Pictland

Most of Iber belongs to the Picts, barbaric nomads famous for their ferocity in war and the island's greatest danger to visitors. They are tall and powerfully built, with light skin and dark hair, and stand out by staining their skin blue with woad and tattooing spirals on their bodies. They show no mercy and guard their land and freedom jealously.

Their bands wander the island with simple technology and social structure, making tools, utensils and especially weapons from stone, bone, antler, tusk and wood. The only decoration is the spiral, cut into most of their belongings, which is the cult sign of the Old God Ash, central to Pictish myth.

Standing depends entirely on skill in battle and the hunt, and the best warrior rules each band as Warchief. Warchiefs settle disputes with unarmed trials of strength that often kill one or both. Surrendering to an enemy is the worst thing a Pict can do: the offender is tattooed to brand him a coward forever, badly beaten and cast out of every Pictish band on Iber. Yielding to another Pict is not punished this way, though it is seen as weakness.

Their fights with each other are more ritual than real aggression; their true warlike energy goes against neighbors. Non-Pictish settlements, Tara above all, are always under threat, and the Picts even raid across the straits into Alba in hide boats that are seaworthy but look and handle clumsily.