BRUTE-MEN (Lands of the)
Location: Southern hemisphere of the continent of Iciria, north of Lake Menkor, south of the World Spine Mountains, east of the Sea of Rax. HW
Area: 49,883 sq. mi. (129,195 sq. km.).
Population: 200,000 living in clans of 10-60.
Languages: Ka-na-to (a.k.a. Brutish), Neathar.
Coinage: None (barter only).
Taxes: None.
Government Type: Independent clan groups led by chieftains with the support of shamans.
Industries: Hunting and gathering.
Important Figures: Na-Do (Chief of the Fang Cave Clan, male, brute-man, F9), Ug-rum (Shaman of the Fang Cave Clan, male, brute-man, S8).
Flora and Fauna: Grasses, coniferous trees, sheep, goats, rock baboons, bats, bears, carrion crawlers, mountain lions, smilodons, dinosaurs, dragons, giant lizards, mastodons, woolly mammoths, pterosaurs, purple worms, rats, giant scorpions, shadows, snakes, sphinxes, giant spiders, troglodytes, jackrabbits, armadillos.
Further Reading: Hollow World boxed set, previous almanacs.
Description by Theukidikies the Historian of Corisa.
The Brute-Men live in a wild and untamed region, but are themselves a gentle, even timorous people.
The Land
The lands of the Brute-Men are a hilly, untamed and untameable wilderness of stone and rock. Cool winds blow out of the nearby mountains, and the soil here is thin and unproductive at best. Many dinosaurs roam through the area, as well as other creatures large and small.
The People
Again, these are not people as such, they are beasts or brutes. They appear somewhat like humanity, but with heavy hair (almost like fur), sloping foreheads that give them an appearance of stupidity that belies their craftiness, and large jaws and mouths like an ape's. They dress in animal skin vests and loincloths, and speak a rough and barbarous language. They live as hunters and gatherers, simply and without any trace of civilisation. But they do have arts and an awareness of the Immortals, painting the caves and rock walls with simple but expressive motifs depicting hunts and honouring the Immortals.
The
Brute-Men are remarkably gentle and pacifistic, fighting only when threatened
or attacked. They live in caves, moving
occasionally if the hunting goes badly or the tribe grows too large. They follow the Immortal Ka-gar, but some
are said to follow a darker Immortal known as Tha-to. The shamans who act as priests of these Immortals can be very
powerful.