THE
LLAOIHRR
BROWNIES
("VALE
BROWNIES") |
The Brownie Rrao-LLaoihrr tribe, known as LLaoihrr or Vale Brownies to other races, lives in the Vale of Brownies, in Santharian province of Sanguia. Diligent and hard-working, they still know how to have fun. They worship the spirits of tree and rock and stream, though not as fervently as their Aohu'o cousins. Best known for their intricate wood-based technology, which though ahead of its time, is often difficult for them to adapt to the needs of other races. They are also the record-keepers and historians of the Brownie race, their language is the closest to the original Browniin. A clan-based society, each clan provides a specific product or service to be traded with the other clans.
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Appearance. LLaoihrr individuals are identical in appearance to those of the
Memnoor, Aohu'o, and
Milken, fitting the general Brownie description. Members
of every Brownie
ethnic group belong to the LLaoihrr, generally categorized
as greenbarks, brownbarks, redbarks, bluebarks, yellowbarks, ebonybarks, greybarks,
and birchbarks.
Coat of Arms/Sign. A Cinnibark Pine (representing
the LLaoihrr Council Tree).
Territory. The entire area enclosed by the Vale of Brownies, stretching out between
four mountains, named Chieftain, Sorceress, Life, and Death. The Rimmers Ring
and Santhala lie just to the east,
Wind Bay just to the north, Kor Donion to the west, and the
Quallian Forest to the south-west. However, entrance into
the Vale of the Brownies is extremely difficult, if not impossible, from any
direction other than the west.
Through the Gate a deep gorge
is
twisting for a thousand peds along the course of the stream from the Vale to the
outside. This gorge funnels all outside commerce through a narrow, easily
defended knife-cut winding through the solid rock of the mountain. In all other
locations, except for the south, the valley is bounded by steep mountain slopes and/or cliffs.
A mixed forest covers much of the valley, with a thick jungle covering the low
southern slopes, eventually becoming inpenetrable, even for
Brownies. A deep
stream, the Snake River, waters the entire valley, eventually flowing out of
the valley through the gate. This stream has two tributaries, one of which flows
out of the southern jungle, the other of which flows from the Bottomless
Lake,
at the base of Life Mountain, fed by the Diamond Falls.
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Image description: Map of the Vale of Brownies, situated at the western Rimmerins Ring, near Santhala. Home of the LLaoihrr tribe. Map concepted by Greybark and drawn by Artimidor. |
People. LLaoihrr tend to be more serious in outlook (for Brownies) than their Aohu'o cousins, quite scholarly, and are the guardians of the written history of the Brownies of Caelereth, as well as many other written works, from many of the other races of Caelereth. As a whole, they are quite inventive, and produce an endless stream of gadgets. They are moderately religious, mainly believing in spirits of rocks, trees, and mountains that need to be appeased (see Brownie beliefs).
Training
Each LLaoihrr child is trained to survive, to hunt, and to read and write
before reaching the Age of Choosing at 15. LLaoihrr children manage to learn
the skills needed by their parents' clans to varying degrees as well. Further
training is done once one has joined a clan, and traditionally this apprenticeship
lasts for 15 years. By the end of this time, he or she will be expert in the
skills that need to be utilized for the performance of the duties to the clan.
Magical special abilities
Being able to do things using lifemagic is also particular
to Brownies. Most can only do the simplest spells, but the Redbarks, with their
greater affinity to the lifeforce of living things, with training can become
quite adept. Alas, the secrets of many of the most powerful spells have been
lost forever - lost since the fall of Birn. Lifemagic is unique in that it does
not drain the user, rather, it drains the life force from a nearby living thing.
Lifemagic spells can only be cast on living things. If a single Redbark is not
powerful enough to acheive the range that she desires on the particular spell
she is casting, she can join with other Redbarks to add their maximum ranges
together, with no limit to how many Redbarks can participate in this way.
Housing.
LLaoihrr houses are well-built treehouses generally made with twigs and leaves,
and used for a single family. They consist of a large main room, used for everything
but cooking and sleeping. Smaller, low-ceilinged rooms are attached to the main
room as needed for kichen or bedrooms. Sleeping is done on woven mats. The door
to the outside is also quite low, perhaps 2/3 of an average
Brownie's height
(in order to keep out the weather) and is just a hole in the wall. A thousand
LLaoihrr can live in a single tree.
Clothing. Both men and women dress primarily in mouseskin, though leaves, bark,
or feathers are also worn at times. Because of the average
Brownie's extremely
active lifestyle, and parts of the valley being chilly year-round, rough tunics
and pants, and low mouseleather boots are almost universal among LLaoihrr. A
belt with multiple pouches is often worn, and a hunting/writing knife or two
are generally to be found slipped into a boot.
Diet.
The main food of the LLaoihrr is a
nutritious bread. Greenbark
moss is harvested from certain types of trees in
parts of the valley. They then dry it, grind it,
mix it with water and fermented
fruit, then bake it into bread. The
LLaoihrr have not lost the joy of hunting, however, and thus retain quite a
varied diet. Many types of wild animals, birds, and fish are hunted and eaten,
usually after having been roasted over a bonfire. Mice are also eaten, as they
are raised for their meat and skins in great numbers. Various types of fruits,
nuts, and herbs are also gathered wild.
Weapons.
LLaoihrr weapons are adapted for hunting, whether of food animals, predators,
or enemies in battle. The most common weapons used are the bow, the blowpipe,
the sling-shot and the knife. Using bows and arrows is a skill that the
Brownie people learned
from observing elves before the
Brownies began migrating and dividing into their
tribes, in the time of Keekoo the Deliverer.
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Sling-Shots
While human children often use sling-shots
as toys, a sling-shot is a serious weapon
for Brownies averaging only 1 1/2
palmspans. They are
often used in combination with Hunting Knives to hunt down beetles.
Bows
Bows may be a tenth of a ped or
longer, and are hand-carved from carefully selected and cut pieces of wood.
Arrows are generally poisoned, killing the prey or merely rendering it senseless
depending on which poison is used, allowing LLaoihrr to take on prey many times
larger than themselves. They have a maximum range of perhaps 25 peds.
Blowpipes
Blowpipes
were invented in the same time frame that Brownies were first beginning to use
bows, and are compact, easy to store and carry, and simple in form, being merely
a hollowed-out straight twig. Poisoned darts are also used with blowpipes. The
blowpipe range is generally considered to be 12 peds.
Hunting
Knives
Hunting Knives are more
common then any other weapon, as they are used for so many things, from skinning
and gutting prey, to writing a message to someone, to being an aid in climbing,
to being a last desperate weapon of defence. Made from rarely-used iron, they
are never thrown. These knives are a univesal tool, and are used as if they
were an extension of a LLaoihrr's hand.
Other Weapons
Complicated engines, explosives, and
catapults are also used at times, for the most part ranged in a semicircle around
the mouth of the Gate as a deterrant to would-be attackers.
Occupations. The vast majority of adult LLaoihrr (over the age of 15) are members
of a clan, of which there are several hundred. Each
clan is mainly self-sufficient, but also specializes in providing specific goods
or services to the other clans through a trading network. The clans are not
static, but grow or shrink, form and dissolve according to the needs of the
Vale economy as a whole, as determined by the law of supply and demand. Children
help in their parents' clans until they reach the Age of Choosing at 15, at
which time they will have the option of joining either their parents' clan or
a different clan, with acceptance to the clan based on personal merit.
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Government. LLaoihrr live in a clan-based society. Questions that
only affect one clan are generally decided within the clan, and outside interference
is generally not tolerated. A clan might have anywhere for a few hundred to
a few thousand individuals. Most clans are governed by a clan council, comprising
the most talented and experienced individuals in the clan specialty. The council
of all the clans acts as a go-between for matters that affect more than one
clan, and also makes decisions affecting all LLaoihrr, and meets year-round
at the Tree Circle around the Council Tree, a magically grown, heavily populated,
oversize Cinnabark Pine.
Production/Trade.
LLaoihrr technology, based on wood, is among the most advanced to be found anywhere
in Caelereth, and are a consistant source of somewhat useful gadgets such as artificial
wings, catapults, and back-massage chairs. A few of these have been adapted
for other races' use, mainly in Kor Donion. Being made out of pieces of bark,
as the legend has it, Brownies are naturally adept at finding medicinal and
other uses for pollen, leaves, sap, and other plant parts. These plant components
are used in trade with nearby elven and
human populations.
Natural Resources. Mainly unknown. LLaoihrr do not mine or otherwise exploit their non-living
resources. The central part of the valley consists of a mixed forest, with a
large stream flowing through with two main tributaries. The southern portion
of the valley thickens into a jungle because of greater rainfall, eventually
becoming impenetrable even for Brownie-sized individuals to the far south. Mice
are domesticated for the meat and fur, along with a number of plants and sessile
animals.
Holidays, Festivals
and Observances.
The main festivals celebrated are Keekoo's Day and Greybark's Day. All-Spirits Day and Aheh's Day are also relatively important to the LLaoihrr.
History. Greybark, founder of the flying militia, is probably the the most famous LLaoihrr. Research is underway to reconstruct the details of his life.
The Council Tree was grown by redbark Lifenagic adepts early in LLaoihrr
history. It and the clearing around it are home to half of the population of the valley, and serves as its
capitol city.
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"The Vale of Brownies", composed and performed by
Gean Firefeet Format: MP3, Length: 3:58, Exclusively composed for the Santharian Dream. Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (3.63 MB) ![]() |
Information
provided by Greybark
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