Gabren the Shepherd

Gabren the Shepherd is the widowed headwoman of a clan of herders in the northern foothills of Methedras. Her people are kin to Chieftain Torannen and look to him as leader in a crisis, but most seasons Gabren looks to her people and their herds. They move from place to place, season to season, within the loose borders of their part of the hills. Some stone huts stand year-round in the hills, stocked for winter when possible, but often they only build simple, rude houses at need.

Gabren maintains quiet, uneasy truces with the Orc-tribes of the mountains and with Casferoch’s highland raiders. Her people trade each season with villages such as Tunum and welcome travellers who can bring news of the lowlands and the hill-clans. And from time to time they pay tribute to the Orcs and to Casferoch, bringing leather, furs, meat and information: Gabren tells the raiders about the season’s easiest pickings, so that the raiders go there and leave her alone. Sometimes it doesn’t help. Sometimes a raiding-party welcomes her news and then attacks her people anyway. But more often, they leave Gabren’s folk alone while they raid the other clans and each other. Until some force draws the raiders away to other lands, that’s the best Gabren can do.