The Fyrd

That peninsula between the Woodcutter Cities and the Golden Sea of Wheat is known as the **Fyrd**, a small collection of farms and hillforts.

Despite it's size, the fyrd is home to 42 different clans struggling for domination of the area. at the centre of the Fyrd there's a huge vertical rock known as "the leading stone" with the names of all current clanleaders and the amount of heads of cattle each one of them owns etched in.

The tally serves to indicate the picking order of the clanleaders, with whoever has the most cattle being the de jure ruler of the Fyrd. Therefore, cattle raiding is a daily activity for the people living in this small region.

The peasants of the Fyrd subsist almost entirely of an incredible crop known as bog-yam. Two decades ago there was a terrible blight all across Smallstep which decimated bog-yam crops. Thankfully the peopple of the Fyrd just resorted to fishing, being surrounded by coast on -almost- all sides, and thus it wasn't as big of a deal as some predicted.

## History

The story of Fyrd begins with the sighting of the Great Horbiculus. Part of a popular childrens’ story, the horbiculus is a being mostly known as a trickster, a devilish imp that enjoys playing games with the farmers and the herders form the Golden Sea of Wheat. The horbiculus is said to be disguised as different animals, the most frequent of which was a bull with rabbit ears and a rabbit with bull horns. The tales of the horbiculus tell stories of how the being promises his hidden treasure to those willing to play his games. This treasure, known in all the world as a massive mountain of gold, jewels and green cats, is said to be greater that one’s own imagination, so of course, the stories are full of people willing to take the horbiculus’ challenges. Said challenges are always impossible and/or humiliating, with the horbiculus laughing closely all the time. And no matter how much the people involved worked to accomplish the imp’s goals, there is always that, in the end, makes him able to abscond of his promises, laughing all the way. The tales are meant to imply that there is no real easy fortune, and that only hard work and abstention from vices can make a man succeed.

Of course, everyone knew that the horbiculus was just a fairy tale. A fun fable for children learn that quick routes to fortune do not exist, and to keep them entertained. That is… until rumors started spreading that the Great Horbiculus had been seen. In many small towns, people began murmuring that there were strange sightings of mismatched animals, always with an expression of smugness unfitting of mere beasts. Many of the signs of the horbiculus’ activities from the tales began appearing as well: doors painted green, cats being shaven in squared patterns, bells being rang at night… Many people accused the youth, always looking for entertaining from the dreadfully boring farm life, and mischiefs in the form of childrens’ stories would make them, and after a while, people began forgetting about it. However, in the small town of Brügineç, a small green cat appeared with a note on its tail. The note had a poem that said:

*“The Greaty Great Horbinculus am I*

*And I’ve got something for those try!*

*Follow the clues to my lovely stone*

*Reach it in time or I’ll be gone!*

*Cross the Sea of Grendell if you dare*

*With fourty cows, I’m sure you can spare.*

*If you follow the flight of a bird*

*You will arrive at the land of Fyrd!*

*If you reach the rock with the name*

*I’ll give you lots o’money and fame!"*

News of this spread fast throughout the land. And the reaction was… mostly indifference. Again, most of the population saw this as just a childish prank, especially after it was discovered that the cat was not green, it had just been painted with seaweeds. The low quality of the poem didn't help, again arising suspicions of childrens' shennannigans. However, there were some few, very few that did indeed believe that the Great Horbinculus was not only real, but really offering them a chance for treasure.

The few people who were convinced, however, began convincing their families to go along with them. And their friends. And many others tagged along, either curious for this spontaneous movement or seeing an opportunity for business. A couple hundreds became a couple thousands, and the more time they spent searching for the clues, those thousands became tens of thousands. To the astonishment of everyone else, the search for the Horbiculus had become a phenomenon, even attracting people from other nations. However, the clues weren’t particularly clear, and hope seemed lost. Until a sighting at the sea made the craze explode.

Three hundred and fifty years ago, a sailor arrived to the port telling a strange story. Apparently, he had seen a big pelican carrying a green cat into its beak, and flying into the direction of the Fyrd Peninsula. Now, many rightfully pointed out that the sailor saw the bird from a great distance, and was not as clear as the man initially told it. Many pointed out that the green cat might have been any prey animal covered in seaweed. Many pointed out that the sailor may have been drunk when he saw the bird, and was probably a bit drunk when he told his story at the bar. But at that point, it didn’t matter. This was the first solid clue that fit the original poem that news spread like wildfire. Overnight, thousands of people were paying enormous quantities of money for a chance to travel to Fyrd, and bring with them their friends, families and cattle. The massive demand for sea travel created a small golden age for shipping and merchant sailors, who made a fortune out of the many who hunted down the Horbiculus. This continued for months, and the near uninhabited peninsula, only occupied by a small fishing town, became the center of a massive migration.

The trail for the Horbiculus became hot again when, investigating through the many hills of the region, they found something that would raise the hopes of the masses. In the very center of the peninsula, they found a great monolith with the sign of the Great Horbiculus. The people began excavating around the area, thinking that finally, this would be the place where the treasure could be found, and all their dreams could become true.

They dug, and they dug, and they dug, and they dug… And nothing was found.

Years passed, and people lost hope in the search. Many people voiced their opinion that they had been tricked by the Great Horbiculus, many others began admitting that there was a chance that this was just a very big and elaborate prank. Many people, losing hope, began going back to their homes. Those who still had enough money simply went away, but many others had spent true fortunes for the chance of finding the treasure, and had to sell all of their remaining possessions to go back. The majority, though, couldn’t even do that, and thus many began settling in Fyrd. Over time, the great fortunes that decided to stay and had bought the cheap cattle accumulated staggering amounts of animals, becoming powerful enough to start building private forces to keep their cattle protected from thieves. This quickly devolved into a clan system, giving form to the current state of the Fyrd.

To this day, the search for the Horbiculus’ treasure still continues in Fyrd, though now only the most naive or desperate have any hopes of trully finding anything.

## Society and Economy

Fyrd has a relatively simple economy. Most of the populations live off the land in the plantations of bog-yam, a very nutritious and easy to grow tuber that forms the basis for the peasantry’s diet. Herding is also a very important activity, not surprisingly, considering the history of Fyrd. Most of the animals are owned by the great chieftains, who find great pleasure in flaunting their wealth in cows to the rest of then. Their livestock could number in the thousands, and there are always bids to buy more from whoever is willing to sell. The small size of the Fyrd Peninsula makes grazing spaces very sought after, driving most of the infighting between the chieftains, so part of the crops grown are dedicated to feeding the cattle. If it wasn’t for the easy of production of bog-yam, this system wouldn’t be possible, and even as it is, the Fyrd holds a very small population, which is still dwindling from the original migration.

The other side of the economy is more complicated. In all Littlestep, Fyrd is known as a nation of swindlers and swindled. The art of the con is practiced frequently within the cities and towns of Fyrd constantly. From simple selling swindles to major frauds, they are very adept at it. While, at the same time, being infamous for falling for others’ tricks as well. It is said that the innocence and naivety that brought them to Fyrd following the horbiculus still remains withing the Fyrdians. As such, the economy can easily swing from immense growth to catastrophic crash in a matter of months. Merchants that stop in fyrdian ports are aware of this, and they keep their eyes open for any sing of a swindler, staying away from the obvious cons.

The culture of Fyrd is heavily influenced by the tales of the horbiculus. Many holidays and celebrations reference the stories and tales of the impish creature, and many people still search for the mythical treasure as a hobby or as a family pastime. Hoping to find an actual treasure, however, is rare, since many people have realized that, whether the rumors about the horbiculus were true or not, the research would end up with no result anyway.

The original fyrdian fishing towns have adapted to the new culture created after the migration, but they are pretty resentful of the chieftains’ grab on power. The fishing towns’ growth during the initial migration is long gone, and the great expansion of the towns has ended up in many hastily build districts being abandoned, being occupied by beggars and ne'er-do-wells. And while trying to fix the situation, they couldn’t stop the rise of the chieftains, even though at this time they had the resources to do so. Thus they try to be as independent as possible from the chieftains’ schemes and power plays, keeping mostly to themselves.

## Religion

People outside of Fyrd frequently think, either earnestly or in jest, that fyrdians worship the Horbinculus. This is categorically denied by denizens of Fyrd, and many of them will get angry if they are accused of Horbinculus’ worship. In reality, the Horbinculus is not a deity in the eyes of the fyrdians, and treating it as such would be the folly of those who do, something that anyone who’s read the stories would know. In reality, fyrdians pray to a mix of human gods, most of them originated from the lands of northern Giantstep, and in particular the Golden Sea of Wheat. Fyrdians have mixed their pantheon with the many festivities and traditions from the original fyrdian settlers that have resulted in very colorful rituals and processions. Many of these have become very popular tourist attractions in their own right, bringing a lot of pilgrims from many areas of Giantstep and Littlestep to enjoy the festivities (and probably be scammed in the process, such is tradition).

One of the most famous rituals is the Race of the Cattle, in which young people coming of age will be made to race around the outer streets of a city while being chased by young cattle. If they manage to outrun the calves, they are said to be guaranteed a long life and a happy marriage. If they get trampled, they get a good concussion and maybe a broken bone.

## Military

The different chieftains each have their own personal forces at their disposal. These are mostly in the form of militia and men at arms paid to steal or guard the cattle from the other chieftains. As such, their forces are mostly composed of light skirmishes and light cavalry, able to sneak from the guards’ outposts and take the livestock and then run quickly to other chieftains, or if needed, chase the thieves. Since the raids between the different chieftains are constant, this forces have a considerable amount of experience as raiders, but nothing that could be useful in a battle outside of that. Fyrd’s best defense is its geographic position, too isolated from most dangers and in a relatively peaceful area. Most of the dangers that Fyrd might suffer come from the sea, and even then, the great kingdoms’ navies actively Grënndell’s Sea and Labyrinth Bay from pirates and raiders. As such, Fyrd has no real standing army, baring a couple of patrol boats that make sure smugglers and thieves stay away from the fishing cities.

## Foreign Relations

Unlike what many would expect, Fyrd’s chieftains have managed to establish a very positive relation with all of their neighbors. They know that the inner fighting in Fyrd and the lack of a decent military force makes the nation quite vulnerable, and as such, the chieftains have expended a lot of efforts to cultivate good relations with the nearby countries. Most other countries see Fyrd as a curiosity in the map, nothing more than a curiosity south of the much more important Woodcutter Cities. As a way to earn favor from the many higher powers around the nation, Fyrdians have offered foreign diplomats a lot of tribute and even palaces at the coast of the peninsula, which seemingly have paradisiac views.