OverviewThe arctic Adlivun is much the same as the arctic before it: cold, unforgiving, and dark half the year. The one major change is that there is no spring thaw. The ice simply grows thicker and thicker until it finally breaks off, crashing down, and cause huge near-tsunamis to hit the north Atlantic coasts, and clogging the oceans with continual icebergs.
The Aurora Borealis shines nearly every night, and the moans that accompany it are enough to make most stay away from their source. Myriad ruins dot the map in the Adlivun incursion, and many hide secrets that should probably not be discovered. |
FriendsAdlivun is not a cohesive nation, but rather numerous small tribes living in the remains of a once-powerful empire. They remain on good terms with any who don't actively seek to invade its vast wastes, and for the most part most are smart enough to stay away.
EnemiesTir Na Nog would greatly love to get ahold of some of the artefacts in the ancient ruins of Adlivun, and have tried several times to invade, being rebuffed each time with heavy losses. They're not currently attacking again, but you can be sure they're considering it.
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Denizens
Akhlut
Akhluts are the remains of orcas that burn with the need for revenge. Vicious, dangerous beasts, they either stalk their prey from the sea, or from under the ice, hunting anything that hunts. Akhluts have the ability to leave ghost tracks near the shore, in order to lure their prey close enough to either crash through the ice from beneath, or even leap onto the ice, melting their way back through to the water. Ishigaq The Ishigaq are small, lithe beings. They are winged, but have long lost the ability to fly. Instead, they hone they wings to razor sharpness and adorn them with animal teeth and claws. They are approximately a foot tall and leave no footprints in the snow; they hover just above the ground. They hunt as a pack, and can be deadly in large numbers. Qalupalik These human-like creatures live in the sea. They have long hair with green skin and long, piercing finger nails. Qalupaliks cannot reproduce, so they wear an amuatik (a pouch that Inuit parents wear to carry their children) so that when they raid the land, they can take babies and children away with them, back to their ocean lair, slowly turning them into Qalupaliks over decades. They will often be seen in the company of walruses and sharks during their raids. |
Qiqirn
These creatures resemble large, bald dogs that slip back and forth between flesh and spirit with the phases of the moon. During a full moon, it is completely flesh, and will run from men and dogs. Nearer to the new moon, though, it radiates fear upon it's victims, and if people approach it, they suffer fits. Each Qiqirn has a unique name, and if shouted, its name will cause it to flee. Tarriak The Tarriak are, for the most part, like any other human. They have houses, families, weapons, tools, everything that a human would. The difference is, that they are made of shadow. They're invisible when looked directly at. You can only catch them out of the corner of your eye. Many small, mysterious, supposedly deserted villages are scattered across the North American arctic, and only during the 3-month dusk can their inhabitants be clearly seen. The only other time they're visible normally is when they're killed. They are masterful hunters, but never use weapons or mounts to hunt. |
Tizheruk
These 100-foot long snakes inhabit the icy floes of Adlivun. They are nearly totally silent, and almost completely invisible. They can snatch an unwary fisherman from the shore without ever being noticed. The largest of them is an ancient great white snake, Pal-Rai-Yûk, which carries almost a ton of old knives and harpoons in its hide, remnants of past encounters with its prey. Tupilak These monsters are small, child-sized. They are created using a mixture of various parts (bone, skin, hair, sinew, etc.) taken from the corpses of victims of one specific person. Once sewn together, they are brought to life by a demon in a ritual ceremony and chant. They seek out and destroy their target, ripping it to shreds with their powerful claws and teeth. Once a tupilak is sent on it's mission, only public confession by its target of any crime he or she has committed can cancel the tupilak's task. Since they are made with one individual in mind, they will not generally attack anyone else unless they are themselves attacked. If killed, they immediately give birth to a smaller, faster version of themselves. The new tupilak though, cannot do this. |