The entirety of Ferron is inhabited with an abundance of wondrous creatures, sentient and insentient, sapient and non-sapient. Hauther is no different. The following are the sapient races that have had the most significant impact upon Hauther, particularly the races and organizations of humans, elves, and dwarves.
Pockets of Humanity
The Four Tribes
Tomes say that most humans whose ancestry can be traced back to within Hauther descended from one of four original tribes: the Evar, the Luvar, the Jovar, or the Gatar. Outside of religious explanations, no one is quite sure how these tribes or their names sprang into being. For more information regarding the history of each tribe and their characteristics, see Chapter 2.
Nowadays, the Thyrellans (the Evar) and Casperians (the Luvar) constitute the majority of those living in the city state of Casperia and the numerous towns and villages holed up in the outlands. However, unless a person is trying to distinguish his ancestry from another, Thyrellans and Casperians today generally refer to themselves as Hautherians. This is especially true for descendants of the Thyrellans, who carry the legacy of the harsh Thyrellan empire and the unleashing of the Revenarum upon Hauther.
On the other hand, the free-spirited Jovar, who are the only tribe to have retained their historical name, are very proud of their heritage and often don’t integrate well in large, bureaucratic cities, such as Casperia. Many outlanders, who often claim some kind of Jovaran lineage, explain that they’d rather live as wanderers and raiders than settle down in a Thyrellan or Casperian city, which is quite indicative of the Jovaran outlook. As a result, most Jovar who have settled down live in one of the smaller communities that dot the outlands or close to the dwarves in Dussleholm. The remainder wander the outlands, which is fitting since the ancestral Jovaran homelands are encompassed by the plague lands and outlands of today.
The Hudu (the Gatar) have such different traditions and outward appearances that they typically consider themselves as Hudu, not Hautherians. They represent a very small fraction of the populace living with their brethren in the outlands and major cities. They typically ply their skills at fortunetelling, a common practice in their religion, Huduun. Hudu are most commonly encountered in Casperia, Dussleholm, or the larger towns in the outlands, but there is at least one village of solely Hudu somewhere in the outlands. There are also rumors that the Hudu still inhabit their ancestral swamplands to the south, but nothing has been confirmed. If a person were to ask a Hudu about this, he’d most likely say that the Hudu live in the swamplands as much as the swamplands live in the Hudu. Such ambiguous answers are a trait that Hudu fortunetellers use well.
Casperia, A City of Hope and Squalor
Casperia is the only major city of humanity remaining from before the uprise of the Revenarum. It had lost the splendor of its golden days long before the advent of the Revenarum because it was sacked by the Thyrellans in their final push to conquer the entirety of Hauther about 140 years ago. Thyrell would have been satisfied to leave Casperia in ruins simply because of its disdain for the city and its people, but the empire begrudgingly rebuilt it to take advantage of trade with the rest of the world.
At present, the walls that once held back a Thyrellan siege now restrain a burgeoning populace from overspilling into the outlands. Neighborhoods are crowded with squalor or abject poverty, leading to infestations of vermin, disease, and crime. Nearly every building has been modified in some way to make space for more housing, which has led to an encroachment of buildings onto the streets and avenues. What were once green broadways cutting through the city are now narrow alleyways. The over construction is so rampant that in parts of the city wooden decks have been built over the roads to create more space for housing above, creating a maze of virtually sunless “burrows” full of vice emporiums, underworld dealings, and Hudu religious practices best kept concealed.
In the early days of the stalemate in the Plague War, the Silver Guard established a perimeter about three miles outside of the city. Casperia wasted no effort in converting the interlaying zone to farmland to help feed its people. Since then, wooden fortifications have been built at this perimeter to keep wandering plague zombies from reaching the farmlands. The success of the fortifications and the need for room to grow have prompted some Casperian officials to propose transplanting some of its citizenry into the farmlands, but there are questions over who would be moved and put at risk. In addition, there are questions over the feasibility of replacing the wooden fortifications with stone walls to better protect the citizenry outside the main walls. By way of Dussleholm, the next largest human settlement in Hauther, the Nokh dwarves have begun providing stone blocks that could be used for such a wall, but the sheer magnitude of the project means it would take decades to complete. Many argue that Casperia could instead use the stones to build upward, thus increasing housing within the city. Until these issues can be resolved, Casperia will continue suffering under the weight of its own population.
Dussleholm, Gateway to the Hirols
At last count, there are a few other communities of township size or larger interspersed among the outlands. Many of these, such as Raynham, are fishing towns that lie along the eastern coast and support Casperia with salted fish or whatever else they can offer. Others, such as Dussleholm, boast a population of almost ten thousand and lie inland where they receive goods from Casperia via the supply routes established by the Silver Guard.
Even though it is cutoff from the sea, Dussleholm is fortunate in a number of ways. First, it doesn’t suffer from as much overcrowding as Casperia suffers. Second, its proximity to the Nokh kingdoms in the Hirol mountains, specifically the clan city of Boronekh, has made it an ideal hub for trade with the dwarves. The Nokh dwarves have been slow to warm up to trade with humanity since the Thyrellan empire and later the emergence of the blood plague. However, Dussleholm, which before the Thyrellan empire was under the rule of the Boronekh, has made great strides in cultivating diplomatic relations with the Nokhen. In return for basic commodities such as lumber, grain, and skins, the Nokhen trade raw materials from their mines and quarries, such as saltpeter, granite, iron, and silver. This has made Dussleholm a strategic asset for both the Silver Order, who values the silver for fighting the blood plagued, and Casperia, who values everything else.
Outlying Communities
In addition to the better-known townships, there are a number of smaller villages dotting the entirety of the outlands. Over the years, most villages were eventually either overcome by blood-plagued creatures or abandoned for better protection in larger townships or cities. However, a number of villages have managed to survive on their own, sometimes in complete isolation. Some villages are as small as a one or two-family compound that has been lucky enough not to attract the attention of too many plague zombies over the years. Other villages began simply as bands of wandering survivors that decided to hunker down and build some defenses around their encampment.
Due to their isolation, many villages, as the Silver Guard has discovered, have begun to suffer from the effects of inbreeding. In addition, the isolation has led to each village or community developing its own particular way of life. For example, there are some small villages that are reasonably governed by a town council or elders, but follow a way of polygamy or other non-traditional familial structure. There are also a number of villages that have become havens for apocalyptic cults. Some of these cults try to export their views in an attempt to extend their influence and power, whereas others believe they are the sole remaining untainted people on the face of Ferron and keep out all others, including the Silver Order, for fear of becoming impure. Even worse, some villages have devolved into debauchery or violence governed by ruffians who want nothing more than to be kings of their own personal dunghills.
Normally, the Silver Guard stays out of the internal affairs of a village, unless they are invited in to handle a particular situation. However, in rare cases, the order has been known to enter a village uninvited and remove persons for their own safety or the safety of the village. Regardless of the circumstances, including a village’s refusal to relocate to a safer township or city, the Silver Order sees each village as their responsibility to defend, not govern.
The Outlands
The official story from the Silver Order is that the outlands are full of danger because of the roving plague zombies that could kill travelers and spread the blood plague. While true, it isn’t the complete story. In addition to all the townships and villages, there are bands of roving nomads and brigands who consider the outlands home. The order refers to them as outlanders and does their best to guard villages and caravans from their pillaging. Why anyone would wish to live such a life of open danger in the outlands is lost on the Silver Order, even if they are mostly of Jovaran descent. As a result, most are suspected to be criminals or misfits who simply want to take advantage of the misfortune of others. The order also suspects that some of these bands have bases within a village or township somewhere, meaning some villages could be using these bands to prey on other villages.
These bands have been known to clash with each other over resources on occasion, but more often they square off against the Silver Guard in an attempt to raid the caravans the guard escorts through the outlands. Even if the Silver Guard weren’t protecting valuable resources, outlanders often consider the guardsmen agents of a totalitarian regime that make for nothing more than good target practice or a bit of sport. On the other hand, many outlanders have a sense of respect for the Silver Knights and sometimes treat them as brethren, much to the Silver Guard’s chagrin. This could be because the knights are in many ways outlanders themselves, outcasts and misfits living a nomadic life and surviving within a dangerous land. It could also be because outlanders generally respect those who can hold their own in a fight, which the Silver Knights have demonstrated countless times, in some cases while saving the outlanders from the blood plagued creatures that rove the outlands. Whatever the reason, outlanders will generally respect a knight squad by letting them travel by unmolested. Occasionally, some bands even invite knights into their camps for a little evening of revelry.
Remnants of the Elves
There are two tribes of elves that originate in Hauther, the Krendiri and the Errow. Like the human tribes, no one is quite sure how these tribes or their their names sprang into being. What is generally accepted is that the elves and humans have lived together in Hauther for as far back as anyone can recall. See Chapter 2 for more information on the traits and characteristics of elves from each tribe.
The Krendiri
The Krendiri originated in the northwest of Hauther in what the humans call the Northern Woodlands. Historical texts reveal that before the days of the Thyrellan empire, relations between the Krendiri and nearby humans were generally amicable. That changed when King Gaedan I set his sight on conquering Hauther. First he coveted the vast natural resources of the Northern Woodlands, which lied just north of Thyrell. To gain access to its wealth, King Gaedan I bred unwarranted fear of the Krendiri within the human populace of Rhoendir, which lied on the opposite side of the Northern Woodlands from Thyrell. Until then, Rhoendir had neutral, if not friendly, relations with the Krendiri, but Gaedan I’s manipulation eventually spurred a confrontation between Rhoendir and the Krendiri. Claiming to come to the aid of their brethren, Thyrell sent its forces to Rhoendir, and then eventually led a full-fledged campaign to eradicate the Krendiri from the woodlands. The wood elves were forced to leave the woodlands and make their way to their brethren across the treacherous straits between Hauther and the continent of Panjir to the north.
The Errow
The Errow originally lived in the grassy plains that ran from just south of Thyrell all the way to the Great Tamerian Fjord. The Errow once consisted of many separate tribes of hunter-gatherers, and like their Krendiri brethren north of Thyrell, they were generally peaceful, never confronting humans or dwarves unless necessary. However, when the Errow were confronted with Thyrell’s imperialistic ambitions, they weren’t nearly as fortunate as their woodland brethren to the north.
Once Gaedan I consolidated his power in the Northern Woodlands, he turned his army to the south to claim the rich and expansive arable plains the Errow called home. When the Thyrellan army came marching through, the Errow were at a disadvantage in terms of both technology and fighting tactics. The Errow relied on stone or bone weapons and the fighting tactics they developed for hunting herd animals. Consequently, they were no match for Thyrell’s better equipped and highly sophisticated army. During the campaign, Prince Gaedan II, in charge of his father troops, demonstrated his ruthlessness by conducting a campaign of genocide against the Errow. He ordered his troops to slaughter every single Errow on their march to the Great Tamerian Fjord. It wasn’t until a last-minute act of mercy by his subordinating officers that the remaining Errow survived at all, instead being taken as slaves to build a bridge across the great fjord.
Today what little remains of the Errow is scattered across Hauther. There are stories of a resurgence of Errow tribes in the southern swamplands where the Hudu once lived, but because the swamplands lie beyond parts of the plague lands, there is little chance for humans to verify such tales. Consequently, most Errow are believed to live in human settlements, usually working as laborers or servants. Despite the fact that they are just as intelligent and capable as any human, many Errow live under the burden of human ignorance portraying them as no more than simpletons just out of the plains. Naturally, such attitudes burn away at every Errow elf daily, but there isn’t much that will change this way thinking since there are so few of them living among so many humans. The Errow that live amongst the humans have tales of their own about some who run off to live with the dwarves or to find the so-called lost tribes in the southern swamplands. However, no one has ever been known to actually accomplish such a journey.
Bastions of the Dwarves
Historical tomes suggest that the principle races have inhabited Hauther for roughly the same amount of time after the disappearance of the Ancients. Yet, if asked how long their clans have been in the Hirols, a Nokh would probably mumble something about before even the Ancients walked the surface of Hauther and then rebuke the questioner for wasting his time with such a foolish question. It’s understandable why the Nokhen may believe they’ve inhabited Hauther longer than any other race; their cities are probably the grandest and oldest of the three races. However, this isn’t necessarily because they were built so long before the other races “arrived” but because their cities haven’t suffered from recurrent destruction over the centuries like human and elven cities. Indeed, the Nokhen can boast to having fared the best among the three principle races in Hauther simply by virtue of being well fortified in the mountains running the length of the Hirols and obstinately avoiding the affairs of the other races. From their vantage, the Nokh dwarves watched the humans and elves suffer under their own misdeeds for centuries and then later from the blood plague, all the while living in relative stability and security.
The Clan Fortresses
Each of the seven clans have their own city fortress that is unique in build and architectural style. In the beginning, they were simply shelters for the clans against the harsh mountain winters, but as each clan increased in size and wealth, they expanded their shelters into mountain cities and then fortresses. Although the Nokhen are famous for their stone craft and deep mines, they are not subterranean dwellers, at least not to the extent humans and elves typically think. Their cities do have grand halls and structures built deep into the mountain sides, but like humans and elves, dwarves fare best near or on the surface. In fact, one clan, the Gerulekh, scarcely dig into the earth or carve into the rock. Instead they live as herders and trainers of the droves of strohm, a breed of bighorn sheep whose rams are large enough to be ridden as mounts by a dwarf. Nokh “ryttaren strohmen,” or strohm riders in Hautherian, can be seen all across the Hirols, for they serve as the calvary and watchmen for each Nokh clan.
Boronekh and the Nokh Lowlands
Before the Thyrellan empire, each clan controlled a portion of lowlands near their fortress cities along the Hirols. When Thyrell went on their march of conquest across Hauther, the Nokh Clansmeet decided not to get involved and withdrew to their ancestral homes in the Hirols, leaving the lowland cities and the cohabiting humans undefended. As a result, when the Thyrellan army arrived, most cities readily surrendered and swore allegiance to Thyrell. When the Revenarum came, all but one, Dussleholm, were overwhelmed by the blood-plagued or abandoned.
Recently, the Nokh Clansmeet has been considering proposals to purge the lowland cities of blood-plagued creatures and retake them so that the dwarves could begin reaping the much-needed resources they had given up when the Thyrellans first arrived. However, that would have left Boronekh, the original ruling clan of Dussleholm, with no lowlands to reclaim since the humans have kept it as their own. In a unilateral move that risked angering the Clansmeet, Boronekh sent envoys to Dussleholm, which eventually led to opening trade with the Humans. Despite breaking a preexisting decree that no diplomatic gestures were to be made to humans without Clansmeet approval, Boronekh hasn’t received any censure or backlash for its move. In fact, the other clans are privately pleased to reap the benefits of incoming trade without having to make diplomatic contact of their own with the Humans. As a result, Boronekh is becoming to the Nokh clans what Dussleholm has become for Hautherians.
The Silver Order
Unlike Casperia, Dussleholm, or the countless communities dotting the outlands, the Silver Order is not an independent state, rather an independent military composed primarily of humans. Because of its size and mission, however, it functions similar to a nation, or at least the military of one. Therefore, it is important to mention.
The Two Arms of the Order
In its present incarnation, the order is divided into two arms. The order’s regulars, known as the Silver Guard, patrol the outlands and watch for threats coming from the plague lands. They typically dispatch small groups of roving plague zombies easily, and if they encounter something tougher, they readily send for reinforcements from one of the strongholds they maintain throughout the outlands. The Silver Guard also operates a courier division that has become the only reliable means of communication between isolated settlements on land. In areas where they have better numbers, the guard escorts small caravans, which brings much needed trade and supplies to settlements without access to sea ports.
The second arm of the order, the Silver Knights, are most often encountered in small bands throughout the outlands. Their ongoing mission is manyfold, but primarily, the Silver Knights scout into the plague lands where they locate, observe, and counter the build-up of any blood-plagued forces. While there, the knights search for clues as to the whereabouts of the Revenarum because the horsemen haven’t resurfaced since the early days of the Plague War when the Silver Knights slew seven of them.
In addition to their combatant role, the Silver Knights are tasked as investigators. They seek to uncover secrets of the Ancients in the hope of finding something to counter the Revenarum and bring an end to the blood plague. Therefore, when the Silver Guard encounters something unknown, such as newly discovered ruins or artifacts in the outlands, the Silver Knights are summoned to investigate. Also, if the Silver Guard hears word of something unexplained, such as the mysterious disappearances of citizens within a remote community, the Silver Knights are called in to find an answer.
Occasionally, the Silver Knights have been called upon to conduct an investigation or perform some important diplomatic task within the confines of major city, such as Casperia, but such operations are rare because a knight’s unique abilities are always needed on the front lines. Moreover, the longer citizens are exposed to a Silver Knight, the more they become aware of the supernatural qualities the knights posses and, more importantly, their dark source.
Thule, The Heart of the Order
Sometime during the Plague War, the Silver Order established a temporary headquarters in Thule, an unfinished city the Thyrellans had begun building before the war to be used as a secondary capital and a means of enforcing its authority on the eastern side of the Hirols. Once the Plague War wound down, the Silver Order initially had plans to relocate its headquarters to Casperia. However, with the fallout from their disastrous population inoculation campaign soon after the Plague War, the Silver Order was forced to abandon their plans and remain in Thule.
It turns out that keeping their headquarters in Thule was probably for the best. The Thyrellans had cleared and leveled the entire city before building it, but had only completed a couple of the key government buildings in the city’s center before the war broke out. This provided plenty of prepared land for the Silver Order to establish barracks and later farmlands for its troops. Although the crop production isn’t enough to supply the entire organization, it does give the order a buffer against frequent drops in supplies donated by Casperia and other settlements. Also, Thule provides the order with a private location in which to conduct its affairs, particularly its furtive operations, such as producing and guarding the alchemical mixtures used to inoculate guardsman and create the Silver Knights.
The Revenarum
The most common explanation for the arrival of the Revenarum is that Argus Cainon summoned them into being. However, the truth is no one knows any details of the ritual itself. None of the darcanic lore the Silver Order secured from the cabalists in the early days of the Plague War revealed anything similar to what Cainon seemed to have accomplished, so no one knows if the Revenarum were summoned, created, awakened, or something else. There are many theories as to what the Revenarum truly are, including malign spirits or demons pulled from the aether, magical creatures created by the Ancients to use as weapons against their enemies, or even the Ancients themselves infected by their own creation, the blood plague. However, none of these theories can claim any more validity than any other.
Tales of the Horsemen
There are various accounts of the Revenarum, each disturbing in its own way. They are commonly described as otherworldly horsemen wearing black cloaks and riding black steeds, and wherever they went, a powerful feeling of dread surrounded them as if they were the very incarnate of death. However, the tales typically differ beyond that. Each horseman seems to have a favored weapon and armor type, but more notably, each seems to wield darcana with different effects. For instance, the first of the seven horseman vanquished, simply dubbed the First Horseman, was said to drip blood wherever he stepped, and whenever he swung his flail, blood spattered all around, burning flesh like acid and infecting recipients. Further, tales describe that the First Horseman was able to draw out all of a man’s blood in a matter of seconds from ten paces away. On the other hand, the Fourth Horseman has been described as stinking of rotting flesh, and wherever she walked, plants and small animals would die and instantly decompose. Moreover, when the Fourth Horseman struck a man with her sword or even touched a man, his flesh would instantly putrefy.
Even more disturbing is the manner in which the Revenarum died. No normal man has ever been able to fight a horseman and survive to tell the tale, let alone vanquish one. In each battle where a horseman was vanquished, it took dozens of Silver Knights working together to wear down and defeat it, and even then, most didn’t survive the encounter. Not only are the Revenarum powerful in battle, but upon death, they erupt in a blast of darcanic energy. Anyone caught in the area are bathed in darcana and subject to it’s effects, which usually resulted in death. For instance, when the Fourth Horseman was vanquished, all but two in the blast effect died as their bodies instantly putrified. The effects of those battles are rumored to exist even until today, meaning that across the plague lands, there are seven zones where the blast effects can still be felt.
Presently, the Revenarum seem to be in hiding. In the beginning, there were thirteen Revenarum, a number that hasn’t gone unnoticed as the same number of partakers in the Cainon’s ritual to summon them. Another peculiar coincidence is the number of Revenarum remaining today. Before the advent of the Silver Order or the start of the Plague War, the Thyrellan Guard hunted down and slew seven of Cainon’s cabalists before the Revenarum apparently wrested themselves free from their servitude and slew their masters. This is the same number of Revenarum that were slain by the Silver Knights before they withdrew their assault upon humanity. How or if this coincidence has any correlation today is a mystery, but it is something the Silver Order is keen to uncover.
Blood-Plagued Creatures
Plague zombies are the most common blood-plagued creatures encountered nowadays. They usually inhabit the outlands, making travel there a risky prospect. Fortunately, the Silver Guard, the order’s regulars who are supernaturally resistant to the blood plague, patrol the outlands and are capable of dispatching any plague zombies roving toward civilization. However, there are more dangerous creatures than plague zombies out there, particularly the closer to the plague lands one travels. That’s why the Silver Knights, the order’s special forces, are needed, for only they have the skill and the strength to defeat such creatures.
During the worst of the Plague War, the Revenarum were known to reshape and twist blood-plagued victims into other forms more monstrous than plague zombies, each with its own supernatural powers and purpose. Some tales recount nightmarish creatures over ten feet tall, clad in armor plates anchored into their bones and flesh, and wielding barbed weapons at the end of each arm. Other tales describe encounters with bloated creatures that spewed infected blood into the faces of its enemies or burst when struck, aerating infected blood in sickening dark red clouds across the battlefield. A few tales claim that some of the blood plagued even wielded darcana, though most commoners refuse to believe such tales could be true because it is well known that magic takes a keen mind to manipulate, something blood-plagued victims seem to lack. Regardless, if not for the advent of the Silver Knights to counter such nightmares, Hauther would have been lost.
For unknown reasons, such creatures haven’t made their way out of the plague lands and toward civilization in decades, making them seem more like folktales than reality. However, the Silver Knights know that not only do such monstrosities exist, there is also much worse out there to fear. They also know that if they fail in their task of stopping even one such creature from reaching civilization, a whole community could perish or become blood-plagued minions of the Revenarum.
The Ancients
Though technically no longer residents of Ferron, the legacy of the Ancients is lasting enough to warrant mentioning. The Ancients were a powerful race of beings who existed and disappeared long before the accounting of humans, elves, or dwarves. No definitive evidence has ever been uncovered to adequately answer who the Ancients were, when their civilization existed, and why they disappeared, yet scholars and archaeologists debate endlessly over evidence and speculations. One contentious theory is that the Ancients succumbed to some cataclysmic event, the epicenter of which was at the Isle of Marr, but even mentioning the theory in some academic circles inevitably leads to heated debates and unseemly character attacks. Whoever the Ancients were, their legacy is most apparent upon Ferron in the form of the magic lore and the structures they left behind.
Ancient Magic
It is universally accepted that the fundamental knowledge of magic and its manipulation came from the remnants of Ancient knowledge the tribes uncovered over the centuries. Without exception, there have been those who have claimed to push the envelope of magic lore in new directions, only to have such knowledge uncovered in an Ancient text or ruin later. With this Ancient legacy so prevalent, it is no wonder that magic is embedded in societies across Ferron. Regardless, it is commonly agreed upon that only a fraction of magic lore the Ancients once possessed has been uncovered.
Tales of Ancient magic often describe cities of unimaginable beauty that was only possible through the use of magic. Buildings were said to have been erected and even held up by the powerful magical forces the Ancients had at their disposal, and floating cities of light were said to have adorned the heavens. Magic powered everything in the Ancient world, from simple lamps to portals across the world. Supposedly, magic had become so embedded in the fabric of their lives that it became innate for the Ancients. Whether true or not, such tales are a far cry from the reality of magic in Ferron today.
Ancient Structures
Like every other continent, Hauther is dotted with the ruins of this once powerful and mysterious people. So common are Ancient ruins that they go mostly unnoticed. In fact, over the years, such ruins have often become either the foundations or quarries for other structures and cities. Some builders even prefer using Ancient stonework in their structures, most often because of the quality of the stones, but sometimes because of the mystical value they are thought to possess. As a result, it is common to see Ancient stones used as the cornerstones of structures built by wealthy nobles across Ferron.
In Hauther, the most well-known ruin attributed to the Ancients is what many believe what used to be a lighthouse on Kethra Isle, an island that is part of the barrier island chain east of Casperia. The island was initially used as a base of operations by the Thyrellan navy during the sacking of Casperia. However, within a week of setting up a headquarters on the island, the Thyrellans departed without apparent cause. Many believe the isle is haunted by the spirits of the Ancients, while others believe the isle contains a source of dark magical power that drives people mad. Every expedition that has ever been sent to the isle has been met with one ill fate or another, supporting the notion that the isle is cursed.
Another less-known site in Hauther attributed to the Ancients is even more mysterious. Located a few miles out to sea from the mouth of the Great Tamerian Fjord, the Isle of Marr is rumored to have giant stone busts facing the sea along its perimeter. Only a few accounts of visits to the isle exist, lending to its mystery. However, it is rumored that the early Thyrellans were able to mount one or more successful expeditions to the isle and study whatever ruins existed, possibly explaining why Thyrellan wizards, including Argus Cainon in particular, grew so powerful with magic so quickly in comparison to the other tribes.
Minor Inhabitants
As mentioned before, Hauther is inhabited by other creatures of all kinds. Dubbing them “minor” isn’t a judgment of their worthiness as beings so much as an assessment of the roles they have played in bringing Hauther to its present circumstance. Attempting to catalog every creature here, however, isn’t practical. Instead, it is better to explain that during Ancient times, Ferron was teeming with such creatures. However, over the centuries after the Ancients disappeared, the populations of these creatures has waned, and many have seemingly gone extinct. For example, descriptions of griffons, dragons, sphinx, giants, and more can be found in tales of the Ancients, yet there seem to be no such creatures in Ferron today.
Currently, Hauther is home to creatures commonly found across Ferron, usually with characteristics specific to the region. Such creatures include the sylvan folk (e.g. dryads, faeries, pixies, brownies, gnomes, goblins, satyrs), cave dwellers (e.g. trolls, troglodytes, kobolds), water/sea folk (e.g. mermaids, fishmen), and beasts (e.g. alpha/giant animals and insects, unicorns, perytons, salamanders, wyverns). Legends of unique inhabitants are also common in Hauther, just as they are across Ferron, but they are usually the boogeymen in tales of morality, such as doppelgängers, night hags, or medusae. Many storytellers claim, however, that such creatures had to have existed for such tales to have been made about them.
With the advent of the Revenarum and the blood plague, there is no telling what has happened to such creatures. The sightings of many formerly common creatures has decreased significantly over the years of the blood plague. Whether this is because the blood plague has snuffed out their populations or they have somehow retreated into hiding is anyone’s guess. There are reports of some creatures in the outlands, such as wolves, having been infected by the blood plague, but such infection, inexplicably, seems rare.