Clan Stroud
By all measures, the Stroud are the most skilled scavengers and scroungers in Asteria. When it comes to finding your way home in the most barren and desolate of frozen hellscapes, look no further than the fur-clad and hearty rangers of Clan Stroud.
A superstitious and impulsive group, the Stroud tend to avoid political entanglements with the other Timberland clans, for fear of upsetting their patron goddess, Augrima. Most Stroud finalize their journey to adulthood by completing the Sacrament of Ice — a four-month pilgrimage to the Palm of Seldara, an ice-covered subterranean island temple, deep in the Frozen North. The journey, which must be completed in winter so that the sea is completely frozen, is obviously extremely dangerous. Only the bravest and strongest attempt the sacrament, and only one in three return. Those who survive the journey are treated as revered elders of Clan Stroud.
Given that their culture is guided by their proclivity for wayfaring and foraging, as per the doctrine of their patron goddess, much of their economic fortitude is provided by what they bring back from their journeys to the north, including seal blubber, ivory (used for jewelry and weapons, due to its potential for enchantment), and soaproot, a medicinal plant which only grows north of the Crown.
Stroud Ranger
