feudalism more akin to that found in Vardessy.

That is, except for in the Highlands. Although much of the land under such a name is indeed hilly, the term "Sonderlunding Highlands" formally refers to any part of Sonderlund not under control of one of the thanes. Some thanages were unable to expand further into the difficult hill country, others were repelled by hostile tribes unwilling to surrender their arms to foreign rulers, and others still fell victim to the roving bands of orcs, elves, and even deadlier things that called the Highlands their home. Whatever the case was, a sizeable part of Sonderlund remains a wild frontier, one that outsiders often perceive as lawless (though this perception owes more to the distinct culture of the region). And, through a combination of isolation and the bitter refusal of the people to accept change, the Highlands have held onto their traditional customs for centuries.

Here, the druids of the Old Faith enjoy places of authority in noble courts. Here, honor is everything, and one is expected to swear by the word of their ancestors just as much as they would to a worldly liege, even long after their forefathers have passed. Here, to break a blood oath is a greater sin than even murder, and one punished more harshly. Here, mankind holds to small and scattered villages under the banners of petty chieftains, and borders are constantly drawn and redrawn with skirmish and bloodshed. These are the Highlands - the lands some might call barbaric, and others might call truer to themselves than any other.