These harsh, cold lands are where the original Rukaan originated. Spanning from inhospitable icy tundra to swampy taiga, life here is hard but by no means impossible. The tundra offers only scattered trees for shelter, but the taiga houses pine, spruce and larch forests. Most wild Rukaan whose forebearers were never tamed reside here in the same lands as their ancient ancestors. 

Cultural Importance

The area is home to some human populations, which are mostly nomadic, as well as some dwarven strongholds which are mostly underground. Both respect the wild Rukaan as spiritually important creatures and allow them to roam freely and undisturbed. Tame Rukaan are also kept here and highly respected and honored for their choice to work with their handlers. Tame Rukaan here are typically allowed to roam free and migrate for portions of the year.

Wild Rukaan who live in other parts of Midgard will often make the migration, either once in their lifetime or yearly, to see the Ancestral Lands and commune with the spirits there.

Tucked deep inside the Rukaan Ancestral Lands is a secret forest, hidden from outsiders. This forest is kept green and lush by some ancient magic despite the frigid climate in the rest of the region. Many large rune stones are found here carved into weathered rock. Some are prophesies, some are signposts and some have had their meaning lost to the passage of time.  

Cultural Importance

The area is the very heart of Rukaan rune magic. Some say that all magic flows from here, and that Rukaan who do not visit this land at least once will never unlock their full magical potential. 

Sacred to all Rukaan, only the most trusted bonded handlers would ever be allowed to know of this place. Those who stumble upon it with less than pure intentions tend to mysteriously lose their memories as soon as they leave it. 

A sprawling and scenic city built in the middle of the plains at the confluence of two rivers. A pleasing mesh of human, elven and dwarven architecture. Originating as a Rukaan training ground and trading hub, there are plenty of green spaces, large stables and open fields scattered throughout the city.

The city is a hub of trade and it is common to see citizens of all races here. It is home to the premier Rukaan Training Academy and the grandest elven-built championship arena and auction house in Midgard.

Cultural Importance

Originating as a human Rukaan trading post due to the river routes, elves quickly realized the potential of the breed and began investing in the area. Where the elves invested the finest dwarven builders followed and merchants of all races were not far behind.

The city is welcoming of visitors of all races (assuming you don't intend any trouble and have coin to spend) and is the universally acknowledged premier center for trading and training of tame Rukaan, as well as artisans and merchants for items such as tack and armor.

An agricultural area in the Merilian plains upriver of Merilian City, Barsett is a large and wealthy area that provides food for most of the neighboring region. They reap the benefits of the Merilian River floodplain which make the soil rich and protect it from drought. 

Cultural Importance

Barsett Rukaan are known for being big and strong and best suited for pulling carts, ploughs or wagons. Residents are also known for training mounts for skirmishers who protect their fields from thieves and hungry wildlife. These mounts often fetch a premium price at the Merilian City livestock sales.

Though they’re very dependent on their neighbors for trade, they retain a distrust for outsiders and are almost exclusively a human settlement. They charge a toll for anyone bringing goods downriver to Merilian City markets, which can cause friction with their neighbors. Their skepticism of elves and dwarves keeps them on distant terms with Merilian City, with whom they historically have many ties.

Because of the beneficial presence of the river, this area has been occupied by various civilizations stretching back beyond written history. It isn’t uncommon for farmers to till their fields and uncover ancient carvings or massive statues or buried ruins just under the soil. As they’ve learned, the safest thing is to treat these discoveries with respect and leave them alone; the planting can be done elsewhere and no one wants to buy a cursed crop.

A small human settlement in the steep wooded hills just downriver of Vagoroth and upriver of Barsett. Their main industries are lumberyards and orchards, and they are known for spectacular autumn displays when the trees change color. Though rich in resources, the woods are prone to sudden and deadly flash floods during the spring rains and only those who feel a deep tie to the land live here permanently. Predicting the storms is vital, and the people here lend great credence to omens and casting lots. 

Local buildings are typically made of stout rustic roughhewn wood and are often built on stilts. The craftsman here combine Vagoroth metalwork with their own carpentry to create wagons, river cargo ships and farming tools for trade with neighboring areas.

Cultural Importance

Timbervale breeds tame Rukaan for their surefootedness over hilly and densely wooded terrain, but is also home to a large number of wild Rukaan bands. Seeing a wild white doe here is said to bring peace to the uneasy spirit, and seeing a wild red stag in autumn is said to bring good luck to the ambitious.

Timbervale is the host of the annual Fallfeast celebration which is known across the region. They often get visitors from miles around to join the festivities and see the beauty of the fall foliage (at least, they do when they aren’t picking fights with their neighbors).

The rocky hills of Vagoroth are home to an ancient and densely built dwarven fortress. It looks like a squat stone fortification from the outside, and in fact it extends far underground. It was built as a mining colony, but most of the closest mineral veins have played out and the dwarves have instead built their homes and businesses inside the empty excavated spaces. Ores are brought in from nearby active mines, and Vagoroth itself is mainly a space for bronzesmiths and artisans to make goods to sell in Merilian City and teach their craft to younger generations. Outsiders are rarely welcomed inside the fortress itself, but young dwarves often explore the poorly mapped abandoned mineshafts. You never know when you’ll stumble across a forgotten treasury or artifact of dwarven civilizations long past in the depths, or even a dragon's nest.

Cultural Importance

The dwarves are known for favoring short, strong Rukaan with small or no antlers to help haul goods in and out of the mineshafts. These Rukaan are hard workers but extremely stubborn, and the dwarves here tend to trust their Rukaan's judgment if they feel a mine has become too dangerous to traverse.

In earlier days, the mines were known for leaking acrid waste into the Merilian river, causing conflict with their neighbors downstream. These days the dwarven city is on better terms with their neighbors as they’ve cleaned up their operations and become more dependent on trade.

The mighty volcano Eldfell towers above a barren desert of coarse black volcanic sand. The volcano’s poisonous fumes and occasional choking ashfall prevent any sort of plant or animal life from establishing here. The desert is vast enough to prevent regular travel between the regions to either side of it, but it is not insurmountable to those who know the way through. Most days the volcano sleeps, but it is never safe to assume that it won’t wake up in a lava-gushing rage. The skies are usually a dark grey or red from being choked with ash. 

Cultural Importance

Not a place Rukaan often come without good reason. The only food and water here are what you bring with you. It is unwise for a Rukaan to venture through these lands unless they have a handler or a herdmate who have traveled this way before and know how to get across as quickly as possible.

The lava tubes beneath the volcano are a dwarven outpost. It is a horribly desolate place and no one lives here permanently, but some young dwarves have been known to risk the hazardous conditions for the glory of the natural forges and the wealth of ore veins and natural mineral deposits beneath the belching mountain. It is a place they may come to prove themselves or make their fortune, though many return home with nothing but burns and smoke sickness or don’t return home at all.

The rocky sand-dune desert is dry and unforgiving but there is life for those who know where to look. Most plant and animal life is inconspicuous, hiding away from the punishing sun under rocks and in dens and burrows. Succulents and arid-adapted reptiles are common here, as are the desert cats that prey on them. Massive sandstone monuments are scattered around, carved either by the wind or ancient Tomtenissar settlers.

The Oasis is the midpoint of the desert. A cool, clear lake surrounded by verdant growth, it is fed by underground springs. Travelers who become lost and miss the Oasis don’t always find their way out of the desert before dying of thirst. Just be wary of the predators who like to lie in wait for travelers to take advantage of the water hole.

Cultural Importance

Most Rukaan here are tame individuals belonging to merchants and traders. Though the path is difficult, the location is key to get from one bustling city to another and with the Oasis this remains the most profitable path. Wild Rukaan found here are the descendants of tame Rukaan who became separated from their handlers and they tend to be a bit odd in their habits.

There is a small Tomtenissar village here dug into the side of an exposed cliff not far from the Oasis. They are known to join bands of travelers or traders passing through the area and accompany them to their destinations where they often ultimately take up residence.

Through the heatwaves appears an oddly placed stone lighthouse. Grey and black against a sand-and-pebble shore framed with steep, sharp rocks. The sound of fiercely crashing waves and overly eager gulls rise up from the edge of this sloped cliff. Hidden just down the side is a cluster of recently-patched abandoned buildings with wooden roofs and stone walls, and a foot-carved path just wide enough for a brave Rukaan to traverse.

Despite the recent repairs, it's clear that this place had been abandoned for a long while. The dead leaves and crumbling walls of an attempted garden came to light behind one of the smaller buildings. The saltwater and lack of shade have dried out whatever greenery dared to grow there. Realization dawns as the old, gutted, wooden barn pressed into the side of a sheared boulder rattles what remains of its doors. This was the old camp for the outlaws. 

Cultural Importance

At one point this small peninsula off the Vaeril desert housed a fishing village and meager port managed by many races in its prime. Rukaan brought supplies or would travel the footpaths down the cliffs for a refreshing dip in the cool waters while the ocean was calm. Dwarves would harvest the salts and humans would fish, elves found a secret to producing crops in the sparse soils and half-children could find peace here. It’s uncertain why this village emptied after some time, but clear that the desert has taken over the area since then.

In the recent past, it became an outpost for farmers who turned to a life of crime when the everlasting winter proved to be too rough for their crops. They settled in for a while and eventually were drawn out by the Merilian authorities to pay for their crimes. Unfortunately, that left this place to be abandoned for a second time, making it feel just as empty as it had before, though its location makes it a likely temporary refuge for those seeking shelter against storms rolling in off the ocean. 

The Howling mountain range is a hostile place, full of sharp peaks and treacherous cliffs. The mountain range reaches far into the sky with most of the range well above the treeline. Wild Rukaan live in the pine forests of the foothills of these mountains but rarely venture beyond the safety of the tree cover. These mountains often face harsh winds, heavy snowfall and sudden blizzards. The Blizzard peaks are among the tallest around, and the mountains are still growing.

The range forms a barrier between Yggdrasil and the rest of Midgard. Those wishing to visit the world tree must first cross the desolate peaks.

Cultural Importance

The Howling Range is home to a remote group of trolls. They tend their mountain sheep and Rukaan quietly in the forests of the foothills and prefer to be left undisturbed. They chose to make their home in such a harsh location to avoid unwanted visitors so expect a hostile reception if you come across them. 

Within the Howling Range, between the Blizzard Peaks, there's a clearing which can only be accessed when the highest mountain passes melt back in the summer months. Immediately it is clear that this is not a place to be. The snow is packed and even gone from most of the clearing. The center scorched from consistently lit bonfires that billowed thick plumes of smoke. Between the trees, previously unnoticed decorations make themselves known. Strings of massive bones beaded together in an oddly artistic way tangled high around the trunks of almost half of the trees. They click and rattle in the howling wind. Some are even wrapped around tall boulders that couldn’t have naturally fallen where they stand.

These boulders were painted in dyes and stains; thick swirling patterns as wide as a human’s hand and far taller than anything an elf could reach. Centered between these stones and crowned with a special banding of seemingly carefully picked bones was an enormous redwood, far from its home in the Twilight Forest. Uprooted trees are tilted against it and tied to one another like an upside-down fan, and in front of it there is a large stone table... or maybe it is a seat? A thick bed of moss had covered portions of it and crept around the edges of the clearing.

Cultural Importance

The Rukaan often seen here are considered wild, or at least half-tamed by the trolls that live nearby. Not once has a poacher come to this place to claim a prized Rukaan; the trolls make sure of it.

The stomping grounds are usually seen as a place for the rare moot and gatherings of trolls who feel comfortable enough to meet and exchange goods. They display their skills and their most prized members of their flock or herd, and trade services or even livestock to keep their animal’s bloodline varied. It is said at one point an elvish leader joined one of these gatherings and offered a redwood sapling as a trade for a potion from the trolls. It is considered to be one of the most successful trades between a troll and a smaller being of another race.

Some nights you can feel the thump of gathered trolls miles away from the stomping grounds. Try not to cross the blizzard peaks on those nights!

The volumous ice masses nestled between the Blizzard Peaks are known as the Starglint Glaciers. These massive, slow moving ice formations reach their yearly peak size in late winter. Underneath lie several hot springs which melt pockets of ice, leaving ice caverns under the glacier’s surface if you can reach them. The ice can be truly dazzling when the sun shines on them, and are often a vivid blue from within. Because they are constantly melting and refreezing the caverns and caves never look the same, and the ways in and out are also ephemeral. In winter the caverns may serve as a temporary refuge for those trying to escape the brutal winds of the Blizzard Peaks but there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to find a way in (or, if you stay too long, a way out). 

Cultural Importance

Because this place is far from the beaten path and even further from a reliable source of food, Rukaan generally only come this way when brought here by a rider making the journey. Wild Rukaan are rarely seen here without good reason.

Though the trolls that live in the mountains don't tend to seek the ice caverns out, other locals view the place as having a spiritual significance and may seek the hot pools in hopes of having visions of the future or healing the ill. 

Because this is a refuge of last resort for those attempting to escape the elements, it has become known as a spot for treasure hunters to come and collect the effects of late adventurers who made it here but failed to find a way out.

Ancient, towering redwoods fade into the mists as their canopies stretch upward and out of sight. The forest muffles all sound, leaving nothing but birdsong to be heard for miles. This is a timeless place of tranquility in which one may commune with nature. Few predators are found here and local wildlife seems to have taken up a slow and relaxed pace of living. The climate is constant, cloudy and temperate with no discernible seasons but a frequent misting rain.

The very keen eyed or knowledgeable may be able to pick out structures woven by elves out of the trees, usually far above the forest floor. Rather than be so garish as to cut down a tree for wood, they have simply grown the trees into the elaborate and graceful shapes they desire. The time it takes to shape a tree is nothing to an elf, after all.

Cultural Importance

The Rukaan found here are those domesticated by the Elves or those who choose to ally themselves with the elegant race.

The forest is well known to be elven territory but it is not densely populated. Though the land is desirable to the elves in its beauty and timeless tranquility, too much of the daylight is shrouded in mist for them to make this their stronghold. It is possible to travel through without ever meeting an elf or glimpsing one of their cleverly concealed structures.

The world tree. Yggdrasil is massive and magical and storied. The scale is simply unimaginable, and yet the old stories say she is only a fragment of the whole; a single branch extending into Midgard of a larger tree that spans the Nine Realms.

Cultural Importance

Yggdrasil is the stuff of myth and legends, the sort of thing that tends to distort time and reality around itself. Rukaan have a profound reverence for this tree and the mythic beings that can sometimes be found in and around it. Rare and magical artifacts can be found in her branches and roots, but at the risk of getting lost in branches and pathways that literally span the universe. For now the earthy Rukaan have forgotten how to traverse her branches to other worlds, but remember a day when there were guides who would travel these pathways.

The rainbow road across the sky, used by the gods to traverse from their heavenly realms to Midgard.

Cultural Importance

As Yggdrasil is the tree that branches between the earthly realms, Bifrost is the bridge that spans the gap between the heavenly ones. This place is thick with gods and their magic. Some Rukaan might be eager to explore the heavens, but think twice about whether the gods want you adventuring into their homes.

This world is a cold and harsh one dominated by winter winds and difficult to reach. Great stone cliffs and frozen waterfalls define this place and it is surrounded by high dark rock formations that are impassable on foot.  The sun doesn't rise for long here, and it is often dark as night. This is not a good place to come unprepared.

But it is not a completely barren place. Warmer areas are dominated by swamps and dark forests of ancient and eerie trees.  Rock formations, cliffs and waterfalls are common.  This land borders the ocean, which can at times be seen in the distance.  

Cultural Importance

Jotunheim is the realm of the Jotunn, peers to the gods of Asgard and often at war with them. It is isolated from other lands and sees few travelers. It appears to be mostly wilderness, but Jotun settlements are hidden here and there. Take care not to trespass unwittingly. It is best not to draw their attention, as they are not known for being welcoming.

A swamp tucked away within Jotunheim. It typically feels like twilight with only occasional beams of light reaching the ground. The footing here is treacherous and deceptive, and travelers often find themselves doubting reality if they spend too much time here. Even those with a keen sense of direction will struggle to navigate this place.

Cultural Importance

This corner of Jotunheim is less cold than some, so travelers who want to avoid freezing may seek shelter here without realizing the danger.

Be warned; when Trickster Loki is not residing at Asgard he lives here with his giantess wife and monstrous children. He created this place and populated it with illusions to confuse and deter visitors (or revenge-seeking victims of his planks) from being able to track him down. Don't trust anything you see or encounter here; especially the mushrooms.

Asgard is the home of the Norse gods, built at the peak of the tallest hill. As befits their lofty station, it is a high walled city filled with large mansions and great halls in the Nordic style.  You will find everything exceedingly grand and often covered in gold or shining; why would the gods allow anything less for their home?  The Aesir have high seats in a grand throne room to emphasize their importance to any guests who have been invited in. 

In the distance from the highest points in the city, beyond the walls you may see the golden grove Glasir, or the lush fields of Valhalla. The place is surrounded by bountiful gardens and an otherworldly feeling of prosperity.

Cultural Importance

Asgard is the home to the Aesir and often the Vanir. This place represents their power and glory and they will defend it fiercely.  They know they have little to fear from mortals, but still rarely invite visitors to their realm. To be able to visit is a great honor; take care not to offend anyone while you are there.

Hel is a realm of the human afterlife where some go after they pass. It is neither a punishment nor a reward for actions before death, but potentially a continuation of life or a stopping point before reincarnation. 

Like many points of Norse mythology, it is open to many versions or interpretations. Hel is sometimes pictured as an underworld realm, or a realm underneath another without necessarily being literally underground. It is perhaps most commonly imagined as either a ghostly, ethereal spirit realm or a similar but not-quite-the-same and not-quite-earthly version of the place where the humans lived before death, with the residents remaking the living world as they remember it or think it should be.

Cultural Importance

Ravens are important travelers here as they can move between the realms of the living and the dead. They are revered for their ability to pass messages across the divide; and so any Rukaan who are able to make the arduous trip may find themselves viewed in a similar light.