TRIBES AND RANGES
The 117 tribes of the Pagaelin nation inhabit the regions west and north of Chybisa and southern Kaldor. Each tribe is composed of 60-240 persons. The Pagaelin are nomadic, wandering throughout the entire range between numerous trading posts, something that might take as long as ten years.
HISTORY
The Pagaelin were originally a fishing people on the western shores of Lythia near present day Harbaal. Due to the incursions of barbarians into their homeland, some Pagaelin sailed across the Sea of Ivae to Hârn, settling on the coast south of Cape Obeo around 50 TR. They were followed by successive waves of refugees, and as their numbers increased, the Harnic Pagaelin expanded inland and up and down the east coast of Hârn. By 130 their villages extended from the Anoth River Delta to Mozil Point, mainly concentrated in the Cape Renda area.
In 160 three pressures began to build on the coastal tribes. The first was their own increasing numbers, the second was the growing power of the Kingdom of Elorinar, then beginning to colonize north of Cape Renda, and the third was Gargun incursions. Some tribes were assimilated into the Elorinarian colonies while a few migrated to other villages. Many of the non-fishing tribes, following a chieftain remembered as 'Omadis Greyspear' crossed the Sorkin Mountains through Telumar Pass, and settled around the headwaters of the Osel River [J6+]. For about a decade these Pagaelin lived on the frontiers of Pagostra and Chybisa. Pressure continued to build upon them from the Gargun and the worsening climate. In 180 the Pagaelin began raiding the farmlands of northern Chybisa and south-central Pagostra. Finding the civilized lands easy prey they looted and destroyed virtually at will, devastating the agrarian economy of both kingdoms.
At the Battle of Kobing (183 TR), the tribesmen were finally routed by the combined armies of Serelind and Pagostra and were driven south of the Osel. The Pagaelin drove out the few remaining Chybisans and Pagostrans in the area, and by 200 they were uncontested in their new range. The conflicts of the Migration Wars and the abandonment of their recently adopted agrarian lives, in conjunction with the continuing poor weather forced the Pagaelin to adopt nomadic habits.
The next centuries saw few changes in the lives of the Pagaelin. Kaldoric and Chybisan merchants occasionally established temporary factors to trade with the Pagaelin, and these contacts softened the tribal harshness slightly.
PRESENT RELATIONS
The Chybisans and Pagaelin generally try to avoid conflict, and this tends to keep the Ulmerien Valley relatively peaceful. A few hot headed or drug enraged warriors sometimes raid settlements north of the Ulmerien River, but such incidents are rare and usually of little note. The situation in the north is different. Kaldoric troops often skirmish with the Pagaelin; and there is an ongoing dispute over the control of Oselbridge [K6]. Members of the Mercantylers' Guild have long had a seasonal trading post at the north end of Oselbridge and plans to fortify it in a similar manner to Trobridge Inn are planned. Tribesmen are often near the crossing, except when Baron Firith, Warden of Oselmarch, sends a patrol south. It is rumored that the Baron intends to send a large military force to permanently secure the bridge.
Elements in Kaldor and Chybisa have noticed the changes in the Pagaelin way of life. To date they have ignored them, probably unaware of their nature, but some persons in the Order of the Spear of Shattered Sorrow are beginning to worry. The priests of Naveh in Tashal know where their erstwhile brothers are and have not forgotten their heresy.
The Pagaelin respect the boundaries of the Shava Forest and will rarely cross the Kald River. Tribal legends speak of "The Devils in the Forest", but otherwise they ignore their western neighbors. The Sindarin in turn pay scant attention to the Pagaelin, although the elves sometimes hunt in the Shomos River river area. The Sindarin are aware of the Navehan presence at Bejist and are disturbed by it.
The Sorkin Mountains are home to Gargun who sporadically raid the eastern Pagaelin range, usually for food in the form of a few dead tribesmen. Such raids are variable in their intensity, and in fact the Pagaelin and the Chindra Gargu-hyeka often trade with each other. The tribesmen provide the Gargun with slaves in exchange for weaponry and mountain herbs for the augurs.
The Pagaelin have an ambivalent attitude towards the travelers on the Genin Trail. Although they commonly try to collect whatever tolls they can extort, they are as likely to ignore travelers as they are to attack. Small or obviously weak parties are more likely to get their attention. They will usually not attack a superior or equal force, unless they are driven by extraordinary hunger or are led by a strong chieftain. Travelers can be sure only that the tribes’ behavior will be unpredictable. Pagaelin tribesmen might seek to trade with travelers, sometimes honestly, although it is a foolish wayfarer who does not keep alert for treachery and his weapons close at hand.