Hillanders

"“Hillanders may be a gentle folk, but we will fight like cornered animals if our way of life is under threat.” - Tanda Raven"The Hillanders culture is one of simplicity and small villages are scattered throughout the hills at the base of the mountains, stretching down towards Compass Rose. The most widely known thing about the Hillanders are their affinity for animals and the largest known Beastkin population is among their kind. Although not all Hillanders are beastkin, the connection to the animal world is strong and somewhere in their recent past their worlds were one with animal kind, giving them the ability to converse freely with them. For as long as they can remember they have honored, revered, and appreciated animals and what they offer. When hunting or breeding livestock, they respect the animal and nothing is gone to waste. And before they do kill an animal, they thank the spirits for their offering of one of their own. The Animal Spirits are giant ethereal beasts, one for each type, all the way from the Alligator to the Yak; each species is represented by one of these gigantic beasts. Legend says that long ago a powerful Hillander looked upon the animals and took pity at how they were being used as lesser creatures. He pleaded to Zet’tallan for mercy upon these living creatures, for was Haven not their home as well? Touched by the prayers of one of his wards, Zet’tallan gave each of the great spirits sentience and these spirits took physical form to protect their representative species. Hillanders have each taken a Great Spirit name for their family name. Such as Benjimen Badger, Celia Rabbit, Jeremy Hawk, etc. Their respective animal spirit is honored as a totem of their family, and their residence and clothing is evidence of their chosen spirit.

Art
Their carpentry is exquisite and intricately detailed, making for beautiful homes, furniture and bows. The wool that they gain from their alpacas and sheep are also woven into impressively warm blankets or coats, and many a traveler will tell you that you’ll want a Hillander jacket before attempting to make it further up the mountain Their musical prowesses consist of wood instruments such as flutes.

Appearance
Hillanders are humanoids that have an exceptional amount of hair of varying degrees. All of them have excessive hair on the backs of their hands, up their arms and on their legs. The men commonly have beards, and the women usually have long hair. The colours of their hair range from light brown to blondes and reds, and their tails match their skin tone and the hair upon their heads. If they are Beastkin, this tail changes to that of the respective beast that they are descendant of and, depending on how closely related to the Great Spirit they are, the more animalistic features they possess. Clothes are simple for country living and farm work, so durability and convenience is key. Fancy outfits are saved for birthdays and celebrations, but even those outfits are simple but elegant, heavy with embroidered symbols of their family's name and totem animal, along with items from said animal such as feathers, skins, furs, and bone.

Trade & Commerce
Though trade outside of their Gemnan cousins is not a common occurrence, their bows are sought after by armies of other regions and their preserves and honeys are some of the highest quality on Haven.

Geography
Resting at the base of the great northern mountains of Hiyehm, the hills that gently roll into the plains and the forests to the south are their homes. Not inaccessible, but certainly not easy to traverse or travel to, they live in almost complete isolation from the rest of the races. Occasionally others do come into the villages, and they can make a bit of a splash, but the Hillanders mostly keep to themselves.

Hillanders are by far the most self sustaining civilization on Haven but also the most divided. Villages are of maybe a couple of hundred at most and scattered throughout their territories, and they have no armies in which to defend themselves if someone did decide to take a village. They are not one to trade much with outsiders, as luxuries are not something that interests them, however the spices and salts from Er’ac’sen and the fruits from the Unda islands interest them greatly, so they will make journeys to Compass Rose to obtain such items that they will trade to the rest of their villages. They are incredibly adept craftsmen, especially in carpentry, and craft the best bows in all of Haven, along with excellent furniture and wooden instruments.

Cuisine
They are well known for their abundance of livestock. Pigs, sheep, goats, cows, ducks, chickens, quails, geese, alpacas, horses, mules, honey bees, rabbits, and turkeys are common  to have in a village. Even small lakes with freshwater fishes such as koi carps are utilized. From what these animals produce, they make cheeses, cured meats, egg dishes, and floral honeys. They also have small backyard gardens in front of each of their houses, commonly maintained by a member of the family. Occasionally a hired gardener within the village will help with the upkeep of these gardens, each meant to help sustain the household. Jams, jellies, wines, pickles, and other preservatives are made to help them last the winter along with hunting trips to provide game meats.

Traditions and Holidays

 * Birthdays - Birthdays are a celebration in and of itself and the entire community comes together to celebrate the birth of one of their own, offering gifts to the individual.
 * Great Spirit Visitations - When a Great Animal Spirit graces their lands, they take it as an omen of good fortune and seek to pay respects by making offerings on their own little offering stones just outside their villages. It is especially joyous when a family with the same name and totem of Spirit Animal comes to visit, for they are reunited with their ancient ancestor for stories.
 * Frost Feast - During Shaata’s Breath at the time of year when the snow is its heaviest, families will huddle in their warm houses offering shelter and food to anybody who comes by as they sit around for a feast, giving thanks for their good fortune and participating in gift giving among friends and family. It is tradition to decorate the inside and outside of houses in glittery bobbles and candle, lighting the way for any poor souls left alone in the cold.

Military
The most Hillanders have are town guards and watchers. They have no large force to speak of, but can still be formidable opponents when pushed to extremes. A cornered animal will fight for its life with no remorse, and like animals the Hillanders will claw themselves tooth and nail away from harm. Although very few have been unfortunate enough to witness this phenomenon, there are rumors that a Hillander when pushed to its limits can call to the most primal facets of others, freezing them in their tracks and forcing them to follow commands like a sheep dog to their herd.

Social Structure
They are a community. While village elders are not unheard of, each family tends to their own for the most part, but neighbors are treated as family as well, forming a strong sense of community within a small village. Families are each known for their respective crafts and trades and what they can offer to the village as a whole.

When a leader needs to be chosen, Beastkin are often looked to as they hold the blood of the great Spirits and so are believed to hold some of the Great Spirits' wisdom. In some situations (usually in villages of mostly beastkin, such as the bird beastkin town of Raven's Roost), the town beastkin's Great Spirits themselves serve as the town's leaders, though this has become less and less common over the course of the first few centuries of the 4th Era.

First Era (before year 0)

 * The 1st Human/Gemna War - As with the rest of the Mountainfolk, in the early days of the world they were driven into the Mountains.
 * The Seperation of the Hillanders - Many years after being driven into the Mountains, the Gemna had taken to getting more and more focused on revenge. At this point the Mountainfolk were part of Gemna society, but did not agree with their brethren’s vengeful and warlike ways, and made an agreement to present their case to King Kerrick. He did not agree to stop his engineers and their projects, however in their plea to go back to the old ways he consented, giving them the lands that made up the foothills of their mountains on the surface. He warned them that they would not gain the security of the Gemnan armies unless they enlisted them economically, but a treaty of trade and peace was forged to ensure them a fighting chance on the surface.

Second Era: (0-1499)
Though this part of history is shrouded in legend,  a Hillander who’s name has been forgotten by time looked upon the animals of Haven and took pity at how they were being used as lesser creatures. He pleaded to Zet’tallan for mercy upon these living creatures, for was Haven not their home as well? Touched by the prayers of one of his wards, Zet’tallan created the Great Animal Spirits to protect their representative species. In thanks, the Spirits blessed the Hillanders, forging a bond with the natural world no other race could hope to attain. With this new connection to the natural world and centuries of exposure to their Gemna brethren’s warlike ways, Hillanders begun to forsake their technological practices and refuse to buy, use, or carry any item with the New Era attribute, and would not train in the ways of spellcrafting as it was a corruption of the natural magics of the world.
 * The Second Gemna/Fairfolk War (827 P.E.) - After the Gemna lost their forces battling in the east, the Fairfolk pushed into the Hiyehm Mountains and, mistaking the Hillanders for being part of Gemna society, began raiding and burning their villages. King Kerrick heard of this and saw no choice but to renew the Armistice to protect the cousins of his people.

Third Era (1500-2019)
The Hillanders lived mostly in peace during the Third Era, however when the Gemna civil war began, the conflict pushed several Gemna Bloodlines deep into the mines or sent them fleeing from their mountain homes. Most Hillanders pushed south, away from the conflict. Those who stayed opened their territories to Gemna seeking refuge, but any of the mountain-dwellers’ machines of war would buckle as they entered the valleys, often as if sundered by Bear claws.
 * The War of Time (2019-2020 P.E.) - During the War of Time, a Hillander Beast-Kin named Tanda Raven, Daughter of the Great Raven Spirit,  traveled to each town in the foothills, convinced the Hillanders to take a stand, siding with the earth beneath their feet as they saw linear time as a concept driven by the Gemna’s messes of turning gears. The Hillanders knew the world would endure - and they were right. But only partly.

Fourth/Current Era (2020-2277)
In the century’s span after the war, the Hillanders caught news of Zet’tallan’s withering. Following the god’s dormancy, people began to notice strange behaviour amongst the Great Spirits. They would disappear for longer than normal between visits, leaving their towns and duties protecting the animals to their children; the beastkin of each respective family. Over the last century this increased in frequency, as did strange disturbances in the weather and natural forces. Earthquakes and Extreme weather became more and more common in the foothills, but when asked the Spirits simply said “the lands will be tame soon enough". One must wonder what is causing such occurrences, and why the Spirits keep its source to themselves.