Phyrians

The Phyrians are an old gnollish culture in the western end of the cold Angrian peninsula in the far north. Historically reindeer herders and tribal hunters, their society and their ways have become increasingly intermixed with the Angrian humans of the region. Though still more itinerant than the Angrians, many of the gnolls of Phyria have adopted village life and agriculture. Historically led by chieftains often determined by contests of hunting skill, hundreds of years as part of the Kingdom of Kilth have transplanted the Kilthian mode of rule on their societies. Today, Phyria is a somewhat feudal society, ruled by hereditary lords under the duchess of Phyria.
Nevertheless, the gnolls of Phyria have less respect for lords and kings than most, disdaining any leader who asks others to do what they will not or cannot do themselves. Phyrians are known to be confrontational and even foolhardy, valuing those who back up their words with action. The old tribal leaders still exist in a form as village ealdormen, and in most cases hold much more sway in their communities than their liege lords do. To those the gnolls of Phyria respect, they are fiercely loyal. Combat skills are widely distributed in the general population, but due to the Phyrian disdain for authority, foreign armies attempting to conscript them have generally not fared well.

Religion

Named "the Western Gods" by the Kilthians, the gods worshipped by the Phyrians are believed to be the ascended heroes of their people from a bygone age. Though the same figures with slightly different names can be found throughout the peninsula, depicted as gnolls or humans depending on the speaker. The stories of these figures are passed down by skalds, retelling their lives and the actions that caused them to ascend from the mortal realm and into the realm of the gods.
Though there are dozens and even hundreds of these hero gods, the most widely storied ones are figures such as Tarso, a legendary warlord who drove the yetis and frost giants into the high mountains away from the lands of the Phyrians, or Tuone who found a way for mortals to reach the underworld. Another important deity is Meri, who is believed to have sailed around the world and in doing so, bent the world into a globe.