Vir

Vir is a wooded river country touching many Mediterranean realms: Scythia's plains to the east, the Black Forest to the north, Draconea on its other flank, and Palasgea, Otesium and an arm of the Mediterranean near the Symplegades to the south. The valley of the Vardar and its tributaries dominates it, the river emptying into the Euxine close to Scythia. Forests and mountains ring the whole land.

Its warlike barbarians are light-skinned, dark-haired and nearly always tall and strong. They wear rough fur cloaks, loincloths and boots, and warriors wear caps made from a wolf's head and skull that half-hide their faces and make them look savage. They are settled hunter-gatherers in permanent riverside villages; each village and tribe is independent, with some trade but far more fighting. River fish and hunted aurochs, deer, small game and birds are the main foods, balanced with gathered fruit, seeds and roots. They have learned to transplant wild food plants to plots by their villages, but know nothing of growing from seed, so they must fetch fresh plants from the wild each season.

Somewhat isolated, the Vir are still a stone-age people who cannot work metal, but some tribes trade furs through Oggia for Ku amber, then pass amber and furs to Tharshesh for metal weapons and utensils, clothing and copper jewelry. The tribes share an animist faith, varying somewhat between groups, whose shamans worship animal gods: the wolf as warrior and hunter, the stag as chief and procreator, and the fish as bringer of water. The central deity is Tama, the Old God worshipped as Earth Goddess, provider of food and shelter and sustainer of all life.

Society is simple: the strongest and cleverest rules, winning leadership by defeating the previous leader in a ritual challenge and duel. Most magic belongs to the shamans; there are no wizards, though an occasional witch or warlock appears. Tribesmen fight and hunt with spears, slings, clubs, maces, daggers and staves, using wolf-like dogs to track, corner and kill prey. They share their land with goblins, ogres and trolls as well as nymphs, pixies, sprites and satyrs, and though superstitious and inclined to avoid such beings, they will fight when they must. Vir hunters are the only outsiders who deal regularly with the Palasgeans, and Vir tribesmen sometimes wander into Otesium on adventures.