The history of the Kellid tribes in the nation of Numeria is a long and strange tale, stretching back to a time before Earthfall. When the fall of the Starstone devastated the world, the Kellids retreated to caves to weather the Age of Darkness. Though beset by subterranean predators, such as ogres and other horrors, this proud people survived better, arguably, than many cultures. Just over 240 years later, they emerged and successfully reclaimed their lands. Their experience serves as a testament to their endurance and forever marks them as strong and determined survivors.
Kellids are a brawny, dark-haired folk who bear the scars and weathering of rough lives spent in the open. Their eye color tends toward black, blue, or steel gray, and their flesh is generally deeply tanned.
Savage as the bitter wind that blasts the tundra of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, strong as the skymetals that fell to Numeria long ago, and sturdy as the wasteland that endures near the smear of the Worldwound, Kellids are defined by their survival. Clad in fur pelts and leather hides, Kellid barbarians and hunting parties sweep the vast frozen plains of northern Avistan, from the snowcapped Tusk Mountains in the west to the icy waters of the Lake of Mist and Veils in the east. Feared for their ferocity and brute strength.
Bound to nature, Kellids use everything the land offers, making tools, building shelters, and crafting jewelry and strange animal fetishes from the bones and hides of the creatures they kill—sometimes normal forest beasts, and sometimes dangerous megafauna in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. Kellids prefer simple leathers and furs as dress, and layer appropriately when the climate dictates. Their close relationship with nature leads a few Kellids to practice an ancient animistic religion, seeing spirits, lesser gods, and stranger entities in the creatures, places, and objects around them. However, traveling over untamed wilderness and confronting violent beasts and brigands leads most modern Kellids to worship Desna and Gorum.
