Keanos

This tribe originally lived in Saug, but was forced to migrate during the early years of the 2nd age. Being outlawed by the Dark Empire didn't bother them in itself, but their irate neighbours proved willing to enforce the edict ("maybe this'll teach 'em to keep their damn cats away from my chickens"). The only nearby land not fiercely defended by previous inhabitants proved to be the dismal stretch of highlands to the southwest of Saug. A few clans did try their luck in Karia, but they were never heard from again. Luckily, the people of this tribe had always been enthusiastic hunters - wild game is about the only natural resource found in Keanos. Needing to work hard on survival, and having plenty of elbow room, they soon lost interest in picking fights with outsiders.

Today, hunting and gathering are still the primary industries, supplemented by raising a few sheep (the only animals it's possible to herd on these barren hills). The people are a withdrawn lot: the 30 clans only amount to a population of 5000, and inter-clan contacts are few and far between (which puts a damper on the feuding so dearly beloved by Orlanthi elsewhere). Hunters and shepherds spend long periods of time without seeing a single human being. Many of them prefer the company of their shadow cats anyway. A Keanan has no personal belongings other than what he carries around with him.

There is only one settlement in Keanos large enough to qualify as a town: Lodan. Most of its population is transient - hunters and traders coming to meet each other in the marketplace. Here pelts are exchanged for bronze from Safelster and beer from Saug. Lodan is also a religious centre, with the only Major temples in Keanos, and the traditional home of the King.

Valk the Hand is King by virtue of his age, experience and uncanny (for a hunter) skill at bargaining. His main objective is to keep foreigners from wandering around loose in Keanos; they might have ideas about trading directly with the hunters, thus avoiding his tolls.

In Keanos, the frequency of membership in multiple cults is higher than usual for Orlanthi: nearly everyone worships two deities, Orlanth and one other based on profession (predominantly Odayla, but also Voriof, Mahome, Yinkin etc). Ernalda, Ralia and the other Earth goddesses are hardly present at all, since there is no agriculture to speak of in Keanos.