srlm-head] Early History of the Pine Tribes reflects the time when the great tribe migrations were happening and they were a single culture. Now they share cultural traditions, but most have their own unique societies and relations in different areas they have settled and fought for over the millennium.
Pine Tribes retreat North of the Beyne River/Rhyl: The people of the “Gathered Tribes” (Early History of the Pine Tribes) were forced out of Rhyl, pushed west first in CY 2331; The “Bloodhook Despair” was the era of the first calamitous times for them. Rhyl was wild then, home to many races in small numbers. The land was bountiful and few cities existed when eastward migration en masse first happened. Faerie Burghs became Wealds for protection, and the first small kingdoms arose. Then around 6500 when Dundaria fell and the consolidation of the Kingdoms of old Rhylan, another massive wave of migration came, forced consolidation and a power struggle to really begin. Logging and resource exploitation began in earnest.
The Shadowy Origins: There are few recorded sources of where these tribes came form. In truth, they are the remnants of an ancient human “barbarian” horde that came as allies of the Blood of Saemon but spurned siding with host fighting the dark gods in The Valley of Sighs after so many deaths. They fled west, settled in the great northern pines and managed to thrive – it was centuries before the Blood of Saemon encountered them again, and centuries more before there were any competition. The Pine Tribes (as they have come to be known) themselves venerate the great Earth-Mother Gaia, and Beast-Father Darupet, gods who have a presence and name which differs from the common names of the gods from tribe to tribe; Along with this they all revere the natural spirit-deities of the animal archetypes.
Spread Far and Wide: By then, the tribes were plentiful and spread out and their numbers and knowledge of the land held back the push of civilized lands. The elves pushed them out of some of their areas, and so their oldest myths and legends teach them to fear and revile the elven presence in the deep woods. The gradual push into their lands lead to many large battles and a fracturing of the tribes – many lost touch with each other but managed to hold on to a few areas all across the heartlands – served by their expertise in stealth and their knowledge of the land. Their aspects are hardly the fierce and hoary stereotype barbarians – but they do try and make use of the cliches to keep the civilized homesteaders away. The tribes are hard, and angry at their land and culture being constantly threatened… but like the way of all such ancient, more primitive cultures, they are gradually giving way in some places – but their alliance with elemental and archetypal power affords them resistance in remote places.
Free of Fealty: They are often called the “Free-menz” (Free-Men); ‘The blood of free menz runs deep in the Tribes’. None of the tribes recognizes the authority of the High King, though they hold the High King’s Rangers in great regard. the refer to those paying fealty as ‘knee benders;. They do not mix with the Ilbarsi Tribes, but respect their common ancestry and traditions – but acknowledge that the Ilbarsi long ago broke with core beliefs. They also admire the thin line the Kaaldians walk, and have healthy respect for the denizens of the “kingdom” of Kalascor (though don’t acknowledge its boundaries).