Northlands

The Northlands are a region comprising a continent around the north pole of Sajem Planet and the islands surrounding it.

Geography
The Northlands are exceedingly cold, receiving snow all year. They are very mountainous, having several ranges which grow exceedingly inaccessible and hostile near the poles. The Northlands are one of the most volcanically active regions on Sajem Cadëk and there are many volcanoes around the rim of the continent, which usually follow the coasts, creating miles of coastline which are difficult to access from the ocean. There are a smattering of islands surrounding the continent, created from this same tectonic activity.

Due to near-constant snow cover in all areas except the southernmost tips of the continent, very few plants grow in the Northlands.

Wildlife
The main wildlife found in the Northlands are large hibernating mammals including bears and giant wolves. Fish also populate the rivers in the summer.

In the volcanic regions live large lava giants. Much is still unknown about their origins and motivations, though folklore and mythology fill these in. There do not appear to be many shared attributes among lava giants; each has differing amounts of limbs and size ranges vastly.

Snowmads
The Northlands are home to a large population of tribal nomadic hunters. Several Tannites, including Wind and Snow, hail from these tribes.

The Snowmads spend the warmer months setting up temporary camps and hunting prey in small clans that generally contain no more than a few families.

Clothing
The Snowmads make their clothing almost entirely out of products from animals that they hunt. Traditional Snowmad clothing includes shirts and pants made of hide, as well as tight fitting fur hats. Furs are also used for embellishment on the shoulders and waist. There is a wide variety of traditional footwear types, including leather boots and moccasins.

Snowmads who are tracking large prey generally wear as much white as possible to blend in. White furs are slightly less common than other colors, though, so those who are not hunting generally use gray, brown, and black furs.

Social Structure
It is generally agreed that there are two main jobs among Snowmads. Those who hunt and those who stay in camp. Hunters are often gone for days at a time, tracking large prey, while the remainder do jobs around the clan's camp, including preparation of meat and creation of clothing.

Obsidian
Traditional weaponry is created using hard igneous rocks taken from volcanoes. The chief of these is obsidian. Due to the lava giants that live in these regions, harvesting obsidian is a dangerous task. For this purpose, there are volcano runners, who are trained to retrieve these stones. Volcano runners can work independently or as part of a clan, but they are most often trained by professionals, completely separately from any specific hunting clan. As obsidian is vital to the hunt, volcano runners are among the most valuable, and thus some of the most well-fed of those in the Northlands.

Permanent Structures
There are few permanent structures in the Northlands due to the general population being nomadic. This fact notwithstanding, some do exist.

Trading Posts
Along the rim of the continent there are various ports. At the end of the hunting season, Snowmads move to the shore and trade their wares from the hunting season for imported items such as textiles and fruits. Before the establishment of these ports, Snowmads were generally self-sufficient.

Polar Temples
In the mountain ranges near the north pole there are believed to be ancient temples. Little is known of their creation and purpose as reaching them is very difficult and most have died or disappeared trying to do so. Some Northlanders and many people in other parts of the world deny their existence.

Volcano Runner Academies
Volcano runners are traditionally trained close to volcanoes; accordingly, a few permanent buildings built for the purpose of training volcano runners have sprouted up near inert volcanoes.