Felgr
Felgr is a sprawling rylak village and pack settlement located deep within the Kalmansa Wilds on the planet Eryn. Governed by brutality and the law of the strongest, Felgr serves as a harsh home to hundreds of rylak, as well as a place of torment for the captive ellr slaves they keep.
Geography and Environment
Situated in the sweltering heat of the Kalmansa Wilds, west of the Kojo River and the hidden ellr city of Aldaron, the village of Felgr is a primitive but functional settlement. Most of the village consists of weak, rickety huts constructed from mangrove wood with thatched roofs.
Key locations within Felgr include:
- The Slavepens: Unlike the mangrove huts, the slavepens are long, low structures built from much tougher oak. These squalid buildings house the unwashed and underfed ellr slaves alongside halka (small pack horses), resulting in an overwhelming stench of body odor, rotting wood, and manure.
- The Central Firepit: A large, open square featuring a massive firepit where the pack gathers for "Huntfires" to celebrate major kills (such as the massive cavek) and drink fermented skondul liquor.
- The Heat Tent: A large sauna tent where huntsakes gather before dinner to throw water on hot stones, bask in the steam, and boast of their ferocity.
- The Medicine Tent: Operated by the pack's healers, this tent serves as a place for the wounded to recover, though rylak medicine is crude.
Culture and Society
Rylak society in Felgr is intensely hierarchical, aggressive, and devoid of written laws. Strength and dominance are the only respected traits, while weakness is treated with absolute disdain. Biologically, every rylak possesses both male and female reproductive organs, but their society functions with highly masculine, aggressive, and patriarchal behaviors.
The pack is divided into distinct social roles:
- Packleader: The absolute ruler of the pack, a position won and kept through ritualistic hand-to-hand combat. During the events of The Savage Wild, the pack is led by Skond.
- Elite Huntsakes: A small group of the biggest and strongest hunters (led by Skorn), who are granted the first rights to dangerous prey.
- Huntsakes: The general warrior and hunter class.
- Moonsakes: Rylak tasked with specialized roles, such as the healer Kholl or the storyteller Valdr.
- Firesakes: Considered the lowest and weakest of the rylak, firesakes are relegated to cooking, cleaning, and skimming bugs from the skondul liquor.
The rylak of Felgr despise the ellr but also harbor a perverse, lecherous fascination with them, capturing them to serve as laborers and subjects of abuse.
Key Events
The Dragon Attack
Felgr is suddenly besieged by dragons, led by a massive blue talonwyrm that swoops low over the village, ripping apart the medicine tent and crushing mangrove huts. The dragon eventually breathes fire, incinerating buildings, food supplies, and several rylak. During the chaos, the elderly Thrombir attempts to fight the beast but fails. The cruel huntmaster Hrildr takes the opportunity to try to kill Thrombir's weak firesake son, Jascyn. However, the ellr slave Lys (Lysa) intervenes, demanding a fair fight before shooting Hrildr in the shoulder with an arrow.
Lysa's Escape
Following a successful hunt of a massive cavek, the Felgr pack hosts a wild Huntfire under the light of the red moon, Argul. As the rylak grow intoxicated on skondul liquor and listen to stories of the ancient ellr mage Magona (Cariel), Lysa realizes it is her only chance to escape. Her ellr friend Amra helps by setting a fire at the edge of the village as a distraction. As Lysa attempts to flee, she is intercepted and pinned to the ground by Jascyn. In a desperate bid to save her, Amra ambushes Jascyn, tackling him and stabbing him in the shoulder. Amra screams for Lysa to run, sacrificing her own safety to ensure her friend's survival. Lysa is forced to leave Amra behind, securing her freedom but feeling immense guilt as she slips away into the Kalmansa Wilds, believing she has doomed her friend.
Jascyn's Ascension
After discovering his unique ability to souljoin with animals, Jascyn returns to Felgr riding a colossal cavek named Varek, accompanied by a welak wolf (Kharad) and a kabul cat (Fang). Jascyn formally challenges Skond for the title of packleader. During their hand-to-hand combat, Skond overpowers Jascyn, but Jascyn uses his soulbind to summon a massive stampede of cavek toward the village. He halts the destructive herd just hundreds of yards outside Felgr, proving his absolute mastery over the jungle. Awed by this unprecedented display of power, Skond submits, and the entire pack kneels to pledge fealty to Jascyn as their new packleader.
The Alliance of Aldaron
Under Jascyn's command, the Felgr pack abandons their traditional hatred of the ellr to join forces against the awakened mage Calarel. Jascyn leads his rylak warriors on a multi-day march to the hidden ellr city of Aldaron. When Calarel's mind-controlled rylak forces breach the city, Jascyn leads the Felgr pack through a secret cave entrance behind a waterfall, ambushing the enemy forces and fighting side-by-side with the ellr.