Bulwark Lands

## The Bulwark Lands

Image of the Snowy Steppes, Northern Bulwark Lands, ca. 142 BLC

Official Yetin Map of the Bulwark Lands, provided by the Yeti Ministry of Cartography

### Inhabitants

18,000 - 25,000 (as of 220 ALC)

Located in the middle of the Farlands, the Bulwark lands are home to endless plains of snow, massive forests and secrets around every corner. Nomadic tribes of multiple Arctic species roam these lands alongside the resident yetis, and Northbound yeti settlers from the lower lands have made sure to befriend them. Said to be the initial seed of the ancient yeti peoples, the Bulwark Lands were the home of the Yetin Folk for thousands of years before Yetnar the Fearsome made the journey South, and founded the capital city of Yettin Square. Since that time, the old people of the Bulwark Lands have remained barely changed by the great events of the Southerly isles, keeping to themselves and not seeking contact beyond minimal trade with other kingdoms.

In roughly 11,500 BLC, during the great ice age the swept the isles for thousands of years, a group of monkes, especially adapted to the cold climate, represented what we now call the Yeti Tribe. They lived in caves beneath the snow, and referred to themselves as the *"Bröderna av Yxan''* in the old tongue, carving strange runes in icy rock. For thousands of years they migrated and grew, populating the near inhabitable lands with tall, pale-furred folk. After the ice age finally subsided, they established the first official capital of their territory, the borders of which they knew not, and named it Apocrotea in ~8,500 BLC. Following the organization of this people into a city, culture and development progressed, and other settlements such as Alost and Kungsalen began to slowly rise up, tucked in forests heavy with snow, and tall mountain valleys. Relying off the trade of mammoth, ice, and lumber, these small beacons of civilization shared with one another for thousands of years, worshipping the same obscure deities, and not engaging in any notable or major conflict, at least according to their own records.

Some historians speculate that there was in fact some conflict in regard to the flight and exile of Yetnar from the Bulwark lands, but all trace of said conflict has been certainly erased from these peoples' history, and all interviewed refused adamantly to speak of it, or claimed they had no idea as to the legend at all.

As to modern leadership, the people of the Bulwark Lands have surprisingly adopted a democratic republic of sorts, with an elected council made up of respected folk from each notable province or settlement. This body would convene once every 12.3 years, supposedly to discuss various trading businesses and the overall, rarely dynamic state of their vast, white dominion. The nation does not abide by any form of distinguishable currency, and instead stick to a barter and trade system, wherein one good is exchanged for another, in suitable quantities. Of recent times, (219 ALC) their lands have harbored frequent passage of soldiers and supplies, and have engaged in material trade with their northern neighbor, the Vorian Empire, during their uprising and conquest of the southern isles.

### Geographics

Many travelers dispatched to the Bulwark Lands have remarked a variety of descriptions in regard to the area's terrain, some having seen snowy tundra stretching farther than the horizon's edge, others having traversed the steepest of mountain slopes and trekked the deepest of woods. But all accounts unanimously agree upon the sheer scale that these lands display, sprawling and ancient. The region is bordered by the White Peaks to the South, and the Vorian Ward to the north, both impressive mountain ranges, fit to guard a land of such majesty. The great woods and tundra provide ample habitat for the Mammoth population to flourish and stabilize like nowhere else in the Isles, and seeing them gallop through great plains of snow, or graze on hidden grasses, is not an uncommon sight in the right areas. On other forms of wildlife, the great lake of Manlikan is ever teeming with marine-life, large silver-gray fish that dwell in incredibly icy waters. The vast Frozen Coast stretches hundreds of leagues across the east side of the region, providing an intimidating barrier to any vessel attempting to make dock. The coast culminates in the barren Deadwoods, an eerie and expansive territory of dead trees, overlooked by the imposing Lee Peaks, and the hills beyond, in which stand the stand the tower of High Havgrborg. To the north of these lie the Snowy Steppes, a great vale at the base of the Vorian Ward, which crowns the entirety of the Bulwark Lands, stretching its snowy emptiness from West to East coasts, daring the bravest of hearts to a fearsome crossing. Just beneath the Steppes, a great woodland, too vast to name, sweeps across the lands, embracing all it its wake, and supplying inhabiting lumberjacks with a near infinite source of pine lumber.

### Demographics

The peoples of the Bulwark lands are mostly Yettin, although there is a large population of arctic species residing in the sparsely populated snowscape. In the capital Apocrotea, for example, many arctic chimps and gorillas were noted, as well as a community of macaques. From what researchers have gathered, these species live alongside the yeti natives, although they are strictly forbidden from holding government office, or preaching any foreign religion. Moreover, these "outsider" species are more heavily scrutinized by soldiers and the law than natives, even after living on the land for decades, and often face greater punishment than their yeti peers. Despite this, they are still allowed to elect a council member, or *Brökenjar* to represent their settlement. When yetis from the south Farlands crossed the White Peaks, and reunited with their ancient kin in the Bulwark Lands, they found those here to bare some resentment, and even apprehension towards Southern Folk, likely as a result of Yetnar's flight from their lands, a grudge carried thousands of years. They also refused to be identified as "Yeti" because it referred to the people of Yetnar, whom they had been taught to regard as a traitor. Instead, they were called **Brödvarl**, the name given to them by their forefathers, the first of the snow-dwelling apes. Despite these particularities, the natives were kind, wise, and deeply certain in their ways of living, each seeming to possess a keen understanding of their profession and position in their cold, quiet societies.

### Settlements

* Apocrotea
* Alost
* Bjargatt
* Fjalir
* Havgrborg
* Kungsalen
* Merkigil