Delela

The largest country in the East Wilds is Delela: nearly half of the Wilds' population lives in this land, stretched out by the Doskior river. Most are orlanthi, there are a few newtlings and a good deal of hsunchen transients.

Delela is loosely organized as a kingdom under the Voshfrei dynasty, but centralized power is only a reality during times of war. Aruzban Ironarm, the current king, has tried to introduce several different forms of taxation, but the only payoff has been a number of revolts. Fortunately, none of these has led to outright civil war. Aruzban's argument that increased cooperation is necessary to fend off the threat from Naskorion is regarded with scepticism - Delelan tribes have fought side by side before, without taxes. This distrust has led to a deterioration of the king's traditional role as mediator in conflicts between tribes.

Prophets that foresee a great war with heroes, dragons and whatnot are of course present in Delela. Burgan Cheezemouth, the best known of these, has prophesied that the solar wind will blow away the Voshfreis and leave Aruzban himself an empty shell of fear. Burgan has now been declared outlaw.

Delela has two cities, Kilwin and Istakax. The capital, Kilwin, has around 7000 citizens and a great temple to Orlanth. Istakax, with its 1000 inhabitants, rates a major temple. These populations are not included in the table below.

The clans of Delela number two hundred, constituting twelve tribes and a handful of independent clans (too small to wield any influence). Most of the clans are self-supporting, with very few imports. Delaman is the largest tribe and derives its name from the name of the country - they claim that theirs was the only tribe before Gogalim Duskmask stole Othar Loudbreath's sceptre and turned his descendants into dolphins.

Tribe Population Leader

Delaman 48000 Aruzban Ironarm

Ajim 20000 Ynge the Small and Wise

Atnakol 15000 Duke Urbin

Narit 12000 Fearface Fredrik

Halgol 12000 Rane son of Erlen

Nardain 11000 Osnar the Fisher

Riagos 11000 Delar Longbow

Niltelmor 10000 Soggaler Redear

Rolin 9000 Kvidd

Filgona 8000 Lurg the Tall

Rioximagol Protsam 5000 Hyrmin Slowspeech

Pranut 3000 The Rivermaster

Delaman

Ruled with an iron hand by Aruzban Ironarm of the Voshfrei clan. His clan has been in the forefront of the tribe ever since it led the resistance against the Dark Empire. In times of crisis, a Voshfrei has often been appointed king of all tribes in Delela.

Aruzban lives with his family in the old palace Sweetweed Castle, in central Kilwin. His younger brother Varistor also stays there. The high priest of Orlanth in Kilwin is named Thulaxavan and is over 100 years old. He has been close to death many times, but so far he has been more useful to Orlanth where he is. Under his command are 62 priests and more than a hundred acolytes; most of these spend little time in Kilwin, instead seeing to the religious needs of various clans in the vicinity. Ernalda has an equally great temple some kilometres north of the city. Also near Kilwin is the Chieftains' Moot, a somewhat pompous edifice where Aruzban calls a conference of the Tribal chieftains once each year.

Apart from cultivating wheat and barley, many Delamani make a living in trade, especially in Kilwin. Thanks to the firm rule of the Voshfrei clan, internal feuds and raids are not as common within the Delaman tribe as elsewhere in the Wilds. Centralization has also enabled warriors from many clans to gather for joint military training, under the supervision of Aruzban Ironarm. The Voshfrei clan also has allies in the form of approximately 300 newtlings that live in and around Kilwin. These run or provide aid to most of the boat traffic in this region.

Relations with other tribes in Delela are strained at the moment, Aruzban's attempts towards greater unification and tax collection have met with strong resistance. The only tribe that cooperates and pays its taxes is the small Pranut tribe. Rioximagol Protsam has even threatened to join forces with Naskorion.


Ajim

The leader of this tribe, Ynge the Small and Wise, is a careful politician with great diplomatic skill. As a result of this the Ajim have maintained their traditional position as mediators - a prime example being the continued neutrality of Istakax, despite its location within Nardain borders. Contrasting the low outward profile, inter-clan conflict is not at all unusual among the Ajim. The Ozobo clan, led by Hurgel Headbutter, is particularly aggressive in its striving for greater power. Hurgel - who is that rarity in the East Wilds, a Storm Bull Kahn - accuses Ynge and his Waterfront clan of cowardice and sucking up to the other tribes. Some people claim that Hurgel's name describes not what he uses his head for, but what it contains.

The Waterfront clan has its seat in Ironfort, where a fort once built as an outpost by the Dark Empire still stands. It's a small fort (only 30 x 30 metres), but the 3 metre tall palisade is made of magical iron that is impossible to damage or even scratch. The gate is wooden, though.

Ajim is otherwise mostly known for its skilful bagpipers. Several bands of these regularly tour the kingdom.


Atnakol

In 1612 the Atnakol leader, Urbin (at the time known as "Urbin the Great"), negotiated the ceding of certain tribal territories to Naskorion in return for a non-aggression pact, trading privileges, and various forms of 'cultural exchange'. He has now begun calling himself Duke Urbin, in an attempt to emulate the more organized society of Safelster. So far it's mainly led to unrest among the clans; Urbin's Kolvyk clan is accused by the others of trying to grab more power. But the attempt at "civilization" has had a positive effect on the Lhankor Mhy temple in Cykelo, which is now equal in size to the one in Dorflik. There are also rumours that Duke Urbin has invited western sorcerers in order to learn their magic. Of course all this leads to the other tribes in Delela not quite trusting Atnakol in the case of renewed conflict with the west. The Riagos tribe is especially suspicious, its clans often raiding southern Atnakol. There is enough dissatisfaction within Atnakol for some clans to refrain from fighting each other, saving it for those allied with the Kolvyki.

In Cykelo's newly founded Lhankor Mhy temple are found the only alchemists in all of Delela; they (and the other worshippers) are immigrants from the west, with very different customs from the local sages. It also manufactures the best dyes; the resulting cloth has quickly become an attractive item of trade all over the East Wilds.


Narit

Most clans of this mid-sized tribe support themselves by the hunt, agriculture being more of a sideline. The availability of game is particularly high on the fringes of the Goldlook Forest, which derives its name from the colour the leaves turn late in Earth Season. The inner regions of this forest are the haunt of many Galanini, and are avoided by Orlanthi.

The leader of the Narit tribe is named Fearface Fredrik; so called because if he wishes it, noone who meets his gaze can avoid being terrified. He was granted this power after he had single-handedly slain a chaos monster out of Karia that everyone else fled from. Fearface Fredrik's clan, the Kattnam clan, has a great deal of authority within the tribe and all of the clans follow Fredrik when he so requires (they're too scared not to). This doesn't stop them from engaging in the usual bickering amongst themselves. Fredrik is a loyal servant of Aruzban Ironarm in times of war, but refuses to obey the silly tax laws.

The best bows in the Wilds are made from a special bush that grows in the Goldlook Forest; there are many excellent bowyers among the Narit.


Halgol

Before the division that created Niltelmor this tribe was as great as the Delaman tribe, but has now declined in both size and influence. It has long had a submissive attitude towards the Telmori and avoided raids from the wolfmen by paying tribute. Many tribesmen feel this is a dishonourable and expensive way of attaining peace.

As a result of the split, Halgol land is now divided into two parts: one east and one west of the Niltelmor tribe. Rane, son of Erlen, is leader of the eastern part. The western part formally acknowledges Rane as chief, but many of the clans there are thinking of going over to Niltelmor. This is looked upon unkindly by both Rane and the Delaman tribe (which feels that Halgol's waning strength is a good thing, and doesn't like the idea of a new tribe filling the old one's shoes).

Because of the great expense involved in buying off the Telmori, Halgoli clans often raid each other for sheep and other valuables. This also contributes to weakening Rane's position. Raids against neighbouring tribes are not as frequent since both Delaman and Niltelmor have some form of internal cooperation, thus making them tougher foes.


Nardain

This tribe is located in northeastern Delela, where fishing in rivers and streams is an important supplement to wheat-growing. The Gorplake is not used for fishing, however, since there is barely any fish in it and persistent rumours state that it actually contains Gorps.

Istakax is the largest community, but has an unusual status in that it is 'shared' with the Ajim and Rolin tribes. Despite some antagonism the treaty on neutrality for the city and Orlanth temple has been upheld pretty well.

For the past four decades, Lunar merchants have been traversing Nardain lands to get from Karia to Istakax and back. A string of clans have granted them free passage in return for various deals, but there are some others (especially the ones that include worshippers of the Bull) that remain suspicious. Contact with Argan Argar traders is almost always cordial, though.

Osnar the Fisher is leader of the largest clan as well as the whole tribe. His clan, the Erero, is almost exclusively engaged in fishing. Clan raids do occur now and then, but the majority of the warriors' time is spent standing guard against and fighting with Galanini, chaos monsters, dragonewts and trollkin.

The extremely fine beverages made by the Goodmead clan, in northern Nardain, are a major export. Some claim this to be the best beer in the Wilds, or Ralios, or Genertela even. The most vocal enthusiasts are of course those who have never been outside Nardain territory, much less the East Wilds.


Riagos

This tribe lost large portions of its land to Naskorion in a war that took place nine years ago. Naturally, this has led to great resentment - mostly aimed at the Atnakol, who are considered westernized traitors. Raids into Atnakol and Naskorion are both common events. The need to survive in a smaller area has also sharpened the competition between different clans of Riagos.

Delar Longbow is the official leader of Riagos. Some clans find him too conciliatory and weak for their tastes, but none has yet dared challenge his Kavango clan for the tribal supremacy.

Riagos tribesmen hate Naskorion and anything having to do with it, including trolls since these have alliances with Naskorion. This has led to unusually good will between Riagos and the Galanini, who sometimes join in on raids against Naskorion or other Orlanthi tribes.


Niltelmor

This is a new tribe, resulting from a split in the Halgol tribe 50 years ago. The reason for this dispute was the Halgoli policy of appeasing the Telmori. Niltelmor has an entirely different relation to these hsunchen: they are mercilessly put to death whenever found. In order to accomplish this efficiently, all clans in the tribe cooperate in tracking down wolf-people. As a result, Telmori tend to avoid the area nowadays. Even the werewolf packs choose another route. The cooperation also reduces the frequency of conflict among the clans.

Leader of the Niltelmor tribe is Soggaler Redear, grandson of Ontar Greykiller, the man who engineered the break with Halgol. Soggaler wears a magical cap, inherited from his grandfather, that renders him immune to biting and clawing attacks. The wearer can never remove it, however, and is also unable to enter any building.

All the Niltelmor clans despise the Halgol tribe's attitudes, but spend no more energy raiding it than usual. Soggaler is trying to convince more of the Halgoli clans to join Niltelmor, so an exaggerated conflict with them would not be a good idea.


Rolin

The main settlement, and residence of the Santan clan, is One hundred ears. This name is a result of the spell taught by the local Eurmal shrine: Remove Ear. Once upon a time, during the night following a Eurmal party, the local Trickster stole all the others' removed ears and hid them. The infuriated victims killed him before he could reveal the hiding place. Ever since, the Rolin tribe has had an unproportionate amount of Tricksters among its members, they now amount to almost 200.

In fact, the current leader of the Santani and Rolini, Kvidd, has two Tricksters for brothers, Bilandor and Buleem. Despite the unhelpful effect these relatives have on sensitive negotiations, Kvidd has managed to stay on friendly terms with the trolls as well as the Ajim and Nardain tribes. But the many tricksters do cause a lot of domestic problems with their extravagant practical jokes.

The clans of Rolin have with time developed a fairly good relationship with the trolls of Halikiv, especially the caravans which supply the whole region with salt. Some of this salt is shipped all the way from Istakax to Lake Felster and the cities on its shores. The wild bands of trollkin are not looked upon as kindly: they are instead hunted down and exterminated whenever possible.


Filgona

This tribe is left for the Game Master to develop in any way he chooses (sort of a "Blank Land").


Rioximagol Protsam

The somewhat odd name was stipulated by the tribal founder, Fenrik Steel, who in a dream received a visitation from a dragonewt that pronounced these two words and then told him to start a new tribe. None of the many Sages that through the years have tried to discover the meaning of the phrase have succeeded.

The R.P. tribe (as it's often called) is now, after the war between Riagos and Naskorion, in an exposed position. In an attempt to remain independent and not get absorbed into the Delaman tribe, R.P. leader Hyrmin Slowspeech has a policy of 'neutral' diplomacy. To show that he doesn't play favourites, Hyrmin encourages raids on all neighbouring tribes as well as Naskorion. The threat about joining Naskorion isn't meant to be taken literally, it's just a way of showing Aruzban Ironarm that his centralizing ambitions aren't acceptable.


Pranut

The smallest tribe in the kingdom is completely surrounded by Delela tribe territory. It is independent of the Delela tribe for historical and cultural reasons, but nearly always follows the dictates of the Voshfrei clan. The new taxes, however, were only reluctantly accepted by The Rivermaster.

The Rivermaster is the only tribal chieftain who doesn't worship Orlanth, he is instead a high priest of the Doskior River Cult. This allows him to manipulate the river's water level and save Pranut from flooding, something other stretches of the river are protected from by geographical obstacles.