Kingdom of Kernaros
Northern neighbor across the Vespus sea. Not much is known, though they’re described as “The Kingdom of Lepers” as they are covered from head to toe to shield themselves from the harsh winters. They are also considered the “Kingdom of Heathens” and the “Kagoati” for not following the word of Ambar, but, more colloquially, for the resemblance to the word ‘goat’ as they see them as dumb animals. Those few who have seen the body of a Kagoati before a Knight burns them would notice they practice ritual scarification on their body. This can be knife or burn scars, but is usually done in decorative fashion to tell the individual’s story. If they have a wolf, it was due to hunting the animal in their boyhood coming-of-age ritual.
Little is known about the intricacies of their culture as they are not well-received at the best of times even in Medoisse where they have a bigger presence. The northerners keep to themselves in sequestered quarters of the city where they practice their rituals outside of prying eyes. To much of the disdain of the Molierre traders, sometimes they have to deal with women as equals in business. It seems there is also no restriction on who among them can practice magic, though magic as a whole is less popular with the Kagoati.
The northern lands are wild with tall trees and shrubberies. Mountains jut out of the land here frequently with no clear pattern, and all in all is more chaotic than the Elliaster basin. Not many people from the kingdom have ventured far into the lands of Kernaros. Sir Kovac claims they live underground to shelter from the harsh winters and animals and the magic they perform necessitates human lives. Navigating the land is complicated on account on the constant cloudy skies and storms, and the Kagoati often send their young to survive on their own as a rite of passage. They are only allowed to return home with the pelt of an animal they’ve hunted themselves, while the girls must visit every peak and return a marked stone placed there by adults. The summer season is short but full of life as animals and plant life hurry to continue the circle. Rivers widen, flowers bloom, and little critters roam everywhere to renew their food storages. Volcanoes rumble in the distance, and further north-east their eruptions are commonplace. The obsidian collected from them are a staple in the Kagoti tradegoods. The northernmost region is frigid and grassy, with bare mountains filling the horizon. Animals here are large, with the most common being the Jig-Jig Deer, a deer of enormous size rivaling that of an adult moose. They devour the grass and their antlers molt, leaving behind nutritious flesh for other animals. The Tekim in particular love these snacks. They are a short, fat, bipedal rat that wanders around in search of stones for its nest. They are mostly solitary, but will gather every few moons with other Tekim and howl together.
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