"Even the shades of death fear the haunted north, as invunerable as they are to mortals, and will shiver when the haunting myst of the dead souls rise." -Goggizos of Dask
Origin[]
Pohola (or Pohjola) is a swampy region filled with many unique life-forms. Nearly all men, even the Poholish agree they did not originate here, but rather migrated from Saamsti to the west. It is believed the founding tribe, Fiun, was exiled from the west due to morbid customs still held in Pohola today. After exile, the Fiun had developed a whole new set of great spirits, and developed new rituals that would be taboo to most cultures. They then expanded, and grew out taking surrounding tribes into their protection racketeering. Eventually the assimilated tribes became apart of the Pohola tribes, and eventually they became one loose confederation of sinnister shamans.
Tribes[]
Fiun: The Fiun are a whelp of a tribe that they once were. Though, regarded as the ruling and queen tribe, the Fiun in reality are a shell of what they once were and their main power is their name. The Fiun are revered in Pohola for their fierce discipline and lovely queens, and it is they who have the best cities. However, their main fault is their military. Manpower and arms are the most sacred of things in Pohola, and the tribe who possesses the strongest army is often viewed as the best, the Fiun are the only exception as they manage diplomacy to be their surviving breastplate.
Uierg: It is well known the Uierg are the most powerful Poholish tribe in exsistance, but their fault is diplomacy. Being the second most disciplined and arguablly largest army in Pohola, Uierg is held from dominating the region entirely by the thread that is hatred. They are hated and dispised by nearly every tribe in Pohola, and rarely see times of peace. The Uierg are a bastard mix of Poholish and Skytasi, this brings them to be the only Poholish tribe to use light cavalry en masse. The Uierg are stationed on the south eastern parts of Pohola, and they have cleared out the forest in the region into hilly grasslands. The shamans from Uierg are typically associated with the lord defiler Tuoni. It is sepculated that the Uierg initially were a part of a Skytas tribe that fled their mountains long ago.
Dahmakeu: In the north is their small county, the Dahmakeu are home to the more Saamsti traditioned warriors. Shaman occumpany their soldiers who wield lengthy bronze knives and swords. The weapons are held in one hand, and are powerful chopping tools which can act like a machette. The shamans bless the warriors who tent to group in circular clustars. Archery is very rare, and instead, slings are the favored ranged weapon of the Som tribe, as well as most of Pohola. The fierce Som warriors are unreliable allies to the Fiun, and have been known to fail their spiritual overlords, and in two cases betray them.
Som: The Som are a tribe of traders and defenders. Practically nothing stands out about the Som's military or their situation in terms of military, aside from their confederation owning a sizable navy. They have been known to call upon the Seudes to the west for support in wars. Being a loyal ally to the Fiun, however, they fight primarily with Uierg and Pohloi.
Pohloi: Pohola had expanded south west relativly fast, and with fightening speed the native Ostibeg tribes in the area fell to the Poholish horde. Every man, woman, child, and elder became subject to the vassal tribe set up. This tribe became known as the Pohloi. The Pohloi have smaller numbers than most of the Saamsti blooded tribes, but they are fiercer and feature cruel berserkers from Ostibeg.
Khulymai: Renegade tribes which roam the far noth and central parts of the realm, the Khulymai conduct raids upon the Saamsti and demand taxes. The Khulymai are of Ostibeg-Fiun blood, which fled the southern Pohloi and Fiun settlements. They are known by several names, and are known to fight just as diverse. The Khulymai warriors combine the use of the Fiun machette-knives with troops who reinforce them with axes or swords, and actually deplyo archers. They possess less banshees than most other Saamshti-blooded tribes, but are larger in build than even the Pohloi. With little loyalty, these people will sell themselves as mercenaries to any tribe, even outside Fiun, to the Suedes and Njords of southern Skandi.
History[]
Mysticism[]
"Only grim gods must rule over these grim men..." -Bren Mwagog
Kalhma: Kalhma is the death mother herself, and brings with her the stench of the rotting dead. She is the mightiest of all Fiun deities. She lives in Tunola, the Poholish term for hell, with terrible beasts that haunt the dreams of mortals. She is a very unforgiving goddess, and will have undevoted followers killed. She is depicted in two forms. One as an old crying crone filled with warts, welts, bruises, rotting flesh, and eyeless sockets. The other as a seductively beautiful young woman who is deathly pale with gray hair and yellow eyes. Her witches that follow her are the most mysterious, and the common man fear they practice the blackest of necromancy, calling the souls of the dead from Tunola.
Pirkeel: He is also called Ukku. Pirkeel is the chief deity of the Poholish gods. He is said to be a nearly crippled old bald man hunched over a cane with large gray beard. Pirkeel speaks in a powerful voice and can control the winds themselves as well as lightning. He is prehaps the most feared of all male gods to the Poholish people as he is in a constant fury stopping at but nothing to end mortals who pray to him when not absolutely needed. Shamans who follow Pirkeel generally become some of the most fierce of all shamans, building into a wicked adrenaline, they kill all that stand before them as foe. Pirkeel holds no care for any other being, god or mortal, merely he wishes to rest upon his throne and ponder cosmic justice.
Louli: The infamous founder of Pohola, it was she who lead the exodus from Saamsti into these lands. Louli is the witch queen that forever haunts her people's lands. In life she was a witch to her local bird Haltja (animal totem-god). She was said to decorate herself in feathers, and only her chosen courtiers and slaves had the privledge to see her face behind the bird's mask. Louli was said to be able to shape change into many forms, making her a vicious being. When she died she left a great cure onto her land that forever lasts, and her beautiful daughters carry on her legacy. Even today the queen of Pohola dresses and acts as Louli, and even now do they sacrifice to her unresting and violent ghost. She was also known in life to send cold as a spiritual being to bind her opponents (especially noted when the Saamsti tried to make an aquatic invasion) and be able to hide away the moon and sun.
Tuoni: Death incarnate. He is the bringer of death, lasher of punishment, defiler of virgins, and master of Tunola. He may not be the strongest of divine spirits, but he is surely one to fear. Tuoni rules from his throne in hell, and issues all the torment with his puppet demons upon the fallen mortals.
Ilmarienin: Ilmarienin is the blacksmith god who created the universe when a mystic bird dropped a golden egg upon his knee. He then pushed the egg off of him, and it shattered into a million pieces. He forged all things from the pieces of the egg. He was born from winds and hold strong ties to them.
Mielkki: She is the mistress of the woods and is married to its great charm. She is said to be a goddess of extreme beauty, and has been known to fraternize with woodsmen who pay proper respect to her domain. Mielkki enpowers the spirits of the wilderness, leads the animals, moniters the hunt, and drives the primal forces. Her shamans live in the woods, and create huts from sacrificed animals, humans, and plants.
Warfare[]
Generally the Pohola rely on guerilla warfare and scare-tactics. The warriors take to hand battle axes, foot long knives/machettes, and dress in a bear's hide. They then paint themselves in a house-hold sacred animal's blood to become closer to death. These men often stay togeather in a gang-like manner and rely on hiding and the element of suprise. Cavalry is very rare in these parts, and thus only the generals and his men will be mounted in chariots. If the man-killing warriors were not enough then the banshee-witches will be. They pale themselves with crude make-up to appear white as a ghost and climb into trees. These female warriors scream loudly to the enemies below and often make threats to them; no other order in the grim north is so masterful with magic than the banshees. These tactics generally break unsuspecting fools who fall trap to the Pohola ambushes, and the survivors of such attack will face death or the short life as a slave.