Taneith

The northwestern parts of the continent of Euressa are generally considered to be the most barbaric and uncivilised of the explored lands. Since the Isle of Taneith lays off the northwestern cost of the continent, then it surely follows that Taneith is a barbaric land indeed.

From the point of view of the more southerly lands, with their feudal lords and well marked boundaries, this can be said to be very true. Taneith though has a civilised culture of its own, and civilisation here is not lacking, merely different.

Taneith is a land of tradition and heroes. Possibly the last of the centres of fey power, it can be a dangerous and unforgiving land. To those who know its customs and are aware of its dangers though, it is a magical and enchanting isle, full of raw beauty and serenity.

Geography

At its closest point, the isle is about 25km from the mainland, surrounded by many smaller islands. There are two highland regions in the east and west of Taneith, principally made up of granite rocks. Though some parts of these highlands reach heights of over 1250m, there are no real peaks to be able to class them as true mountains - they are merely regions of high hills broken by the odd rocky crag or steep river valley. The rest of the land around the coastal regions is relatively flat, gently sloping towards the sea. Much of the actual coastline is cliffs, though there are plenty of sandy beaches and coves to make landing reasonably easy.

The lower regions are made up of peat bogs and fertile grassland. Not surprisingly, the greatest concentration of human settlements can be found in these regions, so much of this has been taken over by farmland.

Inner Highlands

The highland regions of the isle are split into two main regions - the Cullen Hills in the west, and the far more irregular Hiskany Hills in the east. The latter are also the highest, being about 1350m above sea level at their highest.

Apart from two ridges in the Hiskany Hills, neither highland region is mountainous, instead being made up of hills piled on top of more hills. River valleys cut through these hills with regular abandon, and though they are almost without exception fast flowing, there are few rapids or waterfalls.

The two highest parts of the Hiskany Hills feature sheer rock faces and bare peaks, though finding ways across such ridges rarely involves little more than a detour of a couple of hundred metres for those not inclined towards climbing.

Special Terrain Features

Up in the Hiskany Hills can be found many remnants of the original people who dwelt here - the Cannadd. The most common are the stone Cairns which can be found atop some of the most prominent hills. Few have been disturbed, since stories about curses laid on such places are all too common.

The most frequent design for these Cairns is a pile of perfectly cut stone cubes, arranged in a pyramid fashion and then covered with a light covering of earth. The largest of these pyramids are about ten metres tall, though most are around two to three metres in height.

Weather and Climate

Taneith is wet all year round, though more so on the southern side of the isle than on the north. The same winds and ocean currents which warm the west coast of Euressa also reach this far, keeping the southern shores warm. Snow is rare in the south of the isle, even during the depths of winter.

The northern coast is not so favoured though, for northern winds blow straight down from the arctic ice sheets, bringing with them snow. Where the two air currents meet somewhere over the highlands, there is much fog and mist, which rolls down to cover the whole isle for much of the year.

Spring

Spring is cool and wet in the south, and cold and somewhat dryer in the north. Fog tends to be uncommon at this time, and though all arts of the isle are windy, the highlands tend to suffer under the last throes of the winter storms at this time.

Summer

Southern summers are warm and wet, while northern are cool and wet. Mist and fog is common.

Autumn

Autumns are cold, wet and windy, with the western coast being subject to frequent storms, making travel by sea treacherous at best, and suicidal when conditions are worsened by thick fog - an all too frequent event.

Winter

Winters are cold all across the island, though not drastically so. Snow is common up in the highlands, though is rarely seen on the lower, southern, parts of the island. Storms are frequent and violent, though both rain and fog tend to be rare during the winter months.

Fauna and Flora

Much of the landscape is covered by thick deciduous forests, mostly made up of oak, elm and birch. The colder northern regions are mostly coniferous, especially in the northeast. Though only about half of the map is marked as being forest, the rest of the landscape is a mixture of light woodland and wild moorland.

There is a multitude of wild life common to the island, most of it native before the arrival of man. Rabbits, hares, badgers and squirrels are amongst the most common of the smaller animals, with larger game being comprised of deer, and the much larger elk.

Predators

The only large predators are wolves and bears, though both have learned to avoid men wherever possible. The exception is the huge dire wolf, which can grow to lengths of almost three metres from head to tail. A dire wolf considers a lone man to be easy prey, though there are few of them left except in the thickest of forests.

People

The original inhabitants of Taneith were the Cannadd, a race of short, hairy savages who dwelt mainly in the Hiskany Hills. Many monuments of theirs can still be found, but as a race they no longer exist.

About 700 years ago, the hero Taneith crossed the Sea of Mists with a hundred of his followers, settling at what is now known as Leanneac. They spread westward, driving the Cannath before them, and finally wiping them out entirely. Eventually, they populated the entire island, though many of the larger forests are unexplored.

The current inhabitants of the isle are the descendants of the first hundred. Now numbering about three hundred thousand, they live in scattered fines, quite different to the dense villages common on the continent.

Raths and Fines

A rath is the name given to a homestead, normally fortified. Within it, lives a family, normally consisting of parents and children, and sometimes grandparents as well. Surrounding the rath will be the lands owned by the family, consisting of farmland and pasture.

Unlike on the continent, there are no villages to be found on Taneith. Each rath stands more or less alone, though those of the same fine are more or less within sight of each other - generally being half a dozen kilometres distant. A fine includes all members of a single family, over six generations, and though they generally do not interfere in each other's affairs, they do unite behind each other when danger threatens.

The fine is ruled by a taoiseach, who only has as much power as he has respect from the other members of his fine. Except in cases of dispute between family members, he rarely interferes in the day to day affairs of the fine.

The average size of a rath is about five people, and there are normally between fifteen to thirty raths within a single fine.