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The blood of my ancestors is in this soil, and I'll be damned if I'll let any Alteraci dog take even one inch of it. - Margrave Thorson's response to Alterac's proposed settlement of the Stromgarde-Alterac Border War of 561.

Pre-Imperial society was not without magic of its own, however. The songs and stories attest to the existence of a strange sort of psuedo-shamanic tradition, combining herblore with primitive shamanic and even druidic knowledge, and some burial stones also attest to members of this tradition.

Our nearest understanding is that these shaman-priests arose as a direct consequence of the Forngasthorgr that dominate the Highlands, but never attained the heights of shamanic power seen in our Wildhammer allies; instead, the stories speak primarily of very small magic, such as the conjuration of a light breeze rather than raging storms.

This ancient group of primitive shaman-priests is believed to have been replaced by the arrival of the Hundred and by the rise of Monotheism that occured shortly after.- On the History of Highlands Magic

11/15/2012 09:22 AMPosted by Everen

Please do not make me write an Azerohian version of the Golden Bough.

The soils of the Highlands are notoriously poor, and it is a common folk belief that it is only their irrigation with the blood of millenia of war that allows any crops at all be grown. The combination of rocky soils, poor rainfall, and cold winters has led to a high reliance on crops of oats and rye, with very little wheat as compared to the more prosperous nations.

Barley is grown when possible, but the cold temperatures for much of spring and autumn limit its window quite severely - though it's drought hardiness makes it very suited to the summer crop. - An Economic History of Arathor

The shaman-priest class that was destroyed appears to be the origin of the now rarely utilized words for magicians: Volva or galdre, illrvolva or illrgadre, and ivioia. These Old Common words broadly divide magicians into three categories, being the good, the ambiguous, and the bad.

The volva and the galdre appear to be gender-specific terms for the 'good' magic workers, being roughly equivalent to sorceress and sorceror. The word does not necessarily imply a positive outlook or even positive deeds, so much as one who does not cause harm. The addition of illr, being bad, suggests the adoption of such harmful magics...

There is one reference, on a presumably volva burial stone, to the Hundred as the 'Hundr Illrgaldre' or 'The Hundred Bad Chanters'.
- On the History of Highlands Magic

The Isle of Darrow has a long and storied history. It was first the site of worship by the Elves, then the first foothold into Lordaeron that the Arathorian Empire gained. The presence of one of the Elven Runestones enticed the Hundred Magi, while its proximity to both the Elflands and the remnant Trolls made the site attractive to the Emperor.

Almost as soon as the site was scouted, construction on the Caer Darrow began. While little remains of the original keep, the site has been inhabited ever since, and now forms the centre of the powerful Barov demesne. - Vassals of Lordaeron, Volume 2

If a man take coin to kill another man, he must pay half wergild, and his employer must pay half wergild, or both face outlawry. If a man take coin to kill another man for vengeance, he need not pay wergild. - The Old Laws of the Wergild

Trol'kalar hungers. Let us feed it. - Words attributed to Sir Hein Trollbane, Wielder of the Trol'kalar in 410.

If a man summon a jury for an assault, he is to call ten neighbours and declare to them his injury and how it was inflicted. If they cannot decide among themselves if there is guilt, by simple majority, it is to the King or his men to decide. The penalty for the false summoning of a jury in this matter is one sheep to each juryman, and one sheep to the King's representative. - The Code

These short, stunted men we have found are industrious, that much is certain. They reside, they tell me, in a great mountain they have hollowed in tunnels and mines. The language barrier is difficult, but there are enough similarities between our speech and their own that we are making slow, but steady progress.

They are looking on this letter with curiosity. They say they do not understand, though I do not know if they mean why I am writing, the writing itself, or the concept of a written language. I will send more reports as more is learned.

The gold brooch attached is the product of the dwarf-men's fine craftsmen. It is a thing of exquisite beauty. - Reported text of an early letter, regarding the discovery of the Dwarves.

If a man seize a woman and hold her for two weeks, no man is to prevent their marriage, and he must pay her bride-price to her father even if they do not wed. - The Code