Arcturians

Arcturian culture was largely shaped by their environment. The Winterwood Forest they call home is a frigid environment, a land of ice and almost constant winter. Only those well adapted to this cold can survive here, much less thrive the way the Arcturians have.   Centuries ago the Arcturians were known for their semi-nomadic lifestyles. Small towns spread across the Winterwood Forest provided shelter to traveling hunting communities during the harsh cold of the dark season. These towns would gather edibles from the surrounding forest and meats from the hunters throughout the remaining months, augmented with farmed produce during the brief growing season. Permanent residents of the towns, typically the elderly or infirm as well as families with small children, would preserve these foods in preparation for when most of the traveling hunters would return to the cities to wait out the dark season. In this way the Arcturians built a thriving society amidst the ice.   But the Arcturians were not alone. The Frost Fae among the Lonely Peaks had watched the Arcturians adapt and thrive, and determined them to be developing into a threat. As a result the Fae began to send bewitched mountain wildlife into the Arcturian towns to attack in an effort now known as the The War of Generations.   While the Frost Fae have since been discovered and eventually won over as allies the decades of relentless attacks have left their marks on Arcturian society. The young learn self-defense as soon as they develop the coordination required, while the elderly take turns welding crossbows beside the watchmen in towers across Arcturia. Most members of society also keep their weapons on hand at all times, just in case, as a force of cultural habit.