Navarr people

The Navarr, like the Suaq in Wintermark, have been here for a long time. Their culture predates the arrival of the Highborn from the South. No-one is quite clear how old, but it is known that the Navarr once had beautiful cities which are now fallen.

While the Navarr are, in general, a cheerful and welcoming folk, the brutal practicality that they employ in the defence of the Empire can offend the sensibilities of those who regard themselves as more civilised. The Navarr are not an overtly hostile people – at least not to the nations of the Empire – but, at times, take a stance which others see as unreasonable or downright unfriendly.

The Navarri attitude towards the brash and the foolish is born from what lurks within the great forests of the Empire, a threat which the Navarr take great pains to keep contained. Here there are areas which are alive, malevolent, and terribly, terribly dangerous. The Navarr call them the Vallorn. A Vallorn may be quiescent, but it’s all too easy for the unwary to stray into a Vallorn’s realm of influence and risk waking it. Deliberately treading in a Vallorn-infested area is seen as rank madness. It is the duty of the Navarr who dwell in the Steadings to see that the Vallorn are not disturbed, so they keep a careful watch to ensure that no-one stumbles into such areas, not even barbarian invaders.

By Imperial Law the Navarr have the right to kill anything they encounter which is leaving a Vallorn-infested area unless it is accompanied by a Navarr. The Navarr take this law and the responsibility that comes with it very seriously. They fight a constant battle against the dreadful creatures that inhabit the Vallorn’s glades, and this war means they are guarded and wary of any stranger in the wild, no matter what shape they take. By eliminating those who have no right to be there, the Navarr are able to ensure that the Vallorn’s influence does not spread.

Aside from the Steadings the most commonly encountered Navarri communities are the Stridings. These are travelling groups that move between the Steadings across the Empire and beyond.

The Stridings that migrate around and through the Empire follow ancient Trods, fixed routes laid down in time-out-of-mind. It’s said that walking the Trods is a necessity to maintain the magic that keeps the Vallorn contained. The Trods pass through all nations of the Empire, so now many travellers prefer to use the Navarri Trods as trade routes and roads, and villages and resting places have grown up over the years along those routes.

Stridings vary significantly in size and make-up. In a normal Striding, most participants are on foot, usually with a few narrow wagons pulled by oxen or similar beasts to carry essential supplies. Most Navarr are comfortable walking for days on end, and some Stridings eschew wagons, making it a rule to own nothing more than they can carry with them at all times. Others take the opposite approach, using larger covered wagons which can serve as living quarters.

For some Imperial citizens the Navarr are the only contact they have with the Empire. Navarr Stridings are usually welcome everywhere, as they bring messages and news of events elsewhere in the Empire. Civil servants and magistrates travel with the Navarr to reach isolated communities and sometimes the Navarr bring individuals seeking a home with precisely the skills a community needs to survive and prosper. In addition the Navarr have become skilled at adapting to fill the roles required of them in the different Nations they travel through, for instance performing Fayres in Dawn or working as pedlars in the Marches.

As well as the dark forests that Navarr think of as home, the wild places between towns, burghs, fortresses and temples are hardly safe and the Navarr are practical about these dangers. They travel in large well-armed groups and set regular watches. They also move in and out of the frontiers of the Empire and when invaders threaten, it is usually the Navarr who bring word to their cousins in the other nations.

Navarr that spend much of their time walking Trods outside the Imperial boundaries are sometimes referred to as ‘The Eyes of the Empire’. Due to the danger they’re constantly in, and their time amongst foreign and barbarian peoples, they often come across as aloof and belligerent to other Imperial citizens. However, it’s said that they know more about the wider world than anyone. They are utterly loyal to the Empire – travel narrows the mind beautifully.