Tegrushkin

**Tegrushkin** are the people native to Tegrush, a kingdom currently located in the northwestern portion of Doras Edrossi. The Tegrushkin are a strong and hardy people, but are also mysterious. The Tegrushkin, descended from the emigrants of Koshtahdivlann who left their homeland after it froze over, colonized northern Doras Edrossi in the Age of Legends and formed a large kingdom that spanned across most of the northern continent. They considered themselves an empire due to their large amount of territory, and inevitably caught the eye of Drakonians, who saw their aggressive expansion as a nuisance. As part of the Primun Impetus, Aevorius Dragomàrus sought to curb the growth of the Tegrushkin and forced them to retract all of their land until they were left with the northwestern area they had originally colonized. This was successful, but the Drakonian Empire did not reliably hold onto the land that they had conquered, instead preferring campaigns to the east of Drakonia, such as in the Zyntano Rainforest. This means that, for thousands of years, the Tegrushkin have gone mostly unchecked in their region, and probably threaten to expand once more.

The Tegrushkin initially came from Koshtahdivlann, but few ever speak of their homeland. Ishkren Kynov once gave an account of the grandeur of the land before it 'turned to ice' and this evidently forced the Tegrushkin to leave. Early Drakonian accounts state that they arrived by longship and began to "bleed the land dry of resources and pillage the northern natives". Even with this tertiary information, very little is known of their history and the population of Tegrushkin are known to be xenophobic and unkind to outsiders.

## Appearance and Culture

The Tegrushkin aren't much different in physical appearance than the Andorasi, but Tegrushkin physical builds appear much stockier and men are commonly grisly looking and bearded. Men without beards are typically taunted and mocked as "smoothfaces". The Tegrushkin follow a warrior culture, which is seen as primitive by many. Their traditions simply state that the strongest must lead the armies, orchestrate raids and guide the people. This culture, albeit simple and indeed primitive, the Tegrushkin manage to have a relatively stable government. Tegrushkin follow an elective monarchy and elect every 5 years, they take 3 potential candidates who are renowned or notorious for their feats of strength and put them through numerous trials to prove their worth. Once these trials are completed, the public can elect whoever they believe is fitting to lead. If the public cannot decide who they wish to lead, they can request that the candidates duel to the death and whoever arises as victor becomes king. As of late, this has become the more popular approach to settle the election.

If the king fails to perform to the liking of his people or those who selected him to lead, he can be deposed and the High Law will lead as a regent until the next election, which takes place 5 months after the deposition. However, this can result in civil unrest as many Tegrushkin kings refuse to simply give up their seat and have those who would depose him killed.

Raiding is a strong part of Tegrushkin culture. Sons and daughters of Tegrushkin families are taught how to fight at a very tender age and are required to raid and pillage to earn their adulthood. Another rite of passage involves tracking and killing several different large game, such as bear, stag, and dirus. Young Tegrushkin brawl with one another in their past time, often during or after training.

Tegrushkin language is noted to be hard to learn and very gruff sounding when spoken. Their tongue stems from no language native to Doras Edrossi or anywhere in the world, it was most likely carried over their original homeland. In present day, several Andorasi have learned to speak it and Drakonians of old managed to gain translations but are now lost due to the Dragon Wars.