Description

The waters of Tsamvik are treacherous, the cold northern winds unyielding, yet the people are as steadfast as the stone cliffs upon which their villages perch. They are master sailors, their skill with longboats and oar alike the stuff of legend. They're main source of food and trade are whales, seals, and fish.

It is told that long ago, the ancestors of these clans fled the perils of marauding nomads, seeking refuge upon these isolated isles—lands where horse-riders could not follow. Here, they made their homes and endured, carving out a life of relative peace. Though the calm was occasionally broken when old rivalries flared among the clans, as is the way of men.

In time, many of the clan leaders came under the sway of the Khanate. The archipelago’s traders, lacking the proper gerege, suffered grievous losses at sea, torn asunder by the kraken that haunts these waters. Trade was further stifled by the proximity of the Choir of the Endtimes, whose presence makes passage perilous and the Time of the Winter War, in where the Ice Queen's Wrath on the world, had set upon the freeze even the hardy folk of the Northern Isles struggled to survive.

Recognizing both the strength and resilience of these island folk, as well as their skill in boat building, the Khan welcomed the clans into his dominion. Henceforth, disputes between the clans were no longer settled by swords alone, but by the judgment of the Khan’s court, binding Tsamvik more firmly into the realm of the steppe.