Æþúb (aiːθuːp)
Æþúb was the first unified state of the Goblins in southeastern Jælondis and marked the beginning of their civilization in the region of Ójom. Prior to its establishment, goblin settlers lived in scattered communities along the coast of Þnisic Sea in southeastern Ójom, subsisting on fishing and local seafood along with Giant Rats introduced from Örkraz, and were in constant peril as the goblins had to frequently fend off human and lowland dwarven natives while adapting to the environment of their new home.
According to tradition, during a particularly harsh winter, one of the chieftains invited the people from nearby villages to feast on an enormous beached sea serpent and honour the spirits that had brought the creature there. After vanquishing a group of raiders that appeared during the party, the goblins moved into the village -later known as Þrín- and were soon able to secure their place in the region.
This shift was actually more gradual than the legends indicate, and Þrín wasn't the only large settlement that developed at the time, but it remained the dominant one and many important aspects of later goblin cultures originated there, such as traditions regarding magic, the use of stilt houses, writing and, later on, metallurgy. Religious practices also changed in Æþúb, as new deities associated with various sites and phenomena emerged and largely replaced the veneration of spirits from before the great voyage.
One notable aspect of Æþúb compared to later goblin civilizations was the lack of agriculture for the most part, which didn't become widely adopted until after the country splintered into city-states, and instead the inhabitants subsisted mostly on seafood, hunting, gathering and animal husbandry.
According to tradition, during a particularly harsh winter, one of the chieftains invited the people from nearby villages to feast on an enormous beached sea serpent and honour the spirits that had brought the creature there. After vanquishing a group of raiders that appeared during the party, the goblins moved into the village -later known as Þrín- and were soon able to secure their place in the region.
This shift was actually more gradual than the legends indicate, and Þrín wasn't the only large settlement that developed at the time, but it remained the dominant one and many important aspects of later goblin cultures originated there, such as traditions regarding magic, the use of stilt houses, writing and, later on, metallurgy. Religious practices also changed in Æþúb, as new deities associated with various sites and phenomena emerged and largely replaced the veneration of spirits from before the great voyage.
One notable aspect of Æþúb compared to later goblin civilizations was the lack of agriculture for the most part, which didn't become widely adopted until after the country splintered into city-states, and instead the inhabitants subsisted mostly on seafood, hunting, gathering and animal husbandry.
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