FARHOLD AND THE TEN TRIBES Where the upper reaches of the Maruto River fl ow through the Eastern forest, one culture is destroying another. For six centuries, the Ten Tribes of the Oak held this region. This confederation protected the forest at the behest of their god Elder Oak, one of the forest walkers. In return, Elder Oak protected them and the forest sustained them. The growing cities of the Scavenger Lands needed timber for construction. The Ten Tribes and Elder Oak drove back lumberjacks who ventured up the Maruto River. In time, however, explorers found a path around the tribes. They found tall, straight, strong hardwoods, including valuable stands of ironwood. Logging camps sent rafts of timber downstream. A hundred years ago, the settlers of Farhold cleared a circle of trees and turned their camp into a village. For a while, the Ten Tribes and their god felled Farholders faster than they felled trees. The loggers sued for peace and sent a Terrestrial sorcerer to nego- tiate with Elder Oak. They offered the forest walker a deal: fi elds for the new town and timber for their trading partners downstream, and a fi ne new temple for Elder Oak. And Elder Oak betrayed the Ten Tribes. The forest walker remembered civilization from the First Age, and the wealth an organized society brings to the altars of its gods—far more than a few tribes can offer. Why settle for a tribe, when he could have a city? Or even a nation, as in Halta? Elder Oak withdrew his protection and his gifts of power from the Ten Tribes’ shamans. He became the patron god of Farhold. The Tribes reeled from the shock. No longer could their shamans aid them against the loggers, let alone hostile elementals or other supernatural threats. Bows and blowguns were no match for Terrestrial sorcerers fl anked by steel-armored soldiers. Little by little, the circle around Farhold grew and the lands of the Ten Tribes shrank. THE FORSAKEN TRIBES Elder Oak’s betrayal shattered the tribal confedera- tion. All they ever had in common were their customs and Elder Oak. Bereft of their god, they sought some new meaning and plan for their lives.
