Invisible FortressGM:Rubylak and the Linowan

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Rubylak is the capital of the Linowan territory. Meadows and vast deciduous forests that the Linowan call home stretch all the way to the Inland Sea. To the east, the deciduous trees give way to conifers and redwoods, and the boundary marks the dividing line between Linowan and Haltan territory.

The Linowan people bear golden-brown and orange skin tones matching the colors of oak leaves in autumn. Their hair grows straight and black, with greenish highlights. They largely dress in skins of forest game, bark cloth, and wool from wild sheep in the hills further to the north. Linowans reject immaculate philosophy outright, and worship the Unconquered Sun, the Maidens of Destiny, and spirits of the ocean and the rivers.

The endless war

As rich and pleasant as the natural beauty of the region is, the people who live there are at war. The Linowans constantly seek to expand their forests and meadows eastward, and they generally kill any Haltan they meet on sight, while the Haltans do the same right back, attempting to push west towards the sea.

Linowan warriors regularly travel to the redwood forest to cut down an advancing sapling, and occasionally a larger raiding party is formed. Many such expeditions fail, with some never being seen again. However, those who do return with redwood are hailed as heroes and given special sun pendants to wear. Beyond the war itself, these raids on Haltan land are necessary because Linowan custom demands that great chiefs' houses are built entirely from redwood planks.

Sometimes, a raid comes home with a living Haltan captive. These warriors are similarly rewarded for their prowess, and they are given a party lasting for several days. During the party, the captive is tied up outside the chief's house while the residents of the village consume vast amount of sweet berry-wine. After being forced to observe the Linowan celebrations and displays of wealth and power, the captive is burned. Captives who display courage and bravery are tied upright on a large plank in the pyre, while the fearful and cowardly are strangled to death and thrown onto the flames haphazardly. If a raid brings back many captives, the celebration may last for a week or more and many surrounding villages may take part in the festivities, before the captives are put to death.

Trade

While their war with the Haltans makes up the body of their literature and legends, the Linowan are also known to be fierce and skilled sailors. Huge canoes capable of carrying three dozen warriors traverse the river kingdoms and the Inner Sea. Linowan traders exchange woven blankets, elaborate carvings in horn and wood, and similar fine craftsmanship for worked metal, rare spices, and other products not available in their home territory. Linowan sailors also hunt all manner of aquatics beasts, including whales and kraken. The entrance to Queen Arkasi's home is carved from a whale's jawbone, and she owns an enchanted canoe which is 20 yards long and crafted from whalebone and kraken hide.

While nowhere near as aggressive against others when compared to their treatment of Haltans, Linowan sailors often turn pirate, attacking ships which stray near their territory. Merchant ships who trade regularly and deal fairly with Linowans are given special flags to fly which protect them from Linowan attack. This has led to a secondary market of duplicate flags among Linowan's neighbors. The Linowans are not ignorant of this, and so the Linowan pirates have taken to interrogating crews with their flags, asking about the circumstances under which the flag was obtained. Crews who cannot answer the pirates' questions are captured as allies of the Haltans.

Raiding and combat

Linowan warrior parties sometimes take their canoes to attack less settled lands to the north and south. The warriors are disorganized compared to some military forces in Creation, but nonetheless they can be effective against weaker targets. The warriors take property and occasionally take slaves, however Linowan culture prohibits keeping slaves except by chiefs and nobles, and the Linowan refuse to sell slaves to The Guild, so slaving is rarely the goal of these expeditions.

Despite their ideological differences, the Linowan act as staunch allies to the Realm. The upper eschelons of Realm society views the Linowan as useful savages, allowing them to serve as auxiliaries to the Realm legions, but the Realm will not be sending the military might to attack the Haltans that Queen Arkasi hopes for any time soon. After all, the Haltans do not pose any threat to the Realm, and their trade in the East helps the Realm indirectly. Mostly, the Linowan forces working with the Realm legions serve as a means for young Linowan warriors to gain honor, glory, and personal loot in a comparatively safe occupation.