This is the world of the Hara Sea. The five major cultures roughly correspond to regions in the world, though unknown cultures and vast tracts of wilderness still exist. The history chapter in the Early Dark Corebook covers roughly 1000 years of history and gives you what you need to imagine the day-to-day lives of Edish citizens, Neferatha imperialists, Alagoth warriors, Anu lords, and Vayok hunters.
The world of the Hara Sea celebrates towering cities as well as tiny farms, infamous kings as well as forgotten kingdoms, the extraordinary as well as the ordinary. Remember the worlds of Conan the Barbarian (Milius 1982) and 10,000 B.C. (Emmerich 2008). Although powerful, cities are few and far between. The majority of people live in villages, many unaware of what kingdom or empire they are now a part of. Knowledge is hard to come by, and the secrets of writing, metallurgy, and masonry are jealously guarded by those who possess them. Although the Early Dark Corebook contains a wealth of information concerning history of heroes, players can assume their characters have access to but a sliver of that information. Everyday farmers and serfs will have no idea if gods are real, which magicks can be trusted, or where the nearby road leads.
We focused on the narrative and the broad to maintain a “sandbox” feel for players who do not want a world with every corner charted and each city mapped. What does the Anu honor code look like exactly? When does an Alagoth male lose his place in his father’s lineage? How does an Edish commune with the Fey when gaining a new totem? There are hints and examples in the Corebook, but a set-in-stone definition will elude you. We feel examples are the best way to learn versus hard and fast rules or mandates. Play the cultures as you feel, and supplemental material will fill out the world as the players inhabit and imagine it.