Havfron

A snowy forest in Havfron

## Continents of Havfron

Havfron is home to two continents, The West and Hoscher respectively. These two continents are aware of one another but have not yet explored the other's land in full, leaving parts of maps and cartography to be wildly inaccurate as the mapmakers begin to take creative liberty.

### The West

**"The West,"** which is known as *Lythe un skye Van* by the natives and inhabitants is settled west of the megacontinent Hoscher. It is made up of tribes and families with no organized government or nations. The West is home to many fantastical creatures such as Wyverns, Drakes, and other species of Dragons. While Hoscher has a few of these they are seldom discovered by humans while as in The West they are used for rapid industrialization, with Dragons being enslaved for physical labor.

Westernmen are commonly viewed as barbaric and looked down open by the Hoscherites, likely because of their affinity with nature and the fact they practice Animism alongside other nature and animal worshipping practices. The Westernmen use *Sjer Tal,* a magic involving human sacrifice and full devotion to nature. For example, it is common for proclaimed Sjer Tal magicians to tie men to trees and suffocate them with rope so they can bless others with the power of that tree. Westernmen believe in order to fully understand and utilize Sjer Tal you must "spill blood to take blood," meaning that every sacrifice they do they believe is not in vain as they will gain the power to strike down their enemies with their magic next time they are in battle.

The people of The West use stone slings and wooden spears in tandem with their magic and war creatures. In the famous "Mormok Oben" drawing created by Nord Era Hoscherite artist Barmn Hfryyey it depicts a westernman riding on a hippo like creature with a tail and a giant spike protruding from it's back, which he calls a "Hippopotamya." They tend to rely little on themselves and their battle prowess but rather their enslaved creatures and their fantastical beings, with the only purpose a human on the battlefield having is to command the animals and lead them into battle.

### Hoscher

Hoscher is a megacontinent about 3 times the size of The West and is renowned for its melting pot culture. There is a lot less individuality in Hoscher, with Hoscherites believing that you are your father's son or daughter and nothing else. Titles mean everything in Hoscher, and if your clan or house does *not* have a title, you are considered to be on equal ground of a slave. As for slaves in Hoscher, they are explicitly human. Hoscherites never enslave their own people but rather prisoners of war. The word "slave" is highly taboo in Hoscher, despite it obviously being slavery. They call slaves *Workers of Debt* in an attempt to rid themselves of any guilt.

Unlike The West, Hoscher has 8 organized kingdoms known as the Hoscherite Kingdoms. Hoscherite governments work together and attempt to create peace but infighting on islands is common, with the most populous island of Hoscher - Juttlondn - being home to 4 of these kingdoms. Hoscher also practices more organized trade, unlike the West.

In combat and wars Hoscher relies more on itself and its army rather than the creatures and weaponry they have. The only creatures truly used in battle in Hoscherite military traditions are wolves to sniff out the enemy and donkeys or ponies for mobility, rarely being replaced by mules or horses. Military and battle games are very common in Hoscher, with things such as the annual Joust of the 8, where all 8 kingdoms send their princes (or a paid noble if there is no male heir/the heir doesn't want to fight) to joust.

Religion in Hoscher varies with most kingdoms recognizing 50+ official religions, though denominations are considered to be seperate religions entirely hence why this number may be inflated. Human sacrifice and blood offerings are highly taboo, and anything that involves them is deemed a "cult." This may be because of anti-westernmen beliefs.