The Hill Landers

The Hill Landers are the people native to the Hill Lands in the north of Autara, where the winters and landscape are hard and harsh. They are subjects of the kingdom of Autara and the The Queen of Stars but have more regional loyalty and pride than loyalty to the kingdom as a whole.
The majority of Hill Landers live in small village settlements, with most people sheepherding and raising livestock, with people in some areas working in mines and living in mining towns. There are a few larger towns, like Smalholt, which are often near trade routes in the foothills and allow access to the rest of Autara.
Hill Lander architecture is quite similar to the houses in Rural Autara, with houses being small and single-story and made of stone with thatched or occasionally shingled roofs. Their Villages and homesteads are often surrounded by statues called Stone Guardians.
The Hill Landers have different clothing styles than the lowland Autarans, using more fur and winterized fabric, with basically every article of clothing having long sleeves. They often wear tall weatherproofed boots in the winter and lighter boots in the summer.

Relationship with Magic

The Hill Landers have a different approach to magic and views on nature than the lowland Autarans, seeing things as more wild and unpredictable never fully under people’s control. They are wary of magic due to this, and see it as another dangerous and unpredictable force of nature that needs to be treated with caution and care.
It is rare for Hill Landers to use everyday magic items, despite how common they are in the rest of Autara, let alone for any of them to develop their Magic Core.  They are much harsher against those with Dark Marks, even if they have reformed, often refusing them service and sometimes even chasing them out of town.

Current Leaders 
Queen Vivian (overall)
Governor of the Hill Lands (reigonal)

Ethnic Phenotypes

The Hill Landers tend to be fair-skinned with lighter hair and eyes than their lowlander neighbors, with red and blond hair and blue eyes being common.
Due to a lack of large towns in the Hill Land region, there is less diversity in the region than in the lowlands and a lot less physical diversity.