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The world of Reisum is deceptive in its nature. From the frost covered mountain peaks to the snowy tundra, it is a thing of beauty. The ice and snow sparkle as they reflect the rays of light from the world’s distant sun. However, the bitterly cold temperatures and almost unrelenting winter makes life on the surface of Reisum nearly unbearable. Prolonged exposure to the surface temperatures has been known to take the life of even the most unwavering and resolute warriors.
The only thing deadlier than the temperatures of Reisum is its inhabitants. The most brutal are known as Urikki, giant warlike creatures baring a slight resemblance to the rodents of earth. The Urikki have become the dominant force on this world due to their strength and ferocity. The Urikki descended from the more numerous and smaller creatures known as the Emin. The Emin still exist, living much as they always have, below the surface in networks of tunnels known as Warrens. Many years ago, the first and greatest of the Urikki, Magir, swore a blood oath to his dying mother that the Emin would pay for their misdeeds. To this day, the Urikki’s vengeance often takes the form of raids on Emin’s Warrens in the middle of the harshest winter months.
“Remember the great deeds of those long-forgotten; for their lessons are hard won. The blood of the few are too often spilled for the many. Let not their bones turn to dust and presume ourselves courageous… yet live timid beneath their shadows.” - Atul, Speaker for the Dead
Urikki tribes often employ ice skiffs to ply the vast distances of the open steppes. These long, slender vessels are adorned with runes and pictograms exalting the clan’s greatest deeds and celebrate its bravest warriors. The tribes of the Black Tundra have even been known to live on larger versions of these graceful vessels. A caravan of these ships skating across the frigid ice floes is truly a sight to behold.
“We gather stones to commemorate our glorious dead. Each stone used in the afterlife to build the Great Hall of Varussk. Each stone to mark a single tear for their passage from this world to the next. Like stone, their deeds remain unbroken, like stone their memories everlasting. We, the Urikki, remember… and follow in glory!” - Osvek, Hakun of the Northern Steppes