Calédonie
La Calédonie inclut tout ce qui se trouve au Nord de la Cumbrie. Pour la plupart, il s'agit de montagnes, inexplorées et inconnues de tous, excepté des natifs, des hommes sauvages portant des tatouages rituels. Les côtes, très découpées, sont à l'ouest occupées par les Irlandais du puissant royaume de Dal Riada. Cette région est appelée les Iles Longues. D'autres royaumes insulaires, comme les Iles Extrêmes ou les Hébrides, sont aux mains de petits rois passant leur temps à se quereller. Le roi Lot, des Orcades, était craint et respecté par tous. A la tête de sa puissante armée de chevaliers, il avait pu unifier tout le Nord sur la base des anciennes traditions, et avait dirigé le combat contre Arthur. Sa défaite entraîna la soumission formelle du Pays Picte mais les armées d’Arthur ne contrôlent pas cet immense territoire inhospitalier.
The land north of Hadrian's Wall has been known as Caledonia since Roman times. It is surrounded on the east by the North Sea, on the north by the Icelandic Sea and on the west by the North Channel. It is a wild land - full of adventure.
Géographie
Villes et villages
People live in cities, towns, hillforts, villages and hamlets. Cities are much rarer than in Logres. Towns are usually in the lowlands and are often clustered around a castle for protection. Hillforts are much more widespread than elsewhere in Britain. Although most are long abandoned, many are still occupied and in effect form small towns - especially for the wild Picts. Villages cluster around the towns in farming areas. Hamlets are the seasonally used huts in the hills and Highlands. They are the homes of the tribes who herd their animals in the high pasture land in summer. They are always small as the lands cannot support many.
Châteaux
Castles are not as widespread as they are in Logres. They are mostly found in the south of the region and few are impressive or modem. Most are flimsy motte and baileys. Even these, though, are better than the hillforts which serve as defenses for many, especially the Picts. The Picts have hardly a castle to their name. They also use strange towers, called brochs, which are cold, cramped and cheerless.
Régions habitées
These are almost the same as those found throughout Britain. Towns and villages throughout the lowlands are surrounded by ploughed fields. The earth is less fertile than that of Logres and the crops grow thin and sickly. In the Highlands, settlements are clustered in the river valleys but their fields are smaller and poorer still.
Forêts
Vast, thick forests cover Caledonia. The greatest single forest is the massive Caledonian Forest. It is extremely dense and virtually impassable to knights, who would struggle to even walk their horses through. Like the forests in Logres, the heartlands of the forests are within the demesne of Faerie. Unless one wants to provoke a confrontation with the denizens of the Otherworld they should be avoided.
Vallées
The hills and mountain ranges have many valleys winding through them. These sheltered valleys (known locally as Glens or Straths) provide the best living conditions in a harsh landscape. It is in such valleys that the sparse Highland population can be found. These valleys provide the easiest and safest route into and through the hills and mountains.
Lochs
Hundreds of fresh-water lakes exist in the North of Britain. In addition the west coast is cut across by numerous fjords. These lochs, as they are called by the locals, are teaming with fish and other wildlife and serve as a natural supply of food for the settlements which cluster around them.
Many of the lochs house vicious sea serpents who have a taste for human flesh. Others are within the influence of Faerie and tales abound of strange water horses drowning unwitting travelers.
Collines et Montagnes
Caledonia is a land of hills and mountains. Pine-covered hills, rolling heather-clad moorland and (in the north) jagged, snow-capped mountains are the dominant features of the Caledonian landscape. Some of the gender ranges can be safely negotiated, but it is a brave (or foolhardy) knight who ventures into the hills unguided. The ground can turn rugged and treacherous very quickly, making a horse and armor a hindrance rather than helpful. The weather can change in an instant with mist, rain and snow coming from nowhere to make conditions uncomfortable or dangerous. Also, in the Highlands, the rugged land provides cover for savage Picts who delight in ambushing knights struggling over the terrain.
In the Highlands the main mountain range, called Drum Alban by the Picts, is an impenetrable barrier. It prevents any travel from east to west, or vice versa, save along the Great Glen and a few other glens known only to locals.
Type
Region
Sous-localisation
Lieux Inclus
Related Ethnicities