Blue Bear Tribe

Blue Bear tribe

Base of operations
Stone Stand
Hellgate Keep (formerly)
Leader(s)
Hlutwig Long-throw, c. 1358 DR
Tanta Hagara, 1368 DR
Kriga Moonmusk, c. 1485 DR
Allegiances
Stone giants of Deadstone Cleft

Members of the Blue Bear tribe

The Blue Bear tribe was a tribe of the Uthgardt barbarians that secretly held territory throughout the Delimbiyr Vale. Though they were believed to have been completely eradicated, they persevered through many years of hardship and survived the hardships of the North.

They claimed the cairn of Stone Stand as their ancestral mound.

Relationships

As of the late 15th century DR, some of the Blue Bear barbarians had allied themselves with the stone giants of Deadstone Cleft. Among them was Hydia Moonmusk, daughter of the tribe's Great Chief.

History

In 343 DR, a horde of Orcs from High Moor overwhelmed the kingdom of Athalantar and drove many of its citizens northward. These refugees would come to be assimilated into the Blue Bear tribe.
In the Year of the Burning Tree, 890 DR, during one of their annual Runemeets the Grandfather Tree inexplicably burst into flames. However, it and the forest were somehow left unharmed. Noticing the strangeness of this phenomenon, the tribe's then-shaman began to cut the sole low-hanging branch untouched by flame. As he did so, a shadowy male figure garbed in green was said to have emerged from the branch and fled into the forest, leaving a trail of bear prints in his wake. The tribesmen followed the trail of this figure and eventually came to an ancient ring of standing stones. It was here that the shaman planted the cut branch of Grandfather Tree and established the ancestral mound of Stone Stand.
Around 1311 DR, an annis hag named Tanta Hagara approached the tribe as their new shaman, coveting the magic artifacts that lay beneath Grandfather Tree. She appeared as an 8 ft (2.4 m) tall barbaric hunter goddess with deep blue skin and the ability to transform into a blue-furred bear, leading many to believe she was an avatar of their totem.
Eventually, the tribe was banished by the Grandfather Tree's guardian spirits for being corrupted by the hag's influence. A significant number of tribesmen rejected her and, in 1313 DR, splintered off into their own tribe, the Tree Ghost Tribe. Both tribes thereafter devoted themselves to searching for their lost ancestral mound.
In 1366 DR, a cambion from Hellgate Keep named Kaanyr Vhok met with Hagara to discuss overthrowing his mother, Mulvassyss. Two years later, she led the tribe into Hellgate, and Kaanyr slew his mother. In the chaos, the tribe's chieftain, Hlutwig Long-throw, was trampled to death. Hagara became the tribe's new leader, and Kaanyr wed her to cement their alliance.
During their time allied with Hellgate, the tribe's totem grew weak and was killed by the evil deity Malar. The tribe conducted raids on Jalanthar during this period.
In 1369 DR, two Harpers infiltrated Hellgate, exposing Hagara as an annis hag. However, the tribe saw this transformation as a gift from Uthgar, meant to solidify their alliance with Hellgate. They retaliated by attacking caravans bound for Sundabar and attempting to raid Silverymoon.
Later that year, Hagara led 400 members of the tribe and over 100 demons in an attack on the Citadel of the Mists. They were driven back by an alliance of Everlund, High Forest, and Harpers. Hellgate Keep was destroyed, and nearly all of the Blue Bear tribe perished. Hagara herself was killed by the treant Turlang the Great.
Some survivors were trapped beneath the keep, becoming revenants and zombies bent on revenge.
After the War of the Silver Marches, a few Blue Bear barbarians emerged from hiding in the High Forest and migrated east. They claimed any territory left ignored by other tribes and did everything possible to maintain secrecy. Occasionally, they visited their ancestral mound of Stone Stand, but only under the cover of night.
In the late 15th century DR, under the leadership of Hydia Moonmusk, some members of the tribe allied with the stone giant Kayalithica. Together they destroyed the settlements of Orlbar and Llorkh.

Rumors & Legends

It was believed that before her death, Tanta Hagara enchanted Uthgardt burial totems to summon dead warriors of the Blue Bear tribe to defend the Stone Stand and the treasures hidden beneath the ancestral mound. One such totem, the Wrath of the Blue Bear, was stolen and found its way into a private collection in Daggerford.