Everdalf

Everdalf (S. "Herd Tundra,"La, Hyvämetsästyksen Maa) is a flat and open plain covered in spring and summer with bogs, mosquitoes, thick grass, sedge and lichen. It lies between the Emyn Nimbrith and the Fen Tundra, and is bound on the west by the shores of Sheltered Bay and the Bay of Cracking Ice. During the green season, herds of elk and reindeer begin migrating across it from south and east to north. They are joined on the open ground by deer and wild sheep from the Eriadorian borderlands. The plain sometimes seems blanketed with the wandering animals feasting on the tundra grass. The migratory herds also travel as far north as the Forsaken Sea and as far west as the Fire Tundra. The gathering of herds also means a gathering of predators. Wolf packs are especially numerous. While most of the Everdalf is too far south for white wolves, their cousins of the dire and grey varieties gather on the banks of both the Everhir and the Lhúchir from early spring to late autumn. Deadly warg-packs from Angmar trouble Talath Uichel and the Herd Tundra year-round. The birds migrate into southern lands in early winter. Some of the herds disperse into the forests of Lakeland. Others move south to shelter in the Emyn Nimbrith, the Wash Tundra and the Eriadorian highlands. Wherever the grazers seek shelter from the cold, the wolves follow. The year's first frost transforms the Herd Tundra into a sea of brown grass and hay. Fire can be a problem at this time of year, as the dry grass burns easily and is often set ablaze by untended camp-fires, lightning from passing storms or random acts of Orkish arson. Such blazes are capable of devastating miles of terrain before dying out, and are difficult to outrun when the wind is high. Only in late autumn do the heavy frosts and first winter storms eliminate the danger. At this time, the large animals have hidden themselves or fled south, and the rivers begin to ice over. Hunting and fishing become more difficult; the Lossoth must often rely on snow hares and other, smaller residents of the tundra to fill the stewpot. Winter brings a majestic desolation to the plain, discouraging Ore-raids by the cold and lack of prey. The Jäämiehet come to hunt the Herd Tundra in summer, and their camps are found primarily on the southern shores of Sheltered Bay and around the mouth of the Lhúchir. Travelers from the South often have difficulty telling the difference between the Lumimiehet and the Jäämiehet, who frequently hunt in combined parties, dividing the meat when they separate. The Jäämies camps are less open or friendly than those of the Lumimiehet, having less goods or time to spare for strangers. Ranging far from their accustomed homelands on the Cape of Forochel, the Jäämiehet are by necessity better equipped than the Lumimiehet. The Herd Tundra is known far and wide as simply "the Caru" (a Rhudaunan name for elk), and those from the South must listen carefully to determine whether an Ystävä Talven is speaking of the animal or the region. Often the definition or meaning is self-evident; however, such phrases as "I hunt Caru" may prove ambiguous. Misunderstanding can lead to disaster, as related in the journal of Beregund, leader of an Arthadanian exploration party in the far North. The journal can be found in the archives of Annúminas and is required reading for young rangers in training.

Most of Beregund's company were killed or captured by the Orcs "hunting the Caru," and only a small fraction of the original company was able to return to Fornost with the journal.