Nonhuman Peoples

The saying goes that history is written by the victor; and certainly the history of the Wolf clan is the one most commonly accepted by the sages of the Sjonderwold. However, as can be seen in the individual clan histories, the Wolf were far from successful in creating and unifying the history of the Sjonderwold, and there is more history that falls from the sight of even the most learned human scholars. The true history of the non-human peoples of the Sjonderwold is the best example of this.   The wars of the Brightsword saw a massive drop in the numbers of non-humans living with humans. Non-humans, or “giantfolk” as the humans call them (regardless of actual size) retreated to their own settlements or the fringes of human society. In the decades since the First Jarl, giantfolk have spread back across the human lands, although there are some areas – notably the Wolf capital – where they are still quite rare.   Each human clan, tribe, village, or family has their own opinion on giantfolk, often dictated by their proximity to Fridulfsburg or the geography of the surrounding region. Dwarves, for example, are almost unheard of for the Elk, as they are ill suited for the light and nomadic lifestyle of that clan and generally ill disposed to so much sky overhead; whereas dwarves are as close to a common occurrence as giantfolk get in the lands of the Bear, and some Owl hamlets are comprised of a majority of dwarves.   Giantfolk settlements and cities have enjoyed a degree of prosperity in light of the humans fracturing into clans, and they are usually uninterested in events beyond their borders. The recent push for unification has brought with it dark memories for long-lived giantfolk with even longer memories, and their leaders keep a keen eye on the human lands for fear a new potential leader looks to make a name for themselves in blood.