Giant's Steps
The group of
islands that lie between the Northlands and the Southlands are called the
Giant’s Steps and they are not inhabited by humans as far as anyone knows.
There are four main land masses and dozens of smaller ones that are
scattered around them but they are all very similar in makeup.
It is thought that the islands were once part of the Hill Peaks but, at
some point in the distant past of Shardar there was a major earthquake or land
slip that caused a vast section of the land to drop by hundreds of feet.
This would have caused a part of the mountains to become an island range
and it would have also caused the separation of the Northlands from the rest of
Shardar.
This is only one point of view and it is
strongly argued against by some people, mostly the Northlanders and by the
Southern Lords who still hate the Northerners.
No matter how they were formed, the Giant’s Steps are rocky, jagged,
inhospitable and scarcely populated, even by the animals that use them as a
home.
There are many colonies of seals and sea
lions on the Giant’s Steps, and on rare occasions it is possible to find some
of the Giant Walrus that are more commonly found in the fjords of the
Northlands. Dolphins and porpoises
can often be seen around the islands and they will sometimes follow the fishing
boats of the hunters who come to the islands.
It is considered to be very bad luck to harm a dolphin and these
creatures can live in almost perfect safety in close proximity to man.
The only humans who ever go to the
Giant’s Steps are those who come to hunt there.
Seals, sea lions and the walruses are valued for their pelts and for the
reserves of fat and blubber that they carry.
The hunters that go in search of them will kill as many as their boats
can carry and then head back to the mainland to sell their goods.
Apart from mankind, there is one other
dangerous predator on the Giant’s Steps, the Sea Ape.
These creatures are much like the monkeys that have been brought back
form Dargoth, but they are much larger, standing a full head taller than the
tallest man, and they are fierce, vicious hunters.
The Sea Apes are carnivores whose main diet is seal, but they will
happily attack, kill and eat humans given a chance.
They live in the highest points of the Giant’s Steps but they come down
in packs to hunt seal and sea lion.
They have long claws on both their hands
and their feet, they have sharp fangs designed to tear tough meat apart, their
skin is covered in thick, grey hair that is virtually impervious to water and
they are excellent swimmers. The
Sea Apes live in packs of up to 20 females that are guarded and looked after by
one male. The females are slightly
smaller than the males, but they are just as vicious and just as dangerous.
Every year, more than 20 hunters are lost
to the attacks of the Sea Apes, and every year the Apes become bolder and
bolder. There have been reports of
Sea Apes being seen in both the Northern and Southern Hill Peaks but there has
been no proof of this. If it is
true and the Sea Apes are migrating to the main land, then they could prove to
be a serious threat to anyone who ventures into the mountain ranges for any
reason.
The Sea Apes have no known enemy, other
than man, and a pack can grow from one male and one female to a dozen, full
grown members within four years. The
pelts of the Sea Apes are prized for use it the making of winter clothing and
the skin of a full grown Ape can be worth as much as 20 Falcons in the markets
of Camber. Despite this high value, there are very few hunters who are
willing to venture into the dangerous, mountain peaks of the Giant’s Steps to
hunt a creature that is taller and far bulkier than they are and views humans as
just another source of food.