The Winnowing

Population Migration / Travel

Humans migrate from Utanar into Heimval.

During the height of the last glaciation event, the human tribes of northwestern Utanar became isolated by glaciers from the rest of the continent, along with the native wildlife, including the mammoths, horses and giant red deer they hunted.

This same glaciation reduced sea levels to such an extent that a land bridge emerged between Utanar and northeastern. Only the southern edge of this landbridge was free of glaciers and created a funnel of migration of the mammalian megafauna into the rich grasslands of the bridge, followed by two waves of Utanaran humans. The first wave was made up of a black-haired, hunters of the plains, the Veidir who had followed the herds. They were followed a century later by tribes of fair-haired fishing folk, the Sjomir, who migrated along the southern coast of the land bridge, hunting and fishing the sea in skin canoes.

Over time, the Utanaran herds and their hunters arrived into the alien continent of Heimval, home to its own megafauna of keratoplexan and ornithischian origins. The mammalian fauna was quickly decimated by native predators or outcompeted by native grazers. Most of the humans died with them, overwhelmed by the hostile environment and native sapient tribes such as the ettnir. The Veidir fled ever inland and the fortunate found isolated valleys as their haven in the hostile lands. Over time, their shamans developed new bonds with the land and animal spirits of Heimval, developing allies to match those of the ettnir mountain spirits.

The Sjomir, faced with the same ettnir threat chose a different survival strategy. They hugged the rugged northeastern coast, living in their customary way. the ettnir did not fish and those beccan people who did lived farther south. And so the Sjomir clung to existence, escaping could escape into the water on their boats and canoes when attacked and assisted as well by the wind and water magic of their shamans.

These humans, finding themselves a foothold of survival, adapted culturally and physically, becoming larger than their already large cousins to the east and fierce. Neither people forgot the trials of their ancestors, passing a hatred of the ettnir and other beccans in their stories and mother's milk. By the time the climate began to warm once again a millenium later, what did not kill them made them strong. These two peoples discovered each other over time and a new people known as the Jolnir, People of the Chariot, were forged, destined to rise from mere survival to domination of their new home.