Ithaqua

The Conclave of the Frozen Pines

Circle:	Anti-Magick
Guilds:	Wardens, Idras, and Sentinels
Townes:	Pol'pera, Aherindale, Kadar, En'aruna, Agirni

Cold and silent, and shrouded in snow, Ithaqua - sometimes referred to as the Frozen Conclave, the Black Pines, or the Ironwoods - is a harsh and bleak place, wrought with danger. Surrounded by the low-lying mountains, Ithaqua was lost to the world of Aetherius for centuries until a band of exiled Khandavans came upon it. Accepted by the old war-hound, Fenrir Lyesmith, they rebuilt the ruined village upon the ideals of its people and ancient bloodlines.

Ithaqua stands now for the unbroken wilderness, completely free and untainted by magick that twisted the first villagers in ages past. Once founded upon the teachings of Death, Wrath, Madness, and Ruin - Ithaqua marks a new path free of magick and demons. Long since abandoned by the gods and goddesses of those ways, Ithaqua draws a deep hatred towards Them and seeks the end of Their domain and any related to the corruption of magick. Magick is seen as more than a mere tool for destruction in the hands of the wielder, but as a crutch that leads to weakness. It is dangerous, unpredictable, and the very wood rejects its vile presence.

Ithaquans are known for their tact and survival capability - resorting to cannibalism in order to ensure their continued life, and reveling in it as a sacrament to the spirits which still make their presence known through spiritualistic arts. Ithaquans value their freedoms and venture outside of their home to ensure they remain. There is a dark and terrible hunger in those woods - the wolves, the pines, that cold and hateful wind, the Wendigo - these are the teeth and soul of Ithaqua.

History

Ithaqua's Founding and the Wrath of Nemesis

In the year 420 AA, an expedition composed of lycaeans and sylayans made their way north, led by Galt Lyesmith, to escape the civil unrest caused by war in Kinsarmar and Stavenn. After passing through a previously uncharted trail in the Reate Forest, they came upon the dark, black pine barrens of the Ithaquan Forest, which were inhabited by packs of abnormally huge feral wolves, which stalked and picked off members of the expedition, including Knut Lyesmith. The arboreals in the group decided that the party should seek safety in the trees, and spent many years building platforms and catwalks spanning the branches of the pines.

Ithaqua is formally founded in the year 428 AA as members of the Lyesmith pack settle in to a life isolated from the conflict of the southern civilizations. A blizzard the following year makes their devotion to isolation difficult, however; even the wolves disappear or hunker away in buried dens, and their meager supplies soon dwindle down to mere scraps. Desperate Ithaquans turn to the only Gods who seem to still take an interest in them - Thanatos, Malkav, and Nemesis. Cults to these Gods were started, and Ithaquans even began practicing the arts of the Noctusari and Diabolist, but an even more significant division is felt throughout the village between the lycaeans and the sylayans.

Though they had founded Ithaqua together, the two races found themselves pitted against each other in a battle for survival. The lycaeans struck first, calling the elves to a council meeting and then springing an ambush upon them. The nearly feral wolfmen offered the blood of the fallen to Nemesis and then feasted upon their flesh. The elven arboreals that survived decided to conduct a ritual that would cause the forest itself to smite the traitorous lycaeans, but Nemesis intervened, calling the elves out for trying to tip the natural balance of the dark forest in their favor. A great storm, far greater than the blizzard that had previously ravaged their village, was summoned and in its wake, Ithaqua was destroyed and nearly every inhabitant of the village was slain.

The survivors of the Red Maiden's wrath were led by a Noctusari known as Birk Bonecaster, who also led a cult devoted to Nemesis. They gathered the corpses of the fallen and placed them on a great pyre, and Birk uttered a phrase that would still be proudly declared in Ithaqua to this day: "Meat for the pack!" Thus began the village's iconic reverence for cannibalism.