Rhaef is a weathered skinned, tattooed barbarian from the Taiga north of the Spine. He keeps his hair long, shaved on the sides, and braided tightly into a warriors braid. His tattoos tell the story of his life and deeds among his people, and all visible flesh aside from his face is covered in the ink.

He wears leather armor that covers the vital areas, but also lets him move. The leather armor also holds several totems and shamanic icons. His normal weapons are a spear, a large, single headed axe, and a longbow and arrows.

Rhaef was born and raised into the Karhu tribe of the Taiga peoples. He was born in the foothills of the Spine during an over long summer that saw much famine as animals died due to drought and over hunting. Seen as an ill omen, Rhaef was truly lucky to be alive. The Karhu tribe is not the most superstitious of the tribes, but they respect the Gods and the spirits nonetheless, and that was a year that many sacrifices were made to survive.

Growing up on the move gave Rhaef an endless supply of things to do, though few of them were anything near the pampered life of city folk and their nobility. He learned how to wield weapons for both the hunt and for war. He learned how to ride horses, judge distances on the Taiga in winter, and how to survive off of the land when the herds had moved faster than the tribe.

Upon attaining adulthood, Rhaef embarked on a journey to see the world. He wanted to experience more than the cycle of life on the move, to see how the people he was raised to disdain lived. He carries the Taiga with him wherever he goes, ingrained into his skin and his soul.

Brusque - Rhaef can be very straight forward by more civilized standards, being used to the ways of life on the Taiga rather than the intrigue of court and ballroom.
Illiterate - Rhaef can speak many tongues, but his ability to read is limited to the iconographic language of totems the tribes use.

Skills and abilities

The Tribes of the Taiga are a loose conglomeration of nomadic tribes that move around the land north of the Spine. Slightly contrary to their unofficial name, the tribes move from Taiga to the forested hinterlands and foothills of the spine, some even venturing south of the Wda river in the height of winter months. The tribes follow the herds of animals that they hunt, often traversing areas between semi-settled communities that some tribes maintain and fully settled settlements of non-tribesmen that are at times trading partners and raiding victims of the tribes, depending on the tribe and it's leader.

The tribes, while mostly made up of humans, also see many Dwarves, Orcs, and Elves in their numbers. Different tribes have different makeups, with some being predominantly Orcish, Elven, or Dwarven, while the majority are mainly human in make up. Other races can be found here and there, but in far smaller concentrations.

There are seven major tribes, under whose banners there are many other tribes that owe some form of homage to the major tribes. The seven major tribes are: Hirvi (Elk), Karhu (Bear), Susi (Wolf), Valas (Whale), Passi (Ram), Maa (Earth), and Taivas (Sky). The tribes are led by elders for the most part, with chiefs and warchiefs having more control over the more war like tribes.

The Tribes are bound together by a shared faith in the Gods of the Taiga.

Korvakh

This is the main war deity of the tribes. He is the patron of the Karhu tribe, and is known to be able to take the form of a great Winter Bear to exact his wrath upon those who cross him.

Taevagh

This is a deity of nature for the tribes. Her purview is all of the growing things, plant and animal. Her chosen are often able to take on the forms of plants and animals, and are said to fight with almost the same ferocity as the chosen of Korvakh. She is the patron of the Hirvi tribe.

Yaelos

This is the other deity of nature for the tribes. His purview is the land, sea, and sky. His wrath is expressed in natural disasters, from massive storms coming in from the Ra Gnamh sea to massive earthquakes that have been known to devastate whole towns. He is the patron of both the Maa and Taivas tribes.

Zakon

This is the deity of community for the tribes, his form is only known as the Star Wolf. His chosen make excellent leaders, and are known in both the tribes of the Taiga, and the non-tribal kingdoms and towns around the spine. The Susi tribe is the one Zakon is patron over, and are often the tribe that trades most often with the outside world.

Gorvala

This is the deity of the sea, and patron of the Valas tribe. Both this deity, and her patron tribe remain aloof from most of the other tribes, often remaining near the seashores and maintaining many of the villages along the northern Taiga.

Akral

This is the deity of weaponry, the forge, and the hearth. She is the patron of the Passi tribe, and is the one with the grandest temples not in cities of all the Taiga gods. Crafting of weapons is the gift she bestows, and her smiths are legendary both within the tribes and without.