Hesten

On the northern reaches of Ornassus, past the core of the Commonwealth in Palladia and the many scattered archipelagos and landbridges that make up that shattered continent, there is a heavily forested land with various fjords and inlets, guarded by several features of geography. Here the Rusan people have toiled, attempting to preserve their independence and culture with little natural resources other than fish and wood. Noteworthy for their strong mercenary culture, the Rusan free cities (the largest of which, Sigel, lends its name to their language), with the sometimes alliance of the Cazzeri, have so far managed to find a niche, using the gold gained from abroad to invest back in industry and fortifications back in their homeland, preparing for the inevitable invasion they know is coming. Thus even in isolated Talingarde, Rusan mercenaries, known for their flamboyant dress, two-handed zweihanders and martial cunning, ply their trade, braving the Kraken to come to this blessed land. They have a special kinship with the Gebroan, as they too are a culture founded by dissident dwarves (in their case from the Telvar rather than Moresain). There is a branch of the Axiomatic Church in Sigel, as well as Central Dogma, while Ragna and Triglav also have powerful cults among their people. An increasingly worrisome development is the growing worship of Ka-Ata-Raya.

• Ancestry: Sigel is a highly cosmopolitan place, with a plurality of dwarves, kobolds, and goblins, and sizable minorities of gnomes and quicklings. In the more rural reaches, you can find harfoots as well, and in Gand, hobgoblins have insinuated themselves into the military hierarchy.


• Starting Languages: Low Talirean, Rusan


• Cultural Weapons: zweihander (greatsword), poleaxe (as glaive but instead of Reach it has Versatile P/B), crossbow, longspear, blunderbuss. Though they cannot match the pike and shot of Palladian tercio squares, Rusan "landsknecht" with their garish colors, massive swords and polearms, and own pike squares and blunderbuss wielding dragoons can do much on the battlefield.