The Ursids are a hardy race that serve as stewards of the mountainous forests of eastern Ausgyth. Their honesty is known throughout the land--as is their fondness for honey and other delicacies. Unlike the finicky humans to the south, the Ursids are highly adaptive to the environment, and are accustomed to weathering hardship.
Protectors of the Wooded Highlands
The Ursids inhabit dense mountain forests, where they live in harmony with the spirits and other beings. Unlike the humans at the forest’s edge, the Ursids live ascetically, taking only what they need and nothing more. Whether they are busy catching fish or coppicing hardwoods, the Ursids never forget their sylvan provenance.
Bearwold, a Bustling Hub
The Ursids thrive in great numbers along the southern precipices of Snowpine County. With their thick fur and muscular build, their homes generally consist of crude huts or caves--just enough to still the gusts that rage through the night. Their honest, no-nonsense manner has earned them the respect of neighboring tribes - except possibly the Wingar. Several of the languages spoken in Nuanor include idioms that characterize these bear-like beings.
When the southern merchants of Ausgyth first learned of the Ursid’s upright bearing, trade relations grew very quickly indeed; the bears were to the point about what they wanted--honey and smoked fish, primarily - and how much they were willing to pay for it.
As trade grew in frequency and volume, merchants from various races, including the Ursids themselves, established Bearwold to facilitate commerce.
Promises Unkept
With a trade boom came profiteers, goblin traffickers and other unscrupulous types that sought to exploit the Ursids’ simple way of life, to the detriment of the Ursid clans. Some dangled promises of unlimited honey and other luxuries to lure swathes of Ursids to human settlements, only to serve as laborers, virtually slaves.
This has thinned the native Ursid population; coupled with growing tensions with the Wingar rival tribe, the more far-sighted among the bear tribes are beginning to speak out on these injustices.