Donath

Most Donath are direct descendants of the early Daen thatmigrated to the Inland Sea. They discovered and settled astrip of fertile land they named Dacranamel (Do."Greenlands") along the southern coast of the Sea in the FirstAge. They dwelt in relative seclusion throughout the SecondAge, largely escaping service on either side during the Warof the Last Alliance. In the early years of the Third Age, theirsettlements experienced an influx of Eriadoran Northmenmigrants, fleeing the failed watch at Algiwidaus, which wasestablished by Elendil to guard against bandits. Over theyears, this small Northman minority has been absorbed bythe Donath culture, and only an occasional Northman nameremains to remind the people of the southern shore that theirancestry is a mixed one.

Society and Culture Donath society is nearly as diverse as the number of settlements found in their quiet land. Long before the arrivalof the Northmen, the Donath (Do. "People") made theirvillages and towns all along the green shores wherever theyfound a strand to launch their fishing vessels and enoughfertile land to support their gardens. Though the people of thevillages made occasional contact with one another to tradeand marry, the settlements stood largely as isolated pocketsof civilization on a wild coast. Isolation from one another ledto a gradual diversification of Donath customs, so that nowider Donath authority emerged. Instead, the Dacranamel ismade up of a patchwork of sub-cultures, each with its ownunique customs and manners for administering its lands.Northman traditions of wider reaching and more unifiedauthority structures has gradually been integrated into Donathsociety causing a slow shift towards greater communicationbetween communities. Greater centralization of authorityalong the coast has also been facilitated by the increase inleisure time that came with the implementation of Eriadorianagricultural techniques which boosted harvests. Farmers aregrowing more powerful in relation to their fishingcounterparts, signaling the first differentiation betweenclasses not intimately tied to the kinship structure.Family life among the Donath is close, and most of theDonath dwell either in the same or in adjacent homes withtheir extended family. Men spend much of their dayprocuring and preparing the family's meals, while womenbusy themselves with the maintenance of the home, therearing of children, and care of elderly family members. Mostvillages have a tribal father who adjudicates small disputes,and apportions use rights for local land among the families of the village. In larger towns, councils of these leaders governover individual families who usually own the land they farm.For the most part, the people of the Greenlands are anegalitarian people, and everyone within their village isafforded the same privileges and rights. The traditionalauthority of the tribal leader has been diminished since thedays when his word was absolute law, and leadership nowcarries as many time-consuming obligations as it doesprivileges.

Religion Left to themselves, the Donath are a people of little organizedreligion. During the many long years of their solitude alongRhûn's southern shores, Donath religion was confined tosuperstition and fear of the unknown. Spirits are, for the mostpart, considered to be evil entities that must be appeased. Themost powerful spirits of ancient Donath belief are a variety of nameless demons of the Sea that would rise and abductisolated individuals during thick foggy nights. To appease thedemons, small tokens or sacrifices were commonly left nearthe shore to satiate the need for flesh thought to be held bythese spirits and prevent them from taking human prey.Since the arrival of the Northmen, the Donath settlementshave been exposed to other religious beliefs and many of thetraditional Northman cults are represented to some degreealong the Donath shore. Of particular importance are thecults of the Bear, Stag and Stars, the last being a composite of Northman and Daen beliefs found only in and aroundDilgul.Twice now, religions with Sauronic roots have attained acertain popularity among the Donath. Lokuthor's Second Agecult was a dominant force just before the War of the LastAlliance. It was primarily the labor of Donath adherents thatbuilt his legendary temple in the Kuka Posladni, whichserved as the center of Sauron's influence in Gathod before itcollapsed into ruin. Similarly, sympathy for the worship of Kerkassk has recently gained popularity among the Donathsettlements, and the dictates of the religious leaders of Mistrand have a growing deal of influence over the Donath,particularly in the easternmost villages and towns. Thepeaceful Donath have yet to serve a dark religion in warfare,however, and the servants of Sauron have come to therealization that the Donath are more valuable in other roles.As allies to Kerkassk, it is hoped that the stable Donathsettlements can provide a strong infrastructure to support thearmies of the East in their future struggles. Whether theDispossessed of Mistrand can bring this plan to fruitionremains to be seen. Warcraft For the most part, the Donath are a rather quiet andunassuming people. They are considered by many to be asimple, rustic folk who remain in the shleter of their smallfarms, fishing villages, and isolated towns. While they arecontent to let the larger events of history overlook them, theyare extremely protective of their lands and families, and arecapable of defending themselves when threatened.The military history of the Dacranamel is a short one, for theDonath have had little cause to go to war. In fact, their landshave never come under a concerted attack by an organizedfoe. Occasionally, Sagath or Brygath war-parties will roamthe back country in search of easy prey, but never in numbersgreat enough to threaten the larger villages. Large deposits of conductive metals along the shoreline and under much of theKuka Posladni combine with savage storms along the coastto produce violent displays of lightning that keep thesuperstitious Asdriag and Sagath bands from lingering in theDacranamel (Easterlings are very superstitious aboutlightning). Still, the Donath do maintain small guards in eachof their larger towns, and if needed, the townsfolk can bemarshaled. Despite the fact that local leaders occasionallyarrange for the people to practice this contingency, it is stillan event of great confusion and clamor, and the companiesfielded are ill-equipped and poorly trained. Appearance Even though the bloodlines of the Donath represent twodistinct races, their coloration is distinctly Daen in origin.Some few individuals do possess lighter hair and eyes, andthese are usually considered attractive individuals, if only forthe rarity of their look. On average though, most of theDonath resemble their Daen cousins in other lands, thoughthey are a little taller and have somewhat more narrowfeatures. Adult males average 5'11" in height and womenabout 5'8."