Far beyond the northwestern seas, beyond storm-wracked waters and jagged cliffs, lie the Skeldir Isles.
Home to the Skeldir Clans, these fierce seafarers are among the most feared warriors in the known world.
The Skeldir are organized into dozens of independent clans led by Jarls, war leaders, and clan elders. Their settlements cling to rocky coastlines where survival demands strength, endurance, and unity.
To the Skeldir, the mainland is known as The Broken Shore, a cursed land abandoned by the ancestors long ago.
Few Skeldir willingly sail south.
Those who do are often viewed with suspicion upon returning home.
Skeldir oral histories claim their ancestors once ruled a vast island empire.
The First Tideborn were master sailors who explored every northern sea.
According to legend, their civilization was destroyed by a great civil war known as the Sundering of Chains.
The conflict divided the Tideborn people forever.
Some remained in the western islands.
Others fled eastward across the sea.
The descendants of those eastern exiles would eventually become the Daughters of Nysara.
Every Skeldir belongs to a clan.
A person's loyalty to their clan outweighs loyalty to nearly everything else.
The clan provides:
Protection
Identity
Family
Status
Honor is earned through deeds.
Birth grants opportunity.
Action determines worth.
The Skeldir worship a collection of ancestral spirits and sea gods collectively known as the Sea Fathers.
Their greatest belief is simple:
"The sea gives nothing freely."
Life is a constant struggle.
Strength is virtue.
Weakness invites ruin.
This philosophy influences every aspect of Skeldir culture.
Ancient rivalries between clans can last generations.
Some feuds are older than recorded history.
Many Skeldir consider feuds sacred obligations passed from parent to child.
Yet feasts, marriages, and diplomacy occasionally succeed where violence fails.
Occasionally.
Raiding is considered a respected part of Skeldir life.
Historically, clans raided one another for:
Wealth
Livestock
Resources
Prestige
The most infamous raids target the eastern islands of Nysara.
These conflicts are viewed as continuations of the ancient Sundering.
Many captives are taken during such raids and later integrated into the conquering clan.
The practice remains a source of endless conflict between the two peoples.
The Skeldir are unrivaled sailors.
Their longships are renowned for:
Speed
Durability
Shallow drafts
Exceptional craftsmanship
Every clan maintains a fleet.
A clan's strength is often measured by the number of ships it can launch.
The Skeldir believe the mainland was cursed during the Fall of the First Tideborn.
Most stories describe it as a place where ancestors lost their way.
Many Skeldir consider southern religions and kingdoms corrupted.
The mainland is not feared.
It is pitied.
Once every seven years the clans gather for the Great Thing.
Disputes are settled.
Laws are debated.
Alliances are forged.
Feuds are renewed.
The gathering is one of the few times the otherwise divided clans act as a single people.
Though divided, the clans share one belief.
The blood of the Tideborn still flows through them.
One day the western and eastern descendants of their ancestors must settle the ancient debt left by the Sundering.
Whether through war or reconciliation remains unknown.