"This land was once plentiful, filled with music and light. Platinum shining came flowing from the mountains, and every day was fair and merry. My pop used to tell me, that one day a hero would come and take back the mountains from the wicked dragon. I doubt it will happen in my time, as it is, but I have hopes for you my son. Take the flame my boy, and ready it for the coming of the heirs of Usgaroth to once more light the beacons of Drumshiel."

-Captain of the Fishing Boat "The Fairweather", Ruskir of Lenipol 

Saravoan Culture

The Lake Peoples

There had long been peoples clinging to the banks of lake Saravoa. Even before the mass-migrations of humans westward, humans from Kelior had navigated the West Glass Sea northward, to find the river channels that led to the lake. These early Saravoans discovered in the mountains nearby, the heart of all dwarven-kind, the Underkingdom of Drumshiel. The Shielans sent gifts to the Saravoans, who graciously accepted their patronage. The Shielans had always had trouble trading through the surface, but now they had a sea-borne people ready made to help them. The Saravoans undertook the trade of the Shielans, the richest of all the dwarves of Adra, and in return they received mighty gifts, tributes, and donatives. Dwarvish steel protected these towns from the many threats on the steppe plains, and the lake people thrived. The Lake-King ruled wisely, and the fine wears of Saravoa could be found around the world, famed for their woodcraft, boatmaking, and intricate tapestries. Still, good times always come to an end some day, and ruin came for the dwarves of Drumshiel, from dragon fire and steel. During the siege of the city, dozens of Saravoan settlements were raised to the ground, including the old capital of Saralov. When Drumshiel finally fell, the kingdom collapsed with it, and the people scattered to the shores of the lake, and the far flung corners of the steppe. That was a few hundred years ago. Since then, the Saravoans became what are nominally a few independent settlements, but de facto, they are dominated by the steppe nomads of the Great Khaganate, who take from them without mercy, enslave their people at will, and often choose who leads the towns. Many of the Saravoans left the steppe, moving to the Wandering Mountains, Kelior, or elsewhere. The people that remain kindle a most earnest hope to see their Kingdom returned to them, and to see the glory of the dwarves returned to Drumshiel.

          Saravoans are a hardy people, clinging to the lake, and enduring untold misfortunes in the years since their kingdom fell to ruin. Many other cultures would have perhaps abandoned the lake entirely, but the Saravoans hold deep reverence for their ancestors, unmatched in the rest of Adra Majoris. They constantly sing songs of the glory-days of old, ruminating for hours over dusty maps of the kingdom, or a tapestry of a fabled bloodline. Not only does this act as a means to honor the long dead, it also enables them to endure less glorious days in the present. However, the nostalgic obsession with the past might prevent some from thinking of a better future. The Saravoans are capable seamen and merchants, and expert fishermen. They are poorly acclaimed in the world of most kith in the current day, but in the halls of dwarves, they are well-respected. This is because the Saravoans dedicate much of their reverence for the dwarves of Drumshiel, and the town of Voligrad still maintains the pilgrimage route to the Tomb of the All-Fathers to this day. Their love of the dwarves is so fierce, that many of the refugees of Drumshiel went to live with the Saravoans, rather than scatter in the world elsewhere. And while their skill has faded from what it once was under the protection of the dwarves, even today the crafts of the Saravoans are the envy of many guilds across the world. To the outside world today, however, rather than their reverence or their skill, the Saravoans are often famed as drunkards. The people have been known to comfort themselves with drink in excess, to the extent that 'Saraf' is used as a slur for drunkard in all the common tongues. It is of course bigoted to believe that all Saravoans are drunks, but it is true that the people of Saravoa live a harsh and unforgiving life, and so it is of no surprise that many choose to take cheer in a bottle, rather than think of days gone by and days wasted.

          The Saravoan people are most highly concentrated in the lands around Lake Saravoa, as well as some settlements scattered throughout the Wild Steppes. There are also some Saravoans, still clinging to their culture in the Wandering Mountains, Kelior, and Arissia. The races of the Saravoans are most predominately human, though many races that have trouble in other places, often find the Saravoans to be more accepting, such as Tieflings, Shifters, Half-orcs, etc. Each Saravoan settlement has its own religious traditions and pantheons, the most popular being Ariendale, Eoulous, Alas, and Aristagoras, with some people honoring Amarok in ways closer to the Noregran tradition. Almost all Saravoans offer reverence to the dead dwarvish god Oerack as well. Saravoans tend to be reverent, kin-centric, and tolerant. They also tend to be overly-nostalgic, intemperate, and impotent. The tongue of the region is Saravoan, naturally, but with their reverence for the dwarves, comes the fact that many Saravoans, often the more learned of their kin, understand Dwarvish as well.

If you choose the Saravoan Culture, you gain the following:

~A +1 to your Wisdom score~

~Either a -1 to your Strength score or a -1 to your Constitution score~

~As a known language, either Saravoan Common or Dwarvish~

~A Sub-Discipline in every knowledge skill on checks relating to Aegyri Culture~

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