The People of the Jorrain Valley/Background

From Create Your Own Story

The Landscape

Ranging from the untamed wilderness of the hillside forests to the gentle lowlands near the Jorrain River's banks, the Valley is as varied in its environs as it is with its people.
In the far north, the rocky hills dominate the horizon, serving as a barrier between the cozy innards of the valley and the harsh world outside. Vast deposits of metals and minerals can be found mere feet beneath the harsh surface of this unforgiving landscape. Wild goat and tough weeds are all that is to be found in the way of life here, crowding around the streams that gush forth from the hills. Many of the tribes regard this land as haunted and desolate, their shamans wandering here to meditate and commune with the dead.

Laying in the middle of the valley, and comprising the majority of its landscape, the Lowlands cling close to the banks of the Jorrain River, covered in thick layers of loamy grass and rich soil. Many of the tribes erect settlements here, straying a distance from the shores of the river for fear of floods. Game and woodland are plentiful here, amongst waterfowl and fish, making it truly a paradise for the beings of the earth.

In the south, the borderland forests rise towards the sun, blockading any unrestricted travel to a crawl, and insulating this precious valley even further. To attempt to cross it's vast expanse is insanity, and none have dared tried in the years they have lived here. The trees makes for good lumber, and the tribes commonly gather near it's fringes to do communal lumber chopping, splitting the bounty evenly. As the demand for more tinder and lumber has grown, the village leaders begin to eye the others' hill of wood greedily.

To the west, Lonepeak Mountain sits as a sole sentinel over the valley, watching over the inhabitants vigilantly for ages. The Jorrain River bubbles forth from the springs littering the mountain's face, bringing down nutrients and minerals with every storm and passing day. Shamans and villagers alike regard the mountains with a solemn respect reserved for a deity, and few dare to climb it's lonesome peak without due accord. The most precious copper, tin, and iron can be found in the veins here, but no man would dare mine on this sacred earth without fear of being struck down by the mountain.

Off to the east, the river widens and slows as it winds through lightly wooded areas gathering at its edges. Here the valley opens out into the world beyond, bothersome to get too. Not much can be said of this unexplored wilderness except that it is as vast as it is unknown.