Talan

The Talan people are a cultural group who inhabited the western coast of Edea, and diverged with the hunter-gatherer groups of the southern coast since the invasion of the imperial Xedarians in the second century AT. They are comprised of the druidic peoples of Whitecherish who moved southward at the beginning of the first age, indigenous herder groups who resided in the region prior to the settlers arrival and wood-elf tribes who inhabit the forests and grasslands of the north-west of the Tala.
The Talans had an independent history until they were brought under the control of the Kingdom of Edea in 736AT.

Description

Appearance

The Talan culture valued strength and marvellous outward display. Their high protein and berry-rich diets gave them large bodies and thick hair, which was styled and displayed as signs of physical and cultural prowess. Their hair was often deep browns or blacks, though was regular dyed blond, red or blue, depending on clan affiliation. They had tough skin and thick body hair, often styled into magnificent beards.

Diets

Talans ate primarily meats and grain, which was available naturally in large quantities in the region. They ate high quantities of fish and berries from the coast, and smoked a large quantity of tobacco. Dairy was also high quantity in the Talan diet, with cheeses and milks being staple in their diet. Those further north on the peninsular, who mostly coexist with the wood elves, ate salmon, vegetables and grains, as well as mutton and lamb.

Settlements

Early Talan settlements were small, rarely exceeding 30 households in a clan in the early ages. However, as the population grew and clans began to coalesce, these settlements became larger. Talans spearheaded fort-based warfare during the wars of men, and many of their settlements were highly fortified, with large stone walls built around their communities. Large castles and lookout forts were also built all across the coast of Tala, many of which stand to this day. Large towns, villages and hamlets really did not exist in Talan culture until they were brought into the fold of the kingdom of Edea, and true port-based cities were not seen until the arrival of the imperials.

History

Before the first age, the majority of the indigenous peoples of the Talan coast were the wood-elf Yx'alans who fled to the mortal forests and barbarian tribes inhabiting old pre-war forts. During the exodus of the surviving whitfolk dynasties in the initial decades of the first century, various clans and settler groups arrived on the lands of these indigenous groups to the far west of Edea. The whitfolk clans and talan tribes had varying relationships when they first came into contact with one another, with some establishing peaceful trading relationships, some forming larger tribal communities and some facing immediate antagonism. In any case, the arrival of the settlers only added to a history of clan based conflict and violence in the region.
Over the first century, various clans died out and were created through the conflicts of the west. Many wars were fought over territory, resources and power, and the technology of barbarian tribes became increasingly refined. The region's armour, weapons and training are still famous across Edea, and the methods date back to these first clan wars. By the second century AT, some of these clans began to push eastwards, taking uninhabited land across the Unmar and pushing into Eskian territory.

Talen Human by Kim Kovaleva

Talan

Race:


Region:

Languages:

Human
Wood-Elf

Coast of Tala

Common:

• Edean
• Talan

Features

Skin Colour(s):


Hair Colour(s):


Eye Colour(s):

Typical Build:

Dark pale/tanned skin, rougher than most

Black, dark brown

Blue, green, gray

Shorter, stockier, more muscular. Thick and curly hair

In the late second century, the explorers from the southern regions began to land on the shores of Tala. Unlike the eastern Eskians who built friendly relations, or the Unmar people who were overwhelmed by the imperial might, much of the Talan clan culture united in the disruption of the settling forces, defeating many of those who had invaded and raiding much of their equipment. While this was not the first time clans and tribes had joined together to fight a major foe, this was the largest coalescence of Talan society to date. Over this time a minority of the Xedarian settlers joined with the Talans, through surrender and self-exile.
This process continued throughout the 2nd and 3rd centuries, as tribes began to grow their claim on the wilderness took hold and true Talan settlements began to emerge, utilising the technologies those Xedarians who had joined the clans. Impenetrable forts, sprawling castles and tightly packed cities began to emerge, and Talan culture adapted to the challenges which came with that. The transition from hunter-gatherer and herder societies to the largely military societies meant that the reality of the new continent - forts, nests and caves of creatures that plagued a new magical land - had to be dealt with. These cities and villages and clans joined together in political units over the 3rd and 4th centuries, each forming a Pagus. A total of eight of these united pan-Talan communities existed by the end of the 4th century, and were a force to be reckoned with.
These polities, each acting as independent collections of autonomous Sippes, were each ruled by clan dynastic leaders, and naturally ran into conflict over the following decades. More savage barbarian cultures would regularly raid and pillage neighbouring Pays, which would lead to a response in kind and often escalated into regional civil wars every so often. As the barbarian culture shifted into a warlord culture, with the most powerful clans ruling over large swafts of Tala, the resources at hand were immense and led to marvellous revolutions in equipment. The Talans often traded with the Dwarves of the Wintercrest to the north, and their armour and weapons rivalled that of a dwarven smithy.
That, and the religious resolve of the Talan people, made them a formidable foe when the newly formed Kingdom of Edea began to encroach on the land of the Talens in the late 5th century. The Talans were bloody fighters, and were harsh foes on the battlefield even against the mounted men of the east. Loyal to their clans to the bitter end, the Talans dragged the war out as long as they could, succumbing only in the early 8th century, when they were truly overwhelmed by the material and strategic might of the empire. With the promise of religious sovereignty and the recognition of their clans, the Talans relinquished control of their region to the kingdom. Over this period many of the dynasties of Tala fell, their land reclaimed by neighbouring clans, and by the fall of the west the region was split into two primary superpowers - Riddemarsh and Taleos, who were adopted as substates into the Kingdom.

Culture - Mythos

Identity

The central theme of Talan culture is the primacy and subservience to the clan. Early Talan society society was characterised by a rigorous code of ethics, which above all valued strength, loyalty and courage. The attainment of honour, fame and recognition was a primary ambition. Independence and individuality of one's clan was highly emphasised, which was largely responsible for preventing the unification of the Talan people for many centuries.
The environment in which the Talan culture emerged, particularly one connected to nature - the land and sea - and the constant threat from beasts and monsters in the region, played a major role in shaping the values of the culture. Talan literature is filled with scorn for characters who failed to live the cultural ideals, or betrayed the homeland.
One's clan affiliation, job, family status and rank were of extreme important to the class structure of the Talan culture. In ancient Talan society, body-paints, tattoos, markings and hairstyles were all used to signify one's status and achievements. In modern Talan culture this is far less pronounced, but figures of Talan folklore and literature carry these ideals and signifiers to this day.

Politics

A main element uniting Talan societies was kingship, in origin a sacral institution combining the functions of military leader, high priest, lawmaker and judge. Talan monarchy was elective; the king was elected by the free men from among eligible candidates of a family, tracing their ancestry to the tribe's divine or semi-divine founder. The key characteristics which inspired a king to be elected would be strength, integrity and resolve, which was a constant throughout Talan culture. Many of these kings were druids and clerics, who would commune with Uthgar as well as reside over the clan's politics. All freemen had the right to participate in general assemblies or things, where disputes between freemen were addressed according to customary law.
The king was bound to uphold ancestral law, but was at the same time the source for new laws for cases not addressed in previous tradition. They were charged with recording inherited tribal and religious law, which all Talan warriors were expected to commit themselves to. As loyalty and strength were key tenants of Talan society, capital crimes in early Talan culture included treason, cowardice in battle, desertion, assassination, degenerate magical practices and robbery. Traitors were on occasion hanged in trees, while cowards were disposed of by drowning them in swamps.
Despite this, corporal or capital punishment for free men does not figure prominently in the Talan law codes, and banishment appears generally to be the most severe penalty issued officially. This reflects that Germanic tribal law did not have the scope of exacting revenge, which was left to the judgement of the family of the victim, but to settle damages as fairly as possible once an involved party decided to bring a dispute before the assembly.
Each community was led by a chieftain, directly answerable to the king and their subjects. The chieftain directed each community in lock-step with the king, ensuring unity among the clan. The chieftain was to be the strongest, proudest and most capable member of each community, and thus it was the responsibility of each Talan to challenge the chieftain in a contest if they became weak at their role.

Society

The most important relationships in Talan society were in the individual household, and the family unit - often large - were the central place of loyalty for the Talans. Above that, each household was part of an extended family known as a Sippe, which was the basis of organisation in Talan society. The Sippe was the core of economic and military activity, and were united by specific clan and religious loyalties. There were a total of 11 prominent Sippes in the history of Tala, but many smaller units existed which mirrored some of the larger tribal affiliations of the time at a smaller scale.
There were three major classes of peoples in Talan society, which continues to exist informally today. The basic freemen - farmers, merchants and craftsmen - are the lowest class, and carry out the basic functions of society. The second class is the soldier - whether they be barbarian, fighter, monk or paladin, she who fights on the battlefield is granted special privileges and recognition. The highest is the King or chieftain, the figurehead of the clan and the one who leads their people granted by divine power. Kings would rule over an entire Sippe, whereas Chieftains would lead the smaller sub-communities which constituted the clan. Slaves did exist in Tala before it was outlawed by the Kingdom of Edea, but they were rare, and were largely only in the form of prisoners of war, who were set free by Oath after a certain amount of time.
The gathering and acclamation of resources was a sign of strength and virtue in Talan culture, and as such efforts to gain resources was of extrinsic good. Trade, plunder and expansion were priorities, and the larger a clan's resources, the more likely other clans would recognise their sovereignty - and see them as a threat. While there was a correlation between the level of resources one had and the likelihood of war with neighbouring sippes, there also existed a high likelihood of trade manifesting between clans. Trade was the surest sign of peaceful relations between two clans.
The same principle of resource acclamation applied at every level of Talan society, even within clans, and those with the largest pools of resources were often treated with the most respect. Although the Germanic tribes practiced both agriculture and husbandry, the latter was extremely important both as a source of dairy products and as a basis for wealth and social status, which was measured by the size of an individual's herd. Solid foods such as cheeses, meats and fruits were signs of high status, but drink and alcohol was uniformally consumed across society. Ales, meads and wines were all popular across Tala, and the people placed great importance on drinking at social functions.

Culture - Belief

Religion and Morality

The Talan people worshipped a range of unique but interrelated religious worldviews which consisted of specific tribal practises, family traditions and regional cults which operated within a broadly consistent framework, to which there was a degree of cultural uniformity which could be described as 'Talan religion'. Talan religious practices centred around physical aspects of existence, such as the earth or animals. Official religious figures were often druids and shamans, who operated under spiritual guidance and ritual practises such as sacrifice, divination and rites.
The Talans worshipped a central druidic deity which emerged from the indigenous and settler populations of the south-west coast called Uthgar, who exhibited the virtues of strength, rivalry and pleasure. In Talan folklore, Uthgar revealed himself in various forms across their lands, in the form of animals and beasts. These beasts were sacred, and were often sacrificed in service of Uthgar as offerings and during rituals. Each Talan sippe worships one aspect of Uthgar, and carry the insignia of this totem with them. The primary worshippers of the god were wild druids, barbarians and rangers.
Religious tribute was expressed in various forms, through body-marking and art, stylised weapon art and the structure of settlements and buildings. Talans would often offer up weapons - crafted and stolen - to Uthgar as a sign of worship and tribute, and there are around 50 known sites where weapons would be thrown into lakes, pits, caves and forests as a sign of worship. The sacrifice of defeated enemy weapons to their deity is known from ancient accounts and constitutes part of an offering to Uthgar, during which the weapon sacrifice affirms the connection between the worshippers and the divine.
Talan runes are a unique form of art which carry within them divine significance in Talan religion. Many assign these runes to the first form of modern language on the eastern coast, but it is present in the majority of religious symbology and the divine texts and iconography.
To a lesser extent, the Talan's venerated in their worship of nature Chauntea, the mother to totem beasts, Umberlee, the queen of the harsh seas and Talos, the father of Uthgar and the king of storms and destruction. Farmers, sailors and rulers respectively carried totems of these deities who they worshipped alongside their worship of Uthgar.
The 11 tribes of Uthgar each worship an aspect of the god, and form their clans around one of the deities' totem animal. Each embodies the aspect of the totem they worship and have specific rituals/customs.

• The Black Lion tribe resides in the southern planes of Upra, and value the creation of settlements, peace and order.
• The Black Raven tribe resides at the base of the wintercrest mountains to the north-east of Taleos, and value tradition, self-sufficiency and the guidance of the air. Many are nomadic, following the migration patterns of the birds of the mountain.
• The Blue Bear tribe reside in the hills to the west of the Vesta Pines, and value the lives of animals and the care of natural lands.
• The Elk tribe reside in the forests of Taleos, and live in small hamlets and villages on the border of forests. They shun greater civilisation, and are often found communicating and trading with the Wood Elves of the north.
• The Gray Wolf tribe were an old tribe who often fought with the Black Lions. In Talan folklore, this was the birthplace of the lycanthrope curse, due to their savagery and nocturnal lifestyle.
• The Deep Worm tribe lived in small hamlets and mines in the Roan fields, particularly near the Drakescours. They favoured the earth, expressing their fealty in the form of hardy weapons and hunter-gatherer lifestyles.
• The Griffon tribe resided on the west coast. They valued pride, glory and valour, and were often the most war-mongering of the tribes.
• The Red Tiger tribe resided in Gallia to the north of Taleos. They preferred the cold woods of the north, and were expert hunters and warriors. Their cities were fortresses and they venerated constitution and heart. Their leaders often tamed wild beasts which stayed with them at all times.
• The Sky Pony tribe resided on the island of Sienna to the west of Taleos. They often had trading relationship with the elves of Yx'ala and venerated the fey aspect of the wildlands. They were the most magical of the Talans.
• The Thunderbeast tribe resided to the south of Dunstan and the west of Roan. They were expert sailors and explorers, and venerated the storms and rains.
• The Tree Ghost tribes resided to the south, in and around Maleah. They venerated ancestors and anything old, maintaining gardens and forts which were hundreds of years old.

Talan Tribesman by Wayne England

Magic

Talans were often fearful and distrustful of magic, and looked down upon it in their society. The primary forms of magic used were divine over arcane, with clerics, druids and primal barbarians being the only culturally acceptable forms of magic. When the Kingdom began to push into the Talan territory, the many clans rallied together against the arcane degenerates of the east. Only when this magic was strong enough to wield against their defences, and the true power of magic was made clear, did they grudgingly learn to respect its use.
Over the years before contact with the east, however, the Talans often killed those who used arcane practices under the suspect of being a witch or sorcerer. While many of these practices still take place in the southern continent there is little that remained of this fervour, particular in this millennium.

Life

To the Talans, the individual is tied to a vast web of living and long dead people who make up the Clan. The ancestors and homeland are sacred, and one's soul is made up of the long and gruelling history of one's people. When an individual is born, he is basked in the glory of his forefathers, and when one is laid to rest she is returned to her homeland to become one with her fore-bearers.
The Talans believed that those who live today carry the souls of their ancestors with them, and when a clan dies the history dies. As such, one displays the stories of themselves and their family on their body, as they are an expression of the past. Talans venerate death on the battlefield, in attempt to gain glory, honour and resources for the clan. When a clan member died, their soul was sent to Uthgardtheim on the plane of Ysgard, where they would live out their days in glory and battle. A dishonourable clan member would have their soul remain in Limbo for eternity.
Talans believed that the physical world was everything. A clan's story was inscribed in the mortal flesh as well as the land they resided on, and the protection and guarding of their sacred homes was the paramount duty of the Talans. The earth, the sea, the wind and the beasts were the moulders of reality and all life was subservient to it, hence the Talan's veneration of totem and natural magic. Many Talans would study the earth and tinker with the gifts of nature given to the Talans, but would respectfully use it to create artistic and magnificent crafts to display their fealty.

Culture - Expression

Appearance

Talan Barbarian with Clan Body Art by Bryan Syme

For the Talans, expression is wholly physical. One's story is one's outward display, in clothes, art and architecture. The more glorious the story, the more glorious one's expression. Talans were expert tanners and fabric workers, taking many forms of animal skin, furs and natural hemps and cottons and weaving them into fine, unique clothes. Dyes taken from the flowers of the fields of Tala would be used extensively in colouration of clothing, and in the creation of body-paints and tattoos which would show off the clan and familial loyalties of a warrior.
Talan hair was also a unique characteristic, with thick dark hair was styled to display clan affiliation and rank. Warriors would often shave into their hair symbols of their guilds and pacts, and would wear their hair long styled with beads for their amount of kills. Talan culture had a tradition of trophies, whether it be of animal, human or other origin. Talan barbarians would often style their clothes, armour and weapons with trophies, and would inherent trophies from their ancestors.
Expensive clothing, of rare animals or high quality make, was often reserved for the most accomplished warriors and clan rulers, and was often tribute to Uthgar to hand over trophies to the clan leader.

Food

Mighty feasts were staples of Talan society, with the consumption of large amounts of protein and alcohol at celebrations and rituals being commonplace in the region. The larger the feast the more accomplished and high status the individuals who ate there. While class differences existed in Talan society, a clan feast was the realm of every member of their community, and the consumption of alcohol during celebrations was a unifier amongst the Talan people.

Architecture

Talan settlements were expertly and precisely designed based on the cultural and religious customs of the region. Settlements were typically small, with between 20 and 40 households making up a single hamlet. Multiple hamlets together would form the basis for a Sippe. Houses were large, containing a full family of up to 4 generations, including uncles, cousins, children and grandchildren. Family members would likely move out only to move in with another household in the Sippe after a wedding. Due to these large number of residents in these households, homesteads were large, often being very long or very tall. Houses were typically unitary, housing both humans and animals. Buildings often had upright logs or posts as walls, long crossed rafters ad the top and thatched saddle roofs. The entrance was typically on the side and there was an exit in the roof for the smoke from the hearth. The living quarters were generally in one part of the building, while the stalls for cattle were in the side areas.

Talan Walled Settlement

Settlements would often be built on natural or artificial mounds in order to protect the wood-built buildings against flooding, as well as their many herds and animals kept in houses. Some settlements also were walled, with log or stone built perimeters built around the settlements. These were precise, with geometric patterns, being expertly laid out before construction. These represented the ordered and planned nature of Talan communities. Many of these walled communities were forts and castles, which were highly defended structures with high military capability. These were often found in the central regions of a Sippe, where the clan leaders would reside.

Talan Mead-hall by Enthing

Likewise, Talan infrastructure was ahead of its time. Roads - natural and man-made were crafted all across Tala in the early years of its existence, particularly when intra and inter clan travel was necessary for trade and transportation. Talans did not build bridges, instead opting for small port communities across the side of rivers where ferries would ship travellers across. Talans built many wind and water-mills utilising their natural surroundings in order to produce for their societies, and crafted various forms of ducts and sewers to keep their settlements clean.
At the centre of every settlement was the mead-hall. In most pre-kingdom societies, these were quadrilaterals structure of wood with a raised platform on either side within. In the centre on one side of the mead-hall, there was a high-seat and a secondary high-seat, which were reserved for the chieftain and his guest of honor respectively. In front of the high-seats were long tables upon which heavy planks were raised. These would be occupied by all the members of the community for feasts, celebrations and time of revelry.

Holidays and Rituals

Rituals and festivals were a common practice for the highly religious Talan society, and the involvement of individuals into the community through rites and practices that both unified the community and highlighted the individual spirit and story of each member of the clan were central to the heart and functioning of the culture. The Talans celebrated everything, from battles to successful hunts and from birthdays to funerals, and the involvement of their culture and religion into the every day celebrations and spirit of each resident tied the communities together.

Talan Rites

Birth - The birth ritual was an entirely familial ceremony, where all relatives - blood and otherwise - of a newborn child would be present in the ritual. The child would be taken to the nearest lake or river and bathed in the water where it would be welcomed into the bloodline and introduced to the ancestors. There, the child would gain its first "tattoo", usually a small piece of chalk or the dye of a blueberry upon its forehead, and welcomed into the clan.
Bildungsroman - The Talan process of coming of age took place between the ages of 14 and 21. During this time, an adolescent would be trained to hunt, fight, farm and build, and find his or her place in the clan.
Marriage - During the coming of age process, the adolescent would have a partner found for them from their settlement, usually in a similar line of profession. It was tradition that both partners in a community would share the load of their clan responsibility, and would hunt, fight or farm together. Their children - if they had any - would then be brought up by two role-models of the community and be trained with a pro-social mindset. The marriage ceremony would take place in the mead-hall, watched over by the clan totems and a shrine to Chauntea, where both partners would be given away by their family to form a new familial bond. It is custom for one of the families to take in the new partner, while the other provides resources for this extra burden to take place, usually of the family with the closest bond to the partner's shared profession.
Death - Upon the death of a clan member, the tribe would take the body to a burial mound near their settlement. The body would be buried and sent back to the earth, and the closest family members of the deceased would pray to their totem to gift their family member in the afterlife. Relatives would often sacrifice the weapons and wealth of the family member to Bahgtru as an offering.

Festivals

Military Festival - Upon a victorious raid, campaign or military expedition, Talan warriors regularly and exuberantly celebrate in their mead-halls and honour those lost with a marvellous feast. Talan warbands were led by charismatic leaders called a Comitatus, who led the feasts and celebrations. Enemy loot would be blessed and scarified to Uthgar, and reforged into new weapons for the most honourable warriors. These cheer of these celebrations would often last for weeks after a battle, with the taverns and drinking holes of the settlement full every night to honour the warriors of the tribe.
Hunting Festivals - Harking back to the hunter-herder roots of the Talan barbarian tribes, clans often celebrate their ancestors and their deities by performing ritual hunts, in the form of contests, sacrifices and rituals. The treatment of animals - particularly a clans totemic animal, is of great concern to the Talans, and they take much care in the blessing and handling of game. On the first Saturday of Shaunis, a ritual hunt takes place across Tala in various settlements and communities to gather game for the spring festival and to sacrifice to Uthgar to show thanks for their survival over the winter.
Tournaments - Strength and honour are the key virtues of Talan society, and the expression and outward display of this strength is a sign of confidence and leadership in the culture. Often, Talans would celebrate newcomers into their region with a tournament, where individuals would fight and compete in tests of strength, dexterity and constitution in order to gain respect and notoriety in the community. When a chieftain was dethroned or died, the leaders of a community would often engage in these tournaments to replace them. It was also seen as the duty of the Talans to challenge a chieftain for their position if they were not the strongest or most adept at their role. These tournaments would be called to settle such disputes.

Rituals

Spring Festival - In Talan folklore, Jannath - an aspect of Chauntea and lady of beasts and wildlands and her mortal husband died during the schism. Grief stricken, she follows her husband into the underworld where she is captured and kept prisoner. In her absence, the earth loses its fertility, crops cease to grow and animals stop reproducing and the world is plunged into darkness. Jannath goes missing for three days, until her assistant seeks the help of other gods to help her. Uthgar delves into the underworlds and rescues Jannath and her husband, giving them the power to return to the mortal plane as the light of the sun for six months. Each autumn, her husband returns to the underworld, by which Jannath pursues him, prompting Uthgar to send a champion to the underworld to rescue them. Thus, the cycle of the seasons takes place, autumn breeding death and spring breeding life.
On the last days of winter, Talan clerics pray to Uthgar to rescue Jannath and bless them with a year of good sun and bountiful harvests. Families light up their homes with candles, symbols of the earth and sun, and totems dedicated to Jannath, and pray to their fallen ancestors to rescue their deity. The celebrations last three days, the first being a solemn and mournful ritual dedicated to their deities and those who have died over the previous year. The second day is a more hopeful and wishful celebrations, where families pray to their ancestors and the chieftains of the clans dedicate worship to fallen warriors who may be Uthgar's chosen to pursue Jannath to the underworld. The third day is a cheerful and celebratory day, where large feasts and parties take place long into the night celebrating the renewed springtime. Talan's worship animals, bless their fields and new families in the community.
Midsummer - Midsummer's day, or the longest day of the year, would be celebrated by the Talan people as a display of victory and courage against creatures and spirits of the night. They would celebrate the harvest of spring vegetables and light huge bonfires which burnt throughout the night to scare off evil spirits which might harm their livestock. They would have large extravagant feasts, hand out presents in the form of money, tokens and food, especially gifts of food to the needy and unfortunate. Village folk would dance around the bonfire and hang up wreaths throughout settlements as a tribute to the nature and life which grew throughout spring.
Winternights - Winternights was a Talan celebration which marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The celebration took place from the 29th of Mielik to the 2nd of Sehanin, and was a ceremony of wild abandon and carnival where the one's ancestors and the dead were honoured and prayed to for their wisdom and divination for the clan monks and shamans. Much divination was done during these celebrations to foretell the fates of those entering the new year.
Winternights marked the final end of harvest and the time when the animals that were not expected to make it through the winter were butchered and smoked to last through the gruelling winter months. These animals were blessed and sacrificed to Uthgar, with their skins used to make special and expensive coats which would be used throughout the winter on hunts and adventurers. Those gifted with a coat of a blessed animal was often due a great honour thanks to an act of bravery or sacrifice the previous year. The winter feasts saw the consumption of great foods, including much red meat, and also the drinking of fine sweet mead of the last honey produce of the year. 
As the barriers between the prime material plane and the underworld were though to have thinned in these times, Talans hung up skulls of animals and cloths of black and red as wards against evil spirits, ensuring their homes remained fields of good luck for the coming month. On the last day of Winternights, the first wild hunt would take place, where Talan kings would commence a winter of hunting wild game. In some tribes, forces of Talan warriors would ride bare horseback through the thick snowy forests of the Talan coasts, preying on hibernating fauna, weary travellers or unguarded towns. Winter was often a time of great bloodshed as feuding clans would fight one another, and to this day the wild and evil spirits of the hunt remain legend in Talan folklore. 
Yule - The Yuletime period took place over two months, from early Hyrs to late Lathen of each year. When the days grew colder and the nights grew longer, people of ancient times would light candles and gather round fires to lure back the sun. They would bring out their stores of food and enjoy feasting and festivities. Dances were danced and songs were sung and all would delight in decorating their homes. Evergreens were cut and brought indoors to symbolize life, rebirth and renewal. They were thought to have power over death because their green never faded, and they were used to defeat winter demons and hold back death and destruction. Because of their strength and tenacity, they were also believed to encourage the Sun’s return.
Yule was a time when the Talan spirits would be present among the Talan people to guide and protect them through the harsh winter months. The Talans believed the spirits used to lay gifts at the base of hills for the ancient druidic tribes of the west, which were embodied in the form of Mistletoe which grew in high trees late in the year. Mistletoe would be hung outside doors, berries baked into rich pies and cakes, and given with gifts of warmth and comfort in the winter months. Gifts would be given to children and the elderly as a symbol of prosperity and protection by their peers and village people, often in the form of wood crafted tokens and toys.