Thovkhal Highlands

Towering Over The World

No Shix ever traversed the home of the sky tribes. Despite this, you could say that Thovkhal itself slaughtered countless of our great enemy. The people it forged became humanity's greatest weapon in its battle for survival as the old world came to a close.

The Tribes

When the Divine One granted each of his Exarchs dominion over sections of Bastion, he made them kings and queens. Today, only Nove Rezaan and Vikinmark can truly be called kingdoms. While the other realms maintain a pretense by having at least a figurehead monarch, the Highlands' only king died almost a thousand years ago.
In Thovkhal, actions have purpose or they are a waste. In Thovkhal, waste kills. Given this fact, the Goliaths do not bother pretending they are united, or that a single ruler holds sway. Instead, Thovkhal remains almost entirely unchanged from the . Each of the many tribes is vying for survival in a realm where the land, the sky, the wildlife, and every other tribe will end their struggle if any weakness is shown.

Their cheiftain killed a yeti, so you think he is the god from the sky throne? He is not. What he did is meaningless. All that matters is what he does and what he will do. What he does is grow weak. He thinks we are all like you, afraid of the past. Because of that, what he will do is die. Today.

— Goliath mother

Attempting to account for each tribe, or gather their names, is a futile effort. Every scrap of information that reaches scholarly circles is at least months old and filtered through the dwarven holds as stories from merchant to merchant. From what little we do know, even if we were able to obtain accurate and timely information, it would be invalidated within the year as conquest or the elements took their toll.
The only thing of note that scholars can provide to the world regarding the tribes, is that even the legendary Nola-Kukena tribe is not impervious to the ravages of Thovkhal. Our best estimate is that the last remnants of Stormeye's tribe was wiped out or absorbed into other tribes sometime in Bastion's fourth century.

Chieftains

Tribes are lead by a chieftain. In many cases they acquire the title through a direct challenge involving combat, but as is the case with everything in the Highlands, there is no single rule or tradition. Based on the many stories about well known chieftains it seems that all that is truly required is that the tribe acknowledges the chieftain's authority. How long they remain chieftain, and how completley they control the tribe, varies from tribe to tribe, and from chieftain to chieftain.

Laws & Justice

In the seventh century of Bastion, a particularly dedicated acolyte actually managed to track down a Goliath living in Kem Boldahr. His account makes it clear his discussion was brief, owing to both a language barrier and in the acolyte's words, "a ringing clarity regarding my unwelcomeness." One of the few questions he was able to ask that received a response was regarding the laws or system of justice in the Highlands. The Goliath's answer, which he spoke in Vikinsprak himself, rather than through the Dwarven translator was: One law. Survive. No justice. If they take, then you weak.

Wildlife

As if the thin air, harsh weather, and threat of neighboring tribes wasn't bad enough, the Highlands are home to unique and terrifying creatures. It is widely agreed that it was this aspect of Highland life that most prepared the sky tribes for their great success in the Crusade of Light. No other group among had experience facing such savage and inhuman threats.

Thovkhal

We know little from the , but the legends of the sky tribes were so well known throughout the old world that we know the Thovkhal Highlands take their name from what we (in the rest of Bastion) call the Highland Wolf. The word "Thovkhal" originally referred to the animal, and then came to represent the region as well. There is no direct translation from Jotunskye to Vikinsprak for the word. It refers to a concept that is somewhere between "worthy adversary" and "respected neighbor."
While we know nothing about them, we do know that many of the disparate people who came together to form had false religions in the . The sky tribes were not among them. Based on the surviving legends it seems that the closest they came was a reverence for the Thovkhal.
After the sky tribes were remade into Goliaths, they found themselves on more equal footing with the Thovkhal, and have since integrated the creatures into their society. There is some debate on whether it was actually the other way around, but that debate is had amongst scholars who have never even been to the top of Kem Boldahr's foothills, so the worthiness of that debate is suspect.
Thovkhal are roughly half again as large when compared to the gray wolves that are seen in the rest of Bastion, and have a more muscular build. They have white fur and blue eyes. Even more important than the size difference, is their reported intelligence. While they are clearly still beasts, they appear to be quite cunning.

Of course we kill them; when we must. But we do not hunt them. They ruled this land before our human ancestors abandoned the soft lands below. The god on the sky throne made us more, like he did for you, but we are still children compared to the thovkhal. Children do not hunt kings.

— Goliath Chieftain speaking to a Dwarven Thane

Many wealthy people of the lowlands, primarily Rezaanian nobles, have attempted to send word via the Dwarves that they would like to buy thovkhal fangs, claws, heads, or even complete bodies. The Dwarves claim they have forwarded these requests, but in a thousand years there has been no response. It is possible to trade for meat, pelts, moutain herbs, and other things from the Highlands, but it appears nothing from the thovkhal is for sale.

Yeti

Like the thovkhal, legends of yetis had spread in the . We do not know if the people of the time believed the stories, but today we know they were true. Early scholars of bastion were doubtful, but eventually too many accounts made their way down from the mountains via dwarven merchants. Yetis are, thankfully rare, giant humanoid creatures with horns and exremely hostile temperments.
Getting exact details is difficult, but a conservative estimate is that an average yeti stands roughly sixteen feet tall, not counting the horns. The type and duration of study that would be neccesary to acuratly judge their intelligence is impossible, but based on what information we have, the consuses is that they are not sapient, despite appearing, at least in shape, more human that any other beast.
For the sky tribes, a yeti moving into their territory was a serious problem that required a focused effort. Normal activities and hunting would have to be put on hold to allow nearly all of a tribe's hunters to find and drive off, or if possible, kill the yeti. Today, a yeti is still a considerable threat, but there are enough stories of single goliaths killing yetis that it is likely at least some of them are true.
Much like the thovkhal, there are those who wish to collect pieces, or entire bodies, of yetis. Also, like the thovkhal, none of these requests have ever been answered.

Sarlag

Sarlags are larger cousins of lowland cattle with more hair, more muscle, and longer horns. It may seem odd to mention a herd prey animal in this context, but you have to remember the conditions this creature inhabits. They are hunted by the goliath tribes, the thovkhal, and the yetis. Despite all that, and the harsh environment, they persist and thrive.
They owe this persistence to substantial individual strength, coordination with the herd, and impressively lethal horns. When attacked the herds will form circles with the youngest and weakest in the center. The largest of the herd line the exterior of the circle leaving attackers little choice but to deal with the horns.

Thovkhal Highlands

Inroduction	Laws	Wildlife
Tribes		Thovkhal
Chieftains		Yeti
		Sarlag

Capital: N/A
Current Ruler: N/A
Succession: N/A

Language(s): Jotunskye
Demographics:
Barring a handful of dwarves spread over Bastion's History, exclusively Goliath.
Demonym: Goliath