Qerstead

The Qerstead
Leader	Tohmtesh, the Tash'la governor
Founder	Ahmtesh, the Builder
Discoverer	unknown

The village of Qerstead is a tash'la settlement, its silver domes glittering in sunlight and shadow alike. Home to a variety of traders, warriors, and travellers from the tash'la people, it is but an outpost upon their vast world on the plane of Bjarndyr. Yet it is from here that the Ten Tribes choose to venture forth upon the branches of the World Tree, skilled warriors and deadly hunters in the service of whatever cause they might claim.

Geography

The village of Qerstead is nestled in the hills bordering the great plains of the Kelstaad.

Structures

The village is a place of domes, thatched and silver, sitting upon squat bases. Structures include:

• The Qerstead Inn

History

The Qerstead was first settled by Ahmtesh, the Builder, as a meeting point and an expeditionary base towards outward exploration of the branches of the Yggdrasil and it was from here that the tash'la first discovered the entrance to other planes. Modern tash'la who discovered the nature of nearby dormium reserves began extensive mining of the mineral after contact and trade began with the Elemental Plane of Earth. Believing it a miraculous product from the earth elementals they applied its mutagenic powers to their lives, consuming it in great quantities. Within a few generations young tash'la changed, becoming stronger, and now sporting crystalline hair and geode limb joints. The elder tash'la who objected to the addiction mocked and shunned the transformation of their offspring for years before the mutants wrested control of the Qerstead in an event known as the Freeing. Survivors of the old caste were few, and became exiled from their ancestral homeland on other worlds and planes.

Culture

Since their Freeing and overthrow of their old ways to embrace the new, the tash'la of the Qerstead have held firm alliance with Elemental Earth, spreading out across the great expanse of the World Tree's branches. The tash'la generally disdain the mystical arts, rather working as close-knit, resilient groups in the depths of a melee.

Despite this, the warriors of the Qerstead are watchful, suspicious and quick to remind outsiders to respect local laws and customs.

Inhabitants

• Aynteshi, a tash'la teacher
• Dahntesh, the artist
• Domteshi, first warrior of the Qerstead
• Ehmteshe, Sergeant-at-Arms
• Fanteshe, the tusk shaver
• Quartermaster Hemtosh
• Ralntesh, a mine foreman
• Tohmtesh, the Tash'la governor
• Valntesh, the Tamer

Flora and Fauna

The Kelstaad is an open prairie of blue-green grasses dotted with lone trees and great rocky outcroppings of purple crystal: the dormium which is the world's most prized resource. Wild rye, quitch, lichens, and other hardy shrubs are common to the area. The grasslands glint with hints of argilite and granite, exotic colouring ranging from gold to purple, whilst floral scents are carried across its broad face with little impedance. Prides of dark-furred lions commonly stalk the grasses, but six-legged sho'lei can also occasionally be sighted padding across the plain.