Angren

In the northern reaches of Caonach, hot springs spread life and warmth through an otherwise frozen land. Steam and ice mix and meld, icicles and lush forests catch the light of the sun and moon, and elk run in great herds through the trees.
Here, where long ago the Huldra faced the wrath of Snjor and his frost giant clans, the Winter Queens hold sway. It is a land of beautiful lakes and pine trees, hidden places of color and beauty, and frost that grows like glass.

Structure

The Winter Queen has social and magical authority, but little say in the day to day lives of the people of the tribe. She is attended by Knights of Gisirgis as body guards and has the direct loyalty of her three Treiors, as well as a series of attaches with familial or historical loyalty ties. The Queen's decrees are only enforceable as social pressure, though if push comes to shove she has significant magical power she can use to press an issue.

Culture

Tragedy and melancholy are interwoven into Angren culture, but so is beauty. Even as the deciduous trees die and frost takes its cruel toll, so do the gentle blanket of snow and the dazzling intricacies of ice crystals take hold. The Angren liken themselves to the evergreen trees -- enduring, bearing witness year after year, slowly growing older and stronger while marking the passing of the seasons and the deaths of those who live shorter lives.
There are stereotypes of Angren Huldra as excessively moody, solitary or cantankerous, but these are only stereotypes. The Elves of Angren see the end even at the beginning and live their lives knowing that all things are finite. As such, they take great value in pursuing art, crafts, quests, and anything that gives life meaning. This mortal world is beautiful and its best not to let it simply pass you by, even if that means exposing yourself to heartbreat.

Public Agenda

Angren is responsible for watching Snjor's Gap, the rift in the mountains caused by Snjor's incursion thousands of years ago.

History

The First Day

5013--5700
The Huldra settled the Caonach Vale very early in the First Day. The lands called Angren were scarcely inhabited. Most of the Huldra spread out into the heart of the valley, the lush lakes of its eastern reaches, the warmer areas that came to be known as Tumlaire, or the fertile woods of Taure Yavie.
In the silver birch forests of the northern reaches of Angren lived a huldra named Thuaidh. Her mother left many years ago to seek her own freedom, and so she dwelt with her father and her five siblings. Thuaidh was weak but swift, always hungry to explore and learn, but spoke with uncertainty, stuttering and therefore near silent. They hunted elk, cut holes in the ice to spear the fish beneath, and painted themselves with holly berries and mistletoe.
Wandering amidst the hot springs, Thuaidh met a gnarled man made of wood. His hair was a bundle of pine needles, his fingers twisted and his face covered in knots. He granted her a miraculous gift—a bowl of shining bronze, something not of Huldra make, and promised that her love and loss would be shared by all her people.

Snjor Rides the Glacier

5700-5734
The Frost Giants crashed through the mountains of northern Angren, riding their great ice palace to war against the Huldra. There were scarcely any Huldra in those woods, and those who dwelt there fled almost immediately. Snjor had come to claim their lands, cut down the trees, and build new homes for his people.
As Snjor’s warriors came to cut down the silver birch trees, Thuaidh saw the water in her bronze bowl rippling. With this warning, they escaped and fled before the axes of the giants, flitting from tree to tree with the jarl’s hunters at their heels.
In their flight, Thuaidh’s father was killed, and her siblings blamed her for the death. They refused to follow her any further and sought their own way.
Thuaidh’s journeys after losing her family were fraught with peril. The Ley of Thuaidh and Fenwen recounts her running afoul of an angry Huldra hermit, a thieving Unseelie goblin, and countless other dangers. At last, far from her home, she stumbled into the grove of Fedwen, Spirit of the Silver Birch Trees, and found shelter in the dryad’s arms.

Dance of the Seasons

5734
The invasion of Snjor took many years, and in that time Thuaidh learned the ways of the fairies and spirits from her dryad lover. Eventually the Frost Jarl’s magic crept towards Fedwen’s Grove itself. Thuaidh took it upon herself to save her lover and to find her family, lost for many years.
She set out with her bowl of bronze, her head shaven smooth and marked with the names of the trees, the direction of the winds, the shapes of the skies. Following Fedwen’s guidance, she befriended the unicorn Anadlau and rode as swift as the northern winds to Gleann Chroi.
Upon the slopes of that holy mountain she met three other Huldra women. Together, they danced, sang, and called the spirits of all of Caonach. For four days they chased the spirits, tricked and wooed them, fought them, cajoled them, and in the end, they became one. Thuaidh claimed the mantle of Winter, for all the people of her lands in the north, all those who love the snow and ice.
Together with the other three Queens, they called on the valley to anoint one of their kind to face Snjor and drive him away. Thuaidh’s stuttering voice cut through the air and for her sake, her love and loss, Caonach anointed Ri Gheimhridh, the Winter King. She set on his face a mask of Silver Birch, a gift from Fedwen, and took from him his name.

Am Gheimhridh, the Time of Winter

Ri Gheimhridh faced Snjor, and though the giant towered over him, the Caonach King commanded the ground itself to open beneath his feet and swallow the Frozen Jarl. His people fled, shattering their mighty Glacier Palace to escape. What remained of Snjor’s Hall melted into the great lakes and pools of Angren.
Thuaidh returned to her home and found her lost siblings. Reunited, they mourned their father together. Thuaidh anointed her three older siblings Treiors, the Lords of Winter. They gathered the Huldra tribes and built the great citadel of Tel’Losa to watch Snjor’s Gap, and keep all of Caonach safe against the vengeance of the Frost Giants.
With the young King bearing the power of Winter, this was a golden age for Angren. They spread and built and found new places of wonder and magic throughout their lands.

The Autumn Wars

6284--6318
Even as Thuaidh looked to the end of her reign, preparing to become one with the land and pass her mantle to her youngest sister’s daughter, the Seelie Queen Niamh of the Golden Hair abducted Ri Gheimhridh to use him in her war against the Unseelie Court.
Niamh’s plots sent a Fairy Hunt rampaging across Caonach. Angren’s power faltered without Ri Ghemhridh, and in fear and rage Thuaidh heeded the spies and lies of Niamh herself. She came together with the Spring and Summer queens and held the Autumn Queen accountable for the abduction. Her Treiors gathered their tribes and the Huldra went to war against each other. Blood was spilled in Angren, in Taure Yavie, and across the Bulwarks.
In the end, Gisirgis of Tel’Maerlyth rescued Ri Gheimhridh and saved the Autumn Queen from Thuaidh’s relentless soldiers on the battlefield. Heartbroken, the Winter Queen gave Gisirgis her tearful gratitude. Reunited with her sister Queens once more, they made amends and blessed Gisirgis, who swore that he and all who followed would protect the Huldra Queens from the Guiles of Faery and the Foes of the Huldra.
Thuaidh blamed herself for failing to see through Niamh’s lies, and for slaying her own kin. She surrendered the Mantle of Winter to her niece and descended into the earth, passing from this life. The people of Angren honored her with a great fountain in the heart of Tel’Losa, and danced for the coronation of their new queen.

The Death of Erecura

6412
Angren remains insulated from the Demonic Imperium by the Queendom of Tumlaire to the west and their old enemies of Snjorheim to the north.

Demography and Population

The vast majority of the population of Angren are Huldra, with a good mix of Winter Eladrin and the occasional Forest Gnome.
Most of the land is wild, with small settlements scattered about the woods and a few larger enclaves.

Territories

The North-Eastern reaches of Caonach, encompassing a large lake, a breach in the mountains that lead to the Great Northern Wilds, and the alpine forests surrounding.

Military

As with most Huldra communities Angren does not have a standing army. Most Huldra have some combat training and many make their living off the land, so Angren is well equipped for guerrilla warfare.

Religion

There is no official state religion of Angren. The people of Caonach are well acquainted with the small gods of brook, tree and herd. Druids are the primary practitioners who commune with nature's forces. While the Huldra recognize the titans and other gods of Anacra, they have no special love for any of them.

Foreign Relations

Angren is isolated from the rest of the world. The wounds of the Autumn Wars are still in living memory for the eldest of Angren, so they have complicated feelings about the huldra of the Fomhor Woods.
The Witch Queens of Anerom sometimes sail across the chilling lakes to Angren's east to meet with great druids and sorcerers of Angren.
Snjorheim remains to the north, repelled by the power of the Mantle of Winter and the might of the Winter King.
Tumlaire, Angren's seasonal opposite, is nontheless adjacent to Angren and maintains the battle against The Iron Empire in both Narzym and Eythgos.
There is no love lost between Angren and the Seelie Court, especially Niamh of the Golden Hair, who abducted the Winter King and tricked the Caonach Vale into warring against the Fomhor Woods.

Agriculture & Industry

Its northern climate means that Angren is more sparsely populated than other regions. Wild game and herds of reindeer provide much of their food sources. Copper and other metals are available in the mountains surrounding Angren, but there is little industry surrounding them.

Founding Date

5218

Type

Geopolitical, Tribe

Government System

Tribalism

Power Structure

Confederation

Economic System

Barter system

Legislative Body

Most of the laws of Angren are ancient codes of the Huldra. Within each settlement, the local Treior claims authority, but in practice, they only wield this authority through popularity and public perception.

Judicial Body

The Queen and her Treiors execute their vision of the law.

Neighboring Nations

• Celulinde