The Greatvalley

"Every edge is one we needed to survive the longcold. The blessing of the Fangmother, the enduring daystar, and the great walls of this valley."

— Packleader Zan

One Safe Haven

The Greatvalley has been home to five clans for countless generations. Its tall peaks have sheltered its inhabitants from the worst the longcold had to offer - the bonechilling winds, the deepest of snows, and the beasts of the beyond.

The Boiling Pools

Home to the Boilblood Clan, this region of the Greatvalley consists of barren lands where little will grow, the Steamworn Path, and a series of pools filled with warm water roiling up from below the ground.
The water from these pools has a unique scent to it and is believed to also be the reason behind the limited vegetation in the area. Despite the effect on plant growth, these earthwaters have beneficial effects on the people who bathe in them, causing wounds to heal faster and helping prevent disease.

The Hidden Caves

The Cavehand Clan spends most of its time living in a series of caves located inside the duskward mountains of the Greatvalley. Calling these caves warm would not be accurate but they are certainly warmer than the harsh winters of the longcold - that while still harsh, have become shorter and milder.
Within each of these caves lies a unique biome of fungi, bugs, plants, and small animals that have allowed the Cavehands to survive the longcold.

The Frozen Woods

"In the woods with ground and branches clad in snow, all sounds muffled and predator's nose prevails."

— Seer Nal, spoken by her interpreter Ril

In the depths of the Greatvalley, furthest from the Steamworn Path, lies a vast forest frozen much of the year. Among the needled trees gaunt predators stalk their prey, silent until they strike.
Among the predators lurking amongst the trees are the Longtooths who compete with - and hunt - the other natural hunters.

The Open Plains

In the central region of the Greatvalley are vast open spaces filled with snowdrifts in the winter and short foliage in the summer. As the ice melts from the mountaintops and the Frozen Steep rivers form through the plain drawing many animals there for water and the small plants that grow on the banks. The bigfurs are most common on the open plains.
It is in this place that the Openarm Clan makes their home, though they share portions of it with both the Cavehands and the Nightwalkers.

The Dawnward Slopes

The dawnward mountains over which the daystar rises - and are the last part of the valley to benefit from its warmth each day but also the last to lose it - are home to the Nightwalker Clan.
It is on these slopes that generations of Nightwalkers have braced themselves for the coming day with a warm cup of tea.

The Beyond

All the people of the clans have known for generations without number are the relatively safe confines of the Greatvalley; however, a much larger world lurks beyond the walls of stone and ice.
When the longcold began to fade, Outlanders began arriving in the valley, exploring the thawing world. Rumors of the outlanders and their stories quickly spread and now the clans are looking to the Beyond for their salvation.