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Caith is the land in which we set our story, the land of Skara Brae. It is a land of stone-fenced fields, vast forests, windswept mountains and rocky shorelines at the northern end of a island in a northern sea. In Caith's lowlands live the Dael, ruddy, hardy farmers with a feudal society of knights, dukes and castles. In Caith's great northwestern forests live the Fichti, short, dark haired hunters and gatherers who keep to the older ways of tribe, clan and totem. On the shores and isles of Caith's rugged north east coast live the Einarr, descendants of Norn raiders, but now settled fishers, shepherds, and sailors. The three cultures don't mix very much, but they all think of Caith as their home, and occasionally, if the threat is great enough, they all come together to defend it.

Right now, I'd like to talk to you in detail about one of those cultures, the Fichti.

Relations with the Outside World

Although they understand they live in the land of Caith, the Fichti do not feel much kinship for the Dael or the Einarr, the other cultures who share that land. The Dael they think of as weak farmers, too civilized to survive alone in the wilderness. Still, there is little animosity between the two cultures unless some greedy Dael sneak into the woods to poach game or timber. Other than that, the Fichti are happy to trade furs for axeheads with their soft southern cousins, for the one thing they do like about the Dael is the strength and sharpness of their steel.

The Einarr are the Fichti's traditional enemies, going back to the days when Einarr longboats would glide onto the shores of the inner sea and Einarr raiders would sack Fichti villages and take captives and plunder. The Einarr don't raid anymore, but old grudges die hard, and no Fichti shakes hands with an Einarr without checking after to make sure all his fingers are still there.

The Fichti have no real relationship with the Dwarfs, who don't make a habit of roaming around the northern woods, but they are the race of men who have the closest relationship with the elves, though they still regard them as beings to be mistrusted. They honor the elves as the original rulers of the forests, but also believe they abandoned the world when it needed them most, and left it to men to save it from the Famhair. They also fear the elven habit of luring away Fichti men and women who appeal to them. At the same time, the elves have often helped the Fichti against the darker horrors of the forest, and have taught them much of magic and the land, so they are grateful for their kindness.

A Fichti saying that illustrates this conflicted relationship is, "Take elven wisdom, not elven wine." This refers to the belief that any advice freely given by an elf is safe to take, but any time food or drink or a bargain is offered, it is always a trap, and must be avoided at all costs, or the Fichti who made the deal, even if they didn't know a deal was being made, could end up as playthings for some elven lord or lady, trapped forever in the Realm of Coill.​