The Unicorn Peninsula

This cold region boasts a high glacial shelf on the “horn” of the unicorn, fed by heavy snows that begin late in the winter and last well into spring. The earliest of the three cultures found here took hold in a time beyond memory, in the river valley fed by the glacier. Two other cultures have arisen since then as well.

Although it is popularly held in the south that the “horn” culture has vanished, there are in fact long-standing settlements still in the north. The destruction of the Horn capital by Silver settlers is but the most recent chapter in an ancient history poorly understood by southerners who’ve never set foot in the paleolithic shrines still frequented by the people of the mountainous north. Horn children especially continue to make trips to these shrines at their coming of age, to present themselves to their sacred mother—a shrewd and athletic guardian, patron of thieves and merchants—with offerings of crow feathers, mauve berries, and orange toad roe.

After an unsuccessful war for control of the fertile planes of the north coast of the unicorn’s snout, the Silver peoples retreated to their deserts and turned to the seas. Piracy and trade have enriched the Silver capital, and the destruction of the great city on the horn has paved the way for a number of Silver settlements. As riches flow home to the seat of Silver power, many among their people have begun to wonder if this rapid ascent has paved way for greed and tyranny.

Red emerged from the war bloodied but unbeaten. Despite the best efforts of Red cavalry, they were unable to hold their capital city—the great halls where once feasts were held are now havens for the javalinas that wander off the dry plains to the south. On the other hand, the fields of the north coast remain theirs, and with the preservation of their valued cultural treasures, a new and grander capital has been built in the years since the war. The knight-scholars of this new Red age now contemplate how best to manage their holdings and memorialize their past.