Theran

The humans of the north share a deep sense loss and despair. They were once the mightiest of human civilization but are now a fallen people. Having fallen to the emergent The Radiant Empire, they are isolated in their cold tomb.    Historically there is debate regarding the cultural similarities between the Therans and the Crowner people. While it is more likely the Crowner culture is an offshoot of Theran, Therans have a long recorded history which hardly ever mentions The Crowns until the last century of the First Kingdom.     Therans are deeply tied to their loyalty to their leaders (Jarls) and their Greater Stags. Harming, or consuming the flesh of a Greater Stag is deeply taboo and only even considered under the direst of circumstances. The legend of the origin this kinship to the stags is attributed to the belief that in ancient days the Therans hunted the stags to near extinction but mighty Hakkon Wintersbreath protected the stag and taught the Therans how to respect and use the stag to become mighty warriors.

Theran children are taught at a young age how to ride and use greater stags as mounts and beasts of burden. The final rite to be considered an adult is to mount and ride an untamed greater stag. After which point they form a deep bond with the animal. Recently, stag populations have increasingly come under the protection (ownership) of lords, making accessing the stags a challenge for commonfolk. Commoners have begun modifying this ritual into a more symbolic exercise. Mounting a carved wooden model of a stag or even stealing stags from rival lords.   For Therans living outside of the The Second Kingdom of Thera, the practice is even more abstracted. The coming of age ceremony involves reading old Theran scripture carved onto the antlers of a greater stag.

The harming or consumption of Greater Stags is considered one of the greatest taboos a Theran can make. No Theran would willingly or knowingly harm a stag. The consumption of a stag would only even be considered under the most dire of circumstances. Should a Theran consume the flesh of a stag and be caught, they are immediately exiled and referred ever after as a Kinslayer.

The Sorrow of the Elk and the Wisdom of Hakkon tells the story of how the Therans renounced the hunting of stags and their acceptance of Hakkon as their chief god.

The Second Kingdom of Thera  The Radiant Empire