Gression (GREH-shun)
An arrow of land in the very north of Polira, lodged between two mountain ranges, is known as the region of Gression. One of the country's most sparsely settled lands, the harsh, forbidding area is primarily known for its mining and logging industries. Most settlements in the area are small, rustic camps and hastily assembled towns, and many have only been settled in the past century or two. These include places with simple names like Wintersee, Rockhaven, Frostrun, Wildbreach and Pinewallow.
The people of Gression can be as hard and unyielding as the rocks that surround them, but there is also a hospitable streak, as well. Anyone who turns away a stranger, or does not share what they have with a struggling neighbor soon finds themselves ostracized by the rest of the village. The Maionene faith is ubiquitous, but you will also find devotion to Kremta, the minor god of Winter, and Uone, the minor god of harvests. Festivals of Plenty are a frequent tradition in Autumn.
Fauna & Flora
The forests of Gression play host to a variety of species, from the very timid to the most ferocious. Smaller creatures found in the region include beaver, squirrel, porcupine, and snowshoe hare, as well as more predatory types, like snow foxes, stoats and weasels.
Game hunters will often find elk, deer, and wild boar, as well as larger challenges like various types of wolf and bear. The rivers and lakes are an important source of protein, as well. A Gression fisherman could expect to encounter pike, salmon, walleye, trout, and whitefish, depending on where they cast their lines.
Birds such as sparrows, thrushes, and warblers make their summer homes in Gression, while owls and other raptors choose to stay year-round. Magically mutated creatures are present as well, the most well known being the graceful, blue Kleita, and the noisome, deadly pests, the Orpoi.
The forest abounds with varieties of fern, including the much sought-after blue frost fern, with its delicate early spring flavor, as well as berries as varied as cloudberries, lingonberries, and bilberries. Of the mushroom varieties that call the area home, the most useful is the morel, which livens many a meal. Local herbs with many culinary and medicinal properties can be found as well, such as the much used Jeriba plant.
Domesticated plants and animals, of course, exist as well. Often these are specially bred for the cold climate, especially with the short growing season for vegetables and grains. Frostkin Kale is the most well know of these hybrids, but one will also find carrots, broccoli, and cabbage, as well as varieties of beans, and many root crops such as potatoes, beets, and onions. Cereal grains that are more suited to the cold weather are preferred, including rye, barley, oats, and wild rice.
Bighorn sheep have been captured and bred for domestic use in Gression. While still difficult to deal with, they are much preferred to their lowland cousins for their winter hardiness. Goats, pigs, and chickens often round out a village's stock of farm animals, as they are easy to feed and care for.
Natural Resources
Mining and quarrying are the primary occupations in Gression. With two rock families available, sedimentary rocks on the plateau, and metamorphic rock making up the mountains, there is an abundance of ore and stone.
The local sedimentary rocks are primarily limestone and chert, but there have been discoveries of multiple iron and copper veins, as well as decent amounts of gold, lead, and zinc. The mountain slopes provide quarries of marble, soapstone, and serpentine, as well as deposits of slate.
Just as important is the logging industry. Gression has an overabundance of tall, straight trees ready to become lumber. These are primarily conifers, such as larch, spruce, fir and pine. There are also several deciduous varieties, such as birch, alder, willow, and poplar, but these are less useful at the sawmill.
Land's End by Nightflyer0ne via Midjourney
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